Squirrel update:
nerak left a comment on the previous post about the squirrel that was trapped was merely the fall guy for the squirrel population at large. I poo-pooed her idea. Not publically, mind, but quietly in my own head.
Given that we woke up to find all three traps licked free of their peanut butter bait and exactly zero squirrels in said traps, nerak should feel free to laugh loud and long at my expense.
Stupid varmints. Worse than gophers.
Monday night, just as we were getting the kids put to bed, we heard an odd scratching/thudding sound. Once freed from the kidly duties, Scott wandered outside to discover something had chewed a big hole in one of the soffits on the front porch.
We went to the basement to gear up. I had a big flashlight. Scott had a ladder. We passed on the pointed stick. When we hit the front steps, a little varmint head poked itself out of the hole, flipped us off, and disappeared back into the roof.
Scott, like any right thinking handyman, turned to the internets. Apart from the suggestion that a non-poisonous snake be employed to take care of the problem, which seems like it would cause several more problems, the internets were no help.
So Scott stuffed the hole with plastic shopping bags and we went to bed.
The next morning, the bags were gone. Not in a scattered-on-the-ground sort of gone. In a pulled-into-the-hole-and-made-into-a-nest gone. Because it can never be easy.
The cats, by the way, were zero help.
When not napping, Trout would idly stare at the living room ceiling, yawn, and go back to sleep.
Barney, well, the picture itself speak volumes.
A professional critter catcher set traps on the roof at one p.m. today. Ninety minutes later, just as I was pulling back into the driveway with the Diva after a trip to the library, he was back to claim his first prize.
Mr (or Ms, hard to tell with squirrels) Nutkin here will be driven far out into the wilderness and set free. The traps will stay on the roof for the next week. We'll see how long it takes before Barney get himself trapped in one. Of course, that would require him to move.
In other news, my purple sweater was featured on the Stitch Bitch's blog yesterday. I'm dead chuffed and think this series will be a hoot.
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* No squirrels were harmed during the making of this post. Freaked out, perhaps, but not harmed.
* Jello really is a most wondrous substance.
* I have been on some flights with some really great flight attendants. This one takes the cookie, however. And those cookies are like my favorite cookies ever.
* I keep meaning to mention this but haven't remembered until now: Infinite Summer.
* Celiac Disease is becoming more common. Yet another canary in our broken food system coal mine?
* Josh Wolk rewatches Meatballs. I did the same year or two ago and found it awesome still. YMMV.
* So this is nifty.
* I'm not sure how I feel about the iHouse. It looks lovely -- but as a former Knoxville resident, I'm always suspicious of anything Clayton Homes does.
* For reasons unknown, I am drawn to books about meth. This probably has something to do with the drug's use in the American heartland, which is the most clean and wholesome of places, if you believe Fox News. After this bookslut review, I'll be getting a copy of Methland. (And for the Pie Goddess and Grill Master: Methland is all about Iowa.)
* Yum. Afterbirth. Has anyone done a study to see if the claims are true?
* Jincy Willett has a blog! (And, from her blog, this link to Flanders and Swann Online.)
* I am so, so jealous of Bakerella's local cake supply store. So, so jealous.
* Keep Calm and Carry On: the remix.
* If you are planning a trip to Pittsburgh, you couldn't do much better than to follow Lindsay's suggestions.
The city swimming lessons started today, which means that the Diva is occupied for 90+ minutes ( 30 in the pool, 60 on the tennis court) each weekday morning. Bliss, I tell you.
Rather than walk back home, I've been taking my iPod and my knitting with me. So far, I've done about 3 inches of ribbing on a sock:
The yarn in Blue Moon Socks that Rock in Corbie (I think.) I'll check next time we're in the same room.
ETA: I was wrong. It's Korppi.
I should have a pair by the time lessons are done at the end of the month. Maybe. Although now that I've written that, I've pretty much cursed myself.
Also, I'm working on a sekrit project. I can show you this much:
How's your summer knitting going?
Because her brother is a camera hog, a little Diva action.
From her birthday: I still can't believe she's SEVEN. That's just crazy talk.
The two of us having a moment the next day. No, I can't convince her to pull her hair back, just like mothers have been unable to do since time bgan.
In other news, I'm personing the desk at my LYS for the afternoon. Come by and talk yarn. Unless you are a creepy stalker, of course.
In other other news, the Diva grew an inch and gained six pounds over the last year, which is quite good indeed and proof that the GF diet is working. I, however, fear that my cold has turned into something more insidious. I'm going to give my immune system another 24 hours to rally, then I'll admit defeat and go to a doctor. Woo.
In the good news dept., I can watch the Roddick-Hewitt match from the LYS's computer. Hooray for the internets! Go, Andy!
Quick list today. Must take the Diva to her 7 year well kid visit. Any guesses on her current height?
* Our next vacation might have to be to the Wisconsin Dells, if only to go to Wizard Quest.
* Also on my next vacation, I'd like to tölt.
* Scratch all of that. I want to build a vacation around little known places in history.
* From my sister-in-law, who discovered this while looking for something completely different (and Russian): a wine rack. Literally.
* "Why do they so easily dare, not just to judge, but to give expression to their disdain, disapproval, smug superiority? And why — perhaps most to the point — do we put up with it?"
As mentioned earlier,* we've started locking The Boy's door at night until he winds himself down and goes to sleep. For what it's worth, I don't even lock the door anymore, for the most part. Once he figured out that it wasn't going to open, he stopped testing it.
Anyhoo. There is a new complication. We've added a bookshelf in his room. Now he wants to stay up all night pulling books off of the shelves and lying on the floor to read them. Sleep keeps winning, tho.
Exhibit A:
And, offered with only the comment that the easily offended might want to look away, Exhibit B:
It's going to be a long summer.
* So far, there's only been one piece of "how dare you!" mail, the writer of which wanted to remain anonymous. Her message was, essentially, the ASPCA and the Department of Child Welfare ought to be called. Also, I ought to be ashamed of myself. Noted.
