MInistry of Reality

Alternate Title: "Why Does it Smell so Bad in Here?"

A friend of mine came up with a great idea for blog posts. She writes about things without sugar coating. Reality, many times, is not for the fainthearted!

I immediately thought of this quick blog entry when the event of the morning subsided. Let me start from the beginning.

It all began two days ago, Wednesday, when I started noticing a faint odor. I only noticed it when I sat in my husband's seat at the table. Well, I forgot about it and went about daily tasks.

Yesterday, I noticed the smell again. I actually thought that something possibly had died and the smell was carrying in from outside. Our table is next to the door to the deck. I spent a little time looking around the immediate area of the seat and table.

I also thought that maybe the dogs had left a little scrap of food around or a large bug was decomposing somewhere that I could not see. I mean, the smell was bad; but it was not like a dead deer was laying nearby. The odor was enough to bother me but not anyone
else in the house. For the record, I have experienced dead animal smells; as I've gone running along many a country road.

So, today as the kids were finishing breakfast, I still noticed the smell! It was not getting better! I do not like bad smells! More action was needed. First, I needed to track down a flashlight for looking under furniture. Second, I needed to find another flashlight because the first one seems to have the lens broken. Third, I needed to find another flashlight because the second flashlight was out of battery power. "Properly" armed (the third flashlight was only the size of half a pencil) I was now ready to look under the cabinet and the bureau we use for linen storage.

Well, I looked under the bureau. I found from whence the smell cometh. I guess we had left a baited mousetrap under there. I say I guess because it has been several weeks if not months since we did this. Well, you guessed it, there was a little mouse trapped under there. I then used a couple plastic grocery bags to cover my hand to slide out the mouse and trap and dispose of everything.

I called my husband and asked how he could not have noticed that smell. His response? "Well, your dinners smell so good. I haven't smelled anything else." Hmpf. Nice save.

Moral of the story: do not forget about baited mouse traps.