New crazy neighbor
So, I’ve got this new crazy neighbor lady on my street.
Today, she came home from the pool and took a CHAIN SAW and cut down a HUGE crepe myrtle in her front yard.
Did you catch the part about her coming home from the pool? Yup, she was out in her yard with a chain saw chopping down a huge tree while wearing a swim suit and thongs flip-flops.
And when I say “crazy neighbor” what I really mean to say is that’s what all my neighbors are saying about
ME.
*I* am that crazy neighbor.
BEFORE the chain saw episode this afternoon:
That crepe myrtle needed to be trimmed back big time. The branches were all over our roof, and last time that happened to us at our last house we got carpenter ants inside our walls (aka expensive to get rid of!).
We knew when we bought this new house the tree needed to go. I was suppose to wait for hubbs to do it this weekend.
But tonight when I went out there to get the garbage can from behind the fence, that crepe myrtle hit me in the head one.too.many.times.
And, swimsuit and all, out came the chain saw. And here is our tree now.
My (male) neighbor came over to gawk at the crazy lady see if I needed help. I reassured him that I do stuff like this all.the.time. I’m not sure it was reassuring though. He probably now thinks I’ve lost my friggin’ mind.
Honestly, now the crepe myrtle just looks plain
PATHETIC.
Look at how sad and pathetic this thing is.
Can it get any sadder looking?
Really, it’s just… well,… pathetic.
(Which is also my dog’s nickname. As in, “Look at Chase. He’s so pathetic.” I say that at least 4x a week. He’s just so ridiculous looking all the time. Maybe it’s the crappy haircut I gave him. Maybe it’s because he’s only 6 pounds. Maybe it’s because he has the most pathetic way of looking at me. I dunno.)
At least it’s not whacking me in the head anymore.
Maybe I should hire a landscaper next time….
And in other crazy neighbor news…
I spent a full FOUR HOURS cleaning out my garage today.
It looked like this:
Yes, it was THAT.BAD.
Couldn’t get any worse, could it?
WRONG.
Check out another angle.
You know, when you have weeks in a row that are OVER 100 degrees each day, cleaning out the garage just doesn’t seem like loads of fun.
But today it was a breezy 105 degrees, so I figured, “what the heee (name that movie!), I’ll clean out the garage!”
Fortunately I didn’t die of heat stroke.
So, 4 hours and 4 Diet Dr Peppers later…
Woot woot.
Dare I say I actually like doing stuff like this?
Maybe I really AM the crazy neighbor after all.
I mean, srsly… who on earth actually likes cleaning out a garage for four hours in 105 degree heat?
I feel so accomplished.
A tree and a garage all in one day? I have some serious issues.
Have House of Hepworths delivered to your inbox every morning!
Sometimes I participate in these parties: The DIY Showoff, Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick, C.R.A.F.T., Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Blue Cricket Design, Home Stories A to Z, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Miss Mustard Seed, One Project Closer, Under The Table and Dreaming, Positively Splendid
I {heart} your comments!
Join in on the fun discussion by adding your opinion...
38 Comments
Leave your comment
I {big fat LOVE} your comments! I read all.of.them. (It's true.)
I appreciate all the lovin' you dish out. It makes my day.
THANKS for reading!
* subscribe to House of Hepworths
* join my facebook fan page
* follow me on twitter
Welcome to House of Hepworths! HoH is primarily a Home Blog that specializes in DIY projects and renovations, crafts, and decorating. My name is Allison. My family and I live in Austin, Texas. I'm married to Ben and have two children, a 10 year old son and an almost-8 year old daughter. To find out more or to contact me click 
Hahaha. I thought you were going to be the crazy neighbor. Good job on the garage! We can hardly even leave the house because of the weather.
The tree may look sorrowful…but look at it this way…there’s now plenty of sunshine getting through!
You mentioned your pathetic dog’s crappy haircut…you didn’t take the chainsaw to him too?!?
It was WAY too hot today to even GO into the yard! Now I wish I would have come over today so that I could have watched the crazy lady with the chain saw!
Remind me to tell you about the time my dad accused me of being a crazy lady with a chain saw…he was asleep at the time.
That is funny! I have hardly stepped foot in the garage in this heat! It’s gonna get better soon! Yay!
Great job on the garage. I wouldn’t dare try to do anything in the garage. Hubs would have a hissy fit! It’s his, I’m just allowed to park there.
Hi-larious post. Seriously. Who HASN’T been THAT crazy neighbor lady at one point or another?
Love this post! Have never taken a chainsawto anything, but once spent 30 minutes trying to rip a root out of a planter. After falling on my butt and sweating, I finally pulled out the hacksaw and hacked the thing out. Did I mention I was also about 8 months pregnant at the time! Nothing like a little anger to get motivated to do something!
Lol! Love this post! I have once weed-eated (sp?) our lawn one Sunday afternoon…in my dress. One of those just above the knee kind and I paired that with some great slip-on poka-dotted tennies! lol I kept hoping no one would see me, or care…then our neighbor came home. The one we have never actually met in the year and a half we lived have here. So for that day I was THAT crazy lady!
I’m turning away and if the garden police ask, I did not see you murder that poor crepe myrtle!
Congratulations on getting your garage so cleaned out! Do you make house calls?
Woot woot – great job!
Thanks for the laugh – my husband assures me I am absolutely the “crazy lady” of our cul-de-sac.
