We have these nosey neighbors. Ms. M and Mr. P--no one is sure if they are married or not. No children and different last names. He is an uber professional (high paid executive) and she is not. Last we heard she had re-trained, but still can't find a job. She mostly sits on her back patio drinking wine and reading all day. We call them the Mr. and Mrs. Kravitz after the nosey neighbors from that old TV show "Bewitched."
That came about as a necessity. Our houses are so close together that for the half the year the windows are all open we can literally hear each other breathing. We had to develop a code word so that we could talk about them, but not be overheard. Not that we normally sit around and talk about people. We really don't. They are/she is a special case.
Mrs. Kravitz is the head of the local neighborhood watch. In fact she started it. She organizes the meetings, collects information, and sends out the emails. She even organizes neighborhood clean-up days. Of course they are always on a Sunday, because she wouldn't want to interfere with anyone's precious Saturdays. I guess if there are any other Christians in the neighborhood, besides us, they are also left out of the events too.
About a week after we moved in, when DH's parents were here helping us, and we were all outside working on the deck gate--Mrs. Kravitz came over to introduce herself. She is Dutch so imagine a very heavy accent and a tall woman with bleached blonde curly hair in a caftan. The first thing she asked was if we were renters. We are. She then pointed out all of the other houses that are rentals. That led to the introduction of the neighborhood watch with the obligatory story of the first robbery averted. She came armed with a detailed application for us to join (she hoped we would). After we had accepted it she began to give us the dirt on all of our neighbors. It was quite shocking really! She pointed out all of the people who declined to be "a part of the group"--the troublemakers and the renters. Then came the neighbors who were in the midst of divorce or death or some other personal tragedy.
After she had pestered us a few times we filled out the application and became members of the watch. Then the emails started. We invited the Kravitz's and our other immediate neighbor to our Christmas party. Actually I just wanted DH to invite our other neighbor. But he invited both of them. Imagine my surprise when the Kravitzes showed up. I know that my face must have betrayed my shock. Oh well--they came and were nice, but it was very strange.
A few months ago when we negotiated a long lease on our house (until Oct 2012) the owners (a church denomination) agreed to build us a fence, which will protect our children from the river behind our house and give them a safe yard to play in. They were obliged to ask Mrs. Kravitz about the fence, because if she was in favor she could pay for half of the side along her property and have a say in the type of fence we put up. She was not in favor. Apparently, she had a few choice words to say to the Bishop and the local representative of this church denomination. She hates all of the fences in this area and thinks they harm the environment, not to mention the view. She would not pay for a fence and didn't want a fence, etc.
It was about that time we discovered that her garden boxes are built over on our property and over her boundary onto the council property. We also think her deck is over built, because if we ran the fence along our boundary her deck would be about 3 inches away from it at one point. So, the owners of the house decided we should build the fence well inside of our boundary on her side, knowing that it can be moved at any point in the future.
We haven't made a lot of progress in that area. The materials aren't here yet. All we have done is have some builder friends come and mark the bottom boundary where our fence will go. We have also quit mowing the council property between our boundary and the river. That is what most of the neighbors along this section do. Except the Kravtizes. One of the builders said it is as if they are trying to make it seem as if all of that land is theirs. I think they are probably right.
Last week we found her planting several trees right along the banks of the river (not good for the banks). In fact with all of the hard rains we have had, her trees were almost swept away one day. It was amazing. And it really made me angry. There is nothing I hate more than people who think they need to impose the "rules" on everyone around them, but those same rules don't apply to them. That is Mrs. Kravitz in a nut shell (she hates the renters in the neighborhood, but rents her 1 bedroom basement apartment--at one point there was an Indian family of 8 living there). So, I sent a very short, calm, and controlled email to the city council asking them what the policy is for planting on council property. I didn't sign my name and I used our anonymous (I thought) email address. I expected a response and then, if we chose, we could complain or not at that point.
I never got a response. But yesterday the city council car showed up at the Kravitz's house. They all went outside (the council men and Mrs. Kravitz in her caftan) to look at the trees. She spent most of her time pointing towards our house and our neighbors houses, either complaining about the fences or all of the councils unmowed grass. It was interesting. I felt about 3 inches tall. I was so embarrassed that they showed up. I couldn't believe I had let my aggravation with Mrs. Kravitz get the better of me and now the city council was at her house. It's never a good idea to start a war with a neighbor, not to mention its not scriptural. UGH!
DH just laughed at me and told me not to worry about it. My mother laughed at me too. DH said she may have called them to complain about the grass or the fences. Who knows? Yea, right. So this morning I re-read the email I sent. It was very nice and anonymous, until I realized that the Yahoo email account always send emails with DH's initial and our last name in the from section. Oops. That means if they told her who complained she would think it was DH.
Now, I suppose, if there are any more toys on the deck "scaring" Mrs. Kravitz on a windy/stormy night she will just call the noise patrol. Oh well.
