She has these horribly ugly, very sentimental tchotchkes that she had on her piano at her apartment. Bronzed shoes of her and her sister, some cardboard cutouts of same, and some heinous ceramic egg thingy. Even though every one of her possessions resides in her new room, somehow these tchotchkes found their way onto the top of her piano at our house. We understand the logic, actually... in her mind, that's where they go. Unfortunately, they don't mesh with the room's decor, nor are they attractive to look at. That sounds bad, doesn't it? We sound like cold-hearted neat freaks, maybe. The piano is kind of right at the entrance to the house, so it's not like it's some secluded corner or someplace that she could claim as hers. We are going to have to tactfully ask her to put them somewhere in her room instead. We'll see how that goes -- gonna tell her about it tomorrow night. My husband was actually gonna put them in a box in front of her door... but changed his mind and put them back, so I can talk to her and she can move them herself.
I forgot to mention yesterday, when I was tidying up and cleaning in her room, I noticed that her sink and toiletries surrounding the sink were splattered with white stuff. What the hell happened? I wondered... until I noticed her new electric toothbrush. Ahhhhh, I get it. After I cleaned it, I heard her wandering in, so I asked, "Did you have a toothpaste explosion in here?" After the usual "What?" and me repeating myself (she really needs hearing aids), the answer was yes. Then I kind of kicked myself for cleaning it up, and then even later I kicked myself for not chiding her to clean up that kind of a mess immediately instead of waiting for someone/something else to magically clean it for her. I have to admit, it kind of angers me, when she seems to assume that she'll be cleaned up after, without taking initiative, asking for help, or apologizing, basically any kind of acknowledgment that in any regular situation, she should (be able to) clean up after themselves in a basic way, or that it takes time and effort for someone else to do it for them. My husband calls it her sense of entitlement. It's interesting, because that is most often affiliated with a certain younger generation.... but oddly, she has it too. Is it her age? Is it the way she was brought up?
Wednesday morning is a dentist appointment. Not a $2000 out-of-pocket deep cleaning that she can't afford, but a $150 regular cleaning. I told her that, and she didn't seem to have a problem with that, at least. I asked if she's using her electric toothbrush. She said she was, but that it was too strong. I wonder if she's really using it or not.
Her car, which is sitting in our driveway, has a flat tire. We need to look up the value of it (and change the tire) so we can start the process of trying to sell it. Naturally, it has tons of body damage -- scratches, dents, etc. -- and my husband said when his mom left it to her 7 years ago, it was in immaculate condition. But at least it drives well, at least when it has working tires.
Oh, and the last thing for the day -- she is mailing out some bills, which the husband brought in with the mail by accident... actually, it's funny that she puts her mail out there in the mailbox, in the middle of the mail that's already arrived. Anyway, one of the bills has one of those openings in the envelope for the address to show through, and all you can see is that there's a check inside... no address. It's stamped, return addressed, but no delivery address. Nice. Took a picture of it, as I do with all such things, just in case we need evidence later.
And the actual last last thing... also at the salon yesterday, she wanted to buy shampoo and mousse for her hair because the stylist suggested it. I deferred that purchase, because of course they'd be cheaper in a regular store instead of a salon. And so right there, she was attempting to spend money that could have gone towards a tip. Know what I'm saying??
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