An in-between phase

doingitanyway

Watty1 said:

Frankly think mouse should be dropped off at surveyors - relocate mouse and seek revenge in one!

Haha funny

PennysIntoPounds

We thought we were keeping a tight rein @doingitanyway, apparently he went and did what he wanted anyway 😂

Haha like your thinking @Watty1

PennysIntoPounds

Badminton. Very pleased with this as joints especially knee were extra sore but thought they might as well be sore for having done some minor exercise

Usuals
Survey

Sorted TfL, refund of £2.80 coming my way ✔️

Half wussy situps

Saw mum and reborrowed her shark for ease of making sure there are no invisible to us crumbs around

Lots of mouse research ✔️
As far as we can tell there is one currently trapped in the study where we work. Hopefully it's the same one and it stays in there until we can grab it. Can't see any little holes to block although the window frame has gaping holes, not much we can do about that though. Have applied pungent scent and put a towel against the door so also hopefully it will b*gger off out the window gap to yonder distance.
The little bar steward has eaten into my pack of creme eggs I was saving for Easter so that's three quid wasted

Feeling quite stressed and anxious so allowing myself not to do the letter writing today as don't think my friend needs a lengthy unhinged catch up!

Think about laptops ✔️ Admittedly all I did was see that music magpie take some, but I did look so counting that as not just rolling the start of the task over!

Dinner is potato bravas which we haven't made before so that'll be something new at least

PennysIntoPounds

Because I am a calm and capable adult and definitely not an over anxious massive wuss, I definitely didn't run away to mums to sleep after seeing a mouse in our kitchen yesterday evening, I actually made a mature decision to best utilise our sleeping time with a varied location, actually

Shower and hairwash (I keep putting this as its such an achievement for my dodgy joints, and it's quite mse to be vaguely societally acceptable)

Cobbling together of usuals where I could snatch a minute throughout the day

Thames came to fit a smart meter, obvs couldn't do it 😂 There's always blimmin something isn't there!

'Casual chat' (job interview) about ad hoc invigilator shifts at a local school. They'd already said they were full for now so no immediate or guaranteed work but no harm being on their books. They emailed after and said they'd love me to join the team so that was really nice and I felt very brave 😊😂

More attempts at mouse proofing/deterring the flat, did not need this extra massive job in my life!

More chasing clarification on build issues

Replied to my penpal ✔️
Sent an enquiry about selling old laptops ✔️
Opened the sp*csavers website which is basically the same as booking, attending, and spending money 😭

Dinner is leftover pizza and mozzarella sticks with salad 

doingitanyway

Mouse proofing here involved  unravelling Brillo pads as could not find a hardware shop selling wire wool to block the holes/pipes. It took ages...your dinner sounds nice...

foxgloves

Mouse needs catching. The little humane traps are not expensive. Wish you were nearer, I'd pop round with some mouse kit! If you find any shredded fabric (or even bin bags), that's usually a sign they are nesting. They will eat almost anything. During one of our regular Autumn mouse incursions, we had a persistent solo visitor who managed to dodge the humane trap for a few days. Knew it was there, found the poo & learned the smell of mice from living in student dives in my youth. The ONLY thing this critter broke into & ate was a single jar of my home made chilli jelly. It chomped through the cellophane lid & wax disc & consumed quite a lot of a very hot preserve! Made me wonder if mice can taste hot things.....or maybe it just enjoyed spicy food! Caught it & dispatched to opposite (wealthy) end of village anyway.
I look forward to hearing your small interloper has been apprehended.
F x

redofromstart

The exam invigilator is a good gig, worth approaching other schools if you can.  My neighbour is a governor at the local school and he ends up doing it because they just can't get the staff because of the location.  

I can't cope with mice and would also leave home.  Wire wool in every hole is the way forward, I think we bought it on ebay.  The cats are useless, I think they bring more in tbh.

PennysIntoPounds

Cheers @doingitanyway @foxgloves @redofromstart

We bought steel wool and have been tackling an area of a room at a time but these being flats converted from Victorian buildings, and not looked after well by housing association in the meantime, means LOTS of holes and gaps. 
Got two humane traps in the post today so we'll load them up before going to bed in the kitchen and by the kitchen door which we'll leave open, and leave our bedroom door open so anything in there has easier access to get to traps. God I really do not need this additional stress! I was fine when it was one minding it's own business, but in my bedroom in the middle of the night has really not done my mental health a favour! Really hope it's just one 🙏 

Went for this invigilator role as it's walking distance so thought if it's a day where I'm in a ton of pain at least I won't be letting anyone down by a commute on public transport wrecking me even further, and them being approx three hour sessions means even if I do feel dreadful I should be able to do a respectable job before collapsing in agony afterwards! 

Sallyforth

The invigilator role is a good move. Have you done it before? I did it a couple of years back and it earned me a nice little chunk for very little effort. I too was able to walk to the school and they were very flexible with days. However for some reason they decided I’d be good at 1:1 (me with no children and zero knowledge of them!). If you’re comfortable with that idea ask to be considered because you really are your own boss. The lad I was assigned was actually very personable despite his ADHD and autism. Apparently he could be very disruptive if he’d been in a hall with his mates - he was good looking and very popular so even if he didn’t pass his exams I suspect he’ll eventually find his way in life.
Good luck with it.

dreaming

redofromstart said:

  The cats are useless, I think they bring more in tbh.

Yes, my cat brings in live mice and lets them go! I can usually catch them in the humane traps and release them. Yesterday though, I found 2 dead (and mummified) ones when I moved my heavy oak desk to see if a new arrangement would work. It didn't because of all the tech. wires etc. not reaching, but at least I managed to dispose of the bodies and clean. Then, as I have had problems in the kitchen before, I pulled out the under counter fridge and freezer and found a pile of droppings. I vacuumed and then bent down to spray some anti-bacterial stuff so i could mop it and a little mouse stuck his head out of the freezer motor housing. I'm not sure who was more surprised - me or him (her/they?). I quickly baited the traps and left them overnight but no luck, although the cat was freaked out by the fridge and freezer being in the middle of the kitchen and wouldn't walk past them. I'm not sure what I prefer - dead mice or live ones. Or no mice at all I guess. I did see what looked like wire insulation in amongst the droppings so I think my uninvited guest is chewing away at the motor wiring so envisage the freezer going kaput.