I must have done something good

Friday got wild on me and I just left you all hang, sorry.

Business has been slow but that means I have been busy because I stepped up cold contacts and sales to our regulars. I was the one on the fax when the boss got a notice that made me wonder if he would be able to make payroll this week and who knows about next week.... Thinking. Now, he has already bounced one check on me a couple years back.

I got a savings account at the local bank so I could put a few bucks back for holiday spending. When I cashed the check that was no good I had put just 20.00 in my savings from it. When they bounced it, they took the entire amount of the check out of my savings account! That left me negative a large amount of money and the account only had about sixty bucks in it.

When I went to protest that the BOSS wrote the check on his account and they should not have debited mine they had no good explaination, just, "That's how we do it". I was HOT. The boss made good on the check, the bank put my numbers back where they should have been and I closed that account NOW! Not going to do business with a cold bunch like that, nope.

That all flashed in my head and I went to the boss to ask him flat out if he could cover payroll. He said yes, but I want to be first to the bank this week. Then he said, "Funny you should ask, I am going to have to lay you off. It's been bothering me for a couple days now."

I knew he was stressed, cranky and avoiding me but I am most happy at work when he keeps his nose out of my office and lets me do my job my way, so that was no stress for me. He was all worried I be freaked out but I was ready! "Cool!", I quipped, "You know this means I am leaving early today!" We talked it all out and I packed up early, called the Mom and invited her to dinner then took off for the house about three or so.

I would have time to get the house done right now without exausting myself every night after work. I could go help the sis to repay some of what she had done for me and even visit the Best Girl one night, maybe. I was ready for the time off!!! Yay Boss!

When I got home I made a quick ham and potato soup for us and it turned out really well. We enjoyed dinner and a yack then Mom had to get going. I had the Best Girl coming out later just to visit. We were discussing the mouse trapping and current traps and future traps and such, then my friend, KMA, popped in to see how I was coming on the house.

I was pleased to show her that we had the room she repaired the wall in mostly done and done well. For as rough as it looked with multiple layers of antique wall paper and such we had turned it out very nicely.

As I set her up with fresh coffee a mouse strolled across the kitchen, giving me the heebee jeebeeies! We were back on the topic of traps and fears of spiders aned snakes and mice and such then. I learned KMA is not afraid of mice, as Best Girl is not either. Best Girl hates spiders. I don't mind spiders but am terrified of mice and rats and bats. I don't know that KMA is afraid of anything.

Best Girl and KMA determined to kill the two bold little mice that kept wandering out from the oven. I threaded, loaded and set a trap, we put it on the counter. KMA got the broom and turned off the kitchen light, for ambiance she said, then lurked with said broom lined up and raised like a ball bat while BG and I crack jokes.

There was almost no wait for action the first time, we didn't even have to be quiet or sit in the dark in the dining area. The mouse stuck his head out, KMA froze in position. He danced out to the trap, sniffed and freaked me out because he was ugly and pointed my way, dived back under the griddle on the stove, sent the smaller mouse out to scout, that one went back quickly. Then the first one walked right up to the trap and started licking the peanut butter off the threads.

KMA Swung! Bang! Right into the bulkhead over the breakfast counter! Mouse walks back to stove and creeps under the griddle. We all laugh but KMA is serious. "Got any tape?"

I fix her up with duct tape and she puts four pieces around the trap sticky side up. "Now I can get him, that will slow him down!" she gloated.

We waited and it was less than ten minutes later she had to raise broom again. It was a replay of the first event except this time she came down on the range hood hard enough to bend it out of shape. It bent right back but we were all laughing so hard it took her a minute to fix it.

Finally, the fourth time, the littlest mouse was trying to unstick his feet and she whammed the broom down again. I saw the tape and trap stuck to it as it swung toward me and screamed at her, "NO! Swing it the other way! Get it away from me!"

She just told me there was no mouse, it got away, look, no mouse but I had warned her I was really afraid of them and made no apology for screeching at her.

Best Girl had to get home and left us after that. KMA gave it up for the night but she must have at least given them a head ache as we didn't see them again that evening. She reset the tape and trap before she left.

I got up in the morning and saw the tape was there and the trap was there but the PB was all gone. I had to call and tell her! It was so funny. All of the skills and education we had and the mouse got away with the bait.

Before they came I was just pitching stuff like the shoe polish at them to scare them off. I was no more effective than they were. Saturday Best Girl brought me the best traps I knew of and I set them all by myself. I got one poor mouse on the stove. He was mean enough to not die right away and then bleed all over the top of the stove. I had to get him out of there and clean it up before it made me sick so I pushed him into a trash bag with a long handled set of tongs from the grill and took him outside. I got the other under the sink and BG took care of him when she got there.

So Saturday started with dead mice and continued with the BG, Bro2 and Wife coming out to replace the floor in the cabinets under the sink where it used to leak. The plumber fixed the leaks but not the floors in the kitchen, just in the bathroom. BG and I were taping off to paint and moving things out of the way when Bro2 and Wife got there.

BG took a break to eat, she brought her own treats, for cryin' out loud. I would have fed her! The Bro2 team brought donuts, BG brought muffins and lunch stuff. We had all kinds of food available and none of us was hungry but BG, darn it.

As fast as Bro2 got the floors fixed I lined them with pieces of the left over vinyl flooring over the new plywood. He did a beautiful job and whipped it right out. His Wife helped me finish taping off the kitchen while we took breaks to look at those 3-D pictures you have to unfocus your eyes to see. It was fun. They were gone about three or so. Then BG and I got after the painting.

We got two coats on everything before she left and I kept going on cleaning the outsides of the cabinets with the scrub brush until the paint was dry enough to put the trim and floor boards back up. I got all but five cabs done and most of the paint off the floor with the putty knife. I mopped and scrubbed for hours. About one a.m. I called it a night and headed for bed.

Sunday I had a family reunion/bday party at two. I finished washing cupboards except the small one high over the stove and made scalloped potatoes to take to the party between cleaning and rearranging. When the potatoes went in I jumped in the shower, dressed, added the cheese, left the lid off and let that brown while I got our table service around.

The Mom, #1Son, Best DIL and grand girl and Best Girl all made it. Scooter Girl had to work. Sis and her mate were there. The Dad's brother, my uncle, had a 60th bday and his MIL was 90. They both looked good and we had a better time because there was a TV with the Lions game on and they not only played like a team and kept the fouls down, they WON! Way to go Lions! The bag stays off the dog!

It was good to see everyone and I went home to whale on the kitchen some more. All the bottom cupboards still had to be emptied, washed, relined and sorted out. I got rid of a lot of stuff. I continued that all day Monday with some help from the Sis. By the end of the day I only needed to swap out cabinets and re-mop the floor. And that is where is rests.

I got everything washed, arranged and replaced in easy reach of an old lady. It's looking good. I took out another mouse last night. I think that is about eight, now, in a week and good riddance!

Today I am off to get the cabinet I want from the shop for the microwave, vote, get back, swap the cabs around, mop, wipe down counters and be ready for bible study.

In here somewhere The Kid was contacted to finish off his projects sometime in the next couple days, the Eldest Daughter called and is doing ok but was terribly sick from food poisoning last week and I am waiting to hear from the Nephew that should show up to spend a week anytime now, not to mention be just in time to help with the upstairs!

I also have people coming, I hope, early this evening to haul away more stuff; A family of six with nothing I am trying to help out. They are getting my extra towels and pots and pans unless BG and The Kid take them first.

So I will be around tomorrow to see you all and hear how your weekends went. Stay safe!