Visit by HAZMAT officer today..

[mmagic]

I had a visit today by an Officer from the Douglas County Sheriff Department, Hazmat division. It seems some un-named neighbor could no longer use his barbeque, deck or even invite friends over to watch Bronco games in his back yard because of the VOC's and paint odors coming from my painting in my garage.

He held his little yellow electronic sniffer over a cup of laquer thinner being used to clean sprayer tips, over an open gallon can of Home Depot truck bed paint being used to undercoat front and rear valances and against a closed gallon of base coat. He then said, "nothing unusual.... be sure and wear your respirator when you spray.... what year Studebaker is that?"

I said, "thanks, give my regards to my friend Sheriff Dave!"

As he left he pointed to the 4 x 8 sign board for a school board candidate on the Champ bed and said, "I think that is the source of the stink!"

[StudeRich]

Politics, aren't they fun? It sounds like you may have a neighbor with different political views than yourself.

Sounds like you got off a bit easy though, that's good.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Give your neighbor a choice
(A throw away cheapie squirt bottle would help)..

http://tinyurl.com/Skunk-Scent

[jclary]

Ever since the lottery has come to our state, I have had friends ask, "What would you buy if you won the lottery?"

While most, when answering this question, give the usual list of houses, cars, travel, etc. I always give a quick and decisive answer..."SOLITUDE."

That answer always gets me a blank stare or a quizzical look. It is stories like this that illuminate my desire for peaceful living. Nowadays, a crowd is never far away. "SOLITUDE" is a precious thing. I have been fortunate to live most of my life with enough space that has allowed me to "have" and "be" a good neighbor.

[DEEPNHOCK]

That's the key... Being a good neighbor, and having good neighbors.
But.... Neighbors change, and neighborhoods change.
I have been lucky enough to have been a part of some 'magical' neighborhoods, where everybody got along
(except for the nosy Gladys Cravetts type across the street)
But then, several moved on and several moved in...and it all went away.
Noticed through the years that the denser the neighborhood, the faster is can change.
Where I am at now is the most rural of the places owned, and the change (and pace) is the slowest (and most appreciated).
Adore my neighbors, and work hard to be a good neighbor to them, as well.

One humorous note....
When we hear shooting around hear, we try to guess which gun is being shot...
For example.. I heard some shooting the other day, and when I saw John, I asked him if that was his Thompson Center, or his Buckhorn.
Yep... Black powder season is coming up.... You can hear the difference!
Jeff

<snip>
I have been fortunate to live most of my life with enough space that has allowed me to "have" and "be" a good neighbor.

[hausdok]

Ever since the lottery has come to our state, I have had friends ask, "What would you buy if you won the lottery?"

While most, when answering this question, give the usual list of houses, cars, travel, etc. I always give a quick and decisive answer..."SOLITUDE."

That answer always gets me a blank stare or a quizzical look. It is stories like this that illuminate my desire for peaceful living. Nowadays, a crowd is never far away. "SOLITUDE" is a precious thing. I have been fortunate to live most of my life with enough space that has allowed me to "have" and "be" a good neighbor.

One of my clients is a retired Starbucks executive. He thinks like you do.

He lives on Mercer Island in the middle of Lake Washington between Seattle and Bellevue. Lots of folks with money want to live over there so it's pretty densely populated. His solution; buy up all of the properties that surround his property and leave those houses vacant; forming an unpopulated buffer zone around his lakefront home.

He keeps the houses in good shape and has the landscapers keep the grounds of each property well maintained and he has his solitude. Pretty expensive solitude but now that the market is recovering if he hangs around for long enough he's going to see some huge profits when/if he decides to sell and move.

[mmagic]

I'm quite happy that I have no idea which neighbor whose political correctness I offended. I've approached all of my immediate neighbors and those on my culdesac and asked them that if my noise etc. is an issue, keeps their baby awake etc. to tell me. I've a good enough relationship with them that I believe they would. In fact most of them and their kids visit frequently to enjoy the progress.

On the Speedster all the painting has been done inside so even the HOA loses leverage to complain. I make a point of doing most of my work and all of my painting between 9:00 and 4:00 weekdays when most are at work or at school. If there is a valid complaint I would acknowledge it is noise of a large compressor, air tools, grinders and sanders.

Actually, I was appreciative that the Officer stopped by with his little yellow box to confirm that my work environment was safe. When the paint gun is on the doors are open and the respirator is on I know the VOC's go up. At those times perhaps you could occasionally get a whiff of paint odor 100 feet away but not in concentrations to send you to my friend Lora the Coroner.

I do personally know many officers including command staff, the Sheriff and all the 2014 candidates for Sheriff. But, those relationships were not discussed. If I'm surprised it is that my political activity and positions have not drawn more indirect responses such as this complaint. This just goes with the territory and serves as a reminder to be cognizant of real as opposed to "I'm offended" damage to others.

