Mouse in the House

February 15, 2016

Our new Directors, the Fuhrimans, have been here for three weeks. They are good people and fun to be around.  Before they arrived Roger and I were asked by the Osborns to stay at the residence just so people driving by would know that someone was at home. One night, after family home evening, Roger had settled in to watching some news on the TV.  I walked into the room and saw the curtains move slightly.  I said "Roger I think we have a mouse in the curtains."  He got up and went over to the curtains and moved them back and forth.  Sure enough, there was a little mouse, now a scared little mouse.  I looked quickly for a trap, but the Osborns had been assured that there were no more mice and the holes in the walls outside were all filled in. So they had thrown away all the traps.  The only other things available were a broom and a mop. So we tried to get it out in the open.  I wasn't sure if we would try to kill the little pest or just what.  But we definitely had it confused. Roger swished his broom and it would run toward me; I would pound the mop on the floor and it would try to run under the couch again. We went back and forth several times until I said "maybe we should open the door and try to get it outside."  That became the goal.  We swished and plopped until we had it in the center of the entry with the door open.  It stopped and turned and looked at us like, "now what do you want me to do?"  I said "just go outside," and it turned and ran outside.  I told Roger "I bet it dies either of a heart attack from our chasing it or from the cold."  He said, "Oh I bet it just runs around and gets back inside some way."  Right after the mouse ordeal, Elder Fuhriman called and said they would be here in the next two days.  We finished the phone call, looked at each other, and said, "lets go home to our apartment." We packed up and left.

The residence and the Visitor center mice were taken care of today by and exterminator.  Hopefully that will take care of the problem.

We drove to Burlington last Wednesday to have our car serviced. We had some trouble with a shimmy in the front end and a burn smell.  We waited while they checked everything out. When it was finished the guy working with us said everything checked out good, but they did find a mouse nest on the engine which was the cause of the burn smell.  Then he said this is quite normal here in Vermont.  I really don't like mice, never have.  I don't love cats, but we have them in Peterson because if you don't like kittens, you will have mice.

It has been really cold the past couple of days.  Valentines day -22 degrees.   This morning -12.  It is supposed to warm up tomorrow and be 50 degrees on Wednesday. This is the bridge that crosses the White River in Sharon Vermont.

 I am looking forward to spring, flowers and more visitors at the Center.