Sunday, May 18, 2008





The Mouse Master






I live most of my days in North Bend Washington. This is where my boyfriend lives. He has a house on the south fork of the Snoqualmie that he is remodeling. It's going from 1500 square feet to 4300 hundred square feet due to a timber frame addition(s). It will be fabulous! Someday......

Right now we live in a disorganized mess, you can set something down only to have it disappear an instant later. There are piles of trash and wood everywhere. We also have new critters to go along with the dog and three cats, mice and rats.... many many of them.
It started about a year ago. The dog would be sound asleep in the living room when all of a sudden she would leap to her feet and roar into the bathroom. She would skitter across the floor, barking and snarling, scattering rugs in her wake. It was disturbing! Is she crazy? What the hell? We would go in the bathroom and see and hear.... nothing.

This went on for months and we did nothing. My poor dog was trying to tell us something and we weren't listening closely enough. Then one day I was,ahem, using the facilities when I heard what sounded like a monster trying to claw its way out from under the sink. I got Mark and we stood in the bathroom listening, there it was! Claws! So we knew Lola was right, there were creatures in our walls.
I am a dog trainer by trade and resolutely refuse to kill these creatures. Afterall I have a few dogs who aren't as smart as these creatures seem to be. Mark? he's just too tenderhearted, shhh don't tell I told. I have been on a mission to rid us of these tiny guests. I've done research about the inner workings of the mouse mind, sprinkled flour like pixie dust all over the house looking for tiny footprints and stuffed steel wool in every crack and crevice.
Still they lurk....
We open a wall and pounds of dog food fall out. We plug one hole and find another. We trap them, the one pictured is a pack rat, drive them across the river and they return. I've threatened to tag them all with nail polish, convinced we are trapping and releasing a family of four, to no avail.
Until the "The Mouse Master"
It's a strange looking box with two compartments and a hole between the two. The mice go into the hole and a paddle wheel flips them into a "escape proof" compartment. We caught six our first two days. It seems to work, but at night I sometimes think I hear tiny little mouse giggles as they return from their trip across the river

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Split the Difference

I've noticed that with every relatonship I have there is always a "bone" of contention. Something that no matter how hard you try you will never agree on or to. Things that in the grand scheme of things don't really matter, but for some reason you stoutly stick to your guns.... both of you, and argue your point til the end.

I have a friend who cannot be on time. We have had many a conversation about why it is... or isn't, important to be on time. Neither of us in 29 years have changed our minds on the subject. Over time I have decided that either I give up my timeliness, or this person. I chose her and adjust my life to her schedule. Those who know of the situation are aghast that I would so willingly give in to this horrible situation! But I've come to realize she isn't going to change so I have to and it's ok.

I'm not so successful with my significant other. We have several points of disagreement. Abortion being a biggie... I pro, he con. We have had many a heated "discussion" on the topic. In fact we can barely speak on the topic. I mean really how dare he even think to disagree with me? I'm obviously right, he is obviously wrong. I must continue until he sees the error of his ways... this is so very important to me.

Our other "bone" is how to sleep. Light on....light off? TV on TV off? I can't sleep with it on he can't sleep with it off. Who is right? Why should one prevail over the other? Whose sleep is more precious?

Even arguing can cause an arguement. Our styles are different. I want to continue until it's settled, how dare you walk away before it's all done? Why should you dictate the end? I will NOT shut up when you tell me to.

I need to remember this...

My dad died about a year and a half ago. Two things that weighed heavily on my moms mind after he died were...

She wouldn't let him paint their house a bright color when he wanted to. They could never agree about color. He was colorblind and white never appealed to him. And they continously argued about the temperature of the house she 72, he 68. She said soon after he died "why didn't I just let him paint the fucking house?"

My mom never swears and it made me think...

So who cares about his opinion and mine. I'm just going to let him have the "fucking" TV on and shut up. I don't want that to weigh heavily on my mind later.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008