Oh goddddddd...

[byslantedlight]

I think I must have done something terrible to someone's house in a previous life, because I seem destined not to have a nice comfortable home of my own... Granted, this one is too small for me, and cold and expensive to heat (cos it has no efficient heaters, just stand-alone electric ones) and there are rats (or summat!) in the roof, but... it was basically sound and I was getting on with it and quite glad not to have to pack up and move again within a year. Plus lovely walk down the long garden, and view over to the hills...

So I thought...

So today I decided to be very good and take my Christmas decorations down early - I usually wait until after twelfth night and take them down on the 6th January, but today being Sunday and all, and tomorrow a work day - I decided to be good. I undressed the tree and got everything put away, and the tree into the car for the tree-recycling place, and hoovered up all the needles (well, lots of them - it's never all, is it...) and paused for lunch. Then I went to move the shelves back into where the tree'd been, from their emergency-space in the bedroom, and had a quick dust... and thought huh, that looks like damp behind the bed... So I moved the bed, and sure enough - damp along the wall. Gaaah! Not lots and not too nasty, but needing dealt with, so I trotted over to Landlord who brought his special mould cleaning stuff and even cleaned it for me, bless him. And okay, this has happened before on the same wall.

And as I did it, I thought well I hope it's not gone further along, but I know I checked behind the bookcases not long ago and they were fine... So I shone a torch behind them, just to be on the safe side - and there's big spodges of damp. Waaaah! Landlord offers to clean it for me tomorrow, but I'd rather do it tonight, so I just ask him to leave me the stuff. So I move all the books off the first bookcase (about six long shelves full), and pile them precariously around the bed, and clean the wall. And the back of the bookcase, which is, of course, also somewhat fluffy with damp mould. And then I shine my light behind the next bookcase, expecting to see perhaps a little bit more of the same, and sure enough there are patches. So I sigh (okay, I swear long and loudly), and start removing books and teetering them up between doorways, and then I move the bookcase out properly, and...

Gaaaaaaah! It would be less scary if it hadn't infiltrated that electricity socket, but... *sighs more* So I moved my books even further away, and here now is my Mount To-Be-Rescued, where my Christmas tree was just this morning...

And I moved the Paper Circuit Library folders that I'd brought inside cos they'd be drier/safer inside than down in the Slaughterhouse, where the ivy is winning, and ow-my-back, and then I realised I didn't really want to sleep in the room with the nasty chemical mould-remover smell, or the Big Bad Damp patches (waiting so the electrician can see what's going on, hopefully tomorrow), so here's my new bedroom...

I'm not convinced that my sofa bed is terribly comfortable, though to be fair I always meant to try it before subjecting guests to it...
Although, with interesting timing, I'm sort-of house-sitting for my friend who's off on another cruise with her lecturing partner (forensics, well-cool, I've been a test-audience for him recently *g*) for the next three weeks, and so if Landlord does find that he needs to take off the entire bedroom wall and re-do it then if he does it in the next three weeks, I at least have somewhere else I can sleep... *sigh*

But did you notice that bit of the sentence? He might have to have the entire back wall of my house taken off and sorted out! And electricity turned off, and general uninhabitable-ness... *sigh* I'd almost be better off putting everything back in storage and moving onto the next thing now - but it's complicated by food-saving-in-process and lovely-landlords, and... you know. Stuff. But here I am again, having to move my stuff out of the bedroom and living in chaos rather than in a real grown-up house.

See what I mean? I've only been here a year! Clearly Not. Meant. To. Have. A Home. Of. My. Own...

And of course what I'd meant to do after taking the tree to the recycling-mulch place, was catch up on all my replies, and ci5hq, and... *sighs* And this is all after a hospital check-up appointment last Thursday (basically fine) and tax due at the end of the month... nothing like starting the new year with a whoo-hoo...

And I still have to be grateful that my house is not (yet) on fire, or surrounded by smoke. My nearest are on the outskirts of Melbourne, and had a slight scare the other day (hmmn, and actually the same area's apparently burning again now, 11 vehicles attending...) but are okay, but my new second-cousin and his new wee family are far too close to some of the north Gippsland fires for my liking... Just erk. Looking at the Cfa/Vic emergency site (and the Rfs site for NSW mates) makes me realise I can live with damp and mould...

And yet again I'm late with replies and catching-up and all, but hopefully tomorrow...

Comments

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I really do! Maybe I was supposed to be nomadic!

I have a feeling I'm going to have to move again before next winter - I'll see if the mould problem comes back, and how well I can deal with the high electricity costs here, but I suspect there are better places to live. I like that it's on the edge of the village though, with distant views... although I suppose I can only see them if I go out into the garden anyway, which is virtually the same as seeing distant views when you're out walking...

But thanks - we'll see what happens! *g* It's nice to see you again too - I'm not even sure where you are in the world these days?! Hope everything's going well for you!

[akin16sk.livejournal.com]

Ah, I wasn't much around these days, as first I was on looong holidays with my mum, then travelled for some competitions and when I finally finally wanted to sit down for a bit, I caught a bad bronchitis and had almost a month fevers. Basically, the first day I felt better, i ran into shops to do some Christmas shopping, ebcause it was already 23rd :))

Over the Christmas I worked the whole time, so it wasn't the most relaxing time ever. I am just now catching up with all the happening on CI5HQ and Pros advent....sigh.... well, what can I say, the usual with me, i am afraid :)))

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Long holidays and travelling sounds good! Bronchitis not so much... What kind of competitions? And are you back home now then (where lj says you are? *g*)

Hope the catching up is fun anyway, and that the world is being generally decent to you!

[akin16sk.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the long holidays were in my beloved Japan again, so it was awesome. Even got to buy a lot of stuff for my favorite anime couple under the lame excuse of wanting to exercise my kanji, so it was pretty good.

As for the competitions, I am in a club of Chinese wushu, meaning I do taiji and our kids do kungfu, so when I get the opportunity, I compete (not very successfully, I might add) and when needed, I do judge (with much bigger success). But mostly, it is just a good opportunity to travel around with friends and have some fun.

Yeah, I cannot complain, my life is quite good. I quite my job the last year and started working only freelance and it was quite liberating. So at the moment, I am still riding my high from that change and I am trying not to complain too much *g*

And yes, I am home, exactly as my LJ says...I even had to check, cos I wasn't sure what is actually written there :))