A weekend away

I've been sick with a cold or flu this past week, not really sure how to tell the difference, all I know is that this has stuck around. Of course work tried making me feel guilty because I took a day off, they then rewarded me by forcing me to work 3 hours more the next day and tried to force me in today - they demand a reason for me saying no on a rostered day off, I'm still sick. Isn't it enough that they are forcing me to work all weekend as a reward for putting a holiday form in to give me last Friday off. In the short time I've been there I have done more than my fair share of covering for others to have days off.


I asked for the day off because my sister asked me to come to her new house for the weekend, it was her first time driving there without her husband so she wanted adult company for the drive. They have bought a country property 5 hours away. Of course I jumped at the chance and gave work 2 weeks notice.

They've had the house a couple of months, it had been empty for 2 years as a bank foreclosure, the house isn't in too bad a shape considering they were told the old owners left it open when they moved out and wildlife had moved in by the time bank got out to inspect it. The original owner of the house would be turning in her B&B somewhere in Tasmania. I love the house, it's only about 12 years old, but built to mimic older style houses, tall ceilings. There's claw foot bath, I had to have a try at that. The only thing I can see that is missing is a wood burning stove in the kitchen, I'm sure they could put one in just to please me.

They have done a lot of work in the short time they have owned it, pulling out weeds, clearing outbuildings, making discoveries of lovely rose bushes and more scary ones of spiders, scorpians and termites (luckily only in a fallen tree). Not taking chances they have sprayed the area and there was none to be seen last weekend. Each morning we were there we woke to find Kangaroos in the paddocks.

I've wrangled another invite a few weeks down the track, they bought a lounge suite off eBay and snagged the fabric as it was being loaded up. I gave instructions for a temporary repair and have offered to repair it properly. Sneaky, hey?

Their plans are to move there completely next year, their main worries are financial ones, finding work in the area. They both work for the same company and run a carpet cleaning business but there is already one of those in town and they don't want to take the livelyhood of someone else.