Rodents, Mold, and a Really Big Mountain

It’s been a really, really long time since the last posting, and I have absolutely no excuse, so without further ado, here we go…

Think Snakes on a Plane” was scary? How about Gerbils in the Bedroom?
Connor has two gerbils that he loves dearly (and to his credit, he takes really good care of them). Unfortunately, these two little rascals (Snake-eyes and Stormtrooper) managed to escape from their cage this week. Apparently, there was just the tiniest bit of a gap in the seam of their cage, and they managed to squeeze their way out so they could embark upon a little adventure. We didn’t discover they were missing from their cage until Katie and I were getting ready for bed and she exclaimed, “There’s a mouse!” which made me laugh (not exactly sure why), and she repeated, “There’s a mouse that just went under our bed!” which made me laugh even harder (really, I don’t know why I found this amusing) and then she got down on hands and knees to see if she could see the mouse, and then she thought, wait a minute, maybe it isn’t a mouse, maybe it’s a gerbil, so she went to check on Connor’s gerbils, and sure enough, the gerbils were missing from their cage and it was actually one of them she saw and now a mouse at all (not sure if it was Snake-bite or Thunderstorm). So Connor and Katie and I spread out around the bed and started poking and prodding and grasping as we attempted to capture the gerbil, who was running here and there, and darting in and out, until finally, Katie managed to grab her by the tail and returned her to the cage. Which left us with one gerbil still on the lam. We searched the house high and low, but no luck, so we all went to bed. Unfortunately, the gerbil was in our bedroom, and since gerbils are nocturnal, we spent the rest of the night listening to the gerbil skitter and gnaw and do who-knows-what-else that gerbils do at night when we’re all trying to sleep. Meanwhile, the cat also heard the gerbil skittering and gnawing and who-knows-what-elseing, so she spent a good portion of the night knocking on our door asking to be let in so she could have a little midnight snack. It got so bad that sometime around 4 a.m., Katie finally gave in and let the cat in – she didn’t ever catch the gerbil, but she did meow a lot. Needless to say, neither one of us got much sleep that night. Fortunately, Katie managed to capture the gerbil the next morning when it tried to join her in the shower and she was then able to chase it around the toilet and into a well-placed Trader Joe’s bag. So I guess all’s well that ends well.

Leaky Faucets
A couple of weeks ago, we decided to replace our very old, very loud, no-longer-functioning-effectively dishwasher. Unfortunately, when the guy went to put it in, he discovered that the drainage pipe under our sink was leaking, and the walls and cabinets were soaking wet. So we called a plumber, who fixed the pipe, but he discovered that the soaking walls/cabinets were infested with mold. So now we’re in the process of figuring out what to do and how much insurance will cover and all that fun stuff. The good news is that it looks like this might be a good excuse for Katie to finally get the kitchen update she’s been hoping for. The bad news is that it looks like this might be a good excuse for Katie to finally get the kitchen update she’s been hoping for. I guess it’s all a matter of perspective.

World’s Toughest Road Marathon
That’s how they billed the inaugural Mt. Lemmon Marathon that was held last weekend. 26.2 miles starting at the bottom of the mountain, just past mile marker zero on the Mt. Lemmon Highway, and continuing up, up and away (from 3,000 feet to around 8,500) all the way to Summerhaven (with a little bit of an out-and-back at the end thrown in for good measure. After completing the event, I’m going to have to say that it was definitely the hardest marathon I’ve ever done. I hung in pretty well through the first 15 miles or so, but once we hit the 7,000 foot mark, I started finding it very difficult to breathe. And the hills just kept on coming. So I did a lot of walking up the hills (at a pretty decent clip, though) and ran when I could on any downhill portions (there actually are a couple of these close to the end – thank goodness). All in all, though, it was a great day. The weather was perfect, the views were spectacular, I managed to finish in under 5 ½ hours, and my lovely wife was waiting for me at the top when I finally rolled in. I don’t know if I’ll do the full again next year, but I’ll be sorely tempted to come back and try the half (starting at Windy Point) to see how I can do on that.

That’s all for this edition, so until next time, may your rodents remain securely secured, may your mold remain mildew-free, and may your mountains remain molehills.