I'm not saying for sure....

...But, there was a very large hole in my pillow case when I went to make my bed, and I don't remember it being there before. It was big too, not something I think I would overlook.

And then, my married sister came over in the evening and told her, "I had a nightmare last night that we had five black and brown Chihuahua's and they were very mean, they were biting me." Suddenly a horrid thought occurred to me, were there mice on me, last night, while I was trying to sleep? They couldn't have bit me, I didn't have any bite marks, but.... the thought is simply ghastly.....Scream! No, I didn't, wouldn't have even considered it. Well, I might have considered it.

It is disconcerting to wake up in the middle of the night and hear little pitter patter of mice feet. Especially disconcerting after discovering a hole in your pillowcase. Unnerving if you can't tell if they are climbing up your bedpost, I froze, really I did, that cessation of movement that descends on you when faced with grave danger and you have to decide how to react. I wondered if I suddenly felt a mouse on my pillow I was going to sit up so fast I would hit my head on the bottom of the bunk. It is higher than ordinary bunks, but I haven't ever sat bolt upright before and this was a concern. I considered calling out, "I'm awake, I can hear you. Go away."

I can only consider myself fortunate that I'm not terrified of mice, though I certainly don't wish them as bedfellows. I wonder if watching Cinderella would help alleviate the apprehension I feel with mice loose in the house?

We did get a whole bunch more mouse traps and my little brother was going around placing them in drawers and in the rooms while singing to himself, "Oh, mousy won't you come out and talk with me...."

My little sister Twiglet though, has it all figured out, she placed pictures of mouse traps and warning signs on her bed. "No mice allowed. All trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If you can read this, you are too close."

And she doesn't have any holes in her pillow case.

Today

The leaves are starting to turn, the air is fresh and crisp, and the wonderful smell of Autumn is in the air.

Father was taking one of my pupils with him for a day of woodcutting with friends, so we all took the day off school and I worked on getting out my fall/winter clothes and going over them to see what I will need to get for the cooler seasons.

I walked up the hill to the neighbors with my sister so she could feed their Pugs, and the other neighbors herd of goats spied us and started following. We got a bit ahead of them on the road, and they started bawling and it quite amused me. It sounded just like they were saying, "Hey ma, wait up!" We discouraged them and managed to get to the neighbors but as we were heading home, they were coming trotting back down the road from the opposite direction we had taken. "Oops, they didn't go this way ma, we would have seen them by now. I think we better turn around." They came thundering after us and I wasn't so certain we weren't going to get run down, but they ran around us and then escorted us back home. At the last minute we made a run for it and closed the gate so they couldn't follow us onto our property.

Tis' the season and today I tried a new recipe for gingerbread cookies. Miracle of miracles, I didn't even have to substitute ingredients, though I did halve the recipe. You have to chill the dough so tomorrow I shall bake them and see how they taste. Some of my absolute favorite cookies are Anna's Ginger Thins so I might try to come up with a similar cookie. If I can't, I do hope Costco is still carrying them - now that is the way to purchase those crisp bits of deliciousness!

Crisp air, changing leaves, spicy goodies. Fall is perhaps my favorite season.

Heels and Hay

My sisters and I were dressed for a luncheon tea in town, long skirts, heels, and I was wearing a wide brimmed hat. We’d already made our appearance at the grocery. Mother asked us to stop on the way home and pick up a couple bales of alfalfa. You read that correctly.

Uh, huh. We are very dutiful girls, but it was with chagrin that we anticipated meeting the farmer who had already previously commented on far less dressy attire.

We were spared.

He wasn’t home, everyone from the farm was at a horse event except his wife, who would sell us the hay. Yes, not load, sell.

When duty calls, one answers, so my sister and I, heels and all, each loaded a bale of hay, weighing about 80 -90 pounds each. (I’m not quite sure on the weight, but others with more experience say it is so).

Indeed.

Afterwards, I paid out of my pink clutch, returned to the car door and dusted off the alfalfa leaves and retrieved my white silk scarf from off the seat. This I draped around my neck, tossed the end over my shoulder in a dramatic gesture and reentered the vehicle. When you do unusual things, do them with flair.

Heels and hay? Well, why ever not?