That came about as a necessity. Our houses are so close together that for the half the year the windows are all open we can literally hear each other breathing. We had to develop a code word so that we could talk about them, but not be overheard. Not that we normally sit around and talk about people. We really don't. They are/she is a special case.
Mrs. Kravitz is the head of the local neighborhood watch. In fact she started it. She organizes the meetings, collects information, and sends out the emails. She even organizes neighborhood clean-up days. Of course they are always on a Sunday, because she wouldn't want to interfere with anyone's precious Saturdays. I guess if there are any other Christians in the neighborhood, besides us, they are also left out of the events too.
About a week after we moved in, when DH's parents were here helping us, and we were all outside working on the deck gate--Mrs. Kravitz came over to introduce herself. She is Dutch so imagine a very heavy accent and a tall woman with bleached blonde curly hair in a caftan. The first thing she asked was if we were renters. We are. She then pointed out all of the other houses that are rentals. That led to the introduction of the neighborhood watch with the obligatory story of the first robbery averted. She came armed with a detailed application for us to join (she hoped we would). After we had accepted it she began to give us the dirt on all of our neighbors. It was quite shocking really! She pointed out all of the people who declined to be "a part of the group"--the troublemakers and the renters. Then came the neighbors who were in the midst of divorce or death or some other personal tragedy.
After she had pestered us a few times we filled out the application and became members of the watch. Then the emails started. We invited the Kravitz's and our other immediate neighbor to our Christmas party. Actually I just wanted DH to invite our other neighbor. But he invited both of them. Imagine my surprise when the Kravitzes showed up. I know that my face must have betrayed my shock. Oh well--they came and were nice, but it was very strange.
A few months ago when we negotiated a long lease on our house (until Oct 2012) the owners (a church denomination) agreed to build us a fence, which will protect our children from the river behind our house and give them a safe yard to play in. They were obliged to ask Mrs. Kravitz about the fence, because if she was in favor she could pay for half of the side along her property and have a say in the type of fence we put up. She was not in favor. Apparently, she had a few choice words to say to the Bishop and the local representative of this church denomination. She hates all of the fences in this area and thinks they harm the environment, not to mention the view. She would not pay for a fence and didn't want a fence, etc.
It was about that time we discovered that her garden boxes are built over on our property and over her boundary onto the council property. We also think her deck is over built, because if we ran the fence along our boundary her deck would be about 3 inches away from it at one point. So, the owners of the house decided we should build the fence well inside of our boundary on her side, knowing that it can be moved at any point in the future.
We haven't made a lot of progress in that area. The materials aren't here yet. All we have done is have some builder friends come and mark the bottom boundary where our fence will go. We have also quit mowing the council property between our boundary and the river. That is what most of the neighbors along this section do. Except the Kravtizes. One of the builders said it is as if they are trying to make it seem as if all of that land is theirs. I think they are probably right.
Last week we found her planting several trees right along the banks of the river (not good for the banks). In fact with all of the hard rains we have had, her trees were almost swept away one day. It was amazing. And it really made me angry. There is nothing I hate more than people who think they need to impose the "rules" on everyone around them, but those same rules don't apply to them. That is Mrs. Kravitz in a nut shell (she hates the renters in the neighborhood, but rents her 1 bedroom basement apartment--at one point there was an Indian family of 8 living there). So, I sent a very short, calm, and controlled email to the city council asking them what the policy is for planting on council property. I didn't sign my name and I used our anonymous (I thought) email address. I expected a response and then, if we chose, we could complain or not at that point.
I never got a response. But yesterday the city council car showed up at the Kravitz's house. They all went outside (the council men and Mrs. Kravitz in her caftan) to look at the trees. She spent most of her time pointing towards our house and our neighbors houses, either complaining about the fences or all of the councils unmowed grass. It was interesting. I felt about 3 inches tall. I was so embarrassed that they showed up. I couldn't believe I had let my aggravation with Mrs. Kravitz get the better of me and now the city council was at her house. It's never a good idea to start a war with a neighbor, not to mention its not scriptural. UGH!
DH just laughed at me and told me not to worry about it. My mother laughed at me too. DH said she may have called them to complain about the grass or the fences. Who knows? Yea, right. So this morning I re-read the email I sent. It was very nice and anonymous, until I realized that the Yahoo email account always send emails with DH's initial and our last name in the from section. Oops. That means if they told her who complained she would think it was DH.
Now, I suppose, if there are any more toys on the deck "scaring" Mrs. Kravitz on a windy/stormy night she will just call the noise patrol. Oh well.
lol I hate bad neighbours. Hope this works out ok seeing you now have a long lease on the house.
ReplyDeleteHA HA HA HA!! Let her bellyache all she wants about it. The chickens are coming home to roost.
ReplyDeletePS Buy some windchimes. I myself have several different kinds. :)