Not a creature was stirring - not even a mouse, well maybe a mouse

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

Notice that I highlighted the word "mouse". Yeah. It appears that my sister, Linda, has a mouse in the house. She said it walked right in the front door when she left it open a few weeks ago. Imagine that. She temporarily stored some bird seed in the front closet because she didn't want to leave it on the front porch for fear that it would attract mice. Instead she left her door open and invited them in to dine. She found piles of empty shells from the sunflower seeds in the closet on the floor - evidence that she had visitors.

Linda's daughter, Kelly, first saw the mouse about a week or so ago run into the closet. So Linda set up a row of boxes leading from the closet to the door, thinking that once they opened the closet door the mouse would run out, and run alongside the boxes and out the door. Wha-lah! She opened the door and....waited 35 minutes and nothing happened.

Another day they thought they spotted the mouse running along the baseboard in the kitchen. So they put two sticky traps down on the floor. A little while later Kelly's daughter Arielle, who is 6, came down for school in her stocking feet and stepped on both traps.

"What the heck is this?" she asked as she lifted up each foot and the sticky traps were stuck to each sock good and tight. Kelly couldn't remove her socks from the traps. Linda said that they only thing they caught was a 6 year old.

They put the sticky traps back into the front closet.

Last week Linda had a party at her house with some of her good friends (thankfully). She asked Arielle to go into the front closet and get the package of paper plates. Arielle accidentally dropped the package and it stuck to the sticky traps. While the plates were falling, it knocked over the package of 100 plastic cups, which in turn ALSO stuck to the traps. So Arielle carried this whole contraption into the kitchen: paper plates stuck to the traps with the socks still stuck to them and the plastic cups stuck to the traps too. It was one big mess. Everyone had a good laugh about that!


The night before Christmas Eve, my sister slept on the couch in the living room with 3 of her grand children. Since my husband and I are staying at her house while we are in town, we're sleeping in her bed. Kelly and family live with Linda, also. It's a lively house to say the least. My sister, "Grandma", promised the kids that they could all sleep on the couches, drink hot chocolate before going to bed, and sing Christmas songs. (She's a wonderful Grandma.)

In the wee hours of the morning, my sister heard a scratching sound and thought it was the mouse. She woke up Kelly.

"Kelly! It's the mouse! Wake up!"

Kelly stumbled up the stairs and saw that Linda had lined up a long row of boxes. She thought that the mouse was under a tray that was sitting on the ground. She stood there with a broom and a mop.

"Okay," she said, "You lift up the tray! But what do I do with these?" Indicating the broom and mop.

Kelly quickly lifted up the tray but no mouse was stirring.

She shuffled back to bed.

Linda heard the noise again, only this time it sounded like it was coming from under the couch.

"Kelly! Wake up! It's the mouse again!"

Kelly stumbled up the stairs again. They woke Riley up.

"Riley, go on the other couch. There's a mouse under your couch." Well, his eyes just about bugged out of his face!

Kelly turned the couch over but no mouse. There WAS a small nut though.

The third time Linda heard the mouse and called Kelly, Kelly wanted no part of it.

"Mom, I'm TIRED."

So Mickey is alive and well and living in Bensenville.....






On another note....

We leave on Tuesday for Minnesota, the REAL Winter Wonderland, for a quick 3 day visit to see Jim's Dad, who will turn 99 in February. Don't think I'll have computer access.
Just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

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