Pics by Peep

Have you ever sat gazing out at the world, oblivious to anything else going on around you, never realising someone might be looking back at you? That your very private life might be of interest to the person across the street or just passing by? I’m not talking stalkers here (although that is a very real and frightening prospect for too many people). I mean the casual observer who is only curious about something – or someone – that catches their eye.

I admit to keeping an eye on the lady who lives across from me. She does laundry. A LOT of laundry. And she hangs it on clothes horses on her balcony to dry. I admit it has become something of an obsession with me; is it towels today? Pajamas? The myriad of house dresses she wears in summer or the pant suits she wears in winter? And I am perplexed by the plastic grocery bags she washes and hangs out about once a week. (In case you’re wondering, they seem to take much longer than clothes to dry and it’s best to double-peg them so the crows and magpies don’t steal them from the line!)

This is not a prurient interest. Nor is it meddlesome or intrusive. I don’t sit on my balcony staring and taking an inventory of her wardrobe. I just take a peek out the kitchen window as I’m washing dishes or filling the tea kettle to see what she has washed today. And I’ve come to the realisation that she either doesn’t wear underwear or she dries it inside.

Too much information? Well, I come by my name honestly. Peep just sounded better than Nosy 😉