well...not the earth this time...but a little tiny bit of it...or at least the use of it...hmmm...let me start from the beginning! Last summer we had to completely landscape our back garden. The people we had bought the house from apparently had two huge dogs which they freely let out to roam in the back garden. The lawn was basically non existant when we took over and there were all kinds of weeds and - more disturbingly - body parts of stuffed animals everywhere. Emma was quite traumatised to find Donald Duck's head one day while digging in the dirt with her little shovel. So, we girded our loins - and hired some gardeners in to do the work - ha ha...I know I know, I'm the landscaper here...but I haven't done physical labour like that in years and with two little kids in tow I knew it would take a lot more than my muscle and skill to lay the ground work. The main problem was, the top soil was virtually the worst I'd ever seen so we had them bring a couple of tonnes of it in...and here is where our problem began... Our garden had no outside access. The people who lived here built a very fine extension but cut off any access to the outside world. This posed a huge problem because who wants to have a couple of tonnes of topsoil brought through their house from the front to the back in wheelbarrow loads??? Plus the extra manual labour this meant would have cost us a substantial amount more than we could afford. Therefore, I was thrilled to discover a tiny neglected pathway, (which we have affectionately been referring to as "the back passage") walled on two sides, extending from the corner of our garden to a lane running behind us. Just the thing I thought! There was a gate at the end of this tiny path but I set about straight away to find out who the land belonged to and found it wasn't registered a particular homeowner but was a point of access for anyone who needed to use it. It actually belongs to the local council - which turned out to be a boon as we later found out. So after double checking with all the 4 neighbours with land adjoining ours and hearing that no one knew anything about it (it was practically invisible as it was so overgrown) we removed the gate with the approval of the council who stated no gate should really be there and began work. Well, halfway into the morning our gardener called in at the back door and said that one of our neighbours had come out and was very agitaged about what was going on and I had better go out and speak to her. Oh dear. Out I came and there was a lady who I had never seen before in our back garden arguing forcibly with the other gardener - poor man! She was wondering why on earth we were trespassing on "her land" and she was extremely upset to find we'd removed her gate etc etc. It turned out she was from a house behind the lane, behind the garages and on the next street! I apologised and tried to explain that we'd been told the land belonged to the council and they'd given us permission to use it. She calmed down a little when she heard that we were only using it for access purposes and would gladly put the gate up again when we were done. So when we were done I popped by her house with a card of apologies for upsetting her and a key for the padlock we had put on the gate, explaining that we also had one in case we needed further access to our garden. I thought that was an end to it. Little did I know! The following week I had a "parcel" delivered through our door - the padlock and key and a very nasty letter which basically stated that we had caused criminal damage to her property, that she had put her own padlock on to which she only had the key and she would thank us very much to stay off her property in future as she was in the process of having the land registered in her name as she had been using it as part of her garden for more years than she cared to remember! We were lucky she wasn't going to press charges! Phew...I can tell you that the feelings that welled up in my mind at that point in time were certainly NOT Christ-like and I had a very hard time not dashing off an equally scathing reply! I'm so thankful I did not - though I went around muttering and seeing red for the rest of the day!!! Well, of course I phoned the council to report this and to cut a long story short, despite her removing the wall on one side of the path which seperated it from her and lying about the condition of the path (she put paving stones all down it and set out pots and pretended they'd been there for years!) they took up the legal case with her (thankfully on our behalf so we haven't had to get involved more than to tell our version of events) and now, more than a year later and no doubt quite a bit of expense on her part, we have just received written confirmation that her claim has been denied and the path is free for us to use whenever we jolly well choose! They've even taken away the gate and made her take away the pots and put the wall back up. Now, I'm NOT gloating, but I'm so thankful that it's been resolved. It's a horrible feeling to be put in the wrong and it's so nice to know that people who lie and cheat don't always win the day. I must admit I've prayed about it in that it's upset me every time I go out in the back garden and I really didn't want to do or say something to her than I'd regret. God really has helped us and I really feel it's because we didn't retaliate but just let Him take care of it. Now - I just have to get up my nerve to use the pathway - I have this terrible vision of her popping up at the end of it screaming like a banshee!!! | 
That includes updating on xanga at the moment...later I think I'll paint our downstairs bathroom...I've had the paint for months but no seeming time. Plus the nesting instinct is kicking in so I'll be able to do some really good jobs on stuff rather than just a quick lick and a promise...oh the bliss. I was telling Esther that until the 12th my mother-and-father-in-law are away in Ireland. They are our first point of call when the baby comes but if they are not back in time we'll have to get someone from the meeting to come in to look after the girls and I really don't want anyone to know the awful truth about this place...some cleaning must be done...