A Bold Mouse & Untimely Demises!

Last week, we were visited by a very bold mouse! It ran across Dave's feet while he was in the bathroom. Later, while he was sitting at his computer in our "living room", he looked down and saw a mouse (presumably the same one) sitting there grooming...bold as can be! As soon as he moved, the mouse ran toward me and the front of the RV. I missed out on seeing it and, no, I don't have a picture!

Well, I believe it was the next day that Dave saw a mouse outside the RV right by the laundry room. The laundry room faces the front of the RV. So, we wondered if it was the same mouse. If it was, it met its demise for Dave stepped on it. :P

We have mouse traps beneath the bottom drawers in our "kitchen". I try to remember to check them...but I forgot. Yesterday, we started to notice this awful smell. I did a trap check and, sure enough, we had caught another one of those critters.

We don't know which of those mice was the bold one. It is possible that it was neither..or even both! Such is the life of RV living on the land. We keep those traps set and baited!

From our little RV on the hillside to you in your home...I sure hope you don't have any regular furry little visitors like we do!

Repairs, Make-Do's, Gas & Transcriptions!

Well, Dave's bike is up and running again! Yay!! He has been taking it to work all week...which really helps with these awful gas prices! If it were not for that, we are not sure he could actually afford to go to work. The gas prices are driving up the price of everything, including food. I know a lot of people who are getting hit really hard by that. I wish I could somehow help them.

It sure is noisy around here. We don't know if maybe there are some cicadas, or if it is all just other insects. I love hearing it, though. I really like the sounds of nature. If/when we ever move back toward city life, I will really miss it.

I was blessed with two transcription jobs. They were both audios of business talk radio interviews. It was very interesting. Having never done transcribing before, the learning curve was huge, in spite of my ability to type fairly fast. Of course, it did not help that I had to use my laptop keyboard for the first one.

Typically, I use an external keyboard, but the PS2 port my keyboard plugs into got pulled on and it does not work right any more. By the time I started the second job, I was so frustrated that I figured I just had to find a way to get it to work. So, right now I have the keyboard cord taped to the top of my laptop in just such a way as to hold it in the right position for the port to work.

I know the problem is the port because I can plug my keyboard into my PS2 to USB adapter and it works just fine. However, I cannot use the adapter because I need it for my mouse. Laptop mice drive me nuts! My mouse does not work in that port, either. I tried another adapter, but it did not work. Dave tells me that a lot of them don't. So, my setup looks a bit wierd, but hey, it works for me right now!

I am praying that, someday, I will be able to replace the laptop. There are too many things going wrong with it. Amazingly, it is cheaper to replace it than to fix it. I was floored to find that out. We can do neither, at this point; but so long as it keeps working, I will keep writing! *smile*

From our little RV on the hillside, I hope this finds all of you finding ways to work around the gas prices. I also hope that all of your technical marvels, whatever you may have, are working correctly!

Long Day and Home Education!

Wew! I made it through yesterday! We have started going to a home school co-op on Tuesdays. We have not been able to go due to no money, no car. Well, God made a way for us to do it through someone who worked things out for us. But it means a VERY long day!

We leave about 5:45 a.m. Yep, you read that right! A.M.! As in...it is still dark. Now, I am used to getting up most days right around that time. However, having all three of us out the door by that time is vastly different! The night before we all need to be showered up and I have to have something packed for both breakfast and lunch.

First I drop Dave off at work; although, when the weather turns nicer, he will be dropping me off instead. That way I won't have to go pick him up. The classes are in two different places. Well, actually, the first set of classes are not really co-op classes, but a lot of the same people are there.

So, my son and I get dropped off at the first church, where the music classes are held. The church secretary is a home schooling mom herself and she has a place for us to work on schooling until the music theory classes start. My son really likes it.

From there we go to the second church, where the co-op classes are. We will need to catch a ride once we start getting dropped off. We go to the second church and eat lunch while we wait for his classes to start. He is taking Oceans, P.E. (for which I am currently a helper), and Art.

He loves all of his classes and he is making some friends. I get to meet and talk with other home schooling parents. Adult conversation! Yay! We are very blessed by this.

Last week, the first week, we were still not up to speed with getting well after being sick. I asked a friend if she would mind dropping us off for the afternoon classes only. She was gracious to do that as it is way out of her way normally. She decided to do shopping that day instead so it worked out nicely for us both.

This week, we did the whole thing. I was exhausted. With PTSD, it does not take much to overwhelm me. I am realizing that I must find a quiet place to just take a quick nap or something during his first class. Yesterday, I was so exhausted that I had my eyes closed most of the way home. I did not even go into the store with Dave on the way home. As soon as we got home I hit the couch. I sort of dozed off and on...not sure if I actually slept at all or not.

Later, I dragged myself off the couch and checked email and a couple of things on the net and then was in bed by 10. This morning, I could still feel the aftereffects of such a long day away from home. But it is worth it! I will just have to take each week as it comes.

It snowed yesterday and part of today, so far. I love watching the snow come down. I just hate that it keeps turning to rain and then sometimes to ice. This is not the winter weather I remember from before. This is like the transitional weather from winter to spring. It is almost as if winter never hit this year. :(

On the one hand, that may be good...saves us the cost of heating and makes it easier to do laundry. On the other hand, it is dreary, muddy and icey. The ice is bad because of how dangerous it is, too.

Today, the sun is shining. I love the sunshine...warm or cold...I love the sunshine!

The mouse population went down again by two (oops...editing in correction...THREE) within the last few days! Sure wish they would just stay outside! My son and hubby get to do the mouse trap duty.

Snow!

We have beautiful snow today, although still not much. We get this light one to two inch dusting, which is beautiful, but nothing to play in. Of course, right now would be the worst time to get enough to play in since our son is sick! Oh, what cruelty that would be!

We love being able to sit here and watch outside...that is...when we can see outside. The windows keep fogging up on us, but even through the foggy window it is still beautiful. That is one thing I love about being out here. At least I have the beauty around us to behold! I see God's creative handiwork in all that is around me.

Oh, we had to decrease the mouse population by one more last night. **wicked grin**