last night i was in the middle of making this entry, when the electricity went. not from the whole house, but no fuses were blown either. i tried changing a couple anyway, but none of them even matched the combination of heat on but lights off in the living room, and lights on but heat off in the kitchen and hallway. at first i wasn't sure whether the radiators in the living room (which is also my bedroom at the moment) were working or not, because the have no 'on' light so i started to prepare for a very cold night. hot water bottle in bed, extra blankets and a hat handy, i also nailed a blanket to the entryway between the hallway and me, where there is no longer a door. by the time i was done, the computer had started to hibernate and to recharge i would have had to go sit in the kitchen, which was by then very, very chilly. reminded me of ireland, kind of...
well, i went to bed early, and did not fall asleep for hours, thanks to the mice again. it's my third week of not sleeping well, and it's starting to show. after four hours of sweet slumber i was startled awake when the electricity went out altogether and back on again after a few seconds. the fusebox makes a really loud sound every time that happens, which is often enough. anyway, that happened a second time after a while, so i got up and found the electricity back to normal again. what a mystery. i thought it was the mice. now i think it was a poltergeist or something. although, at times i'm not sure there is a difference between the two...
the box i use to catch the nuisance has lasted me 21 years of my own mice as well as the wild ones, an orphan baby squirrel and countless other critters. until the other day when i walked by and said good morning to the latest catch, then looked closer because it was surprisingly quiet and calm, and well hidden... or long gone through a hole in the roof. it's plastic so no wonder, but this supermouse was the first one strong enough to hang from the lattice top long enough to actually gnaw through it. and i slept through all that noise, which is telling.
well, i mended the damage with foil tape (super handy and inspiring! stay tuned for crafty stuff because how could i not make something shiny and seasonal from it?) and another visitor has stayed inside since. no more trapping from now on, though. poison baits have been strategically placed. i wanted the solid chunks so that the mice will have to eat it on the spot rather than make little stashes of blue oats all over the place. they seem pretty hungry, too, judging from the fact that all of my succulent rootings have been eaten, so i'm hoping they'll stuff themselves and drop dead on the spot and not linger too long.
i've been busy with beets. loving the stripey ones, especially. i made a casserole, started a ferment and even planted the tops on a plate to sprout leaves. a butternut squash was also involved and there's a little left over. i also have a lone grapefruit that is starting to overstay its welcome, so a recipe is formulating in my head to make a lemon curd -inspired spread from them, with rosemary maybe... we'll see. the four egg-whites in the fridge aren't exactly holding their breath to become a lemon meringue pie, anymore. i can't find my beater. it's somewhere among my boxed-up life, like everything else.
