Won't You Be My Neighbor... Even Though I'm Stalking You?

In mid-August, the house across the street from us was sold as part of an auction. The original homeowners had passed away, one as recently as this spring, and the family chose to put the house and much of the 60+ years of contents up for the highest bidders.

We were like the rest of our neighbors - interested in who would purchase the place and hoping it wouldn't be one of the local ill-reputed rental home landlords. We wanted neighbors - not residents who might skip out in the middle of the night after beating the life out of the house, leaving it to look like a dump.

The day of the auction, I tried nonchalantly reading a book on the front porch all 'la di dah, I sit out here every morning'. However, after going back inside to get sunglasses, then back inside for a bottle of water, and THEN back inside for a bottle of Gatorade (it was a hot, sunny day and our house faces East) I had sweat running down my scalp and was feeling light-headed, and it was still two hours before the house was up for bid. I retreated to living room and read the book there while keeping an ear on the proceedings outside.

To give some credence to how hot of a day it was, not long after I returned inside an older gentleman at the auction passed out and an ambulance was called to the scene.

Finally, 12 noon rolled around and a short time later there was a round of applause. By the looks of the congratulations being given, I decided a younger guy had won the auction. Binoculars (yes, I would so stoop to that level) revealed that I didn't know the dude...or his wife/girlfriend, who appeared to be pregnant. AND, before you think I was passing judgement on her appearance - I based that assumption on the fact that she sat in a lawn chair in the shade for the better part of the auction, even when the dude was bidding and won, plus, when they got ready to leave he pulled their car up right to the curb near where she sat and gave her a two-handed help-up. Based on my own experiences with pregnancy - particularly with E2 who was born in Sept - I pegged those activities as pg related.

The birth announcement for their baby boy was in the paper last week.

Apparently there's a 30-day wait or something before closing in the case of estate auctions - at least that's what my hair stylist said. Sure enough, it was mid-September when we began noticing quite a bit of action across the street...lots of family/friend help, the presence of a flooring company for a few days in a row - refinishing hardwood, judging by the machinery and noises, and painting, painting, painting.

I KNOW! How stalker-ish do I sound?

In my defense, my excitement over the possibility of real neighbors and the desire to welcome them properly with say, some cookies and a 12-pack of beer has escalated my interest in determining whether they're moving in or not. Also my couch, which is where I spend the kiddies nap time (laundry, paperwork, text-messaging, reading, dozing off) faces the big ole picture window that looks directly on their house. It's like watching a big movie screen.

Despite all my nosiness, I've been trying to brace myself for the rental property outcome and consoling myself with the thought that at least it's not one of the ill-reputed landlords we know...and still hoping for neighbors.

Friday night, I noticed two things. The paint in the front room, the living room I believe, was a pale green. If it was rental property, wouldn't they paint in neutral colors? This is the same thought I had regarding the apparent re-finishing of hardwood flooring, by the way - would the refinish hardwood for a rental? The second thing? A scarecrow lawn ornament.

PERSONALIZATION! It could be argued that it's there for curb appeal, but I'm choosing to look at it as personalizing their home. Not everyone enjoys a scarecrow in the front yard, you know. I promise I'll refrain from picking up that beer or baking those cookies until I see actual moving-in though.