Three cheers for crazy
Thank you for making me laugh!! You are too funny!
You had me at Diet Dr. Pepper!!! Haha! Seriously though- I have loved your blog since you started it and you have totally given me more guts to start mine(been trying to be brave enough for like a year!). Anyway, way to bust out the cleaning skills in your garage- I did that too last weekend and it took me a ridiculous 5 hours. Not fun, but the DDP helped me get through it as well! Great job getting your house together- it’s looking fabulous. Thanks for keeping us posted along the way!
Well, I stained a picnic table that I plan to sell at a yard sale in a couple of weeks. How stupid is that? You had me laughing at your “pathetic dog”! Can you come clean my garage?
Your before photo of your garage is nothing. You should see my garage. We have a 3 car garage that is completely full. My hubby has been after me for 5 years to clean it out. I’m waiting for hell to freeze over. And since today was 109 it doesn’t look like hell is freezing over anytime soon. So I relaxed in the pool with my Pepsi instead. Congrats on getting yours done. Maybe I should get out my hubby’s chain saw & go to town on our willow tree.
You sound like my mother!!! She does the exact same thing (yard work in a bikini…) in the middle of summer in AZ… gotta love those cooler 105* days ;-p
lol – what a great post. While I’m not anywhere near as organized as you (I wish), I do go on some crazy cleaning binges. Usually at 3am.
What are you planning to fill the planting beds with?
O-EM-GEE!! What kind of crazy lady would do that?!?! LOL!!
Oh and just FYI, I would kill for a crepe myrtle but havent found a nursery that ships to hawaii. got a japanese maple though go figure!
hahaha
Hey! You are on a roll!!! Come on over…my art studio needs you now!!!!
And while you have that chain saw out…take the rest of the tree too! It really looks pathetic!!!
Hugs
SueAnn
Thank you for the laugh this morning! (We have a crazy neighbor that likes to spray paint all kinds of things out in her yard at 7 am on a Saturday. Hehe.) Great job on the garage!
You clean up nice. Everyone is crazy, no one is normal…
Hahaha, you totally crack me up! Fantastic. Oh the joys of buying a new house… I remember getting ticked off at some stupid thing that needed to be banished – like the soffits in our kitchen – and just going at ‘em one night with some beers, country music and a sledgehammer. At midnight. Yeah, I think we’re the crazy people on our street, too.
Kudos on the garage! Is it sad (and maybe pathetic?) that when I first saw the “before” photo I thought it was the “after” one? I think that says something about how bad our garage was. After a full weekend of cleaning/organizing and another weekend of the garage sale where we sold practically every item for 50 cents, thankfully our garage now nearly resembles your ‘after’ photo.
Nearly.
Great post!
~Chelsea
MICKEY BLUE EYES!!!! I LOVE THAT MOVIE!!!!
The garage loos great! Would you like to come and clean mine? It looks like a tornado hit it!
Girl you have been BU-SY! It’s all looking SOOO good! And I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who goes out and starts cutting branches and trees down.
Haha! Love your story!
I’m that woman screaming on the roof of the pink house, so don’t feel bad.
Wow! you really have been busy. You need to watch it in those temps though
Or, just wait until it cools off – like today – it is only 73 degrees right now. I am thinking I need a sweater! LOL You know, I was thinking, that Crepe Myrtle will probably be absolutely gorgeous next year now that you really trimmed it back. Maybe you could trim even more this winter.
I had to laugh when I saw the result of your chain saw massacre. How funny!
Hugs, Sherry
I hear ya on getting wacked in the head too many times. That’s when my tree clippers come out too. Amazing job getting the garage in order – now there’s parking – yeah, no more 180 degree car to climb into!!
Love your blog! I’m now #636 Peep!!!
ok so I live in Austin and I would like to hire you to come do both tree trimming and garage cleaning for us!
let me know when we can expect you!
You seriously did a great job and you should feel proud of your home!
You are so like me! I have random fits of cleaning and organizing. I REALLY want to go clean my garage but the Las Vegas heat is more than I can handle. My hubby and I went nuts on our tree last year also. Love your blog!
Hey!!! I love the house and everything that you are doing with it! It looks so great and I can’t wait to come and visit! I know, I just invited myself! Hey – did you guys get rid of your van and get a new car? You are doing such a great job and if you are ever back up here in Dallas let me know! I loved chatting with you a few weeks ago! Miss you guys -
I’m a crazy neighbor too!
Maybe you could dig up the tree and move it?
Loving your fearlessness when it comes to chopping down trees all by yourself! in a bathing suit! in the Texas summer! You’re amazing! I literally have started a list of projects that we are waiting to tackle until, oh, October because we WON’T go outside in this Texas heat!
heh heh…a new meaning to Texas Chainsaw Massacre
It may look pathetic now, but if it’s like our crepe myrtle out front, it will be just as full next spring. And wow, you’re way more motivated than I am. Want to come work on my garage??
You are so funny! I love reading your blog…just a delightful breath of fresh air.
I love it! We all have days where something pushes us over the edge although I would have to say you had a very productive day!
I think you’ve put that poor little tree into shock with that “pruning.” I’d dig it up and try to transplant it somewhere else. No use keeping a problem tree that is plated too close to the house. You suffer as well as the tree.
Word of advice, wear long pants and shirt when you break out the chain saw again or else you could be looking like that tree and we wouldn’t want that. Take care.