Has it really been a week since we left Riverwood? Now that I am home I feel like I am on another planet instead of just the other side of the province. The temps are above zero; the traffic is thick and the concrete copious! Home sweet home.
I do miss the beauty of Riverwood, but I must admit that is it nice to be back in my own bed, and I am enjoying the total luxury of that. Focus on the positive right? The house looked a bit tired and dusty after sitting empty for so long, but other than that, things seemed to be in order. Or so I thought!!!!!
The first day we arrived home late, so we just unloaded the car, got cleaned up and headed off to bed. The next day was given to unpacking suitcases and sorting laundry – stuff like that. After a busy morning, I took my lunchtime cup of tea down to the family room to enjoy the hot brew in front of the fire. I plopped down on the couch and opened the drawer in the couch to put my nail kit away. What a surprise I found waiting for me there. I wasn’t sure what I was seeing at first. Little bits of Kleenex, little pieces of cloth, torn shreds of paper, piles of seeds husks…piles of seed husks????? What the… I looked closer and saw… MOUSE DROPPINGS GALORE!!! Oh no! This can’t be! First it was a mouse in the car last fall, then two mice at the farm during this holiday and now a mouse here at home. ENOUGH! No more mice – please!
I was dumbfounded when I looked at the drawer and saw seed husks. Piles of them! Where in the world did they come from? I keep Kleenex, paper, pens, stickers, glue, scissors – stuff like that in the drawer, but nothing edible. I quietly closed the drawer and sat calmly (or at least I was trying for calmly) drinking my tea while I pondered the mess the little blighter had made. How did he get into the house in the first place; was he alone; how long had he been having a party in the drawer; and where did he get the seeds from?????? Sheesh!
I finished my tea, then found some old garden gloves, gathered up some garbage bags, cleaning solution and paper towels, and set to work to clean out the drawer. It didn’t take me long to discover the source of the seeds. I had three, microwave heatable, cloth bags to treat sore muscles. Two of them were homemade affairs and were full of some type of seed. I didn’t know this until now!!! The mouse found these bags, chewed through the cloth covers and had a feast. I think he made paper plates out of my stationery, and serviettes out of Kleenex, because there were piles of chewed bits of them all over the drawer too. He set quite a cluttered buffet table let me tell you.
The drawer is now empty and traps are set. So far I have caught two mice and I will continue to set the traps to make sure any of their buddies that might drop by for a snack in the next week or so, will be dealt with in short order. Now, can I find the spot where they are getting into the house and take care of that? Hmmmm, where do I start to look for it? The search begins. I hate trapping them, so if I can find a way to keep them outside I will share that world with them, not this inside world.
After I dealt with the mouse drawer I put a load of dishes in the dishwasher and went upstairs to finish unpacking. When I came down about an hour later, I discovered the dishwasher had drained all over the kitchen floor and had leaked into the basement. Oh Joy. What next? The repairman came yesterday and replaced a gasket in the door, so that problem should be fixed, but I haven’t done another load of dishes yet. Stay tuned.
This has been a lost week as far as writing is concerned, but I am all unpacked, the washing is done, the cupboards re-stocked, the mail almost sorted out, the dishwasher repaired and the mouse situation under control – I hope!
Today I don my gallivanting shoes and go out to meet a friend for coffee. We haven’t had a good gab session for seven weeks so it is time to go to Tim’s, for an extra large coffee with double cream (yum) and catch up on all the news. I am looking forward to that after my less than warm welcome here at home.
I hope you have had a better start to the month of February than I have and are enjoying some of this wonderful sunshine. Right now it is streaming in the window beside me, and it promises to shine all day today. Yesterday was almost nice enough to bike. Not quite, but almost! We are getting there though aren’t we? Days are getting longer and spring is just around the corner.
Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Faith is to dance to it now.
Richard Alves
I hear the melody of spring playing loud and clear today. If you hear it too, put your dancing shoes on and join me for a waltz or two around the room. One, two, three…one, two, three…one, two, three! There you go. Don’t you feel better already? I do. Take care and I will talk to you all later.
4 comments:
More mice? Oh my! Those little critters just wont leave you alone will they? Although it is quite humorous how you describe mice setting a buffet table out of makeshift stationary plates and kleenex napkins. I have a funny comical, cartoon like image in my mind of a bunch of mice organizing the “Grand Buffet” and setting the table to prepare to feast like a king.
I too had a dishwasher mishap the other day. I still swear by those appliances though. I could never go back to hand washing all my dishes! The dishwasher has spoiled me.
Although I can’t say I have had a better start to the month of February, I do hear the melody of the future, and it looks so incredibly bright and promising. My month started off with a bit of a scare, but it was through hope and faith that my family pulled through.
Good luck catching your mice friends!
hello brown betty. here is some information about me. My nickname is mrhaney. I am a 58 year old male married to a wonderful woman. We have 4 grown children . We have been married 39 years. I like good honest and caring people. I like to talk with people. I also like old music and old cars. My wife and I live in Atlanta, ga. I met her in 1965 when I was stationed at north island naval air station in san diego. We met at a dance and I proposed to her 2 weeks after. We got married on may 1, 1965. I got out of the navy in 1967 and we went to my home state of Massachusetts for a couple of years. We now live here in Atlanta and we have four grown children who are on their own. We have no pets although I would really like to have a dog, maybe some day. We are both retired now and we do a lot of remodeling on the house we are in now.
i enjoyed your post and if you have time drop by my site and look around. how long have you been blogging? i turned 60 yesterday. it sure did get here fast. it is good to find a blog that does not start with the f word. i have said it myself and heard it plenty of times but i rather not use it if i do not have to. when i go to a blog site with mostly younger people they swear like sailors. i know because i was in the navy years ago. well have a good day and i will look around your blog some more. stop by my site if you have a minute. i got here from sha's blog. she has helped me a lot on my blog with the html on my template.
i dropped in from your comment on Dale's blog.. it was so very well put I wanted to meet such a wise compassionate lady. (Make mine a cup of coffee tho, I'm not much for tea, he he he)
Dale's a dear friend here in blogland, and we ALL feel so helpless and wish we could help. I have a son one year younger than his.. very much like him except he's ALREADY screwed up, paid his debt to society, and is now doing very well in college.
anyhow.. that was a beautifully written comment and you have a nice blog here, feel free to drop by my farm for some Arizona life.. regards!
where are you cuppa. is cuppa your name or your knickname?
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