A Mouse In The House

September 23, 2013



What a beautiful weekend. Some overnight rain but mostly cool and sunny. I stayed home all weekend! What a gift. Getting ready for fall, decorating, cleaning and catching up. I loved it! But it was marred by one thing. A mouse.



A dead mouse in the basement. Killed by Hazel. A teeny, tiny thing. But a mouse none the less. I went downstairs to get something and I saw it at the bottom of the stairs. "Hilary come here," I yelled. She came to the top of the stairs but refused to go any further. "What do you want ME to do?" she asked. Well of course, I wanted her to get it out of there! But she refused. She did stand at the top of the stairs while I went down to make sure the teeny tiny mouse would not attack me. And then she suggested I call Josh. What a great idea!!! Could I possibly guilt him into coming over to dispose of this small creature?


"Are you kidding me?" was his response. In very well enunciated terms. Repeated twice in case I didn't hear it the first time. "No, I'm NOT kidding!" But I knew it was a futile request. I briefly considered paying someone to come over but by then I knew I was being ridiculous. So I got a shovel and scooped up the mouse and got rid of it in the yard.


But you know there is never just ONE mouse. I found another one soon after. That one is still down there until I decide to pick it up or Josh comes over. Which ever comes first. At least Hazel is earning her keep!

Cat Fight

July 2, 2013



I wish I could say this post involved me and Anita Pedulla, but it doesn't. She is too frightened to even speak to me over the phone and I don't want to get arrested by actually being in the same state. Maybe she is too ashamed to talk to me? But no. I'm pretty sure she is shameless. There I go, digressing again. This really is about my kitties. Lucy and Hazel that is. I took them to the vet last week to try to figure out how we were all going to live together. But the first problem was getting them in the carriers.


I enlisted Josh, the cat whisperer, to help me. He thought he was just going to accompany me and I would have them all ready to go when he got here. NO WAY. I needed help just putting them in the two carriers. We spent a good part of thirty minutes chasing them around the house trying to corner them and screaming at each other. Remember I'm Italian. Josh is just loud. Finally we sequestered them in my bedroom where they promptly hid under the bed. We tried to lure them out with treats to no avail. I tried pushing them from one side over to Josh. We were both spread out on the floor, sweating and begging them to come out. Finally success!! I'm not sure how but it happened.


On to the vet. I told her about poor Ophelia at home, too scared to come down from the sewing machine because she is afraid of Lucy. And Lucy!!! So sweet looking but totally mischievous. She gave me some suggestions but then admitted I would probably have to find her another home to really solve the problem. I was heartbroken. She is really sweet when she isn't terrorizing the other two. Hazel is overweight so I have to put her on a diet. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. And Hilary does not hesitate  to remind me of that. And now they both have to go back in a few weeks to have booster shots. So we'll have to go through the same scene all over again. I'm giving it until then to start searching for a new home for Lucy. Maybe things will improve in the meantime. I keep trying to explain to her how important good behavior is but I am not making a dent. Sort of reminds me of all the talks I had with Josh when he was at Cheshire Academy.


The best thing about that day was enjoying drinks and dinner at Mikro. A really delicious end to a stressful day. It's too bad I can't end every stressful day at a micropub enjoying a good meal with the people I love.