The Nanny Chronicles/ The UN of Nannies

Braid Lady has been gone a week, as of today and the house has not fallen down around us. Unfortunately, I have not been very successfull in my nanny search. Most don't speak English, have no housekeeping experience or don't drive. It doesn't help that my phone has been turned off since Monday (sent the check in Tuesday) so no one can call in. It is peaceful though. Saturday, I interviewed a former Montessori teacher from San Francisco who: sold jewelry at Nordstroms, sold luxury cars at a dealership, worked for a realtor and was a personal assistant for some impossible-to-work-for (according to her) lady. She was personable and enthusiastic but I think more of a Nanny than housekeeper. She said she thought cleaning was "good exercise". I think there's a lot more to it than that and when I asked her about cooking she said her friends say she is a good cook, so she didn't sound too confident with that. Finding a housekeeper is not the hard part, finding one that drives is. I don't even care if they cook at this point- that is the least of my worries. I guess I will send my husband's shirts to the dry cleaners, since Braid Lady usually irons them. One day when she was bringing his shirts up to the bedroom, she asked me how much the dry cleaner charges per shirt. I told her I didn't know (I don't). And when I told her this summer that I was going to Italy on vacation for two weeks, she said "Must be nice." Her exact words. These images and the memory of her horrible attitude remind me of why I must keep on my quest for a new nanny/housekeeper. But, in the meantime, I saved 200 bucks this week. And no attitude.