Of Mice and Snow

When Steve and I returned from walking Reggi Saturday morning, the cats were playing with a field mouse in the dining room. Cutest little dickens. I grabbed a Rubbermaid box and caught said mouse. I then tried to get Simon to take it outside, telling him that I don't mind catching them but it's the flinging of them I don't like.

Simon: Don't fling the poor mouse, Mom, just set the box on the ground and lift the lid.

Stefani: Sure, so it can run up the leg of my pants!? No, thank you.

Simon: Don't be ridiculous! It's not going to do that.

Stefani: What if I keep my hand there too long and it runs up my arm, crawls into my ear and has babies? What then??

Simon: You are too weird.

Steve: You two should charge admission for these conversations. (This isn't the first time he's said that to us!)

Meanwhile Steve took the box with him when he went outside to get the newspaper. At last report, the mouse didn't look all that happy sitting in the snow.

Why didn't Simon just take the mouse outside, you ask? It's part of his new program to wean us off of his help. He's really very helpful around the house, fixing stuff, ridding the house of mice and snakes, etc. Unfortunately, Steve and I have said a few too many times, "What are we going to do when Simon's gone? Who is going to do this stuff for us?" So now he's showing us a little Tough Love.

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This is amazing!

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I've been after my friend, Nancy, the one who turned 40 last week - to start her own blog. Once she saw how easy this Blogger deal is - she did! Check her out here. This will be cool - another person I know in real life - with a blog.

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This is our long ass driveway, full of snow this morning.

This is my car, stuck in the snow. (I called our mechanic today to get new tires. I've been feeling guilty and irresponsible driving with the tires I currently have. Today, it became a no-brainer.) I tried to shovel myself out. I tried to rock the car from the inside and the outside. I tried to look as pathetic and pitiful as I could and not one driver passing by would make eye contact with me!

I went inside and called a woman I work with but she'd already left. There's another woman who lives sort of nearby but her phone is unlisted. I called Gretchen - not knowing she's in Florida this week. I called Steve, "I am so stuck." I really just called to whine but he insisted on coming home and picking me up.

When we got home, the driveway had been plowed by our neighbor we pay to do it. Simon and Gershum and I were just starting to work on the car when the same neighbor and a friend stopped by and pushed me out in no time flat. He said he'd come back and clean out the driveway again.

While waiting for Steve, I took some nice snowy pictures, hoping to use some for postcards to sell. I took down the Christmas wreath from the front of the house. One of my pet peeves is competing holiday decor. So we had the Christmas wreath not that far from the Valentine's Day flag - in March! What would Martha say? (She gets out of prison in 5 more days, you know!)