Mowed

Are you ready for this?

The last building on the block with an overgrown yard has finally cut their grass.




Foolishness. Just plain foolishness.

While that is a big step in the aesthetic look of the neighborhood, the downside is that now the first floor windows and main entrance has been boarded up.

The grass looks better but the now plywood abounds.

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

Now the larger question is will the building be rehabbed? If so, will it be rental as well?

I will say, with everyone's grass cut, the block looks very nice and welcoming.

Developing...

Making Amends

It finally happened.

The Roosevelt Collection not only refunded my friend’s earnest money but also his upgrade money.

All in all it took roughly two weeks for the checks to be issues once all the final paperwork was signed.

So The Roosevelt Collection manned up and did the right thing by their purchasers. That, my friends, is a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dismal real estate market.

Keeping your word, providing good customer service---go figure.

Perhaps some folks in Uptown might catch a clue.

Or could it be that the consequences of their actions are slowly but surely about to catch up with them?

Time will tell.

Shaking The Cup

Yes, that is a donate button you see on the left hand side.

And yes, I'm still looking for a job.

But for those of you who remember my first go round with unemployment, decent paying jobs with benefits aren't exactly falling from the trees these days.

Nonetheless I'm plugging away.

But plugging away dosen't equal a full time job or money.

I'm still waitressing but that obviously dosen't pull in the cash one needs to pay the mortgage.

So while I search for a job, I'm shaking the metaphorical cup.

If you happen to find yourself with a couple of spare bucks you can easily, safely and anonomously pass it my way via PayPal.

If not, don't worry---we're still friends.

'Cause I'm not sure how long this storm is gonna last.

Seriously

It's not like the fence around our back perimeter was the epitome of high security.

But for the last eight years, it's held up through dings, dents, trash truck accidents and attempted forced entry.

Yet now some fuck nut has seen fit to bend a post so badly that anyone could just walk through the opening.

Holy shit.

All of this came about as one of the locks to our back gates went missing and when it was replaced, a notice wasn't posted.

Because a notice wasn't posted, new keys weren't distributed.

And when I went to take out my trash (*ugh*) the other day an unwelcome chore went to downright unpleasant as I had to carry my trash around the building and down the alley in order to properly dispose of it in the dumpster.

That's more than I can say for another one of my neighbors as they left three bags of stinking ass trash inside of our gate on the ground.

Let me repeat that in case you missed it---one of my neighbors as they left three bags of stinking ass trash inside of our gate ON THE GROUND.

Trifflin' ass...

So this evening when I went to go look off the back porch, I see the trash is gone but the fence post is severely bent.

Frankly, I don't think any of this is a coincidence.

But I do know this---some dumb ass thought it was a good idea to leave open trash on our property to attract vermin AND someone thought it was a good idea to bend the fence post to the point it's created a security risk.

Who in the H-E double hockey sticks do I live with?

Seriously?

The First Harvest

Behold, nature's bounty in the form of collard greens.



I cooked them with turkey bacon, seasoning, garlic and a little bit of water.

Yum!

Watership Down

Bunnies.

Their long eared, twitchy nosed, brown gray furred cuteness gently hoping along bothering no one.

That is until you plant a vegetable garden.

Then you look at them the way an anxious father looks at the boy his daughter starts dating---with a mixture of dread, fear and loathing.

I knew that the local flora and fauna thrive in our little urban-suburban paradise.

I also knew that rabbits had become a scourge of Grant Park gardens in recent years.

They cutely nibble away at the very expensive plants that both the Chicago Park District and the City put down to make our urban experience just a little bit brighter.

While this city has many issues, it’s apparently rabbit nirvana.

So much so, that the rabbit population has exploded in my neighborhood in the past few years.

I can see why they like the ‘hood; fresh water lagoons, tons of green space in two parks bridged by Midway Plaisance, few coyotes to hunt them and three urban gardens to nibble---that’s not a bad gig.

The average person takes this with a grain of salt. The average gardener would like to see Mopsy, Flopsy and Cottontail banished to an island never to return.

So it was with little surprise that I saw a young rabbit looking my way when I was walking home from the train one day.

While I hate those little buggers he was really cute with the previously mentioned twitchy nose and round furry body.

He was so young that he didn’t know that he should fear me and let me inch closer and closer.

And so this little dance continued between us over the next few weeks.

In fact I was able to get close enough to snap pictures.





But then it occurred to me that’s how they suck you in---they get you to like them, then you have a hard time putting them in a pie when they eat your collard greens.

Diabolical motherfuckers.

Elmer Fudd is my new hero. I wish I had a spear and magic helmet.

Snippets

The grass is growing back in the vacant lots around my house.

Japanese beetles are decimating my collard greens. Nonetheless, there was enough to harvest for a meal.



The new rentals down the street are accepting Section 8/CHAC vouchers and the grass is starting to look like a bag of ass (again).

It official: The neighbors from hell have moved next door. More on that later.

And if you didn't know it already, I'm very quotable. Read the latest story on yours truly. Note: If you're prompted to sign up for a newsletter, blow past the screen by clicking on the enter link to progress to the article.