Bev won’t be hanging clothes today. We’ve got a light dusting of snow out there and it’s pretty cold, too. It was in the low 30s when we went out to the grocery store yesterday to dump the electric bill in their dropbox. When we left, her curtains were open, but they were closed when we returned.

Haven’t seen Romeo in a while. Maybe they broke up, though I doubt that. The animals weren’t over yesterday either, which Tom was pretty sure was due to the Super Bowl being on.

Not surprisingly, mom and daughter had company for the occasion, since they just can’t seem to go anywhere. They even shocked me by gabbing out back for a few minutes during half-time. I was like, in this cold? You gotta be kidding! I did hear some chick go, “It’s cold out here!” and then all went silent. They only go back and forth once or twice around lunchtime, but in the evenings, it’s back and forth and back and forth. I’m so glad we only have 83 days left here, though I’m also worried that that’s not enough time to gather up enough money to move with. I’m so fucking sick of being stuck in places I don’t want to be! What is it with me being stuck living so close to others? Is something telling me to stay here and that it wants me to live like this? It sure makes me think that’s the case. Why can’t we just have a house where we don’t have to know what’s going on with our neighbors and stay there for 20 years? Is that really too big of a request? Why can’t we have neighbors who work and who go elsewhere every now and then for holidays and other events? I know whatever house we end up in, there’ll be someone home all the time, lots of little kids, and of course dogs. We may’ve only had two houses, but that’s all we’ve ever gotten so far large, rowdy families with barking dogs.

Anyway, what bothers me about these neighbors here being outside isn’t so much that they’re noisy (yet), but that they steal my sense of privacy. It’s like having someone hanging out on your doorstep. They’re literally right there and it annoys me. It feels intrusive having someone just outside your place.

I just heard a few thumps coming from Beverly’s utility area when I went out to fix some tea, and the doors on the other side slammed a couple of times when I got back in my room. That should pretty much be it until lunchtime, then the evening.

I’m surprised Bev’s gone this long without the animals and the bass, but if she’s like most people, she’ll return to the bass at some point. After a while, people either think you forgot or you just don’t care anymore or they stop caring whether or not you care. While Bev’s no lazy freeloader who couldn't care less about anyone other than themselves, because she’s honored my request, I’d say she wants to stick around a while longer. It’s those who are on their way out that tend to care less if they make waves with those around them. I definitely don’t want any of these neighbors to move, knowing they could be replaced with screaming kids and barking dogs. I already feel bad for Bev as it is, knowing she’s in for a 90% chance of getting that when we leave, along with loud music. Or bassy music, I should say. Bev’s music was never loud in volume, just in the bass.