Inlaws Cleaning My Stuff

[Tonto21]

Thanks to an old Maid I have the only "Brushed Silver" cutlery set in Thailand - for twelve.

Patrick

My first cleaning lady loved her scouring pad. She even used it on the tv screen. Then the second used Pledge on everything she could find. Scouring pads and Pledge are very forbidden in the household now. Live and learn.

BTW I didn't fire them for that. They left to take care of family

Pledge, yes,I had a cleaning lady for a short while, she managed to use a whole new tin, (Large)cleaning my toilet, (I did tell her, for wood, only, LIT) I was a littleworried for a couple of day after I was going to need a seatbelt when using it,so I didn’t slip off. The pots and pans, now all shinny and scratched.

All of thisI can handle…..No worries, but I had to let her go, one day I found the toiletbrush, (after she left one day) under my sink, all wet and soapy with bits offood a lodged in it, yes the same bog brush I used the night before in theheads, but fair enough all the plates were sparkling!

[supaprik]

I remember fondly when we bought our first microwave, She had seen them before but never used one, I remember coming home from work one evening and seeing her sitting on a chair watching the micro like a TV set, upon getting closer I noticed sparks flying everywhere from inside and I screamed <deleted>?...She looked up at me and said...."oh Tee rak this remind me on firework at Sukhotai Loy Krathong " she thought that microwaving aluminum foil was ok and had the added advantage of a "free" fireworks display....she now cooks outside on the charcoal again!!!!

[tim armstrong]

Love the stories. Our mistake was to build MIL and FIL a proper ventilated kitchen with sink,taps worktop and shelves, so that they wouldn't have to cook outside over the circular charcoal fire pot and wash everything in the same plastic bowl on the ground that the chickens walk in, and drink out of all day. But of course we didn't really consult them about the upgrade - just did it. Well sure enough, 2 weeks later something apparently unrepairable happened to the kitchen taps, and the new 2 burner gas stove was never used. They now use the new kitchen to store 'brushed' cutlery, pans and even plastic boxes. Everyone including the chickens uses the big plastic bowl in the dirt, and the charcoal fire still does its thing. Strangely though, despite the dirt, MIL and FIL hardly ever get sick !?

Another good story, Tim. I think the mistake western people (or at least the group here) make is taking life too seriously. As a child I grew up playing in the mud, and going off all day and never returning until it got dark. We survived despite not having drugs for many of the diseases that killed off the weaklings. Mumps, measels, whooping cough, chicken pox and some nasty viruses all took their toll, but those of us that survived developed immunities and became stronger. Western children today are molly coddled to a point of ridiculousness. Every child has to be taken to school in a car. Every child has to have an adult in attendence 24 hours a day. Nobody is taught being responsible for your own actions.

Couldn't agree more with you. Every time I go back to suburban Brisbane to the Saturday morning breakfast in a trendy terrace coffee shop, I have a strong urge to roll a few of the kids there in the dirt. But I have to remind myself that their lifestyle is also OK - for them.

[IanForbes]

I remember fondly when we bought our first microwave, She had seen them before but never used one, I remember coming home from work one evening and seeing her sitting on a chair watching the micro like a TV set, upon getting closer I noticed sparks flying everywhere from inside and I screamed <deleted>?...She looked up at me and said...."oh Tee rak this remind me on firework at Sukhotai Loy Krathong " she thought that microwaving aluminum foil was ok and had the added advantage of a "free" fireworks display....she now cooks outside on the charcoal again!!!!

:lol:

I remember putting a lovely cup with real gold inlay in the microwave. It was only when I heard sparks that I went to investigate.

[krading]

Bought the missus a microwave last year.

The first thing she tried to cook for me was a lovely piece of steak I had bought.

I do love a nice steak sandwich every now and again.

Now if I can get her to cook me another one I can half sole and heel that old pair of work boots I've been hanging on to.

