Frustration
If there was a day I hated our flat, if there was a day I was fed up and just ready to throw in the towel, well, I think it would be today.
Today, we discovered there is mold growing on one of our bedroom walls. We presume this is from when our back room flooded due to the neighbor's boiler exploding (repeatedly). It just so happens that the wall it is growing on is behind cupboards - which is why it took us so long to find. I kept smelling it and thought I just had to keep the windows open and the fan on and everything would air out and be fine. Drr. Summer shoes? Molded. Every last pair. Every last pair!
And this might explain headaches and exhaustion despite increased sleeping (for both of us).
On top of this, we live upstairs from a nasty bulldog we have to bribe with treats in order to get past and I just discovered our neighbor has been helping herself to our calla lilies. I want to scream. I want to go on vacation and have it all gone when I return. I want to change my name and move to Australia.
On the other hand, we spent a beautiful morning with Melanie (and others) for her birthday, got our hair cut, and have just two weeks until pilgrimage. Life is gorgeous...sort of.
Comments
Hmmm. I remember advising you to pee on your steps. Now that I think about it, though, you could try using either watered down ammonia or watered down bleach to keep that ugly dog away from your steps. I hope that all goes well.
I love you guys.
Posted by: Mendon | April 8, 2006 9:08 PM
I hope you can get rid of the mold reliably. I also think you should get out shopping to replace your shoes. I am happy for you to be with Melanie, one of our favorite "adopted" daughters.
There is also a definite desire to do Pilgrimmage. Any time now would be just fine. As a visitor to Haifa a year ago, I very much got to enjoy the local falvor of the city as well as the Holy Places and gardens and buildings.
Posted by: papa | April 8, 2006 10:00 PM
Well, I did use bleach on the moldy walls. And my dear sweetheart husband spoke to the neighbor, again, but more in depth this time, about their little monster.
Posted by: Mara | April 9, 2006 9:38 AM
mendon, unless they drank copious amounts of steriods and, like, ate lots of strong-smelling mints or something, the dog would probably be incited to more territorialism than be placated with fear on smelling either mara or mark's pee.
we're pretty mal-adapted animals, and i don't think our scent works.
and mara, honey, i'm so sorry about your mouldy shoes. are they competely unredemptive? you could scrub them out and then (panty)hose them down? and living in mould is very absolutely unhealthy. have you removed it completely or just superficially? what's going to happen with your room?
in other news, i'm glad i got to know chef while he was still (relativeLy, for him) cuddly and wanting to be petted. i.e. pre-currently-psychopathic-blind-disproportionately-sized-head stage. and here's to his inability to hang out at your doorstep any more, considering.
love from leila
Posted by: leila | April 9, 2006 10:18 AM
you need to write your shoe size so we can send you some summer shoes. i never had much luck in that dept when i was there! :)
Posted by: Manijeh | April 9, 2006 2:57 PM
Well, well, well, you're absolutely right, Manijeh! I won't pass up that! My shoe size is 10 (42). :-)
Posted by: Mara | April 9, 2006 4:13 PM
Oh, and Leila, some are and some aren't. Several pairs have moldy insoles. In my Naots, in which one can remove the insole, it should be okay - others just had to be pitched. Some are fabric - if I scrub them with bleach, well there goes my lovely BLACK braided sandal (unless I want orange sandals. . .)
Did I get rid of the mold with the bleach? No. By no means. We're currently 'camping' in the living room. Oh so fun! (only a little bit of sarcasm there, heheheh)
Posted by: Mara | April 9, 2006 4:16 PM
Hey Mara,
Can't you ask Works to come in and do something about the mold? You might ask Kami about it, because I think they might have had mold issues when they lived in your building...but, uh, that might have been why they moved! I'm not sure though... :)
I shall say, though, that no flat is perfect. We actually used to find ticks on the walls pretty often, which is way gross.
Love,
Amelia
Posted by: Amelia McGee | April 9, 2006 10:03 PM
Yeah - there's a slew of folks who will be receiving an email - with photos - today.
Kami & Ramtim moved because of burst pipes - I don't know whether it was the pipes or ensuing mold (which is exactly how it happened with us), so yeah, we'll see. We went and checked out a flat that'll become available next week, too, so we can suggest a flat since Mark needs to stay within walking distance for his job.
Posted by: Mara | April 10, 2006 9:17 AM
Hey! When I said it as a joke I got chided...so I will refrain from saying it to you even though I want to out of spite...even though I know the person who siad it was just wuoting the end of the book. Let's ALL go to Australia!
Posted by: Rae | April 14, 2006 3:53 AM