House Update:

Rats gone. After the two were zapped sequentially, the others seemed to have vacated. We even set up traps under the house (not the electric zapper but mean, outdoor, traps with jaws), poison bate stations, and secured the perimeter with dirt and pea gravel. Nothing. Not a trace. The rats have fled.

We played in mud last weekend. It reminded me of being a kid and playing in the large mud puddle near the side of our house in my brand new sundress (I had rationalized that the washing machine would clean the dress–a fact my mom dashed when she explained that the white would never be the same again). Lack of proper drainage, grass gone from the scars of the new sewer system, and a typical wet spring has left certain parts of our yard a soupy mess. Ponds have formed in all sorts of places. We dug small ditches, filled them with gravel, pulled up grass, and rerouted drain spouts. We slipped and slid in the fresh mud. I got dirtier then Josh.

Today we replaced one of our back gutters. It was broken and moss filled, providing ill drainage on the back of our mud room. The roof on the addition is not very high, but I’m still not keen on climbing to the top of the ladder. I did my part by supporting the gutter from the ground with a push broom in the air. It took a lot of team work.

I think I’m going to sleep well tonight.