First of all: you really need to consider a job in writing! Man, I laughed so hard my stomach hurt at your story.
I'm sorry about the tomatoes! Grrr... I thought tomato plants could hurt animals? I mean, I thought it made them sick? Apparently not yours, eh?
Are there things you typically do to keep the dog away from various things? I've heard that you can use alot of various methods with cats, but unfortunately, I'm not a dog owner right now.

perfect spelling! i think, LOL i always like how you put that, "the man" LOL
danged dogs!!! i love them to pieces, have been wanting one, but ohhhhhh man, i am scared to get one, see if it gets my plants, i may, just may have to open a can of whoop a** on it!! and the owner!! hmmm.......what am i to do if that owner is me????LOL see if hubs wants it, well then by all means!!, LOL the son, or the daughter, but i certainly cant open it on me!! LOL **grin**
well, now ya know!! Hee Hee i think they say put banana peels around them cuz dogs don't like them, you could test that theory now. and then later you'll know.
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/organic/natural-homemade-dog-repellent.htm
here's one i found interesting just googling dog repellant plants (yes, i'm bored again and don't want to clean the house!! ICK!) maybe that might be something to consider to! wish i'da thought of that when the neighbors mutt was poo'in in my little gaarden!
poky flowers!! hee hee, i know our one mut didn't like them. ohh wait neither will ya! LOL ~Medo

Ribbit, I'm sorry to be laughing so hard at your expense *snort*. Girl, you owe me a new keyboard, 'cause mine has been spewed with Crystal Light Ruby Red Grapefruit! Hey, look on the bright side...dogs are much better companions than slugs :-)

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

HA! Sorry for the keyboard, Granny.

carolynp, I'm not a writer, just a frustrated English teacher. My first degree is to teach social st., but didn't coach football, although I do maintain I could have done a whole lot better than some out there, and conned some poor school in south ga into hiring me as an English teacher. 12 years later and here I am.

NOT that any of you will have time or the inclination to look, but I'll put here a link to a "blog" I wrote in our old house. It wasn't really a blog. I didn't know what those were at the time, but they were a series of emails I sent to friends about our neighbors. I was actually contacted by someone who wanted to use excerpts in his book about neighbors from h*&&. Don't know if anything came of it.

Medo, if you'd like to put off cleaning the house some more, here's the link:

Here is a link that might be useful: House neighbor story

Ok, so I went back and read the link and realized that although it does cover 2.5 yrs with them, it doesn't cover the end. We heard a gun shot one night.

We were a bit disapointed at first that it was only one shot, but then no one came running out so it couldn't have been that bad.

They were finally evicted. They hadn't paid their house note in over a year but the property owner couldn't kick them out because of the children. They moved Heroine man's trailer out of the yard by pulling it with their truck straight THROUGH the fence. Nice. Why bother using the gate you brought it in with when you can go all Dukes of Hazzard on it. And when we went in the house afterwards to help the new tennants clean up...quite honestly, there aren't words to describe it.

The roach droppings were so thick on the walls we couldn't scrape them off with a knife. There were decaying rats littered all through the house left along floorboards and in centers of rooms. I stopped counting those in the laundry closet. You couldn't tell the color of the floor or the cabinets for the layers upon layers of filfth. We found a bullet hole as well a sone rat that looked like it had a piece chewn out of it.... You needed a tentus shot just for looking at the place.

I'm so glad they were evicted so we could move. Although every time I see a green suburban in our new area, my heart catches in my throat.

Wouldn't you know ribbit would come out with a novel on my first night to play Hand & Foot. I copied and saved it, will print it out later, when I get back. Looks like something to take to bed to read, so I can have nightmares of rats and roaches tonight!

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

ribbit - that's a funny story, but I bet it isn't as funny to you! LOL. One of the reasons that I constructed my garden the way that I did, was because of the various animals that entered the yard. Dogs were certainly one of the first ones that came to mind. Since installing the fencing, no animal of any kind has been able to cause any problem. Of course, there are tons of remedies. I'm sure you'll come up with something...

EG

ribbit, it was a funny story, lol. My hubby and I were busting over the "my son's taking a warm bath...how was prison" line.

OMG. Words cannot describe. Sorry Ribbit! I hope you got out of there and never ran into them again!

OMGoodness!! that was halarious!! how you described them!! if you ever write a book, i''m soooo there!! when you started just abreviating it, nh family, all i could think of was naked heffer family, LOL when you said po lice i knew it was a black lady, or black wanna be. they always separate it out like that, i used to live int he projects at one time. cheaper place. hated it. and at hubs work, when he's checking ont he woman, they are like here come's five o, or po po, ahhhhh. he said the woman guards get called po po ho. now that would just tick me off!!! LOL !Medo

sinfonian, yes. We got out of there as soon as they were evicted. That's why we were so interested in helping the new people clean up! :) Although we almost didn't. I walked out on a closing because the person buying the house wanted to negotiate with a man. However, he had to deal with me since a man didn't own the house. He was set to move in that very afternoon, but when he started in on my not understanding what it was like to be an American with an American dream...I just walked out and left him sitting there with his moving truck. Thank goodness someone else came along two weeks later.

Medo, they were not a black family.

o my goodness. that's just bad. i told my husband about how the blog was, but started to tell him about the ending, but he looked at me, gave me that look that says, no more, he has a week stomach for trash. ya know. like the roaches, dead mice. **shuddering** my brother, he woulda walked in, seen 1 roach and freaked. he hates them with a passion. of course, hubs reminds me that if i don't keep the house cleaner we will have mice again. i told him with all the eco*lab pellets i put down i doubt that. they eat it, they die and i smell nothing. ~Medo

Or, you could just get a cat, Medo, and forget about cleaning. ROFL!!!!!!!

Ribbit, wow, what a story. I am so freaking out and sad for what you went through and for them kiddos in that house. But, I absolutely agree, I love your writing. It keeps you pinned to the story on the edge of your seat and with such great humor, too. You are sure talented!

Blessings,
Angela

true, a cat!! but then, the cat box smell, cat hair, and of course, talla and hubs are allergic, if its a siamese i am allergic. LOL i have a great sniffer for some reason!! how on earth did i get so lucky?? LOL one time i kept the cat box in the bathroom by the toilette, hubs said WHY??? it makes the bathroom smell when we shower?? i said when i go to the bathroom i'll clean the box, we have a trash can in there, and i used to take the trash out right then, this was befor they came out with that clumping stuff. LOL
so then i got the idea, put it into the toilette, so i did, flush, and no problem, LOL well he had bought this new stuff. he had said hon, i bought some new stuff, i'm thinking cool!! he didn't say it was clumping. so i'm putting it in the toillete only its not spreading, and i'm thinking what's the deal?? so i'm flushing, only its filling up. ohhhhh crap!! he's gonna be pi****!! so i hurry up and plunge and clean the sides cuz its going down, WHEW!!! so the next time, i'm thinking i'll scoop and flush as i put it in, ( i know, duhhhh!!) so i do this, only the dang toilet is not as fast as this clumping action, dangit!@! hubs walks in!! "WHAT iN THE HE** ARE YOU DOING?" cleaning the cat litter!! and don't fricken yell at me!! *choice words* cuz dangit i was caught!! all this time and not caught and now i am!! an wouldn't ya know it, he sticks with this crap!!! LOL **sigh MEN** works good though!! had to give the cat to mom, we found out i was allergic to the cat even when i gave him a very good bath all the time. as soon as the cat was gone i was good to go!! Hee Hee yes, i am still like a kid!! **big grinn** ~Medo