A Mouse, A House, A Garage

May 20.  I decided that it would be sooo nice to be able to walk into the garage and straight over to my gardening shelf, which Fernando so thoughtfully provided for me.  The problem had become that since I live with five guys--most of whom lean toward the cluttery side--I had to weave around piles of stuff on the floor, climb over a lawnmower, maneuver around three bicycles, and squeeze through a narrow walkway to get to my stuff.  And the shelf was just ten feet away!!

Fernando was out of town on a business trip, and I figured I could venture out into Man's Land without getting into too much trouble.  Once I started working, I couldn't stop.  I spent six hours almost straight in a row (stopping for water breaks and lunch) cleaning, de-junking, recycling, etc.  Finally, at 3:30pm, and with help from my guys throughout the day, I declared the job done.  Fernando's work area, consisting of our old kitchen cabinets, was still cluttered, and its countertops were littered with "mouse gifts."  Danny had told us there was a mouse about, and we had yet to find it.

Standing there in the evening, admiring all of my handiwork, I figured I'd go through a basket of stuff on that countertop.  Out went old Bass Pro Shops catalogs, and other old paperwork, right to the recycle bin.  What was that box-thing underneath the basket?  Oh, it was an old VCR.  Hmm, maybe we could get rid of it.  Then--yikes!  The inside was filled with stuffing, insulation and other, well, stuffing.  I found the house.

Joseph and Danny came running out to see it, and I called and left a message on Fernando's cell phone:

"Honey, do you think we can throw out that old VCR in your garage work space?  I don't think it'll work any more--"

In the background:  (Joseph)  "Mom, I saw something move in there!"

"Eeeeeeekkkkk!  Omigosh!  Really?  Uh, I gotta go, I think--"

Then I hung up.  Fernando still has this message saved in his voice mail.  :)

The VCR was definitely fit for the trash.  Danny grabbed a board and got the VCR with hidden mouse into a large plastic storage box, where he insisted I take some photos.  Of course.

What we saw in the VCR

Danny shone a flashlight into the opening, and it finally popped out to see what was what.

Cute, huh?  But a rodent nonetheless.  We brought the box and its contents to the back yard patio.  I won't share the grisly details, but...

...the mouse perished in an unexpected flash flood.  After drying out the VCR...

...we got the rest of the junk into black trash bags, and waited eagerly for trash day.  Here's an image looking into our garage.  You can't really tell that we cleaned it out, since there are still bicycles and lots of other stuff in there.  Plus, my parents' boxes and "stuff" still fills most of the right side until their own move-in day, sometime in October.  Here's the shot:

Trash Day.  I'll never forget that day.  Specifically, May 23--Pre-Trash Day.  *sniff*  What a wonderful, glorious day!!  The day before our official Trash Day.  We pulled all the trash out of the garage in the morning, just to clear things out.

Then late afternoon came, when we were legally allowed by village code to place our trash at the curb!  What joy!  What bliss!  Danny even convinced his dad that one old couch in the basement should go out!  Our pile of junk grew, and with it, my joy knew no bounds.

Goodbye forever, clutter!

Can you tell I was happy?  Free of all that stuff.  And best of all, I could walk with a light, sure step to my gardening shelf.  :)


Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website