When I went to the garage the other day to get something from the second refrigerator, I noticed the white top of my blue rolling cooler (ice chest) had rat droppings on it. OMG! I’ve lived here thirteen years and have never seen a rat in the garage.
Long story short, I got busy finding schools and theater groups to donate the rest of my store inventory to so I could get it out of my garage. All that stuff made of fabric is just asking for a rat to use it for nesting material. How awful would it be to reach into a Rubbermaid tub and have a rat greet me?
I made a Facebook Marketplace post for free pioneer clothing for 3rd, 4th or 5th graders. I got lots of hits, some from people who didn’t bother to read the listing, like one woman named Tammy who only needed one outfit. When I pointed out to her that it was for classroom sets only, she said she’d tell the teacher. By that time, I was sold out of 3rd grade sizes and had changed the listening to 4th and 5th grade only (she was out of luck). When those sizes were gone, I changed the listing to tiny sizes. Now I have seven schools and theater groups coming to get their free stuff. Two of the people live far away, but one is coming by on her way home from the San Francisco airport. Where is Folsom, anyway? Didn’t Johnny Cash write a song about the prison there?
One student teacher failed to show up on Sunday, as she said she would, and tonight is her second chance. If she doesn’t come tonight, I’ll be inclined to give it to someone else. Don’t people realize these donation bags are clogging up my living room? There was no way I was going to sort stuff in my ratty garage.
Good-bye, vintage hats and shawls. Good-bye, tub of overalls. Good-bye, pioneer dresses, shirts and bandannas. Teacher # 6 didn’t quite get enough dresses, but yesterday at Saver’s I found a long purple dress for under $6 and I already had the purple shirt at home. I scrounged up a couple more for her 5th grade class. It’s kind of fun providing these things for these people. They are young and have no time. I am old and love to go thrifting. But the best part is I can write off the cost of materials in these dresses on my income taxes next year. Plus, the rat will have fewer tubs to invade. It’s a win-win for everyone (except maybe the rat).
Today I moved two tubs next to my red rolling tool box thingie in the garage and I noticed a hole in the drywall. Is that how the rat is getting in? I plugged it with steel wool and then covered it with a large piece of plastic held in place by wedging some folded cardboard between the plastic and my tool caddy thingie.
It’s a good thing the rat came along when he did, or I wouldn’t have gotten any of this done. I hate glue traps and am too squeamish to set a rat trap – they are so sensitive, and I like my fingers. Hopefully he didn’t like all the commotion this past week and will move on.
Hopefully the rat was a he and not a mama in the wall with babies.
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 