Not even half way through the month General Chat

I just leaned on the wall of the shower that does not work...

... and most of the wall tiles fell on me.

Are you OK?
You do seem to have hit a bad patch, but I hope you haven't been hurt.

Ok so this is the responsibility of my landlords but I do not have Yaacov's telephone number, left a message on Tami's answer mail [she is his wife] and gave up and telephoned Nir, and Nir woz 'ere. Yaacov knows that Nir does things for me, both inside and outside [and no, I am not being rude] and that I will pay for things that I want done if I can, things that yes, are my responsibility to keep in good order. So Yaacov telephoned Nir [why not me?], And because that shower - the one that belongs to the bungalow and was fitted and re-tiled before I moved in but now does not work because the inlet pipe is blocked and will need major building work...

..and as I paid for an ensuite to be built so I have a shower which is my responsibility to get fixed if necessary, they will get the shower that is their responsibility fixed once they have planted me.

So, Nir woz 'ere and there are two choices. Well three really. Either we wait until all the tiles fall off, leaving bare, and not very well sealed breeze block walls, or Nir tries to re-fit the tiles which fell off - and no way will he bodge things like that, or he knocks down all the other loose tiles, quite a lot of them as he went round knocking on all of them to see which were loose, and it seems like two walls, and he will knock down all the tiles, plaster over the breeze blocks and then paint them. No point in re-tiling due to cost plus it will all have to be broken down again after I am planted so the original shower can be fixed.

Problem. It is not my responsibility but unless I want to live with the risk of being able to use the loo in that tiny room, with the knowledge that I an liable to be hit on the head by loose tiles while on the throne, what do I do if my landlords say oh well you cannot use the shower in any case so if I want to still be able to use that loo I have to pay to get that little room fixed?

Yes, I do have another shower and yes I do have another loo, but they are at the other end of the bungalow in the ensuite that I paid for so I did not have to go through the place if I needed the loo in the night - and which was much larger and had a shower I could get into with myshower chair.

So what do I do if my landlords say if I want it fixed I have to pay?

I don't know what sort of charters there are for landlords over there, but here you could report the landlord and have the local authority investigate it and mediate for you

I have to pay. Because my rent is so low, thanks to his Blessed most beloved father who always called me a sister, and who I so much loved him and even sat Shiva with his family when he died, having given me a hand-written contract for life when he knew he was dying, copies of which he gave to all his offspring, which states that they can never make me move and can never increase my rent - and tbh it really is only a fraction of what it could be now, Yaacov says I have to pay.

Az Mah. So what. I still will not be able to use that shower and it will not be fixed until I have been planted but I do not need it. But the shower would not be able to be used even if Nir removed all the loose tiles, sealed up the breeze blocks, painted everything...

...because the water inlet to the shower will still be blocked! And that is going to need major building work which Nir said he could do but will not, due to the disturbance it would cause me - and he is not happy about about that.

It is only money Chris - Nir will be here on Tuesday with his nice Russian worker Alex, who will do some outdoor work [yet more weed cleaning and digging out the drainage ditch yet again as we have had some glorious rain] while Nir works indoors.

Reminder to me - make sure I have instant coffee for Alex, and knowing his liking for XL Energy drink [like Red Bull] I will get some in for him, but he can buy his own coffin nails! As long as he does not smoke them anywhere near the house!

The thing is that virtually this bungalow was given to me by Abba - their father - who always let me do what I wanted because he said it might be his house but it is my home. And he loved Lexi so much. "Ayn c'mo Lexi" - 'nothing like Lexie'. He would have loved Pereg but I am glad he never knew her because of The Monster.

But oh how he would have loved Tikva.

Abba was from Djerba in Tunisia and was treated as a slave during WWII but he was a Rabbi - a teacher, and when he and his family finally came to start this Moshav, he started the first of our schools. And I still get people asking "did you know David Ha'Mure - the teacher? He taught me for my Bar Mitzva."

So you think I am going to argue about having to pay for getting the little shower room fixed?

Ditto !

Philippa - this little old bungalow is my home. And I love it. Because it is my home for life and I feel happy and safe here. I have never felt anywhere "home" like this before. Not as a child at my parents' home, not at anywhere I lived with my husband in the various houses we bought. And not anywhere I have lived since I came to Israel, including the apartment that overlooked the Mediterranean sea.

