Monday, September 9, 2013

On Mice and Wo(Men)

Oh, I sort of like mice.

They are cute and when they get those little whiskers going - oh my!

It doesn't help that every children's book anthropomorphises mice, an affliction that I suffer from at the best of times, sentimentalist that I am - don't even GET me started on what I think is going to happen to our old van that Barry sold on the weekend....

I mean, my kids and I read the True Meaning of Crumbfest every holiday season for years...

and yes, our mice look EXACTLY like this...

But the cool weather has invited the mice back into the house and so they must be dispatched.  We live in the woods, and yes, we ought to use a live trap, but that's not what Barry bought, and so the silence of the mice has begun....

I will get over it (I always do), but my conscious is not clear this morning....

How were your weekends?

We went out to dinner for our 28th wedding anniversary.  I won't rave about the dinner, since it wasn't rave-able.  However, the company was good (as it has been for 28 years) and I got to use my Kate Spade clutch, I Married Adventure, which no one likely noticed but me, but I didn't care because it made me laugh.

Yesterday, I wrote a short story and then did some reading and we had an early supper as son had to work at 5 and we thought it would be nice to have supper together.  Lamb chops and Tabbouleh - yum!

I managed to snag a couple of cheapie items last week from Joe Fresh that are perfect for hanging around the house writing.


The Joe Fresh cotton terry sweatshirt dress is comfy and soft, soft, soft.  It comes in blue and steel grey at my local store and I bought them both @ $29 CDN each.  A close-up of the neckline and hem below.



Am wearing with my trusty and old Cole Haan suede/leather riding boots and leggings, as it was actually quite cool when I wore this on Friday.

Yesterday, I wore a Ruth outfit:




This is a faux-leather jacket I picked up last spring at H&M, a long sleeve black and white striped t, jeans and Cole Haan patent leather loafers, with of course, my Ruth scarf!

Today, I am writing, running errands and I think I will clean the fridge.  It is time to start the fall cleaning and this house certainly needs it....Have a great day and stay safe out there!

58 comments:

  1. Happy anniversary, what an achievement! You make such a cute couple. You are looking quite the author with your glasses, sweaterdress, scarf and boots. Love the look, can I have your autograph please?

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    1. Hi Marie - thanks for the kind words! You can have my autograph, but only as a friend, cause that's what it's worth (which is actually quite a lot, when you think of it, isn't it - we should all be asking our friends for their autographs!) have a wonderful day!

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  2. Hi Wendy, I love your Ruth outfit! That's the best scarf.
    I feel for you with the mouse situation. We had one for 2 years before we knocked the back of the house off for the renovations (they were coming in through the old bit of the house). The little bastards even chewed the post it notes on one of the building materials catalogues I had left lying around (one of the builders helpfully told me they must be nesting. Great).
    Our last house (another large renovation project) had a mouse problem too. I tried everything to get rid of them, first trying the humane sticky trap, and was then woken in the night by the mouse thumping around the kitchen trying to get the sticky trap off himself. He eventually did, and must've had quite a bald spot as a result. Rat poison was the winner in the end.
    So, to summarise that long comment - go in with the hard stuff first! Agent Orange if you must!! xx

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    1. Oh they are awful - last winter one ate a bowl of cherry tomatoes on the counter - that is why I am so ruthless with the beggars! Maybe they were learning to read or didn't like the building materials you were picking? ;-)

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    2. Oh that's funny!

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  3. Get a cat...I'll loan you Cricket. She is quite the killer and eats nearly all of them. She leaves their snouts so all you get is their nose and two buck teeth. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Today is the beginning of my birthday week - hell yeah I get a whole week. My sis and I decided when we turn 50 we'll get a whole month!

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    1. I love the idea of a birthday week! When is the actual day?

      No cats here sadly; Barry and daughter are highly allergic to them, which is a great tragedy, since I agree, a cat is the great equalizer in the mouse wars... Indy doesn't even notice them and they don't notice him at all!

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    2. THE actual date is September 14th. We will be in Atlanta - will see The Girl with the Pearl Earring- and then Sunday see my son in Auburn. In the mean time, I have my gifts already purchased and my hubs has to be especially nice and loving because "it is my birthday week."

