No. Not the Noel Coward play. The beauty of privacy in your life. In this day and age of technology and social media, we know way more than we should about friends and even strangers. Who cares what the Kardashian’s are up to?? It’s frightening how some people embrace the invasive intrusion into their private lives.

It’s one of the reasons we moved. While we were happy with the place in its location and layout, we felt invaded on a daily basis. Reading or napping on our back patio, as stellar as the view was, usually included a passing neighbour which set off a series of events: Molly jolts from her nap barking, waking or startling me/Rudy, the intruder(s) apologizing or wanting to socialize, having to summon a cordial response when really all you want to say is f-off and keep moving along. But the damage has been done. The spell broken. Our last week there we simply got up and went inside. Blinds closed. View gone.

Being a summer outdoor water destination, our places are ripe pickings for renters. Our neighbours have their unit rented for the month of July. The renters, while pleasant enough, are taking full advantage of their temporary oasis on the water. First of all, there’s a lot of people in the family. Parents, a few grown kids and at least one baby (grandkid) and they all have water toys. Floaties, kayak, dinghy, etc. For ease, they keep them stacked in their backyard area. It’s a townhouse people. There’s no room. When they are lounging they set up a caravan of chairs and umbrellas spilling into the common back lawn. They are loud in a family way. Ugh. Oh. They have a dog. A small whiny dog. Molly is unimpressed.

This weekend my sister and her friends are staying there. Of course they are delighted to be on the water too. I hope they enjoy every minute. It’s a great place to visit.

We will be relaxing quietly on our private deck. Enjoying the view and the tranquility. I’m looking forward to an uninterrupted nap or a thorough reading of the weekend paper. Retirement is permanent vacation. Love it.