| Author |
Message |
    
Pat Scanlan
Citizen
Username: Squarehead
Post Number: 7
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 10:25 pm: | 
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We just moved to SO a few months ago and have noticed our widowed next door neighbor is always peering into our window -- and seems to be always watching my wife. Any ideas? |
MittenReckitt
Citizen
Username: Mittenreckitt
Post Number: 9
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 10:34 pm: |
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The poor woman is probably bored, how much party poker.net can one person play before their eyes wander next door. |
Shanabana
Citizen
Username: Shanabana
Post Number: 364
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 11:01 pm: |
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Get curtains?  |
tripleblack
Citizen
Username: Dacar
Post Number: 174
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 11:12 pm: |
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moon her |
Joanne G
Citizen
Username: Joanne
Post Number: 103
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 11:38 pm: |
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Mitten could be right, or it could simply be the way the layout of the houses fall. My kitchen windown stares directly into my neighbours' living room. I don't want to look inside but I love my garden and we have some incredible birds visiting in the warmer months. So my blind is usually up, the window open and as I work in the kitchen I look outside. Recently they have installed vertical blinds, so I guess they felt as uncomfortable about it as I do even though we've never spoken about it.
Plant screening trees. Get appropriate window dressings, or ask her to - and maybe ask if she is lonely. Maybe she wants to know if she can grab your attention in an emergency... |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 7391
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 5:41 am: |
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Pat:
Is she inside or outside when she does this? Layout of the house could be a factor.
If you haven't already, I would suggest that you invite the neighbor over and give her an opportunity to get to know your family better. She may simply be curious about her new neighbors and too shy to make the first move towards getting to know you herself. |
Hamandeggs
Citizen
Username: Hamandeggs
Post Number: 278
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 6:20 am: |
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Yes, I also live in a house where curtains aren't a frill but a necessity. But I'm also interested in what everyone on the block is doing. My father, who is a police officer, laughs at me for this but also tells me that a nosy neighbor is the police's greatest asset. So that's worth considering, too.
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Pat Scanlan
Citizen
Username: Squarehead
Post Number: 8
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 8:22 am: |
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Hamandeggs...good point. the women should be watching us because, although she will have to watch me work out on my enormous pipes, or do god knows what into a mitten...in the rare instance someone breaks in, we will be safe. |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 7577
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 8:26 am: |
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My old block in Brooklyn had the largest collection of nosy old ladies in the world. Nothing got by them; when a man gave my upstairs neighbor a ride while her husband was at work, he knew about it when he set foot on the block that night!
But, we all left our fire escape windows open without fear.... |
Hamandeggs
Citizen
Username: Hamandeggs
Post Number: 279
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 9:11 am: |
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I think the idea is that a visible, interested neighbor is a deterrent not only to theft but to minor vandalism (kid stuff), as well. I realize that break-ins are rare. A nosy neighbor can also sign for packages and keep an eye on who is coming and going.
There was no need for sarcasm. |
MittenReckitt
Citizen
Username: Mittenreckitt
Post Number: 10
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 9:43 am: |
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Hamandeggs,
You make a lot of good points. Also, perhaps there are some crazy things going on in the house that the neighbor is concerned about - for example spending an inordinate amount of time on MOL, scheming home renovations, flipping houses and pancakes..
And I agree, there was no need for sarcasm. |
catmanjac
Citizen
Username: Catmanjac
Post Number: 182
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 3:41 pm: |
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Get some whips and put on a show for her! |
SO Ref
Citizen
Username: So_refugee
Post Number: 1775
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 3:43 pm: |
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No. Get some whips and invite her over. |
catmanjac
Citizen
Username: Catmanjac
Post Number: 184
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 3:48 pm: |
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Now you're talking! I can remember in college, there were two girls across the courtyard in my dorm, and they would put on a nightly show of (pretending) to whip each other, barely dressed. Entertaining at first, but the redundancy... |
Soda
Supporter
Username: Soda
Post Number: 3888
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 7:33 pm: |
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You and your wife should bring a nice coffee cake next door tomorrow morning. Ring her bell and introduce yourselves, smiling warmly. Ask her if she has time to chat awhile, and apologize for being so tardy in making her acquaintance.
If she's indeed widowed, she might be grateful for a little unexpected company, and you might be doing a very kind thing by paying her a visit. You can ask her to sign for your packages later on down the road...
-s.
And, yes, neighbors do do that sort of thing, even in this day and age. It's called "being neighborly." |
Duncan
Supporter
Username: Duncanrogers
Post Number: 6322
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 9:22 pm: |
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sarcasm from someone with a username "squarehead" somehow fits.
Want to initiate something...wave. It is non confrontational but lets them know you know. Or the coffee cake is a good idea.
Our neighbors left us a dozen bagels and some cream cheese propped up against our front door the morning after we moved in. We lucked out big time on both sides and up and down the street. |
Carla
Citizen
Username: Elbowroom
Post Number: 73
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, May 7, 2006 - 9:39 am: |
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Move to Madison!
or back to Hoboken?
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