Everybody needs good neighbours . . .

Damn it! I hate getting new neighbours! Just when I am comfortable with the old ones, they seem to leave and we get new ones moving in.

Previously our next-door neighbour was a retired lady in her 70's who took fabulous care of her garden, was home most of the time, had a big dog, was NICE, and never made any noise. When we went away, she would offer to feed our cats. She was the Perfect Neighbour.

Unfortunately, being alone and in her 70's meant that her house and garden was becoming too much work. She sold her house and moved out. On the weekend, our new neighbours moved in.

I'm scared.

They are a young couple in their early 20's. It is the first home that they have bought. They moved themselves in on Sunday, carting heavy furniture right up until 9pm that night.

They were very loud while carrying the furniture. It was educational. I learnt some new words. Yes, I know it sounds precious. But I have had BAD neighbour experiences before.

Like the two young females who lived above us when we were living in an apartment. They would smoke pot well into the night while playing dreadful music, and our deck would be covered in the ash and beer drippings. One morning we found a lacy black teddy had been thrown over their deck onto ours. I did the neighbourly thing and hung it on their front door.

I'm still hopeful about our new neighbours. If they are a young couple and have bought the house, they are probably both going to be working while paying off their super-sized mortgage. (We can truly sympathise with them there.) They will probably both be working. Which hopefully means sensible bed-times and no mid-week parties. Yes, I'm precious.

We might even share the same cranky disdain for the children who live in the house over the back of both of our yards. These children like to wait until 9pm at night when it is VERY hot and we are lying in bed dying while trying to sleep in the heat. Then, they all run SCREAMING to their backyard pool and jump in and out for at least an hour, while screaming and saying things like, "Wow, it's so hot! This pool is great! Why is the crazy cat lady over the back waving a broomstick at us and screaming?"

Yes, there is hope yet. And if I don't know anything about them by next week, I'm sure I can ask our neighbour from across the road, who fancies herself as an amateur spy/private investigator/CIA operative and watches every move of every resident on the street. I love my neighbours.