I've decided to forego any Christmas spirit in the casa this year. This makes me extremely sad. I love Christmas. I love the decorating and the baking and the gift giving and wrapping and tree decorations. It is something my dear Mamos passed along to me. When the year is extra tough and this year has been so very tough. I think to myself, at least there is Christmas. For me, the excuse to decorate and give is too perfect to pass up. But how can I embrace this when the casa is attacked on all sides from sun up to sun down with noise, noise, noise? I like to imagine myself as a grinch when I type that but really, I am not. Right this minute, as I type this, there is a loud buzz, buzz, buzzing of an electric saw coming at me from my left. The tiny casa is one half of a duplex in a bungalow court. There are four duplexes which makes for eight units. Five of these units are vacant and the landlord is redoing them ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
THE. SAME. TIME.
This means that not only are we somewhat isolated from happy neighbors since there are none, we are bombarded with the hammering (which right this instant is knocking pictures off my wall) and get the visual pleasure of bathtubs and debris somewhat artfully arranged outside our door. The workers kept using our tools without asking and returning them unclean. We put a note on them but still, they used them. We had to hide them. They are eating the blood oranges on the tree. The tree does belong to the landlord but we have been caring for the tree for five years now. That aside, the fruit won't technically be ripe until March. They pick and try and spit it out and leave orange peels all over our garden. They are not awful people, they smile and greet me as the wheel another load of dirt past my dining nook window. The dirt they are dumping in a mountainous pile under the clothesline which they broke. Up until last week, the weather was nice enough to dry our clothes on the line if there had been one available.
Bah Humbug!
The work has kicked up all sorts of dust and debris and I have a bronchial infection. I also have a cold but can't stay home to nurse it, to nap or to decorate because of the noise, noise, NOISE! I would sleep in to aid in the healing process but when the hammering begins at 8am who can sleep?
Bah Humbug!
If there was no construction, I would be baking and writing. I have articles to write and papers to prepare for school. The commotion is so that I am even having problems writing this right now. Bah! I haven't been able to cook or clean or even bathe in a normal manner. When they leave at 5pm and mr. a-go-go comes through the door shortly after, the poor witch-baby knows it is safe to come out of the kitchen. She hunkers down in the far, far corner not moving an inch but sometimes she howls when the noise is particularly loud. Poor witch-baby.
Bah Humbug!
There are fresh new cracks in our living room wall that skate across in a glorious pattern. There are small pieces of plaster hiding in my water glass on skipping about the floor. When I showed the landlord, he told me they would re-plaster. All I had to do was move everything out of the way. We would then have to repaint the wall. Oh joy!
Bah Humbug!
In a none too admiring light I am cranky. I am uncomfortable. I am whiny and mad. I am sad for the lack of festivities. The tiny tree is out but I cannot muster any energy to decorate it. Whine, whine, whine. We have always had a pretty good relationship with our landlord. We know that he needs to do the work but how much of it is acceptable? Would it be inappropriate to ask for a break in our rent? When I looked it up online it suggested that a landlord must either give you a rent break or put you up in a hotel. I shouldn't complain. We have water, we have heat, we have power. We also have new cracks in our walls, and noise pollution that drives us to leave when there are things to be done and piles of dirt and debris all around us. Yeah, festive. Don't ya think?
Can you see what I am talking about?
