June 13 - Last Minute Business in the Portland area

Some might think we're hunkered down today because of the Friday the 13th thing, but that would definitely NOT be the case. No, we needed to stop here to drop off some "stuff" that needed to be dropped off here, and, more importantly, we needed to stop here to help our now 9 year old grandson celebrate his birthday. This is a big one because it's the theoretical half-way point to independence for a kid... a milestone perhaps more important to his Mom and Dad than to him right now. Happy Birthday Ryan.

Two things happened in the last day of buttoning up the bushouse down in Sutherlin that gave me pause... and created some degree of concern. First, one of our "always ready" bushouse basement mousetraps decided this would be a great time to catch a mouse. Oh, I guess "catch" isn't the right word... maybe smashed would be closer to accurate. Now?  Why NOW?  Haven't had a mouse in well over a year. In fact, I'd become rather lazy about maintaining my 4 or 5 hidden traps down there since there was literally no activity for so long. How did this little bugger get in? Is there more than one?.. almost always is. Was he (her?) an advanced scout so the whole herd could move in as soon as we moved out for the summer? And I always thought mice look for indoor and protected quarters in Fall as they prepare for a cold Winter. Why would this one invade our space in June for gods sake. In any event I had a dead mouse and a lot of questions.

The last night we were in the bushouse I had set no less than 10 traps (baited with fresh Jif) in strategic locations (you gotta think like a mouse... ya know.) If there was another on board I get it for sure.  We'd taken extra effort to make sure there was no access up hoses or power cords... which would all be disconnected and stowed during the summer anyway. If there's a mouse in there I'm going to get it!

Morning came and all 10 traps were clean. Not a puddle of splashed mouse brains anywhere. And now I'm taking solace in the belief that the one we got was a loner... perhaps an outcast. Please don't try to convince me of any errors in my belief. Thank you.

The second thing that hit us the last day was that one of our credit cards was compromised. This now semi-annual event is making me weary and causing me to carry a couple extra twenty dollar bills around so I can get back to the old days and not have to pull out the plastic for every little thing. The hassles involved with deactivating one account, opening another, getting new cards (made especially difficult when traveling), and updating any autopay or recurring payment accounts with new information is so much fun and entertainment... I almost can't wait till next time. I'd love to say a lot more about this but fear I'll get myself so riled up I won't sleep tonight. (happy thoughts... happy thoughts...)

We're still determined to get rolling tomorrow morning.