Bangs, Whimpers, and Broomsticks

Well, last week started out with a bang.

Literally.

I live on a corner lot which is entirely fenced in three sections, thank goodness. The back yard is separated from the front and side yards and is where the dogs go out to play (I said thank goodness, because had they occupied the side yard, disaster might have occurred). The front and the side are more for show with nice plants and stuff (it was landscaped by the previous owners...I have a black thumb for anything except herbs). Well, sometime between 9 am and 11 am last Monday, some a#$@!%)$ took the corner too tight (frankly, based on the look of it, they HAD to have been under the influence of something) and destroyed about 30-40 feet of my fencing in the side yard. Uprooted, like, 6 posts from their concrete moorings and everything. And then just drove off. Leaving me with a huge mess and no visible chance of compensation for the damage. None of the neighbors had seen the car or the driver, so with no leads to go on, the local sheriff filed a report but didn't even bother to come out to take a look. If I'd had the person's info, I'd have been able to make a claim against the owner's car insurance, but no such luck. So, I called my insurance company so see if I could claim it on my homeowner's insurance only to hear that based on my deductible and the fact that the claim would sit on my policy for the next 5 years, I would be better off just eating the cost. This made me less than happy.

One side of the destroyed corner. It continues around for a total of 37ft.

Close-up of the uprooted posts. It's hard to see the fence lying on the shrubs.

Today, the excitement nearly overwhelmed me. On Wednesday of last week, in a remarkable stroke of luck, I got a phone call out of the blue from a detective with the local police department (this was entirely different from the department that took my report of the fence damage...since I live outside the incorporated city limits, the sheriff's department had jurisdiction over my report). It turns out that this police detective was in my neighborhood the morning of the incident and actually SAW a tow truck hit my fence, tear it down, then turn and flee the scene. Since she was out of jurisdiction, she didn't stop them, but she made note of the name of the towing company and tracked down their phone number. When she called them and explained that the driver could be arrested because he hadn't stopped to exchange info or report the hit and run, suddenly the company was happy to contact me and arrange to pay for the fence repair.  :P  Today, they presented me with a money order to cover the cost!!! So next week, I'll have the fencing company out to replace nearly 40 ft of damaged fence. Woohoo!

Oh, to make this vaguely lap band/weight loss related, I was very proud of myself for not reacting to crises last week by turning to food. Instead, I took my rage out on the house and launched myself into spring cleaning. My sparkling kitchen then made it so much easier to cook for myself for a change (hence the black beans and rice of my last post and a whole bunch of other healthy, band-friendly yumminess that I happily enjoyed), so I had a pretty darn great week as far as being banded is concerned. In fact (knock wood), the scale seems to be supporting my efforts for a change, so it I keep my fingers crossed, I might have a good loss this week. It makes me almost anxious for Wednesday so I can weigh in and see! :)