Right now I'm waiting.

We have a small enclosed patio on the backside of our townhouse. We like to imagine that it used to be part of the back lane until all of the townhouse owners decided to make small patios. The walls of the neighboring patios are all the same height as ours so if you are tall, you can see down the lane – or at least see that it used to be a lane.

It appears that only the houses on our side of the lane were able to acquire the back portion because in general the neighbors across the lane have no windows or doors on the ground floor of their building to look into the lane.

The exception is our neighbor. According to our landlord, they wanted to install a window into their house looking out onto our patio. That, of course, is their right. However, it would be at the expense of our privacy. Actually, it would be very unDutch of them to invade our privacy. But as a precaution, our landlord insisted that they install a high frosted window to ensure that neither of us is disturbed.

Needless to say, it has been fine up until now. Today they need to replace the glass in their window to make it more energy efficient. The installers will come sometime in the “middag” which is anytime between 12 noon and 4:30. Which is fine because it’s not like they are installing a sliding glass door or even a giant picture window.

Except that the only access to their window for installation is though our patio. Which is also through our house. Which also means that I have to be home. Which is why I’m waiting. Sigh.