purple room vents: RATS RATS RATS....AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I knew when we bought this place that we would possibly have the occasional rat show up. We live three houses down from the back of a grocery store. I learned this from Kevin. They live behind an IGA and the rats eat their garden!

I have already posted about our rat adventure with our heat pump. Sad....but funny. This time was funny too but phobic for one our crew!

I whipped open the sliding door to the deck to obtain my wok, which I had taken out of my oven, where I store it, and put it out on the table by the door. I was making brownies and needed my oven earlier. Now I needed my wok. As I rapidly slid the door open, a big fluffy rat dashed across the deck from the left to the right, not four feet in front of me. Well my immediate reaction was to slam the door shut and run into the living room, shaking my hands up and down, dancing around and making inhuman sounds. God! I hate rats!!!! Spiders are bad, but rats are just evil awful things.

The next day Monte and Austin were cleaning and organizing the garbage and recycling on the deck. I did warn them that there had been a recent rat sighting out there.

They had been working away for a while, I was in my chair on my lappy, when suddenly there was an ungodly screaming/yelling coming from the deck. LOUD!!!!! I looked out to see Austin running like a crazy person around the deck, throwing his legs up and down in the air like James Cleese doing a crazy walk at full speed, twisting his body around and windmilling his arms at a hundred miles an hour....all the while screaming in a most godawful way! He came flinging into the house and ran around in here shuddering and screaming. Well crap!!! It was funny!!!! Monte came in and we started to laugh! We couldn't help it! But at the same time we felt really bad for him. Hahahaha!!!

Later he told me that he lifted a box and the rat was curled up in the corner of it, snoozing. Well that ended real quick! He said it didn't touch him but that didn't help much. Clearly! Poor Austin. Nothing like a little rat activity to liven your day up!!!

I got a text from an unknown number the other day. It was announcing that whoever it was would be in Port on Wed. and could we get together. I had no clue who it was. You know, instead of asking who it was I should have just made arrangements to meet with the person somewhere and been surprised!!!

Well I asked and it was a friend from Kamloops I haven't seen in a while. Do you remember the Mystery Tour we went on with Wells Grey Tours? Marion works for them and turned out to be the texter. She is on a tour of small ships of Vancouver Island. The group is taking the Francis Barkley to Bamfield on Wednesday and she was at a loose end for dinner Wed night! I was delighted that she even remembered I live here, let alone want to meet. Her roommate Sue was not only a friend but my handyman in Kamloops. They stayed in our condo in Maui now and then. I can't wait to see her!!

Now a wee dilemma. Where to take her for dinner. I had planned on the Clam Bucket. They make amazing sea food, a kind of natural for Port. I even asked her if she liked seafood. She does. And when I phoned to make a reservation I discovered they are closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Sigh. (shovel list restaurants in this town!!!)

The only other open decent place we can go is Little Bavaria, which we love love love, but Marian is German. Is this not a little like coals to Newcastle? But there really isn't much choice in the matter. The other choice is a Brewery. We have a number of newly opened breweries and I know from experience with her that she loves beer. Also the new one across town has pretty good food too. I have a feeling this would be the best choice. I will report back and let you know. I shall attempt some pics as well!!!

Well I am now about to denude a ham bone. A couple of the household boys would like some pea soup. Pea soup is one of my fave things to make. And there is not an overload of meat in it to satisfy two of us that are quasi vegetarians. I think a nice big Caesar salad and a bowl of pea soup for supper tonight! It is feeling wintery all of a sudden! I love it! It is inevitable so we might as well love it as opposed to making ourselves miserable by not loving it!

A quick note to you Sharri. Thanks for your thoughtful comment on the last post. I agree with you wholeheartedly!

Well that's it for today folks. I shall post on Friday and let you know how dinner goes tomorrow night. Take care and I will maybe put two more challenges on on Friday. TTYL

“October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!”

— Rainbow Rowell