Botticelli me thumbnail
- Profile -+- Notes -+-Archives-+- E-Mail -+-Diaryland-+- Fotolog -+- Latest -

Honey is Sweet

Sunday morning - 2008-03-23

I'm grateful for: what felt like good sleep; my 'herbal' (liquid supplement from the nutritionist); honey and cinnamon tea before breakfast.

So, instead of writing an entry last night (or answering email, or catching up on my reading), I fell asleep. It was only around 3am. *sigh*

Yesterday was more eventful than shabbos ought to be. The most eventful part was the front door latch breaking, with the door closed, and no way to open it. It IS still possible to get out the back door, with the broken stairs and unsafe railing... The breaker box which is where we need to turn the hot water heater on and off is just outside the front door... *sigh*

Just for the record, we do not live in tenement housing, or even sub-standard housing. This sort of thing is normal in the life of an Israeli renter. Not, perhaps, the rich renter, but then we've never been that. One reason why we very much want to buy this home. So we can fix the things that need fixing, when they need fixing. The landlord is not not fixing things because he can't afford it, or even because he is a bad landlord, but because he doesn't know how or can't do it himself, and finding people to do this kind of work is actually quite hard. Many, probably most, Jews from western countries think they are 'above' the trades, while those from arab and african countries can't get the whole idea of proper maintenance and safety issues with electrical appliances and heavy machinery and so on. Basically there is a chronic shortage of electricians, plumbers, and so on, which means they charge high prices, and then there are the 'cheap' ones, who you daren't trust to plunge your toilet.

At least, that has been our experience so far.

Anyway, TH is a dab hand at all that stuff. So the landlord's son is going to pay him for replacing the front door latch - he's gone off to do that now. And could probably have repaired the water heaters, were they repairable. I'm suggesting we go ahead and buy the house, and deduct the cost of a new water heating system from the purchase price of the house. We'll have to see how that flies. We're pretty well all set to go. TH has to get the loan from his employer, which he isn't doing today because he is fixing the door latch, and then we have to contact the lawyer. Whee, fun, lawyers.

Also, the landlord wants to do the sale without lawyers. Which really is NOT okay. Not okay generally, but double-plus EXTRA not okay because there is this minor issue of the moshav debt. Long story, not for today, but everyone who was a member of the moshav (owned their house and shetach), at a time when the moshav borrowed money from the government, owes their share of that debt back to the government. Thus, if we buy, we either have to assume the debt, or else an escrow account be set up from some of the purchase price. Any way you look at it, we want to be sure it's done legally and that we are free of unreasonable encumbrance.

What's next? I don't know.

We watched the first Twilight Zone of the third season last night, and I was able to do good exercising. I wish I knew what the magic thing was, that some days I can exercise with no problem, and others I can barely get myself to sit up. Unless it's just the M.S., and I haven't entirely accepted that.

I rode the bike for twenty-five minutes, good for me, and used the hand weights and the resistance tube thing. And felt good like I could do more, only there isn't really more I can do and I have to be so very careful not to overdo it.

It's hotter than heck again today, with the hot desert wind blowing. I'm running out of steam, and haven't had breakfast yet. First things first.

I'm listening to the printer, S1 is printing a birthday present for TH

0 bleats so far

:: Yesterdays : Tomorrows ::

~~~Last Five Entries~~~
Hi and goodbye - 2010-10-15
I'll be moving on - 2010-10-10
Gold membership and stuff - 2010-10-10
Decisions, decisions - 2010-10-07
Days to go - 2010-10-06