As it turns out, I simply loathe our neighbors. I realize this is exceedingly rude to say, and that I am undoubtedly demonstrating my own level of bad taste, but there it is. Our neighbors drive me crazy. Shall I indulge you with a long list detailing their many offenses? Or, I shall I press forward? Alright, fine. I suppose a quick glossing over should suffice. But that's it, because it can really get me in a bad mood.
Basically it all boils down to this — privacy. They have, quite literally, turned their backyard into their living room. They are constantly out there; chain smoking and leering into our windows. And to be perfectly frank, I cannot tell you how many times they have seen me in my altogether. And it isn't because I prance about the house in the manner of a nudist all day, thank you very much.
Instead it is little things. For instance, I store my face cream in the refrigerator, as per manufacturer's suggestion, and I sometimes forget to put it in the bathroom before I hop in the shower. Or, after nearly severing my finger a year or so ago, I ran to the kitchen after my shower to take off my wet bandages. Standing there bleeding, I glanced out the window into our backyard and there you go — eyes locked right on me, casually smoking away. At least I wasn't totally starkers, I did have a towel wound round my head. And I suppose all my bandages counted for something. Right?**
I have since resorted to some rather impressive (and by impressive, I mean preposterous) Mission Impossible style moves, simply to walk about in my own house. And I know what you are thinking: 'Put up some blasted curtains already! Good grief!' But I can't keep the drapes closed all day; our house is dark enough as it is.
That being said, over the past week I have made lovely new drapes to go in the kitchen/dining room. (And not a moment too soon. Spring is right around the corner, which means that they will be out in full-force.) It seems the only time I use my sewing machine any more is to make curtains. (See, I told you we had some!) But if your sewing skills have gone a bit rusty, it is the perfect place to start. I actually made curtains for the same windows once already, but they looked absolutely awful (like 1970s pillowcases or something). Besides, I didn't order enough fabric, so I could only make 3 (out of the 4) necessary panels. By the time I got around to looking for more of the same fabric, it was long gone. This was actually a blessing in disguise, because they were really atrocious.
Now we have new lovely curtains(and by lovely, I mean we actually have 4 full panels) in the manner of Auntie Mame. And we have nice rods hanging up — not the tension rods that were impossible to maneuver. As for the fabric, I love it. Before I bought it, I asked my sister her opinion of it. She claimed it gave her a headache. Granted, she had been very sick and on some nasty painkillers at the time. With that in mind, I ignored her remark and went for Michael's instead. He said they were cheery. And I think he's right. They are cheery — and very colorful, to boot. And most important, they give us privacy. Which means I can now run about naked to my heart's content, if I feel so inclined.
If you are a bit leery ordering fabric on-line, I don't blame you. I have personally ended up with some real doozies. However, it does make life easier sometimes. Particularly when you are very happy with what comes in the mail. The site I've just discovered, and which I will definitely be ordering from again, is called Quilt Home. They even sent a lovely handwritten note.
**As a side note, other neighborly offenses/disturbances include (but are certainly not limited to): a visit to the emergency vet shortly after we moved into the neighborhood (costing several hundred dollars, which they did not help to pay). This occurred after they decided to let their lovely dog come over and meet Governor. Also, various requests for random tree/branch removal costing nearly a thousand dollars. In fact, it sounds like they have literally suckered someone else into it, because it is noisy as hell as I sit typing this. (I swear, if they wake Emilia up from her nap... again...)
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