Have dog...need catnip....

...for the cockroach(es).

I have noticed a few tiny silverfish in and around our bathtubs and sink. I guess they like moist areas, and paper. Once we get rid of all of our boxes, we will invest in some silica gel, and hopefully that should get rid of that little problem.

Then there's the much BIGGER (and grotesque) problem. As I was heading into the toilet (that's what they are called on this side of the world) yesterday, my eyes caught this brown blob on the floor. For a millisecond, my brain thought it was a matte, from Phinn's hair. And then it registered--the movement.

It was big, and brown and shiny. The antennae were as long as my pinky finger. A was hovering in the doorway behind me, just seconds away from toddling into the toilet. What could I do??? I had to act, and fast...so, I took the clear plastic lid off the cotton swabs container and I TRAPPED the disgusting mo-fo (pardon the language). Then, I took my heavy tub of Aquaphor (A's moisturizer) and I put it on TOP of the plastic cover (I've heard these things are strong). It wasn't dead, but now, it couldn't move!

I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to touch it. It seemed fairly stocky and heavy...what if it flew at me? What if it was really fast and ran up my arm? I couldn't squish it--I didn't want to clean up the goop left behind. I couldn't flush it...what if it had it's bronze medallion and swam back up and hid under the rim of the bowling...just waiting...(you see where I'm going with this).

So, I quietly shut the toilet door, and got my mobile. I texted P: 'big beetle. trapped, but not dead. you can dispose of it when you come home.' After all...that's why he gets paid the big-bucks, isn't it?

Then A, Phinn and I fled the villa, and went out to the park which is kiddy-corner to our villa. We returned minutes before P arrived. He too, was disgusted by the invader, but he took care of it, and sent it packing down the toilet (I've checked the rim...it isn't there).

Now, I am keeping the toilet door closed at all times. I've been reading on the internet that catnip tea is a good and natural deterrent against cockroaches.

That's the next big purchase on my shopping list: catnip.

That said: today we are getting lighting installed in our villa (as I type actually). We should also be getting our couch and our TV (wow! it's all coming together). Our weekend starts tomorrow (Friday/Saturday over here) and we're heading off to Dubai to pick up our Outback.

Yesterday I saw my second gecko (hiding under the shipper's boxes...I had to take away it's shade)...the first one was in the evening in our park (b/c we're the only ones that use it).

A drove both P and I nuts last night. She woke up at 11 and then didn't go back to sleep until 1 am. I must add that she also drove Phinn nuts, as he wanted to sleep and she wanted to use him as a furry pillow. She literally followed him back and forth around the room, on and off the bed (I think she would've crawled into the kennel with him if the opening was big enough). I finally had to shut the door on his kennel (she can't open it)...and then just pray.