Three Blind Mice

I live in the country so I expect some mice now and then. It's part of the charm. We've been relatively lucky here in this house. We sometimes hear them in the walls, and we know they're around, but we haven't seen any actually IN our apartment. There have definitely been mice in the basement, and there was an infestation in the downstairs apartment last year. I know we've been pretty lucky in the vermin department. But here's the thing. Every mouse we have actually encountered has been the victim of some bizarre mouse mishap. We could have our own TV show...something like Cops...about our mice. Bad boys, bad boys...whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

The first was last winter when a small mouse wedged himself into the hole under our front door between the foundation and the basement. Jamie found him frozen solid and had to wait until he thawed to remove him. The second was the infamous mouse in the air conditioner vent in the CRV this summer, who died, got wet and slimy, and had to be removed with our barbecue tongs (after chewing up the iPod adapter, a pack of Kleenex, and the air conditioner filter). Tonight, I went to the basement to dry the load of laundry I washed last night. As I fished out the laundry from the washer, I discovered the laundry was moving. Then I discovered the laundry was squeaking; I screamed like a girl, dropped the wet clothes on the basement floor, and went upstairs to announce to an unconcerned Jamie that there was a live mouse in the washer. Jamie caught the soaking wet, shaking, and probably hungry mouse in a flower pot, and he and Duncan released him in the woods, where he walked around in disoriented circles.

And then we went to the faculty party. A day in the life...