And no, I think Yaacov was correct when he said I should pay. I might not agree but there is no way I want to go across [I think that is not the correct word, sorry] the family who are, basically, giving me a home for life for peanuts rent. I love them all and I know that they love me and count me as a part of the family.

It will not cost a fortune and Nir is happy to take a few payments. I do not know how much he pays Alex for the days he employs him but he knows I always give Alex something as a thank you.

Oh, and Nir is going to carefully remove the loose tiles so maybe they will come in handy some time in the future?

I still do not think I have explained things properly. I live on a Moshav, not on a Kibbutz, and here the homes and plots of land - some close to homes and some in the fields, belong to Moshav members.

But each plot belongs to the family and cannot be sold to anyone without the agreement of all the family. It has nothing to do with the local authority but because I know what has been happening since Abba David died it is difficult to explain as most of you will not understand how things go here. It does not refer to Yaacov but another brother who wants to sell the entire plot, which is a very large one, having been originally given as a double plot to Abba David, his wife and children, and his parents and family which - that is what I call the enlarged big bungalow next door, wants the entire plot as there can be a side road from the tractor path at the back of the enlarged bungalow next door, which will enable the entire back , including my back and my other side yard to be ripped out, my little home to be torn down, and six or eight or expensive homes to be built on the plot.

And only one brother wants to do this, but it can not be done unless all the family agree and none of them want to agree so have been trying to buy him out.This whole balagan is nothing to do with Yaacov but if he agrees that the family should pay for the repairs in my shower room it will be as if he is going with his brother and that would mean that my contract that their father gave me is not legal. And none of the others want that.

So of course they are not able to pay for the repairs to my shower room so of course I will. Somehow.

And as so it goes
like fingers and toes
I was perched on the throne
as one sometimes does

You know how it goes
when you last expect
but it was a spider
that came down
on my neck​

Oh no but
this time
oh yes
yes yes yes
that spider
came down in
a glorious smash

And woke poor Tikva
who was having a doze
so fell of the couch
onto her nose.​

You sound very happy there in your home.
You have lots of things breaking recently, but, they are only “ things “ and things can be fixed
In the meantime I hope it’s not causing you too much stress x

You are right - they are only "things" - but what upsets me a bit is that if I had not paid for an ensuite to be built, the only shower, the original one, would have had to be fixed when it first stopped working. The ensuite is not a solid one although was built on a good solid concrete base, but really is just a framework lined inside and outside with plasterboard. But heavily coated outside with very thick waterproof mix of sand, paint, and some sort of thick glue, which should last a long time yet before it needs another coat, and of course tiled very very well inside with the tiles the gang leader chose matching the floor tiles. I did not even see them until they arrived and I love them! The tiles I mean, not the gang!

But then the gang leader was chosen by my original wheelchair guy, and nothing beats recommendations from people who you know can be trusted. After Yossi retired he recommended the delumptius Doron who now looks after my wheels, and then came Nir, who is a cousin or something of Doron. And somewhere in between came Boaz who built the long, wide ramp when I moved here.

So I guess that I am really lucky, and yes, I will pay for the shower/loo room to be made safe, even though the shower will still be unusable.

Because as Abba David said, this is his house but it is my home. I never called him Abba, which means Father - to me he was just David - but when I talk about him to his extended family I call him Abba.

OK, all the inside done [still no shower but that will never be done until I am planted and this little home for rent again.

But all unbroken loose tiles have been removed and Nir has put them in The Shack in case they might be used again. Outside yards have been sprayed and cleaned yet again, plus the drainage ditch - again the responsibility of my landlords but again if I want things done I have to pay. Az Mah.

And for all the years I have been unsuccessfully trying to get a cleaner just once a week, Nir's Russian worker Alex will come here and clean the whole bungalow for me tomorrow. I am not sure what he will be able to do as I do not think this place has had a proper clean in yonks, but Alex will do what he can, and as Tikva is used to him I am happy. Also happy with his price but fair enough he will be working on the black.

And I have the satisfaction that Abba's contract can never be broken so this little bungalow is mine for life, with, tbh, a stupidly low rent that can never be increased, It is not the money though, it is the knowledge and security that is worth far more than a low rent.

What else should I want?

