Unwelcome Guests, a Big Stink & Another One Bites the Dust!

When you live in a very small space, it is really hard to keep smells down, whether it is from dirty laundry, shoes, spills, cooking...you name it. Well, one wonderful smell is dead mouse! UGH!!! If I forget to check the traps...we sometimes end up with this awful smell. ICK!

Well, that is what happened the other day. The thing is...they also tend to smell like dirty socks or shoes...or at least what dirty socks CAN smell like. Thing is...when I go around sniffing socks (which our son tends to always stash here and there) or shoes...none of them are producing the smell. Not that they smell like flowers, mind you, they are just not the source of THE smell!

So, that tells me it is time to do a trap check. Sure enough, we had one of the little creatures under one of the kitchen drawers. They just love to run beneath the drawers to get from one place to another. For mice...these fellows sure do seem to be kind of big. And when they get caught in a trap that I forget to check...their stink can sure be big, too. :P

They visited our son's stuffies, too. Well, to be specific...one stuffie. They are always looking for stuff to make their nests out of and we have to make sure the things we store outside are either in plastic bins...or sealed pretty good in plastic bags. His stuffies WERE in bags and bins...however, he pulled some out and did not put them away. So, you can guess what happened!

Today, he was looking for a particular stuffie, so in they all came, piled up on the couch. He had moved them over and sat down when he suddenly realized that he was sitting on little tiny black things. Yep...you guessed it...mouse poop! He was suitably grossed out...which is good since we have a difficult time convincing him of the necessity of doing things that don't draw any little critters in.

It turns out that some mice had apparently made their home inside one of his stuffies. He has one of those praying bears that he was given as a gift. Well, the bears rear end had been opened so that we could try and wash it because it had gotten wet outside when the tarp shed leaked. (He had not left it in the protective container. Hmmm...am I the only one who sees a pattern here?)

Well, apparently, the mice thought it would be a great place to live for a bit and they left their little calling cards behind. When he brought them inside, he did not notice that his bear was "pooping" on the couch. And, then, true to his nature to never look BEFORE sitting down, he sat on them.

Since all the stuffies had been thrown together...they all needed to be washed. That is where they are right now...hopefully surviving a soak and spin in the washing machine on delicate. Then there is the challenge of drying them in a dryer that has no low heat cycle...only medium and high. (Hey...what do you want for free? We are VERY grateful to have been given this w/d set!)

I made my son pick up all those wonderful calling cards and then sprayed a disinfectant on the couch. I also made him wash his hands REAL good with disinfectant soap! Man, oh man! They joke about children maybe not surviving growing up...I am wondering if WE are going to survive his growing up!!

Poor bear has had a speakerectomy and a battery power packectomy. The wires running into his paws are still there. Who knows? Maybe it will get fixed? Hmmm. THAT could take some doing. Anyone want to play mad scientist? Maybe we could make a educational project out of this. It is doubtful that he is going to remember to protect his belongings or look where he sits any time soon. So, maybe he can learn to put his bear back together!

We experimented for breakfast this morning. We made chocolate chip pancakes, which is normal for us. But, the first few, instead of the chips, we put some bits of orange in. My son thought that would be cool, kind of like banana pancakes or apple pancakes. I, on the other hand, was not so sure. So, I did not commit the whole batch of batter to the orange bits. Now, I AM sure. If I want orange pancakes, which I really do NOT see in the foreseeable future, I am going to try it with orange juice instead, I think.

Well, I had better go check on some very soggy stuffies...poor fellows. :( I hope I can get them safely dried out. I sure miss my other dryer. It has a low heat for delicate clothes, but it is way in the back of the "box" and there is a lot of stuff in front of it. I miss my washer, too. It is a front loader...gentler on clothes and very water and soap conserving. It is with the dryer, but may need a new water pump. We are not sure, yet.

From the three of us (and some soggy stuffies) in our Little RV on the Hillside...to all of you...may your day be a blessed one, filled with peace and joy!