Won't You Be My Neighbor?

My decision to work part-time from home has coincided with my next door neighbor’s decision to renovate the back half of their house. 

I don’t like these neighbors. I have never spoken to them, but because our kitchen and bathroom overlooks their kitchen and back yard, I overhear a lot of their interactions.  I hear them yelling at each other (to the point where we had to call the cops once), and I hear the middle-school-aged son using the f-word with such frequency that it’s hard to decipher the point of anything he is saying.  While I am admittedly nosy (more about that here), these are not the types of conversations that I ever want to overhear.

I am, however, VERY curious about what type of renovation they are doing. Who needs HGTV? I can watch them tear out the back wall while I shower, and frame the new roof while I pretend to wash the dishes.  With the back wall down, I can now see directly into their kitchen, where the exposed drywall that faces west says, “Range here.” I thought they were expanding their kitchen, but now it looks more like they are adding a mudroom and pantry. I watch their daily process, and text my new renovation guesses to my husband (who loves the updates, I’m sure.)

There a few *minor* problems with the construction that don’t come from watching a renovation on television.  For one, the loud noise from the jackhammers, buzz saws, and nail guns keep interrupting my phone calls with clients.  Also, the construction workers can see into my home.  This morning, I sat on the floor for my 11-minute meditation.  When I finished, I prayed for a few minutes. Out loud. Then I looked up and saw a construction worker sitting on the roof less than 40 feet away. He saw me.  Finally, on HGTV, they edit out the butt crack sightings. In real life, the sightings are frequent. And vivid. So, so vivid.