[52 Ragtop]

Yep, neighbors can be good ones, (like the brewmaster across the street) or jerks like mine next door that came over on evening crying about how short I cut my grass! I mean she had TEARS flowing! So, the following week, I cut it shorter! <G> This has been about 10 years ago when I was going through my health issues and was not sure if I would be able to cut the grass the next week!
But, they have calmed down, (me too) and peace prevails in the neighborhood again!
I've told all my neighbors if I'm making too much noise or "fumes" then tell me and I'll stop. I am in a subdivision with an HOA, but I also have almost 3/4 of an acre.

Jim

[63 R2 Hawk]

I live in an airpark, where the smell of lacquer, paint and 100LL avgas are part of the ambiance. All my neighbors are gearheads and they will usually come over to chat and see what you are painting in your makeshift paintbooth or tie down pad. I hope that never changes....

[DEEPNHOCK]

Or... For your culdesac....
Charge 'em to get in...or out!

http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemID=7&acctID=2866

[jclary]

I guess it's a good thing I don't have very close neighbors with sensitive noses. Otherwise, just for the sake of mischief...I'd probably launch an intensive research program to discover how my poodle manages to produce those...VENTRILO-FARTS!

It's a horrible smell of mysterious direction...but the poodle will never admit it!

You know it happened...you just can't exactly pin point the source.

Of course, the talent isn't only the domain of poodles. One of the "mysteries of life" is that it is the only secret women have kept for centuries.

[sweetolbob]

That's the key... Being a good neighbor, and having good neighbors.
But.... Neighbors change, and neighborhoods change.
I have been lucky enough to have been a part of some 'magical' neighborhoods, where everybody got along
(except for the nosy Gladys Cravetts type across the street)
But then, several moved on and several moved in...and it all went away.
Noticed through the years that the denser the neighborhood, the faster is can change.
Where I am at now is the most rural of the places owned, and the change (and pace) is the slowest (and most appreciated).
Adore my neighbors, and work hard to be a good neighbor to them, as well.

One humorous note....
When we hear shooting around hear, we try to guess which gun is being shot...
For example.. I heard some shooting the other day, and when I saw John, I asked him if that was his Thompson Center, or his Buckhorn.
Yep... Black powder season is coming up.... You can hear the difference!
Jeff

Exactly the same situation here. I know all of my neighbors in each direction and we are all on good terms. Some are reserved and I hardly see them, while others I see on a weekly basis. As far as the shots in the neighborhood, it's usually a couple of un-identified (by me) neighbors thinning the varmint population.

One thing that the neighbors know is my polebarn and tools are available if they need them and the noise I make is after 10AM and done by 7:00PM. The only comments I generally get are about the progress I'm making on my cars. Someone will comment on the sound of grinding or the sound of a minimally muffled engine starting as their recognition of where I am. My closest neighbor is a wood worker so the sound of his equipment, mainly planer, is heard quite often but his hours are much like mine.

One thing that has helped is some of us have relatively long driveways so there is some decent snow removal equipment in our polebarns and we will plow most of the drives close to us. Because we all get along reasonably well, it's easy to find someone to watch/care for property when someones on vacation.

Interestingly, We cover the spectrum of Republican/Democrat and conservative/somewhat liberal to religious/almost agnostic and upper level college graduate/H.S. only but that doesn't seem to get in the way of being good neighbors when you have face to face interactions and a desire to be part of the whole thing.

I'm with John C. about solitude. The old home with 3 acres of land next to my property came available due to the death of the old gal that lived there for many years. Her family offered me the land at a reasonable cost, markets been low here for a while, as I've plowed her drive on occasions and done a few other small jobs. I bought it as generally property like this draws investors that rent a low prices to, shall we say, less than responsible renters. So I'm now set in my solitude for a good while.

[Jerry Forrester]

Or... For your culdesac....
Charge 'em to get in...or out!

http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemID=7&acctID=2866

I need that for my store and shop. We have a lot more visitors than customers now-a-days. Since people think this is a museum, I feel I would be in the right setting up a toll booth.<G>

[Son O Lark]

I guess it's a good thing I don't have very close neighbors with sensitive noses. Otherwise, just for the sake of mischief...I'd probably launch an intensive research program to discover how my poodle manages to produce those...VENTRILO-FARTS!

It's a horrible smell of mysterious direction...but the poodle will never admit it!

You know it happened...you just can't exactly pin point the source.

Of course, the talent isn't only the domain of poodles. One of the "mysteries of life" is that it is the only secret women have kept for centuries.

I always notice how the dog leaves quickly!!!LOL

[mmagic]

The officer told me that when its time to test those little yellow boxes, the HazMat staff just goes out for a Mexican meal then plays a game of who done it when the box says bingo.