Gripes & Grizzles.

Before I get to the gripes & grizzles, here is a sunny picture of SG taken around Novemeber at his Pre School. He had lost both of his lower, front, baby teeth, & now has 2 new teeth growing beautifully sharp & new! His hair is much lighter in real life, so I am not sure why it looks so dark in this photo.
He is fascinated with skeletons, so I got him this shirt last year, when I was in New Zealand, & it is one of his favourites. Would not be my choice!

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What is it about Carpet Salesmen?
I have discovered they rate somewhere between Used Car Salesmen & Lawyers in my List of Beware!

As you may remember, we recently had a mishap with our drains, which caused a flooding into our passage of sewagey waste water. This caused us to have to replace the carpet, which luckily was insured.

We also had a ceiling & roof repair as a result of storm damage, & it was just coincidental that these things happened at almost the same time. The roof was repaired, the ceilings repainted, & the fact that a patch of paint in the lounge is now cracking, will need to be addressed.

The carpet was a different claim, & a different story. The original carpet had been in the house for approximately 24 years. It had worn a little in patches, but on the whole was not really in bad condition, considering it's age. Which would seem to indicate to us that the carpet had been reasonably good quality, to have withstood much traffic & wear & tear over the course of 24 years.

We duly went & looked at carpets, & hummed & hahed over what we would like to replace the carpet. We consulted with cunning carpet salesmen, whose eyes would gleam with joy once they heard it was to be an Insurance claim. A couple even rubbed their hands together with glee. One rushed off into the office & did a little tap dance!

We were quoted approximate prices of the range we could expect to choose from. We even got quotes done for replacement, & were told exactly what price we could expect to have an acceptance of, from the Insurance Company.

We tried to ask all the right questions as to durability & stain resistance etc. We brought home samples, & 'test drove' them on our floors to see how we liked the colours. I would say here that there were wild variations on the replacement price for supposedly & apparently, similar or equal quality to the original carpet. I couldn't see why they varied so much, really, but we went with the one who allowed us the better quality - ie higher priced- carpet, including a better quality of underlay.

The carpet we chose is a creamy goldy colour. A Neutral, just as the old one had been, but much fresher of course. We were assured it was stainresistant, durable, & ideal for heavy traffic, dogs, etc.

It has been laid since July. We have had the edges refastened twice, & still it is lifting from the edge at the wall, in places. There is a huge bulge in one spot in the lounge.

As to the look of it... well, it has stains which seem to be solidly permanant! I have tried the stain remover that never fails me... to no avail. To say I am bitterly disappointed would be to understate the matter. If it looks so shabby after only approximately 6 months of wear & use, what will it look like in 24 years? I just cannot believe it is of the same quality in any way, as the old carpet!

I like to think I take action instead of just whining about things. I am not sure what to do about this. Is it buyer beware? The shabby laying should be addressed better than it has. The layer -is that the term?- told us it had been cut a little 'meanly' in the lounge, hence the lifting. He got out the 'stretcher the second time he came... now there is the bulge.

Another complication is the fact that we have since changed our Insurance Company. They are essentially the same company, but we were insured under a different company name before. I suppose this is all something we will have to deal with in the New Year.

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I never sleep in. I sometimes have a snooze in the afternoon, when it is hot.
I went back to bed yesterday morning, after getting up at 6am. At 8am, I felt deathly tired. I slep until 10am, & still did not really want to wake, even then. I did feel better later, but still went off to bed fairly early last night.


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I have been having very vivid dreams that haunt me all day. It is over 10 years since my Mother died. I have recently started seeing her in all my dreams.

When she was first gone, I wished I could see her in my dreams. I never seemed to see her at all. The idea of her was there, but never her person. Now I see her smiling face, & small figure almost every night. It is very curious.

I miss her just as much, after 10+ years, as I ever did. The scars just get a little thicker, but the wound of losing her, remains. A sort of psychic umbilical cord.


Crowded House, Time On Earth, the whole double CD.