And now I am off to join weight watchers! Or read this article. Or work-out. Ummmm, right after a quick trip to the kitchen!
Friends, say happy birthday to rating/shoveling guy! Cuz, he loves his birthday and also cuz he does a lot for us, what, with all the rating and shoveling and mice defense!
So, we had to make his current favorite foods for dinner – potato salad, fish, and shrimp. The fish was awesome (please allow me to say that even though I made it myself!), so was the potato salad and aunty sid made that one.
I thought the shrimp was alright-ish, even though, my mom called to say “hats off the the chiefs” (mostly for the fish! 
)- and trust me, she does not give compliments easily!
Happy Birthday rating/shoveling guy and thanks for everything!
It was day like any other, laundry was in the dryer for a while and I suddenly remembered that it needed to be cleared. I went into the basement, cautiously, as always because it’s been my secret suspicion that there were mice, or, snakes living down there. When the big, black, living thing ran across the corridor. I ran upstairs screaming like a girl in a very dignified but speedy manner. We’re used to wearing clothes with a weird smell anyway.
After much deliberation on this potential crisis, sid and I decided it was best to call in an expert. Yes, shoveling/rating guy! I must say he was very brave, albeit a bit irritating when he made it mandatory for us to actually see dead mice that he caught. Whatever.
Now people, if you want to protect yourself against mice, first you gotta clean out mess and potential nesting areas, aka, my entire garage and basement! My parents and shoveling/rating guy came to help us, because we are pathetic and pitiful they are such helpful and loving and fabulously kind people.
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On Saturday
Everyone: So, what are you going to do with all those garbage bags?
Me: Oh, I can take care of those. I’ll just, you know, but them in the van and take them to the dump.
Everyone: Ok. By yourself?
Me: Yeah. I mean, it’s not a big deal. The dump is like 5 minutes away and I can take the seats down in the van myself.
Everyone: Ok.
On Tuesday
I bought a large bin. So I could, ummm, keep the garbage bags out of the reach of any pests.
It was the largest bin they had, and I am awesome at these types of planning and cleaning and mice-defense matters.
On Thursday
The garbage bags are still sitting in the garage. Clearly I need a new plan.
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Next, you must seal up any holes. The one from the basement to the garage is now plugged up with a kid’s fishing rod. We did an awesome job with the one in my room, yes… MY ROOM! Argh…
Behold!
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As a further defense, I was told that mice detest peppermint oil, and as I didn’t have that in stock, I decided to use my stress free lotion with spearmint on the kids, to, you know, protect them!
But, then we bought peppermint oil and put drops everywhere, and as I reflected on everything, I thought “ah, this is what it would smell like if I lived in the doublemint factory”.
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And as if being terrorized by mice is not enough, I was woken at about 1am by heat and wetness all over my lower body, it felt sorta good for a millisecond until I realized that my 3 year old who was sleeping on top of me was peeing!
Such is my life, people.
So. I got a lot of advice on how to get rid of the mice – I liked the cat idea because even if they do die its still a very natural occurrence (and I won’t feel like a murderer!), but I just can’t do pets, especially cats because they seem like they have too much attitude. I also attempted to use snake poo to keep them away but the guy at the pet store didn’t really want to give me any snake poo and he also said that in his “professional opinion”, that method would not work. I gave about 5 seconds of thought to using sticky strips to get them, because, they’ll get stuck and then what? Anyway. There it is… we called in the exterminator, sadly, and now I am a little depressed because I do feel like a murderer!
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like them, I just don’t want to kill poor innocent beings – yeah, spiders and ants too – many of them pick up residence here, much to Sid’s chagrin. I am also not a tree-hugging, vegetarian type – I just don’t like unnecessary cruelty to any living beings.
When I was younger we had dogs and fish and birds… really! The dogs were always guard dogs and not really the kinds you play with, but my grandparents took really great care of them and we always treated them with kindness. After we stopped living with my grandparents, we tried to get a dog, but for some reason they always died after a few weeks, then the last one we had, “bengi”, died when he was a teeny, tiny cute little pup and we gave up on trying to get a dog – I think we were all traumatized. Then, when I was 18, I lived by my aunt for a while and they had the cutest little rottweiler, every time I came home from school he would sit on my shoe and pull at my laces, until one day I came home to discover that he was hit by a car and died.
I really, truly hoped that the mice would just exit the garage the way they came in! What would you guys do?
I hope everyone had a beautiful Eid!
We had a good day. Usually I have everyone over at my place, but I decided to change it up a bit this year as everyone seems sort of tired from the month (well, that and the fact that last week we discovered MICE!!!! It looks like they came in from the garage now we have no idea what to do, and here’s is where the lack of a man in the house is extremely inconvenient! Ahem). Anyway.
My mom cooked curry duck and, I guess what you could call breadfruit oil-down except clearly without any pig products… she made it with dasheen leaves and salt fish… It tastes amazingly good, but I understand if your response to this is “WTH?!”
The kids spent part of the day with us and part with their dad and from the sounds of it, they had an awesome day!
I feel a bit paralyzed right about now, mostly because I don’t know what to do about the problems with this house. But, anyway, yesterday was good, and I am just a little tired of facing new challenges everyday, but at least life is interesting right?! Sigh.
Have a great day!
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