[bina]

we no longer have any breakable plates or cups in the kitchen. all plastic, since the thai method of washing dishes doesnt work well on israeli kibbutz 'blalata' tiles (like stone/plasticene tiles). everything gets smashed.

unripe strawberries, unripe any kind of fruit: eaten the thai way with hot peppers and salt.

my kids have learned to leave huge labels on stuff that they want left alone or not thrown out or spiced up. he has been told to NEVER EVER TOUCH ANYTHING THAT IS ARMY ISSUE. kit bag not to be moved, any stuff left lying around on table (beret, tags etc) are not to be touched. if they are in the way, i am to be called. hubby 'organized' the dining table one day by taking everything that had accumulated on it and putting in a plastic garbage bag, to be thrown out. his reasoning? anything that lays around more then a day must be garbage. including school stuff, bills, salary slips (why do we have to save them? i have since taught him the 7 year rule), army supplies (that if son goes back to base w/o, he could be fined or jailed).

hubby IS NEVER TO TOUCH THE COMPUTER OR ANY COMPONANT OF THE COMPUTER apart from the start button.

we only have one general purpose detergent and one clorax liquid cleaner in the house. no other chemicals allowed due to thai hubby never attending school when they taught chemistry. but that goes for most israeli women as well. even if they were taught to never mix anything, they usually figure more is better and a combination is best.

but then again, i remember being given the task of washing a floor in a childrens house. was given squeegee on a stick, bucket,floor cloth and bucket of wierd paste (all purpose soap that i have come to appreciate). here i was, college degree, not knowing how to wash a floor in a foreign country.i didnt know how to wring out the floor cloth. didnt know where to squeegee the water to (the shower floor has a drain for that purpose. or out the door as most people do. and didnt know how to squeegee the floor w/o leaving squeegee marks on the floor.

as for basins in sinks. we all do that now. we conserve water that way. first all the dishes are in the basin with soap. then water is dumped in garden/tree. then rinses again in clean water which is then dumped on tree/garden.

and yesterday i forgot and put a aluminum foil wrapped food bowl in the micro and the whole thing went up in flames and made a horrible noise. it was horrible. thats not thai. just stupidity since i knew better. hubby didnt know, but now asks every time he puts a bowl or plate in the 'wave, if its ok/

most of these 'mistakes' are just based on what a person is familiar with doing or using.

see how long some of u would survive in a kosher kitchen set up: red /pink is for meat, blue is for dairy, and yellow is parve.... and god forbid u mix up, move, use the wrong sponge,soap,dish or whatever. whats obvious to me is not obvious to you, in any culture.

[IanForbes]

Great stories, bina. I can identify with a few of them. Ain't life a gas

Being single now I don't have to deal with things like that, Although I mostly cook things separately, my concoctions eventually all end up in the same wok or casserole dish.

[electrozebra]

Love the stories. Our mistake was to build MIL and FIL a proper ventilated kitchen with sink,taps worktop and shelves, so that they wouldn't have to cook outside over the circular charcoal fire pot and wash everything in the same plastic bowl on the ground that the chickens walk in, and drink out of all day. But of course we didn't really consult them about the upgrade - just did it. Well sure enough, 2 weeks later something apparently unrepairable happened to the kitchen taps, and the new 2 burner gas stove was never used. They now use the new kitchen to store 'brushed' cutlery, pans and even plastic boxes. Everyone including the chickens uses the big plastic bowl in the dirt, and the charcoal fire still does its thing. Strangely though, despite the dirt, MIL and FIL hardly ever get sick !?

Another good story, Tim. I think the mistake western people (or at least the group here) make is taking life too seriously. As a child I grew up playing in the mud, and going off all day and never returning until it got dark. We survived despite not having drugs for many of the diseases that killed off the weaklings. Mumps, measels, whooping cough, chicken pox and some nasty viruses all took their toll, but those of us that survived developed immunities and became stronger. Western children today are molly coddled to a point of ridiculousness. Every child has to be taken to school in a car. Every child has to have an adult in attendence 24 hours a day. Nobody is taught being responsible for your own actions.

Similar memories here.

Not forgetting the worms and other tasty treats that went down many a throat in those days that would likely poison many today