Mouse

So a few years back I was at a pumpkin patch, Sauvie's Island to be specific,
and we were wandering around looking for the perfect pumpkin...
this requires rolling them over to make sure they are not flat on one side...

It was a gorgeous, sunny day.  There were friends along and we had spread out a bit
in search for the perfect pumpkin to load up on the tractor and take home...

I have spent many a year visiting pumpkin patches...
as you know, I love pumpkins,
But for the very first time in my life when I rolled that pumpkin over I had a horrible surprise...


A nest of mice....
They shot off in all directions
I screamed like I have never screamed before in my life...

Really! Ask anyone who was within a mile of me in the patch they will tell you...
Mice freak the heck out of me...
Don't know why....

The book "When you give a mouse a cookie"  cute mouse
The movie Ratatouille - cute mouse
The mice under the pumpkin - Not Cute!

We have had non stop partying since Thursday around here. 
Cooking and cleaning...
Cooking and cleaning...

I like to make a good impression...
I like people to feel comfortable in my home...
I like them to eat well...

So I was doing A lot of cooking and CLEANING!

On Christmas day we had a house full.  Food all day with friends and family.
We cleaned the kitchen pretty well before bed.  The only food left out was a tray of cookies and fudge
and a pitcher of apple cider...

I'm not sure yet if I'm thankful I left the cider out...
Yes, I think I am...
In fact I may have found a new way to market apple cider...

As we went to bed around midnight Sat night I informed my husband that he was on breakfast duty in the morning...

He rose to the occasion and made pancakes and we had a lovely meal.
The Grandparents packed up, kissed us goodbye and headed down the Gorge...

As soon as the Grandparents pulled out of the driveway my husband turned to me and said
"I have something to tell you that will upset you, but I didn't want to tell you until everyone was gone"
Now, I don't know about you, but I found this statement very unsettling!

"How, long have you been holding onto this information? Since Friday?"   "No", he said "just the last 15 min" 
"OK, what is it?' I asked.  " I found a mouse in the apple cider pitcher this morning"

What??????????????????

Gross, gross, gross

My husband had wisely disposed of it before telling me.

I had poured the apple cider from the original jug into a lovely pitcher yesterday, apparently the mouse had climbed up and over and then found himself a drowning victim in the sticky sweet liquid.

I literally felt a gag rising in my throat...
and then, when my only plan had been to collapse on the couch and watch Karate Kid, I found myself ripping my kitchen apart...

I had to know where the mouse got in and whether or not there were more....

Tyler walked through at one point and looked at me and said "I'm not even gonna ask why"  and I said we found a mouse in the pitcher of apple cider!  and then he said "well, you weren't the one to find it our I would have heard you scream"

Thankfully, I wasn't the one to find it.  And thankfully we didn't find more.

We took drastic measures, we cleaned and searched and sealed everything we could find. 

I was tempted to leave another pitcher out last night...
but I just couldn't bring myself to do it...

So in my version of the story "If you give a mouse a cookie"  be sure to give him some apple cider along with it....
However, if you are in need of a mouse trap I have a lovely pitcher, and I know where you can buy some
apple cider, just give me a call.

Frychik