Happy 2011

I hope 2011 is a good one for you. I certainly expect good things to come of it...

Rats...!

Mice, actually. But they look like mini rats and have tails just as long.

We suddenly have a rodent problem. After 3 visits from 3 different "technicians" from Terminix (a complete wear-out), I think we're on the right track.

I'll spare you pictures (oh, I was tempted) and most of the details. But I will say, it's very unsettling to have rodents - even when they are confined to walls and attic. Mainly because we don't know why all of a sudden they've chosen to bunk with us. I know it's cold outside and the neighbors have been doing some work. We also may have a plumbing leak under our house which we are looking into....

It's also unsettling because these things are elusive as hell. I smashed a hole in a wall where I was certain to find a critter dead or dying based on sound evidence (see what I did, there?) only to find nothing (except for maybe some poops, but I'm not real sure). For awhile, I wasn't even certain what we were dealing with - mice, rats, or squirrels (or all of the above). Finally, it's unsettling because the thought of a rat in the nursery where my baby sleeps is enough for me to tear our house down to the studs. In fact, when we bought the house, it was the discovery of mouse droppings in a kitchen cabinet (in a house that had been vacant for 6 months, mind you) that led to this.

Anyway, the first Terminix dude came out and set 4 traps in our attic and never came back. A second guy came out and said he wasn't going to look for the traps (2 of which were nowhere to be found) or do anything more to help us. He thought he had been called out to spray for insects, which I let him do. He did tell me that it might help if I removed the clutter from our attic, which I already knew. He also spent a considerable amount of time criticizing the tactics deployed by the first guy and made sure that I knew the first guy was "of size" and not likely to have ventured very far back into our attic.

Unsatisfied with dude #2, I called Terminix again and they sent a third guy out. No one knows where Technician #1 set his traps, so everyone's a little weary about doing anything up there, but this third guy, he took a look around and told me he'd come back a day or two later. He told me to clear out the space best I could and I assured him I would.

I spent the day Saturday clearing every single thing out of our attic, leaving only an iMac G3 and and old Dell hard drive tower, placing everything else out for bulk trash. In doing so, I found the missing traps - attached to dead rats. They were smallish, which accounts for why they allowed themselves to get clipped by the tiny mouse traps left by technician #1 (Remember, technician #2 was critical of the first guy for good reason. He just wasn't going to do anything about it...). I have no doubt the other traps were sprung by larger specimens who got away with minor bumps/bruises. I believe this because they sound like freaking possums(opossums?) when we hear them above us.

I was skeptical about dude #3 returning. And though he was a full 2 hours late, he did, in fact, return on said day. I was ready to demand my money back (and in fact had requested a manager come out for that purpose)... but this new guy, Nate, says he's on it. He has a plan of attack. Together, working as a team, he says, we're going to knock this problem out. I believe him. He set up all kinds of traps. 3 or 4 different types. Actually baited them with cheese. I wanted to tell him that I thought that rats on Newberry Drive probably didn't follow stereotypes so closely, but decided to let them man work. He also put out poison, which we are completely fine with. If our walls become tombs, I'm okay with that. If one crawls up in a wall and dies and begins to stink, then we have a problem. But I'll just smash more holes in the walls until that problem gets solved.

I cannot tell you, though, how frustrating it's been working with Terminix. Once this little episode is over, I'm fairly confident I'll take my rats and business elsewhere. If I stay with them, it's all due to Nate the Warrior and the fact that we are not hearing any more pitter-patter in the night.

Developing...

UPDATE 12/23/10 - Confirmed body count: 07; Suspected Missing in Action: 4

UPDATE 01/10/11 Confirmed Dead now at 8, suspected KIA nearing 5-6. Prior to the holidays, I removed 4 from the attic. Made the mistake of tossing the traps with them. I should have reused those suckers. The little wooden mouse traps caught the most. One was caught in a big trap. One caught using the pad of really sticky stuff. That must have been a tough way to go out. Stuck. Cheese in front of your face. Man.

Anyway, the stench of the dead ones in our walls or attic buried in insulation is, well, pungent. It smells like rotting corpse. My wife - who had the nose of a bloodhound just 6 months ago while pregnant - says she can't smell them. That is good. She says I've suddenly developed extra sensitive olfactory glands or something. Trust me. That smell stays with you. Avoid rat/mice poison (often euphemistically called "bait").

Nate came back out after the holidays and set more traps. He moved the "bait" to the "perimeter" (outside near the fence). The smells have tapered off and the traps have been empty. Looks like we got it going our way.

Sorry, Buddha...

(Partial) Fall Harvest

Some of my bounty on this day before Thanksgiving...

New Little Blog for a New Little Girl

Me and the wife have set up a new blog for our squid:

http://hellomynameisviolet.blogspot.com/

Friends and family are invited to pop on over and see what Violet's been up to.

2010 World Series - Game 3

If you click on the little thought bubble icon over on the lower left, you'll see the captions...

