What irritates you, Monday
"What irritates you Monday" is a meme thought up by Delores from The Feathered Nest.
Here, on a Monday, we get a chance to vent our little, or not so little, things that irritate us.
Today, my irritation is....
my neighbour.
She's a nice old lady, not too much older than me, a bit vague, likes to chat, but repeats herself a lot.
And she is diabetic, so when people give her gifts that she can't eat, like biscuits or chocolate, she gives them to me.
Nice.
The irritating part?
She is a little......intrusive.
When she thinks of something to tell me, something she thinks I need to know, she pops over and stands at the door singing out "are you there E...? it's just P..."
Day or night, makes no difference. Last week at 9.30pm, she knocked on my door to give me something she thought I'd need.
(she was right, it was a new bus timetable and I had no idea the schedule was changing).
She's been at my back porch gate as early as 7am....I swear that woman doesn't sleep.
If my doors are open or the lights are on, she'll pop over.
Not 24 hours a day of course and not even every day, I'll go weeks sometimes just nodding hello and that'll be that,
but here's the thing.....it's uncanny.....always when I am almost asleep having a nap, or just sitting down to eat.
Meal, snack, bowl of icecream....."are you there?"
So I chat as my icecream melts.
I speak to her through the screen door which I keep locked, as my porch is very accessible from the street, and I'm a safety girl.
I rarely invite her in.
In the beginning, when she'd knock on my door, she would also try the handle, to find it locked.
Turns out that was a good thing I did, because she has now got friendly with a newer neighbour and just walks on in.
Walks. On. In.
Pulls open the screen door and says "it's just me..."
This horrifies me, so my door stays locked and so does the back porch gate.
The other neighbour leaves the door propped open ever so slightly so her cat can come and go.
Here, on a Monday, we get a chance to vent our little, or not so little, things that irritate us.
Today, my irritation is....
my neighbour.
She's a nice old lady, not too much older than me, a bit vague, likes to chat, but repeats herself a lot.
And she is diabetic, so when people give her gifts that she can't eat, like biscuits or chocolate, she gives them to me.
Nice.
The irritating part?
She is a little......intrusive.
When she thinks of something to tell me, something she thinks I need to know, she pops over and stands at the door singing out "are you there E...? it's just P..."
Day or night, makes no difference. Last week at 9.30pm, she knocked on my door to give me something she thought I'd need.
(she was right, it was a new bus timetable and I had no idea the schedule was changing).
She's been at my back porch gate as early as 7am....I swear that woman doesn't sleep.
If my doors are open or the lights are on, she'll pop over.
Not 24 hours a day of course and not even every day, I'll go weeks sometimes just nodding hello and that'll be that,
but here's the thing.....it's uncanny.....always when I am almost asleep having a nap, or just sitting down to eat.
Meal, snack, bowl of icecream....."are you there?"
So I chat as my icecream melts.
I speak to her through the screen door which I keep locked, as my porch is very accessible from the street, and I'm a safety girl.
I rarely invite her in.
In the beginning, when she'd knock on my door, she would also try the handle, to find it locked.
Turns out that was a good thing I did, because she has now got friendly with a newer neighbour and just walks on in.
Walks. On. In.
Pulls open the screen door and says "it's just me..."
This horrifies me, so my door stays locked and so does the back porch gate.
The other neighbour leaves the door propped open ever so slightly so her cat can come and go.
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The last thing you want is sometone who just "walks on in". I wouldn't like that either.
ReplyDeleteThat would annoy me to no end. You'll just have to set boundaries with her.
ReplyDeleteI set boundaries with a neighbor years ago and she never spoke to me again. But I think I came out the winner. Haha
How tough for you. I wonder if you can make her understand; she sounds a trifle balmy.
ReplyDeleteShe is just lonely.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt lonely, but you have to maintain the relationship so that it works for you and you don't feel trapped and become angry with her.
