The German House Part 2
We’ve been in the house for over a month now and things are settling down. Derek is very much in charge of the kitchen, loves cooking and is gradually building our capability with the addition of sauces, herbs and spices and the odd frying pan – we now have three, all different sizes.
For my part I’ve found Lea and Perrins sauce and Marmite in a local store aptly named Western Canned Foods. I’ve also cooked all the recipes I can remember without a book, so Delia on line will be getting a few visits soon.
The maid is gradually getting the hang of having three men around instead of one, though Mike’s bedroom and bathroom still seem to get better service than Derek’s or mine. She buys for us but that is a bit hit and miss. Last time I gave her a list she substituted cauliflower with green beans and a bell pepper with a birds eye chilli, still we managed to make something edible out of it.
There were a number of problems when we arrived and I’m pleased to be able to report most of them have been fixed. One of the last was Derek’s bathroom door which had swollen and would not close – this was resolved when we saw a carpenter going next door and the maid dragged him in and set him to work here instead. We’ve even been given cable tv which was a bonus and finally got our broadband connection when the landlady understood we were not expecting her to pay for it.
One disappointment though is my bathroom – no hot water. They could fix Derek’s by adjusting the thermostat on the water heater, but when they built the house they didn’t install hot water in the top bathroom. Which explains why I don’t get any. All taps are connected to the cold water supply.
We share the house with, in decreasing order of size, Geckos, cockroaches, mosquitoes and Ants. The latter appear in their hundreds if the smallest morsel of food is left on the kitchen side. We don’t know where they come from or go to but when they are around they are in force. We’ve given up any attempts at control. We eat them as a garnish and wipe them up like spilt tea on the tiled work surfaces. Our food scraps go in a small bin in the corner and this is ant central, though again it’s impossible to see where they are coming from. They get into any plastic bags of food, so most stuff stays in the fridge and bagged goods are decanted into plastic containers – another growth industry for us.
Geckos, small lizards which proclaim their territory by laughing like something out of the film Gremlins, are to be encouraged – despite their tendency to get territorial in the early hours of the morning. They eat all insects including mosquitoes. I share my room with at least three and we had one in the sink for nearly a whole day, it was sitting very still assuming that if it didn’t move then we couldn’t see it. He was one of the biggest – about 2 inches long.
We decided to adopt a policy of mutual disregard with the cockroaches. We don’t bother them and they don’t bother us. The mosquitoes are another matter. There is an ornamental water feature in the yard which fills up in the rain and quickly becomes a breeding ground. Then they come into the kitchen at sunset and feast. I picked up 20 bites last week so open warfare has been declared. The water feature is drained on a regular basis, coils burn in the kitchen and jumbo size insect sprays have been purchased. The mosquitoes still seem to be winning though.
I didn’t mention the jumping spiders either. They look like miniscule tarantulas and when you get too close they jump covering enormous distances for their size.
We haven’t had a housewarming yet, but plan to do so in August, but everyone who has been here is well impressed with the place, the space the facilities and the location. I’m just hoping I do get another placement sorted out, Derek and Mike can’t afford a place like this without my contribution!
For my part I’ve found Lea and Perrins sauce and Marmite in a local store aptly named Western Canned Foods. I’ve also cooked all the recipes I can remember without a book, so Delia on line will be getting a few visits soon.
The maid is gradually getting the hang of having three men around instead of one, though Mike’s bedroom and bathroom still seem to get better service than Derek’s or mine. She buys for us but that is a bit hit and miss. Last time I gave her a list she substituted cauliflower with green beans and a bell pepper with a birds eye chilli, still we managed to make something edible out of it.
There were a number of problems when we arrived and I’m pleased to be able to report most of them have been fixed. One of the last was Derek’s bathroom door which had swollen and would not close – this was resolved when we saw a carpenter going next door and the maid dragged him in and set him to work here instead. We’ve even been given cable tv which was a bonus and finally got our broadband connection when the landlady understood we were not expecting her to pay for it.
One disappointment though is my bathroom – no hot water. They could fix Derek’s by adjusting the thermostat on the water heater, but when they built the house they didn’t install hot water in the top bathroom. Which explains why I don’t get any. All taps are connected to the cold water supply.
We share the house with, in decreasing order of size, Geckos, cockroaches, mosquitoes and Ants. The latter appear in their hundreds if the smallest morsel of food is left on the kitchen side. We don’t know where they come from or go to but when they are around they are in force. We’ve given up any attempts at control. We eat them as a garnish and wipe them up like spilt tea on the tiled work surfaces. Our food scraps go in a small bin in the corner and this is ant central, though again it’s impossible to see where they are coming from. They get into any plastic bags of food, so most stuff stays in the fridge and bagged goods are decanted into plastic containers – another growth industry for us.
Geckos, small lizards which proclaim their territory by laughing like something out of the film Gremlins, are to be encouraged – despite their tendency to get territorial in the early hours of the morning. They eat all insects including mosquitoes. I share my room with at least three and we had one in the sink for nearly a whole day, it was sitting very still assuming that if it didn’t move then we couldn’t see it. He was one of the biggest – about 2 inches long.
We decided to adopt a policy of mutual disregard with the cockroaches. We don’t bother them and they don’t bother us. The mosquitoes are another matter. There is an ornamental water feature in the yard which fills up in the rain and quickly becomes a breeding ground. Then they come into the kitchen at sunset and feast. I picked up 20 bites last week so open warfare has been declared. The water feature is drained on a regular basis, coils burn in the kitchen and jumbo size insect sprays have been purchased. The mosquitoes still seem to be winning though.
I didn’t mention the jumping spiders either. They look like miniscule tarantulas and when you get too close they jump covering enormous distances for their size.
We haven’t had a housewarming yet, but plan to do so in August, but everyone who has been here is well impressed with the place, the space the facilities and the location. I’m just hoping I do get another placement sorted out, Derek and Mike can’t afford a place like this without my contribution!
posted by Marvin.. at Monday, July 31, 2006
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