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    3. Ha! I love it! We have close friends whose wedding anniversary is the 14th - such a lucky number I think (speaking as a 14th baby myself!) how awesome is that you are going to get to see that painting!

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    4. Oh BB, the visuals you're leaving describing what Cricket does ...

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  4. Oh sorry to hear about the mice. I think we have rats, but I'm in denial....
    Huge congrats on your 28th wedding anniversary! You really were a child bride!!

    I love your Sweatshirt dress - so effortlessly chic and comfy! and I adore the outfit that bears my name!! So happy to see you wearing the scarf. It really suits you!

    Off to bed now!

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    1. It is always funny to me that we are getting up just as you are heading to bed! I do like the scarf quite a lot and it is lightweight - heavier scarves tend to dwarf me!

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    2. Rats! We have them outdoors and I've employed a year round pest control service to be rid of them. I can't handle rats at all. I have had two sneak up on me and surprise me at close range. I don't feel too guilty about killing them. I may have been a cat in a previous life.

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    3. Cate - I love the image of you as a rat! Too funny!

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    4. No! Not a rat, a cat! Lol :)

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  5. Mice are so cute. Rats...not so much. Even Templeton couldn't make them lovable. Enjoy your fall organization day!

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    1. Thanks MW - my dad used to have a rat come to his bird feeder - was horrifying to me!

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  6. 28 years, that is a lot of love Wendy. Too bad the dinner was not rave-worthy. Of course I love your sweatshirt dress and what a great deal too!

    Eeek! Mice! We see them around our country house but have never had one inside yet. Our cat Sammy is quite the hunter and it totally grosses me out when she brings her little "gifts" to us. Sometimes they are not dead and try to scurry away, always toward me it seems. I think they are disgusting and not at all cute. Hantavirus can be a killer, please read the CDC brochure.

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  7. No worries - we are very careful and I am scrubbing it all out, I am sure there are a couple more lurking about...

    I knew you would like the sweatshirt one - have always admired your Lacoste version!

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  8. Morning Wendy, Happy Anniversary to you and Barry. I love both your outfits. At the weekend I wore jeans for the first time in ages, the weather is definitely turning.

    We had a mouse in our flat in Germany - but luckily my husband didn't tell me about it until years later! He said it used to peek out of a hole in the kitchen wall while we were having breakfast (the flat was pre-WWII). I'm so glad I didn't know about it.

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    1. I hate to see them scurrying around! They just scare me half to death when they dart out of nowhere!!!

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  9. Congrats on your anniversary! and love the Ruth outfit :)

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  10. 28th - I still cannot get over that. I love mice, they are so cute, they always worm their way in here in winter and I am always so reluctant to put the traps down, I usually talk to them for a day or so, and then mum screams "vermin! they will be licking your cutlery, kill them all now" She's very definitive in her ways.

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    1. well they do carry bad stuff, so however cute they are, I gotta support Mum on this!!! I love that you chat with them!

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    2. I'm in agreement with Lane, I love your Mum, Tabs!

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  11. Just read all the comments, we get a few every winter, ok, still think they are cute, I know, I know, must change my tune.

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    1. Nah - keep your tune - it makes you endearingly eccentric, since I know you love a clean house! All creatures great and small!

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  12. Congrats on the anniversary and love both outfits!

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  13. Dear Wendy and Barry, you arrow officially in the Fine Wine stage of love. From here on it will feel like fore
    forever some days and like you just met other days.

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    1. Well that is good to hear! Every once in a while it has seemed like a prison sentence, but that's usually when he hasn't done exactly what I want him to do! ;-)

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  14. I cannot handle mice indoors. I'm with Barry on this one. I love that Joe Fresh sweatshirt dress, and also your Ruth outfit looks great. That jacket is perfect on you and I love it with the scarf.

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    1. Thanks Cate - I actually really love that this jacket is faux - apart from the price tag - it means you never worry when caught in the rain!

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  15. And congratulations on your anniversary! 28 years is no small feat no matter how wonderful the spouse.

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  16. Happy anniversary!
    And what lovely outfits - the Joe Fresh dress looks so cozy!

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    1. Hi Laura - that dress is cozy and 100% cotton - hope it washes well! Every now and then there is a real Joe Fresh gem!

