My Tale of Desperwoe

The boys were in bed.  Finally.  I had just settled down on the couch with my pillow and blanket and had hit the "purchase" button on my television screen to watch "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" when I heard a noise in the kitchen.  Jerry was sitting at his computer and didn't seem to hear it, so I figured it was just me.  A little while later I heard it again.  Jerry still didn't hear it.  (Mind you, I'm deaf.  He's the one with the ears.)  And then again, that sound. This time, he heard it.

We both got up and headed to the kitchen.  I thought maybe Cody had come down for some reason, so I went up to his room to investigate.  Nothing but snoring.  I came downstairs and while standing in the kitchen, I heard it again.  THE NOISE.  This time, I turned to the cabinet underneath the sink and pointed.  (Jerry is still making fun of the way I did it.  Apparently I can be quite dramatic sometimes.)

He mumbled something about "children" and "they always leave a door open" and "wouldn't be surprised if an animal..."

His voice started to fade and I began to have images of me with my largest kitchen knife doing serious damage to the intruder.  And then was quickly brought back to reality by the rustling under the kitchen sink.  

Jerry opted for a safer, friendlier option.  The flashlight.

I finally mustered up enough courage to at least open the door to the cabinet and start moving stuff around...with my foot.

The flashlight revealed mouse droppings (ICK) and we immediately knew something about our unwelcome visitor.  And then, the rustling again.  I pulled out the empty, bagless trash can and watched Jerry shuffle stuff around under the sink when IT caught my eye.  I pointed to the trash can, and then, unable to formulate any kind of a coherent thought or sentence squealed, "eeeemmmmessssseeeemmmmeeeessssssseeeeeeeeeeee!"  

Jerry, being the calm, collected one of the group, looked down into the trash can at the bug-eyed thing and said, "Oh.  Hello!"

I then proceeded to do the only logical thing one does in this situation and took its picture.

Next, I grabbed the trash can and carried it into the living room, where I leaned it on its side to show it to the dog.  (I still don't know why I did that.  I mean, why does the dog care?  For some reason I thought he'd find it interesting.)  The Thing then proceeded to take advantage of the tipped trash can (duh!) and had crawled to the edge to attempt some sort of an escape.  This then prompted me to squeal something resembling nothing (again) as I ran to the front door, flew it open, and proceeded to run, full throttle, trash can in hand, into the front yard to let it loose.  I turned the can upside down, shook it, squealed, ran back in the house, and declared victory.

Obviously, I'm all sorts of brave.

Jerry's still trying to figure out what I was trying to say when I first discovered the intruder.  I'd hate to think what would happen if I really needed to explain something to someone in the event of a REAL emergency.

I think that's all.

The End.  And good night.

P.S. Pictures to come soon.  I really didn't want to be reminded of his little beady eyes right before bed.