When I moved here, their house had been converted to two living quarters with an extension on back, a couple occupied the bottom half and their father occupied the top. As tiny as its footprint is, even with the extension, very small living quarters for a family. When this young couple bought the house, the upper half was occupied by a brother. He played drums I recall and the relationship was such that when it got too much, I could call up to him to shut up with no rancor. When he left, it was rented to a single middle aged woman who was almost invisible for the years she lived there.

A year ago she came to our door and asked if we knew anyone renting a place, they had asked her to move. They now had two children and needed more room. They rented a pod, the house was empty for six months and completely renovated inside to a single dwelling and they moved back in last Spring. She showed me around and what a beautiful difference. Money was tight and she said next year we'll do the outside. I thought to myself "Halleluiah".

Although I can appreciate the desire for light, not one window has a covering so the illusion of privacy that I used to have when outside is lost because an upper room overlooks the fencing. I haven't looked since I'm home but their upstairs bedroom window which faces the front was covered with a blanket. That may now have been remedied.

The first run-in last summer was her son's tennis balls. Every day there would be at least a dozen of them in my backyard. They had set up a batting setup in the backyard and the boy and his friends would be out there at least part of the day. I finally got tired of having balls hitting the fence or flying over it and complained. I got a "what are they to do" response and didn't make more of it. The boy was polite and came to the door to ask if he could retrieve them and we'd say go ahead and he'd open the gate and get them. Then he started having one of his friends accompany him and I happened to catch the friend fiddling with one of the standing lights under the trees so I had to admonish him that he was to come in alone.

I hate to be a cranky old lady but I feel like my space is being invaded. I hadn't been out front at night since I'm home but I walked my daughters to their cars and the latest eyesore hit me. They have a little entrance deck that badly needs to be repaired or replaced. (Here's where cranky old lady comes in again.) The deck railings and spindles of it were wrapped in lighting wire. Overdone, but I don't have a problem with landscape lighting..however it wasn't the festive white ones you might see wrapped around a tree or overhead, they were bright orange and garish. When I let Maggie out or go outside myself, I heard a new dog barking and I inquired if they now have a dog. Turns out they not only now have one dog but two. The other nite I went outside at midnight as I often do during the warm weather and was greeted by a barking dog. Hope they get used to being woken up at a late hour or the dog gets used to me because I'm not changing my habits. Rant over.