I Don't Do Mousework

Usually.

Remember when I told you that housework is bad for your health? Laundry is too, evidently, because I thought I was going to have a fit when I went to get the clean clothes from the laundry room this morning that I'd washed this weekend but hadn't had time to fold.

See this little guy? Yeah, I know the picture is blurry. That's because in order to get a better one I would need to be closer. No snarky comments about my tattered laundry baskets ! These do the job just fine.



I left it there for awhile in the hopes that it would scram in my absence. It isn't that I'm afraid of mice - as in, I think they will give me rabies or something - it is just that I'm not a fan of surprises in general. And I think finding a mouse amidst clean clothes somewhat of a surprise.

I went upstairs to run the vacuum. Actually, my cleaning was interrupted more there by the large animal pest (who routinely insists that vacuum hoses must be exterminated at all costs) than the small animal pest who was blocking the way to the washer and dryer.

Action was required. So first I sucked the breath out of the dog just long enough to incapacitate her (I'm joking! No animals were harmed in the vacuuming of my floor! I promise!). Then I went downstairs to find the little fuzzy huddled in front of the dryer like so:

I enlisted the Bear's help. It turns out that we didn't really need that broom much after all. We tested to see if the mouse would let us near. A few times it ran between the dryer and the adjacent freezer but it would always come back to this spot:

I have a ginormous (Spell check objects to "snarky" but not "ginormous?") Tupperware bowl with lid that I use to make large batches of bread. As we were throwing the bowl over the mouse and sliding the lid under his little body he started squealing a warning alarm for all his mousy kind to hear and heed.

I hope they heard him three counties away because I sure don't want any more paying us an unexpected visit.