Our Poor Neighbors

We are in the process of having one of our bathrooms gutted. It's a project that we've had in mind for a few years. Approximately six. Specifically since the day we saw the house for the first time. But since it was only a guest bathroom and there were other things we wanted done, it has taken a backseat.

Until this month. It's almost done now and should be completed this week. But you know how contractors are. It might take another two weeks with no explanation.

On the first day they needed to shut the water off in the house to remove the tub, toilet, and sink. As they turned the water off the shut off valve fell off into the contractors hands. Not good. Especially since it fell off after they shut the water off. That means no water.

Then they decided they could turn the water back on at the main. In order to get to the main they had to dig a slight hole in our front yard. There is no need to go into details about how the main was rusted shut and they couldn't turn the water on and how I was without water for 24 hours. No flushing toilets for 24 hours. No shower. And worst of all (for me) NO WASHING OF HANDS. It comes to a point where anti-bacterial gel just doesn't cut it.

But the hole that they dug. It was quite appropriate for the Halloween season.

The next day I saw my neighbors talking and I went to go join in the conversation. They nervously asked me what was going on at our house. As they asked they motioned to my front yard.

"Oh that."

"Did Tulip die?"

And then I realized why they asked that. The hole looked like a small grave. I didn't see it that way the day before because my gaze was riveted on the pipe, praying for it to turn on.

"Oh no - not yet anyway. We had a water problem." And I went into the very boring details. I teased them for thinking that I would have so little class as to bury my dog in the middle of my front yard. And aren't there town regulations against that sort of thing? Can you just bury something in your yard?

We agreed that I should add a fake tombstone and decorate the rest of the house for Halloween using the grave as a focal piece. But of course I didn't - with my luck a random neighbor would walk into the hole and break their leg.