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  17. Happy Anniversary!! It seems like every seven years there is a mouse invasion here. They give me the heebie geebies. I know they're small, but they're so fast and dirty. Yuck.
    Love your Joe Fresh dress. Just the sort of thing I'd wear around the house too. The sweat shirt styling at the neckline is great!

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    1. Hi Jennifer! I wish our infestation was once every 7 years! It happens every spring and fall - then catch a few and that is that. Kind of chilling, but there you go!

      I do like the dress a lot - is so comfy and the perfect length for me!

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  18. Happy anniversary. These days but is quite an accomplishment to be together so long. I'm happy to say I caught the Ruth scarf on popback recently and can't wait to wear it. Do you think it would be butterfly overkill if I wore itbwiththe matching pencil skirt? That joe fresh dress is fab and fits your lifestyle perfectly you should buy one in every color! I haven't seen any mice lately. I did had one last year that made quite the collection of popcorn kernels between the sofa and wall. Maybe our dog is a mouser.

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    1. Thanks SC! I say more is more is more! You will know when you put it on if it is too much (of course, I say that, but I am never sure...)

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  19. Let me add congratulations! It'll be 28 for us in May, too. A not-great dinner on an anniversary can be another bonding experience...

    I am reeling from your day of writing a short story, cleaning the fridge and battling the mice-- you go, girl!

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    1. Thanks Lane - it was quite a productive day! I am hoping today is too - barry is off fishing with his father and brother all day and I am hoping to get another chapter done and then a revision of the story and then I am having lunch with a young man I used to work with whom I mentor.

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  20. I cannot with pests, really, I just can't. I am a neat freak and bugs et al freak the $!&@ out of me. When I lived in San Francisco proper, I used to spend a lot of time with a friend who, no matter where he moved, he would have a rat appear within a month or two, and never leave. We called it Remy, like in Rattatouille the movie.
    Congrats on your anniversary. Maybe I should rub your elbow (and Lane's) so it sticks. You are looking better and better each day, W! I must say, your style really suits you, and I am so glad you have shared your process with us. It's been quite a transformation from executive to writer and style icon! Still waiting for my limited edition WMM tee!

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    1. Hi AB - thanks for the words of encouragement! DO you think your friend attracted rats and what would that say about one's character? ;-)

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  21. I love your sweatshirt dress! The scarf looks fantastic on you, too. Yay on your writing. That sounds good. I put up a review of the mirrooorrr metalliiiiic oooooxfoooords On 1060pairs. Did you order them?

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    1. Gigi - you are a doll to review those shoes for me - they are whalers, aren't they? I was actually going to order them this week, but have decided to let that dream pass...Plus, I got my bill from things I purchases last month... sigh...

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  22. Loving your outfits Wenders. How did I miss this post yesterday? You are looking great my dear! I have been looking out for signs of mice but none yet. This is the time of year they like to come in the house... I have a service that de-pests our house of mice and BATS, which we had living under the roof a few years ago. I'll tell you who is really really terrified of bats, yup MrBP!!

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    1. Oh you can tell him his brother is TERRIFIED of snakes! The whole terrible story of those little boys in Campbellton put him over the edge!

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  23. your outfits are great! and I am sooo scared of mice loL!

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    1. Hi Vett! thanks for the compliments and please god, let me not catch a mouse while Barry is fishing..

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  24. Love these outfits, especially the Ruth outfit and congratulations on your 28th wedding anniversary!!

    I think mice are really cute but would hate to have them inside the house! I can't handle those traditional mice traps. An ex-boyfriend had mice in his apartment and he set out traps - one went off and it sounded like a shotgun going off. The poor mouse was literally cut in half by the trap, it was horrible!

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    1. Louise - that happened here once and it was not a happy day for me....

      Thanks for the great wishes! Off to try and find the Currelle again - they still didn't have it in stock yet when I went back to check!

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  25. Our cats used to bring in mice from the fields and ignore the ones in the house, Apparently they preferred field mouse to house mouse. We fixed that by getting rid of the cats and setting traps with peanut butter. Been a busy fall so far--lots of peanut butter going into the house mouse's tummies for one last time

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Kindness is a virtue...