ReplyDeleteWe have a neighbour like that but he is a borrower just pops over for a egg a couple of slices of bread and often borrows ciggs off the beer fairy, I say if you can't afford to buy them you shouldn't smoke but I'm a reformed smoker of 20years so I believe no one should smoke but this guy mows our front lawn so a bit of give and take is ok.
ReplyDeleteMerle......
We have a neighbour of many years that I found out early on knows the business of everyone in nearby streets. Decided not to encourage her at that time and am so glad I did. Our two hubbies often chat at our gate which is nice though and keeps us up-to-date with what is going on around us.
ReplyDeleteI am irritated today with me. I am totally fed up with my back hurting every time I do some menial task, i.e. putting the clothes into the washing machine. Physio this afternoon and fingers crossed she can ease up some of those pesky muscles for me.
Delores; the just walking in is the worst part. If I allowed that, I could be in real danger one day with my front door being so accessible from the street. Any body, friend or foe, could waltz on in.
ReplyDeleteManzanita; boundaries have been set, mostly, sort of, she knows I won't invite her in every time she knocks. I might let her know that I won't be answering my door after dark in the winter. She comes across the lawn which has a slope and I'm worried she will slip and fall if it is wet.
Joanne Noragon; she really isn't too bad, just a bit vague. She means well, she's the type who likes to chat and know everything about everybody. A bit like my mum, who wasn't vague at all, sharp as a tack my mum was.
mm; probably a bit lonely, she does go out to visit her friend in the next block and the friend, Molly, comes to visit her too. Both of them have part time volunteer work with the RSPCA. They collect refundable cans and bottles, which the RSPCA cashes in and the money goes towards pet care in the shelters.
Andrew; the friendship is fine, I'll look out for her in the hopes that she will look out for me should I need it. I cared for her budgie when she was in hospital recently. People in this complex do all seem to be friendly and look out for one another. I'm not used to that, but I'm beginning to like it. Her uncanny habit of knocking just when I'm ready to eat is the most annoying thing.
Merlesworld; borrowers can be very annoying if they are constantly over and never repaying anything. I lived next door to a family of four kids once and the three youngest would pop over to play with my baby several times a week just as I was feeding her breakfast. "We're hungry...we like" (whatever I was feeding T). I'd send them home to ask their mum to cook something.
I had an old neighbour who was the same. I got tired of him and tried to avoid him. After a while, I thought he got the message and stopped bugging me and I forgot about him. Over the weekend, I found out he had died. I burst into tears for ages because of my guilt and shame. Why was I so heartless not to show a bit of kindness and understanding. Never again, I tell myself, to shut another person put.
ReplyDeletemm; that's really sad. Firstly that he died, secondly that you feel guilty. Although I agree it would be hard not to. I always feel sad when I read in the paper about someone who died and no one knew until the body was discovered weeks or days later. It must be awful to be so alone. I know that if I don't see my neighbour for a few days I'll be checking in case she is ill again.
ReplyDeleteShe's lonely.
ReplyDeleteAnd has no boundaries.
Sometimes the door HAS to be locked.
Pearl
Pearl; my screen door has to always be locked, it's too easily accessed from the street. I can see people coming up the drive from my kitchen, but if I'm in another room I wouldn't know until "anybody" walked in. The main door is open, but the security screen is doing its job all day and night.
ReplyDeletesounds like neighbour needs a cat flap and a new lock. Isn't it weird how some people think it's okay to just walk on in...my ex inlaws used to do it till I had a word in my partners ear and told them if they didn't tell their folks to knock and wait, one day they'd find me walking in the nip around the place...on purpose...*le sigh*, but on the good side...there is a good side...if anything was ever to happen to you, while alone, the nosey neighbour would be able to find you, but in my case it would be the one time they didn't call...lol.
ReplyDeleteThe Wicked Writer; all of the screen doors in the complex are security doors, I don't think you could put a cat flap in one without compromising the security. Then again cat neighbour isn't very secure leaving the door propped open anyway.
ReplyDelete