Yesterday morning we got up bright and early to visit MIL as well as go to her house to clean it...She is doing well and can now sit at 90-degrees (if you recall, previously it was only 30-degrees), though she has still a long way to go before being discharged.
After visiting with her, BIL, Satoshi and I went to MIL's to clean.
Apparently over the past week, rats had a field day in her house, eating whatever they could find on the altar as well as whatever was in the kitchen.
They set off the alarm and BIL was notified. Apparently when they went in to check, food was even found in the bathroom, which is quite far from the kitchen!
OM! her house is a hoarder's house...seriously....bags with things still new untouched, covered with newspaper so as not to get "dust" on it.But because she covers the bags with newspaper, she doesn't know what is in the bags and in the end buys more of the same things...sigh.
She also loves to keep all sorts of empty candy bins, containers and plastic shopping bags.
Of course, if she kept all of these things in one place, it would be a little organized, but she has a little here and a little there.
Going through everything was scary especially when we found things that were gnawed at (probably from the rats). (Thank goodness we didn't see any or I am sure you would have heard me scream from where you are!)
We had to go through her refridge and throw out lots of food too.
After going through just the kitchen, we ended up with 6-30 liter bags of rubbish! and decided to call it a day (for now)...
We still have so much more to clean, but decided to wait and see if this stops the rats from partying there.
It was a very traumatic day for all of us, but we were happy to clean up MIL's a bit.
My post is titled "ebisu kabocha" because I had this along with a sandwich for breakfast.
It was a melon pan filled with ebisu kabocha puree.
Melon pan is usually a butter roll topped with puff pastry and then topped with coarse sugar.
I don't usually eat this because I heard it is high in calories but couldn't resist the color and shape...just like a pumpkin.
Anyway, that's what we've been up to, hope your week is a good one.
Wow Kat--that must have been tough to do. The fear of the rats would have made me a nervous wreck. Hope that stops the problem. Glad to know your MIL is doing a bit better.
ReplyDeleteThe melon pan with the kabocha in it is so cleverly designed.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your MIL, I had a similar experience when helping a friend's mother move out. The good thing is you can just tell her that "the rats got to it" and she'll be none the wiser. It's a sneaky way to "help" her get rid of excess stuff.
that's scary! I like to keep things here and there, not so tidy, but seeing TV shows about hoarder scars me so now i'm trying to keep my room clean, at least! Glad to know ur MIL is getting better :)
ReplyDeleteanyway, I like melon-pan!
That melon pan sure looks yummy! The hoarder shows they got on TV lately are intriguing to me. Did you ever get to watch them? Glad to hear your MIL is getting better . . . taking long though yah. I wonder about her hospital bill . . . how is that handled in Japan?
ReplyDeleteI know Debinhawaii..crossing fingers that they stop now.
ReplyDeleteIt was sad Anon because there was way more non-perishable stuff to throw out in the kitchen, we just stopped because the amount of trash was too much.
I'm glad you are keeping your room clean Patzie :)
I've heard that when you get discharged is when you pay Jalna. And I've heard you pay CASH!
Take care everyone.
Kat
Sorry, Kat. I didn't mean to make light of your MIL's situation. Older Japanese (including my friend's mother) keenly remember how little their families had after the war so it's understandable that they want to have a lot of extra on hand just in case. My friend's mom had about 30 blankets and comforters tucked away and when someone else suggested she might not have any need for them in Hawaii, she countered that "you never know when you'll need something!" Needless to say the 30 blankets and comforters went to the new apartment!
ReplyDeleteno worries, no offense taken Anon :)
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
Oh wow, I'm glad your MIL is better now, but it must have been hard to go through all that! It seems like you guys made a big difference though, in the situation.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jude, she still has a way to go before getting discharged but way better than a couple of weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
Six 30-liter bags full of stuff??!!! I am (mentally) screaming in my head just envisioning what you had to go through. A real shame for the food as I hate seeing edibles go to waste, and I do hope that when MIL gets better and goes home, she won't start stocking up again.
ReplyDeleteWe had planned to take whatever food was salvagable Rowena, but they were all moldy already. Most of the garbage bags were filled up with MIL's plastic bags, candy tins and bubble wrap that wasn't bubbly anymore.
ReplyDeleteI really hope she will start to clean up after she gets discharged, I'm willing to help her but only if she is willing too.
Take care.
Kat