I had to laugh as there really wasn’t any other choice. I tried not to run back indoors, figuring I’d look more nonchalant (and jiggle less) if I just strode inside, but trust me, it was plenty embarrassing.
As I was retelling the story in my office it dawned on me that it was a probably a case of payback: Ten years ago when we were doing some landscaping we had a tall palm tree removed from our backyard. It never dawned on me to mention to my lovely next-door neighbor, who lives in the same house that’s getting a new roof this week, that the work was scheduled to take place. She told me later that she was in her second-story master bathroom shower (and I assume au naturel herself), when one of the tree-removal fellows scaled up the palm and was sawing away right next to her unshaded window. Surprise!
Our pool needed filling because its solar heating system sprang a leak. Specifically, it began leaking last Friday night, about 15 minutes before nearly 70 people showed up in our backyard for the La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Assn. Happy Hour.
Gil worked so hard trying to get the yard, patio, pool, garden furniture, well, everything looking decent in advance of this party. We knew we’d fallen a little short of perfection, as we hadn’t fixed the potholes in the driveway (thank every last one of you wonderful people for not falling down as you arrived at — and departed from — our property), and the 10-foot-long hole in the side fence was still, well, gaping. I never did get around to shaping the topiary, but no one mentioned it, so maybe that slid past inspection.