One thing I will NOT want is Alex anywhere my home again. He was the only one who went near my bedroom as he needed to get water from the shower in the ensuite - and as I just went to put Tikva in her crate I noticed that my little musical box, which had small broaches and things and had been on my dressing table had gone.

So had two watches and some bottles of perfume. And other things had been moved.

What the hell do I do now? I am insured but I doubt Nir is insured for employing Alex on the black. If I claim on my insurance, something I have never done, Nir could be in trouble for employing someone on the black.

I have no idea what is missing. And as Alex went into my bedroom to get water from the ensuite - how can I get into my bed now?

One thing is for cetain, no way will Nir ever employ him again - and what use is my insurance now?

I'm sorry that the Spring Clean has had less than satisfactory results. What has Nir had to say about the losses? I have no experience of theft from our home, but when an employee of a roofing contractor, carelessly threw a chipboard panel which damaged our door, our roofing contractor replaced the door panel. I do not know whether his labourer was 'on the black' or not, but he had employed him, so took responsibility for our loss.

The first thing to do is talk to Nir. My guess is that his worker will be made to replace what is missing.

One thought springs to mind - you said that Alex was going to clean the whole bungalow. Did that include the bedroom? If so, have you double-checked to make sure he didn't just move the items into, say, a drawer or cupboard?

I only noticed this when I put Tikva in her crate last night so I called Nir at a decent hour this morning and he came straight round. He had not gone anywhere near my bedroom, only Alex, and as I could not use the loo in the shower room they were working on which is next to my salon, I had to give "keep out of the way" messages when I wanted to use the loo in my ensuite.

Alex had to go into the ensuite to fill the large buckets they needed for various things, which is why he had to go through the bungalow and through my bedroom, because of course the shower in the room they were working in does not and has not worked for I forget how many years now.

I do not care about the spring clean, but Alex had to move everything out of that little shower room and dump it in my back room - the room I need to go through to get from my kitchen into my bedroom - so somehow I have to get things back, including my original shower wheelchair as I cannot even get to Pereg's freezer to get Tikki's breakfast out.

There is stuff everywhere [except for the thefts from my bedroom] - which of course Alex was supposed to be clearing up and putting back where it belonged - and how am I going to get it done now? And that stuff includes the rails I had put up to hang things like brooms, floor squeegees, mops etc - which are now scattered everywhere, just waiting to trip me up.

But Nir has just been here - he has known me for so long so believes me. And he was so grateful that I had told him what was missing. Not that anything can be replaced nor can any claim on my insurance - or even tell the police that Alex has stolen from me. Because Alex had been working on the black and Nir would have been in trouble as I permitted him, Alex, to be working in my home even though he had been working on the black. And Nir would be hit with a major fine.

So a few things gone walkabout. They are only things, after all. Nir gave me the 200 shekel tip I gave to Alex, which he says he will get back and which I will not keep it - it will go in the charity box. But one thing Nir has promised me is that the thief Alex will never get any work on the black again.

So we found the empty box under the cupboard under the hand-basin in the ensuite but so much more has gone walkabout - everything he could hide in his pockets and what else he has hidden away, thinking he would be back again today, I hope Karma smashes him in the face,

HARD

That is so sad. I hope that Nir is either going to come put things back in order for you or arrange someone he totally trusts to do so as you have done him one very big favour by not reporting the theft

Agree entirely Chris.

So why am I up at stupid o'clock, trying to remember what was in that little musical jewellery box? Whatever there was has gone. But the watches, and they were not the cheapo bling ones were on the dressing table itself as Amit, my optician, had just had new batteries put in by the jewellers next door to his store. So yes, I am a bit upset about those but Az Mah - so what.

I somehow managed to get some things put back into the newly painted but still unusable shower room and Nir assured me that the tiles round the loo were safe, but why have I got two broom heads minus their handles, as Nir had brought all of his stuff in his trailer, including brooms, and where is my lovely old-fashioned mop?

And yes, of course he will make sure the place is straight again.

Nir knows not to put anything in my wheelie bin as I only put rubbish in a strong biodegradable tied bag - have wedged my wheelie bin and the binmen know not to try to move it - just lift the lid and take out the bag. So all the rubbish that is left when Nir does anything here, goes back in his little trailer and he takes it to an official dump. I can only think that Alex said "oh, I could make use of that... and that..."

But it is only stuff after all.