Started off my day normally, walked in to Cracker Barrel and the hostess knew my name and that I had a mobile check in, she sat me right away. Everyone around me was getting waited on but me. I wasn’t terribly pleased about it but waited and eventually the manager surfaced. I flagged him down and he took my order and promised to find my server. I figured my troubles were over with, boy was I wrong. It was a while longer and another waiter happened to see that I had yet to get a drink, he asked me what I was drinking and then he got it for me. My food came out and it looked and tasted fine. I had to ask for silverware. Never mind that the gravy for the biscuits was cold. When I was done, I waited for the check but no check came. I flagged down the same manager and told him that no one bothered to follow up with me to see if my meal was okay, if I needed/wanted a refill. I told him that I didn’t want a free ride but he still offered to comp my meal. I told him that I would rather pay the bill. Why you might ask? Simple I consumed the food. I figured that he would discount something or take something off but nope he took me at my word that I wanted to pay and he made sure that I paid full price. When I looked at my receipt, I found out that my server was supposed to be the same handsome Twinkie that served me last week. He was buzzing all around me but never gave me the time of day. This was the first thing to go wrong.
I made it to the grocery store but I was rattled by my breakfast experience. I managed to make it through the store and it wasn’t until hours later after being home that I realized I forgot a couple things. Nothing major and I don’t need to rush back. Unless it’s something critical I never, ever make a second trip. However, I was mad at myself for forgetting. This kind of thing happens so I am not counting it as something that went wrong.
The second thing that went wrong. I had noticed that I wasn’t getting any feed activity from a guy that I follow on Instagram. He happens to be the son of a guy I went to school with. This kid is in his early 20’s and damn cute. I’ve been following him for a couple years and when I checked the list of people that I follow he wasn’t there. I tried to look him up and no luck either. Turns out he blocked me. I understand it. I am a complete stranger and it was obvious by my username and photo that I am gay. I honestly think this kid is as well but he hasn’t come to terms with it, but hey I could be wrong. This was a huge disappointment to me but I am surprised that I was able to follow him as long as I did without this happening sooner. I never reached out or reacted to a photo, just looked. He’s really a good-looking young man.
The third thing is a real problem and one that I honestly didn’t want to mention. Friday morning, I was talking with a co-worker and I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. There was really something there. It was a mouse. We looked at each other and both of us moved. The mouse ran for shelter and I ran to find it. Needless to say, the damn thing was faster than me. Things settled down and it came by again and rattled me. I bought some glue traps and baited them with peanut butter. I figured that would take care of the problem. The basement has been closed up for a while so the cat doesn’t come down here. Last night the cat is fast asleep in her bed. I am watching TV and the damn mouse ran right by her and then under my cedar chest. I am perplexed as to how it managed to get upstairs. Then to add insult to injury when I checked my traps this morning, it stepped in one of them but managed to break free. It never bothered the peanut butter. I think the mouse is probably smart enough now to know to avoid them so my chances of catching it I think have probably decreased. I don’t want the cat to catch it, not sure if she would even bother to try. I don’t want the mouse eating the cat food or bothering the cat. I just want it gone!
I discovered that I had an issue about a month ago when each time I went to do laundry there was this funny black rock like thing on top of the dryer. It happened a couple times I did some searching on google and figured out what it was. Then I got bold and wound up ripping out the insulation that was protecting the water line because it was just littered with this shit. I found the entrance which was an old dryer vent. When my late spouse went to add the deck that he wanted the city made him move the dryer vent because they said it posed a safety hazard to have it under the deck. It blows out warm air I don’t see what the damn big deal is but he moved it. It’s been years upon years that this old vent has been vacant and neither of us gave it any thought to plug it from the inside. That created quite the entrance and I believe this “unknown odor” that I have experienced for the last couple years is mice using the bathroom but doing it in between walls and what I thought were squirrels walking on the roof were likely mice in the attic. Needless to say, the hole is now plugged with Great Stuff Foam and there is no way any mouse/creature is getting in or exiting from that route. In a way I felt vindicated when I made this discovery because I was honestly thinking I was losing my mind and imaging the odor. I’ve heard something rattling around in the walls in my room over the last couple weeks and suspect that it was this mouse that finally broke through. I don’t believe it has a second entrance/exit and is likely hungry. It is said that if you see one mouse there is usually a family or more of them. I hope that is not the case and that I am right in my thought process that this is the one that was left behind. It is the first one that I have ever seen in the house. I really don’t need to add this to my problem list.
The thought of killing the furry thing does have me upset. I don’t like to harm creatures in general but I need for it to leave and the only way for that to happen short of leaving a door wide open is to kill it. It poses a danger to me and to my cat. They carry all sorts of diseases and one of them is Hantavirus. Go look that up, it mimics the symptoms of COVID or the Flu. I know for sure that I had COVID and not this but I don’t want to catch anything from this mouse. Just leave my home and I will be a happy camper.
I’ve done a fair amount of research and there are all sorts of ways to get rid of them on your own. Most involve baiting & setting traps. The glue trap is the easiest but it’s not exactly humane. The poor thing is stuck and either dies from suffocation or dehydration, not a pleasant way to go. They can also get partially stuck then then they gnaw off the limbs that are stuck to break free or they use the bathroom and that somehow helps them break free. If I could easily catch it, I would be okay with setting it free outdoors but I don’t think that is going to happen. The last thing I want to do is call an exterminator. I know that I will also likely have to rip out walls and more insulation when it comes to fully cleaning up after them. Yet another reason to want to sell this place and move. I do hope that the “unknown odor” doesn’t come back but my best guess tells me when it gets hot outside the urine that has soaked into the insulation overtime will heat up and the odor will come back. If that happens then I am right about ripping stuff out and that will get costly very fast.
I just want to be left alone especially when it comes to house problems. Look on You Tube and you can see plenty of videos where rats and mice have done severe damage to homes. Rats are way worse than mice. However, mice can eat at wiring and cause electrical issues or even fires. They chew and gnaw on all sorts of stuff but really don’t need much food to survive. I’d much rather see it dead and remove it than have it die behind a wall or in an inconspicuous place that I can’t find. My bigger worry is that it will come in contact with the cat, eat the cats food/water or somehow spread a disease or do harm to the cat. Although one of the solutions on the internet for getting rid of mice is to get a cat. Mice are about 70% water and cats are made to consume them. Yeah, that’s when they are in the wild or barn cats. I don’t want my little girl anywhere near this damn thing.
So, there you have it. I hope this isn’t an omen for how the week is going to go. If so, I would just as soon take the week off without pay and sail away to some place tropical. There are a couple of emotional anniversaries that happen this week that I am not looking forward to. Tomorrow marks the anniversary of my late spouses passing and then on Thursday it marks the anniversary of the cat Big Boy (Bear) passing. While it’s been years since they both are gone, I still miss them very much.
I feel like Joe Btfsplk a character from the cartoon Little Abner. He’s got a black cloud following him around and seems to have the worst luck in the world. Black Cloud & Rain go away bring the sun out today I say!
Here’s hoping it’s a great week and that I can get a win in somehow.
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