Evil Oddie

A couple of things have happened regarding insurance.  We have finally received some money for the rental house.  It isnt even a third of what we’ve spent, but it’s still something - YAY!!

The other thing about insurance is that during the big storms in the Brisbane area, we were unlucky enough to receive damage to our house.  It’s really got me thinking if we’ve done something evil and this is Karma kicking our butts.  In no way is our house one of the badly damaged houses that’s had the roof blown off or the house has been blown away.   We have what is known as a flat roof with box gutters.  So when Mother Nature unleashed it’s fury, the roof and gutters couldn’t cope with the amount of water.  We were left with a swimming pool in our kitchen.  It flowed down the walls, in all the cabinets, and onto the floor.  Once there was enough water, it started leaking through the kitchen floor and through to the Office which is directly under the kitchen.  The office smelt for quite a while.

So at the moment, I’m really enjoying cooking all of our meals on our camping stove!  

On Sunday, Glen decided that we needed to clean out the gutters. He asked if I could drive the ride on mower with the trailer attached, so that he could drop the leaves and gunk straight into the trailer. Glen knows that I am not good with heights, so he didn’t even bother asking if I wanted to get on the roof.

I haven’t driven the ride on mower much, but after a quick lesson, I was right to go. When Glen got onto the roof, he discovered that we only have one gutter. We have a flat roof and it slopes to the back of the house. Seeing that there has been a verandah attached after the house was built, Glen couldn’t dump the leaves straight into the trailer. So I parked on the side of the house and Glen did trips with the leaves. I was collecting stray leaves and gunk that missed the trailer when Kaos (my cat - approx 7 years old) came and visited.

After a few pats and smooges, Kaos had had enough. She walked down towards the back when something caught her eye. She turned when she got about 2 metres away from me and started stalking something to her left. I was scared it was going to be a blue tongue lizard, so I threw a bit of gunk from the gutter at her. It didn’t interrupt her concentration. I was watching her to see what she was chasing.

She pounced at the garden bed and out slithered a SNAKE!!!! I was back on the ride on. It was the quickest I’d moved all day (it was really hot in the sun too). The only other snake that I have seen while we have been in this house was a DEAD green tree snake. Well, this one was a brown snake. It was probably the same size as a 10 cent piece in diameter. I was peaking. I was scared that Kaos was going to get bitten and there was no way I was going anywhere near the snake. I grew up on a farm and I have had too many run ins with snakes. I do not like them at all!!

I yelled out to Glen to tell him about the snake. Glen wasn’t too worried, the cat is a hunter and she is very quick. I was considering actually getting on the roof to get away from the snake.

The snake rared up a couple of times and Kaos just swatted it away. It wasn’t too long before kitty had killed the snake.

Now I have a whacking stick that I take with me when I walk out the back…

Last Sunday I decided I was going to put up the Christmas Tree. I cleared a spot in the Lounge Room and went into the garage and fished out all the Christmas Stuff.

I got out the tree and remember that its not a very big and it was really cheap. Meh, its still a Christmas Tree. I love Christmas!

I got the tree up after much struggling and slamming my head into our DVD tower. I put the tinsel on and most of the baubles.

Then I remember that it was my nephew, Corey’s, birthday. So I downed tools and called him to wish him a Happy Birthday. I had sent up his present, long cargo pants, during the week. He said he liked them, but I think he’s just a polite 17 year old. Honestly, I’m probably really biased, but Corey is just a fantastic young adult. And he’s a spunk too!

My sister, Sally, got on the phone after Corey. She asked me what I was up to and I told her I was putting up the Christmas Tree. She told me that it’s apparently bad luck to put up the Christmas Tree before 1 December. Doh.

So I haven’t finished putting the tree up… hopefully I’ve bent the back luck rules!

Sandy who has been our cleaner for approximately 3 years, has had a few personal issues and decided that she was going to give up work. So for the last month and a half, I have been trying to source another “good” cleaner.

The reason that we initially got a cleaner is because I was getting lumbered with pretty much all the household chores. There’s nothing more annoying than when you’re working your butt off cleaning and your other half sitting on their butt and they think the house is clean because of some wonderful fairies. So after several heated discussions, we got a cleaner. The cleaner doesn’t do everything, just the stuff that I don’t really like doing (ironing) and stuff that I don’t have time for.

I suppose I am used to the way that Sandy used to get things done and the time she needed. Let me tell you that there is a shortage of cleaners. Actually finding a place that has available cleaners is rare. Seeing that we want a cleaner to come in every week, it’s been hard to find someone.

The first couple of times that a cleaner comes to your home, they are a bit slow. They’re learning where all your cleaning products are and how easy / hard things are to clean. So Sandy used to get everything done in 3 - 3.5 hours. The first replacement cleaner took 4 hours to do: clean the main bathroom (clean shower screen, wipe out the spa bath, wipe down the vanity, clean mirrors, vacuum & mop), clean the kitchen (wipe benches, hotplate, outside of fridge, sink & vacuum & mop), clean the toilets, vacuum & mop the rest of the house.

Sandy in 3 - 3.5 hours could do all of the above plus: wash up & put away any dishes, all my ironing, take the rubbish out, clean the other bathrooms (another 2 ensuites), clean and wipe down in the laundry, vacuum the lounge suite and dusting.

We had tried out another cleaner this week. They went pretty well for their first clean. They pretty much did everything that Sandy could. However, the person that came this week is the area coordinator, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens when we get allocated another cleaner.

Glen’s eldest sister just called to check everything is still okay for her and some of the family to stay with us. They are arriving on Thursday and are staying with us for a week. I quite like Jan (Glen’s eldest sister), so I am really looking forward to catching up. Unfortunately, I don’t have any leave owing so I won’t be taking any leave. The good news is that Brisbane Show Holiday is Wednesday, so I get to spend their last day with them.

We have a 5 bedroom house and it’s going to be packed with people. Jan, her husband, her daughter, her granddaughter & Glen’s parents are also staying with us. I have a feeling that I’m not really going to have much time to myself. It’s also totally different when it isn’t your family. I feel as though I need to be extra ‘nice’. I probably don’t have to because they probably know I’m a wench most of the time, but I guess I want them to like me. It doesn’t help that we have been brought up differently. For example, when I go home to my parents, if I want to eat anything in the fridge, I have to ask first. When Glen goes to his parents home, he just opens the fridge and starts eating. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I still ask if I want anything from anyone.

It’s always nice to have visitors, but I also like it when I have the ability to do nudey runs from the bathroom to my bedroom.

I just went and had a style cut at Just Cuts at Springfield Orion. I had a shopper docket from Big W, so the actual cut only cost $18. Normally a cut costs $22. Bargain. I can’t believe how fantastic the cut actually is. I have had my hair cut at Jon Le Court for $62 and it was a dodge job. Very Happy With JUST CUTS!!!!

Also some advice that has differing opinions. Hair colours that you buy from the chemist & supermarkets actually do harm to your hair. I have had several hairdressers tell me this. After discussions with my new found friend at Just Cuts, the colours that you can buy are very strong and can do damage. She advised me to go to Price Attack and have a chat with them as they sell salon quality hair colours. I’ll be going there tomorrow to finish off the new do!

The other funny thing is that I live 2 doors down from the parents of the hairdresser. She told me that she can remember my house being built and she used to baby sit the builder’s kids. Our house was built maybe 25 years ago and we are the 3rd owners. She asked me what we have done to the house and what our plans are etc. Her and her husband looked at buying it when is was on the market last year. She said she’ll tell her Mum that she met me and expects her Mum will come down and introduce herself. How very small is the world?