Behind a very old, leather-bound family Bible that was lying horizontally in the bottom corner of one of the built-in bookshelves, there was a pile of almonds.
I mean, it's not that my husband and I are opposed to snacking in rooms other than the kitchen. We do that all the time, often bringing a tray of crackers and cheese into the living room to have while enjoying drinks by the fire, munching on chips and salsa while watching football games, or using our family room as the site for our in-house dinner-and-a-movie dates. But I was really perplexed trying to figure out how in the world a pile of nuts could make its way to the back corner of the bottom bookshelf!
Then it hit me: there was a squirrel invasion in this house, back in 2011, when I was a fledgling blogger. I first heard the sneaky critter skittering around in the living room (although I didn't know until later that he was a squirrel and not an axe murderer), and the next day I found a framed picture overturned in there on a table. Discovering that hidden stash of nuts today made me wonder if before he eventually made his way upstairs, the little scamp had also found an open bowl or container of almonds somewhere and had started squirreling them away behind that Bible!
I have since immortalized my little nighttime intruder in a painting on the wall of the bedroom where I finally got him trapped until the Animal Control guys could come and get him the heck out of my house the next morning.
And now, back to my boxes...
I'm coming back to read your linked posts later tonight (it's one of my kids' birthdays and I must get to cake-making...yay!), but I cannot wait to tell you that I LOVE your squirrel painting!! That is absolutely WONDERFUL. Cute idea!
ReplyDeleteI can think of no activity that I enjoy more than cake-baking--particularly for a special birthday! So bake away!
DeleteI'm going to be sad when I have to paint over this squirrel to show the house to prospective buyers. (There are critters painted on the walls all over this place! It's kind of a strange house!)
My parents had a mouse invasion one year when they were away being snowbirds for several months. The critters got into a gigantic bag of chocolate chips in the basement pantry and stashed them all over the house. Two years later they started getting the house ready to sell and we found chips in the most random places. It was emotionally draining to go through 50 years of stuff and finding another stash of chips brought some laughter to an otherwise hard process.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this story, Erin! And it convinces me even more that it was the squirrel who was responsible for this little pile of nuts.
DeleteWow, 50 years! I'm struggling, and it's only been 26. It is most definitely emotionally draining. (Maybe as I go through the house, I'll find more nuts! Although our intruder only had one night to work, not a whole season!)
How are you going in letting go? Which room did you start with? What sort of system have you got going? Inquiring minds want to know
ReplyDeleteWell...the big thing is, we've started demolition on our very dated upstairs bathroom (the one the five boys used to share). We're planning to put in new tile, vanity, tub/shower, and toilet. I've already painted the walls light gray (the seashore scene I painted years ago with dolphins, starfish, shells, and a seagull is now all covered up--sniff, sniff!).
DeleteTomorrow, we have a guy coming to give us an estimate for having new carpeting installed throughout all the bedrooms and the landing upstairs.
I've begun boxing up books--the ones I wouldn't mind keeping in storage, in case we don't end up with as many bookcases in our new house. I tried to donate our circa 1983 set of encyclopedias, but found out that you can't even give those away--they won't take them! So I dropped them off at our recycling center. I've also boxed up a set of china that my mother-in-law left me, and I'm planning to store it in the basement of the lake house in NY, so that when we're there for holidays I can break it out. (I don't need to bring it down to VA when we move--we have plenty of other china and everyday dishes to bring with us.)
I have made a few trips to Goodwill with books I know I'll never read again (I always keeps the really good ones that I'm sure I'll re-read someday), and with some other odds and ends I've found in the attic that don't have any sentimental value. I also took your advice and threw out a bunch of stuff that was stored in the vanity before we started the bathroom demo. We're eventually going to update the master bathroom, too, and before we do I plan to clear out a bunch of stuff there as well.
I think my husband and I are both going to look through our closets and weed out some things that haven't been worn in a decade or so.
I haven't really developed a good system yet. Right now, I'm just taking baby steps.
Sounds like you're getting it done. I'm not moving and I have been trying to weed out things we don't need/use anymore! It's a tough process. Good luck with you're packing and we'll see you soon!
ReplyDeleteAnd how funny, finding those nuts!!!
DeleteWhen I first saw them, I thought they were rat droppings. I got a flashlight to see them better before I dared to touch them!
DeleteLOL
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