I'm New at This

Being a neighbor is proving difficult for me. I thought I'd be better at this. It's just that we are all so new and probably unsure about each other, so it causes some hesitancy on everyone's part.

I found a frisbee in our yard today when I got home. It was orange and said UTSA on it. I thought Jeff brought this home for Sonny. It's plausible considering my Mom works there and I thought Dad must of gotten it and relayed it to Jeff. That's the path my mind went at least. So after a few throws around the yard, the frisbee got a little "wear and tear" to it. Then I hear a knock from the other side of the fence and a little boy's voice "Um, that's our frisbee." OOPS!!! I guess the thought that it could be our neighbor's is a logical choice. Why didn't I think of that? So I grabbed the frisbee, complete with chew marks and dog slobber, tossed it over the fence to where I see a little boy and girl and say, "I'm sorry, I think my dog got a hold of it" - then I hear them talk about how it's chewed on . Cue my embarassment. I had to go inside, I felt to awkward to stay out there and be interrogated by a five year old. I think to remedy the situation I'm going to buy a frisbee at lunch tomorrow and write a little note saying "I'm sorry for chewing up your frisbee, I just like to play. *paw print* Sonny the Dog, from next door". How do you think that sounds? I'm open to suggestion.

We have been getting a lot of new neighbors moving in across the street. Recently an older couple moved into a house adjacent to us. They have had a few ratty trailers parked outside their house since moving in about 3 weeks ago. At first I could excuse this because, okay, moving is moving and I can give you a break. But guess what, a month has almost gone by and if you don't do something with your precious trailer by mid-month, the homeowner's association is going to hear from me. I hate to be that neighbor, but guess what, I want the value of my house to appreciate as well.

Then, I met another neighbor down the block at the mailbox the other day. He seems real nice, late forties, early fifties more likely. He and his wife live there with their 20 year old son. We've since passed him and his wife walking around the block or out doing yardwork. The other day we were out trying to get Sonny used to his leash again. We encounter Steve and we tel him this is our dog, etc. Well he reaches out his hand to let Sonny sniff him, but Sonny was just NOT having that. He started growling really loud! I was like, "I'm so sorry, he's just used to the country...." etc, etc, etc. I was embarassed, but at the same time I'm glad Sonny is a good guard dog. But I'm going out of my way to be nice to this neighbor cause I don't want him to think we have this uber aggressive dog, etc. People can draw a lot of conclusions.

I don't want to be a hobbit in my own neighborhood, but we've had some recent encounters that have proved embarassing and have not boosted our popularity. For anyone who's lived in a close community before, I'm all ears for some advice.