There’s A Large Mammal in the....

...pantry. OK, how come in a house that is only 15 years old there are as many mice as there were in the old house? It’s turned cold and the dirty little runners are messing up my pantry shelves. We took several cups of dog food out of a kitchen drawer this week!

...compost Pile. What on earth does Maggie think is so great about rooting around in old apple peels and broccoli stems? I don’t put any meat products in there, but she still thinks it’s great fun to stick her nose in and sample the decomposition.

...kitchen. Behind the stove to be exact. Our dear little kitty, V-8, is seventeen years old. Where does a seventeen-year-old cat sleep? Anywhere she wants. She’s losing her mind we think; acting very odd. Instead of being a seldom seen cat who had two favorite spots in the entire house, she is now trying out various locations to see which she likes best. For a while she insisted on sleeping in the kitchen sink. That was interesting, since she was a sink-sleeper as a kitten (second childhood?).

face to face with V-8

Then she took to climbing on top of a high "chimney cupboard" (a large old-fashioned dresser) and sleeping there. The only problem was that I had a large pile of mailing supplies there, and she had to climb up and down over the spare computer. She made quite a mess, but we just kept padding things and waiting for her to change her mind again. She did.

Three days ago I was in the kitchen and thought I heard a mouse behind the stove. Later I heard it again, but decided it was way too big to be a mouse. So I crawled under the microwave table and tried to paste the side of my head to the wall so I could aim an eyeball behind the stove. Guess who? I found myself starting at a little gray butt with a long tail. It’s V-8's new hidey-hole. A little disconcerting to hear something that large behind the kitchen appliances, but I’m sure she’ll change spots again soon.

...living Room. Omer is happily stringing lights on the Christmas tree.