to just want a little bit of privacy and stop feeling like I live in a fish bowl.

[TotallyAndUtterlyPaninied]

We have blinds- those roller, pull down ones. We've not lived here long and the blinds were up, we can't afford venetians or whatever.

So our old man neighbour is really god damn nosey. He keeps staring right into the window. The other day I got up early, opened the blinds and window to let some fresh air in. DS 15m and I started eating breakfast together and we were giggling our heads off at something. Next thing he;s leaning over the wall smiling wildly. I saw someone out of the corner of my eye and jumped a mile. He started shouting in something about us being up early and I half smiled and left it at that.

But it's all the time. He stares in constatly. Now he's said to DH that since we're always working and our front garden is getting to be a mess, he's going to do it for us. I know that's friendly but I can tell it's just because he doesn't want us putting his house to shame IYSWIM.

I cannot step out of my front door without a half hour conversation from him or his wife, and they're really intrusive and always say the wrong thing.

But it is the constantly staring in the window that gets to me. I can't do anything without him peering in or trying to shout in to us. It's nice to be friendly. But a 'hello' and smile would do for me.

Now the other side has decided I'm her 'best friend'. I've spoken to her a couple of times since I moved in but she has said she's got no other friends and so I'm her best friend. She got my number from an RSVP on an invitation to our wedding party (we felt obliged) and now she texts me a million times a day and when she hears our car coming (it's a noisy big exhaust thing) she waits on the doorstep to talk for an hour or two. She's another one who stares in.

I just don't think there's any need to be THAT close to neighbours. It's too close for comfort. I just want to live my life and have a little privacy without then passing comment on 'Oh I saw your DH feeding your DS before and I could see a tattoo on his back, what does it say? I couldn't make it out?' I mean who cares!

[fandango75]

poor you nosey old bonks.

You can get muslin instead of net curtains we have them and they're cheap and look much nicer than net.