Noise!

I think anytime you move to a new place there are new sounds that you have to get used to. In Ferndale, it was the darn train, which I never really got used to. Here there are so many more sounds that it is almost impossible to get a good night's sleep.

First, there is the cars. Now, we are pretty fortunate. Our home is at the end of a street in a cul-de-sac, but still there are many cars that drive by at all times of the night. I might also mention that our bedroom sits facing over the street. Okay, so big deal, everyone has cars that drive past their house. The other problem with the cars is that people here feel the need to honk their horns incessantly, at all hours of the night, but mostly at five in the morning. Not to mention that, of course, they can't park their cars without making sure that it is locked by clicking the remote two or three times!

Second, for some unknown reason, there is a rooster that lives in our neighborhood. I understand that back in the day, when there was no such thing as alarm clocks, that roosters were invaluable to farmers to wake them up to get their day going, but in a suburban neighborhood, really? This loud and cheery rooster likes to start crowing at around five in the morning, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't also like to crow in the middle of the night or even day. Quite a confused rooster and it may not live too much longer considering this is one of my number one sleep robber.

Third, the dogs. EVERYONE in our neighborhood has AT LEAST one dog. Now, again, in the burbs in America, the dogs usually go inside at night to sleep in their beds (like our new dog, Dulce), but not here. The dogs here are always outside and ALWAYS barking. Next door, the dog barks so much, all the time, that we have named it "Barky". No one ever tells the dog to be quiet or brings it inside and I have NO idea how this dog hasn't gone hoarse. I guess years of practice. To paint a little more of a picture, let me tell you about who lives behind our house. There are three sheepdogs, who love to howl, and four golden retrievers live next to them. When one dog in the neighborhood decides to start barking, they all bark, and heaven help us when a stray walks by! We are hoping to keep Dulce as a non-barker and so far so good!

Fourth, the noises in the house. Now I know that every house creaks and makes some noises, but like I have said earlier, this house does not have a furnace. Instead, it has a lot of radiators and little, built-in electric heaters throughout the house. These radiators love to make these loud clicking sounds. I don't notice them during the day, probably because I am not sleeping, but during the quiet night, these conduit radiators release an extremely excessive clicking sound. We have been able to hide this noise a little by placing a blanket over the source. These radiatos click and knock whether they are turned on or not.

Lastly, would be the parties. The Mexicans know how to throw a party! There are quite a few weekends where someone in the neighborhood is throwing some bash. There is always a DJ and they play until at least 2 in the morning. Last weekend, Dave and I both incorporated the songs into our dreams and when he went to put the puppy out at three, it was still going strong, just without the DJ.

I know that every neighborhood has these issues, maybe not all of them, but definitely some of them, but I am looking forward to my quiet, Ferndale neighborhood with just the train!