Dear Fellow Texas Rangers Fans,

Dear Fellow Rangers Fans - Newcomers and and Lifers Alike,

Let's please not do anything to upset the Baseball Gods. Examples of this would be:

• Making plans to meet the team plane at the airport
• Planning parade routes
• Disparaging the Yankees (who won 5 more games than us in the regular season)
• Assuming that if the ALCS goes to a Game 7, Cliff Lee will get it done. (He has 9 losses since being acquired by TX)

These are just a few examples. Please... do your part.

...And perhaps the Baseball Gods will smile on us all..

Claw and Antlers,

J.D.

...And While We're on the Subject of Entomology...

What the hell do you suppose these critters are? They are about the size of a small ant. Red. And appear to have recently emerged from the long, skinny thing attached to the curtain on our back patio.

Texas Yellow Jacket Colony

It's always something over on Newberry Drive... Seems we have a large colony of Texas Yellow Jackets in a tree in our backyard. I don't know the extent yet, but it appears big. I actually stuck a stick in there and never felt the back of the tree (not recommended that you try this & Amanda if you're reading this, I'm just kidding... I would never do anything so foolish!). I've got our friendly Terminix guy, Alfredo, coming out tomorrow. Something tells me I'll be needing a 2nd opinion on this one...

Here's what our critters look like up close (now, imagine about a hundred buzzing around...):



This video I shot a lunchtime today illustrates how big of an issue this might turn out to be - it gets freakish beginning at around the :08 second mark.

A Case of Mistaken Identity, Newberry Drive & JFK

We got a glimpse into the very real, very creepy JFK conspiracy theory culture by way of accidentally (?) opening mail addressed to the (now deceased) previous owner of our house (is that really a federal offense, btw?), Mrs. Ruth Paine. After a little research, we don't think our Ruth is the "jfk" Ruth.

I redacted the hand written phone number, just in case it's a scam - I don't want to be the reason someone has a $1,000 long distance phone bill. It's also worth noting the phone number is a cell phone. Registered to a user in Vacaville, CA - where there happens to be a prison that's held the likes of Charles Manson.

Return address on the envelope:

F. Vose
1000 Truth Way
Heaven, CA 77250 (zip code is in Houston)
postmarked Sacramento, CA

I'm pretty sure my Father-in-Law is going to call the number from a pay phone and screw with this guy... : )

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE:

Violet Louise Whittenburg b. 07/07/10

Slug

We've (Finally) Had Lots of Rain

(I'm NOT cooking up that mushroom...)

Evolution of Our Master Bathroom: Complete Renovation - Final Result (4 of 4)

We're very happy with how it all turned out. Amanda and I did end up chasing all over town looking for the right granite, tile, etc. But no actual manual labor.

I guess "Final Result" isn't quite accurate... A. still has to put the finishing touches on everything: shower curtain, hand towels, set-em-outs, wall decor, etc.

(Contractor info below)








The contractor we worked with on this project was punctual, had a nice, well-mannered crew (who kept everything clean as they went along) and he was a good communicator. Crazy!

Riley Remodeling
Brad Riley
briley3@tx.rr.com
214-785-7452

Evolution of Our Master Bathroom: Complete Renovation - Demo (3 of 4)

In the ultimate of all "nesting" moves (putting this to shame), we decided to rip out our bathroom and start from scratch. The thinking there, was: if we don't do it now, we may not ever get around to it. What made this time different, was that this would not be a DIY job. With 8 weeks until A.'s due date, a pro was called in. (We're currently 2 weeks out from the due date for those keeping score at home.)

The pictures below correspond to the ones in my previous post.

Evolution of Our Master Bathroom: Minor Renovation (2 of 4)

After we took possession of our house, we did a few things, such as retile the floor (my first tile project), replace the toilet (American Standard, of course), switch out the hardware on the vanity, replace the faucets and replace the lights. All with the idea that one day we would rip it all out. The crack on the mirror started small and eventually grew to what you see pictured.

Evolution of Our Master Bathroom: Pre-Purchase (1 of 4)

When we bought the house it looked like this ...notice the shell-shaped sink, wallpaper and saloon doors. The doors and wallpaper came off immediately.

We Bought a New Camera

It even makes Pete cuter...



For those who are interested in cameras, it's the Canon Rebel XSi. Looking forward to learning all about it. So is she.

So much to update

so little time. I'll get to it soon enough, I suppose.

'Nesting' Defined

The payoff was a very well organized kitchen!

New Craft / Sewing Area for Loop+Lil

The Loop and Lil World Headquarters are being relocated. Having been forced out of the previous space by a yet-to-come Johnny-come-lately, Loop and Lil needs somewhere to conduct business and continue manufacturing one-of-a-kind baby and toddler clothing. With a couple fo very high-volume shows coming up, this was a super-high priority.

Using one-half of our laundry room, I built a work space using cabinents and a countertop from Ikea that match our kitchen.

Before (I forgot to take pic before beginning to rip out baseboards):


After



The Other Side:


Our kitchen that it matches:


Next up: A dedicated music area for all my instruments, amps, cables, etc. that are stashed all over this house.

P.S. Did you notice how many hyphens were used in this post? Just curious...