Dad 222: Of Mice and Man, Part 2

(It's mid-afternoon as I type this, and the sun indeed did win. Beautiful day. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! It seems that the sun is making an attempt to ward off the rainy morning. It sure looks like the sun will win out. We hope! Brighter by the minute.

I have two goals to accomplish each morning. I always check the obituaries on the computer. I've been doing this for many months now. This past week I've added the second goal. I check the engine compartment of my pickup to see if the mice have gone for good. (See last week's post.) I have not found any sign of mice for one week. I guess the capture of the two by trapping last week has won the war. I will continue to check on a daily basis to see that none return. I will kill any family members that dare to move in. You have been warned! Don't come back!

Good news on the football front. Josh's high school team won their game last Friday evening quite handily (34-6). Zack's eighth-grade team completed the season with a win. They start the playoffs this weekend. Hope both can win again this week.

The Patriots finally looked like a football team. Hope it lasts. Go Pats!

Congratulations to Kansas City, Baltimore, St. Louis, and San Francisco as their baseball teams are now playing to make the World Series. I'll be watching but not really cheering for any particular team. Ho-hum.

According to my proofreader and editor, my time is up. Sooo....

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

A Time to Read, A Time to Nap

So it's Tuesday, and that means I'm supposed to write about something on my to-do list.

May I add, "Take a nap" to that list?  If so, that is what I want to write about! So I will.

The change of seasons, late nights of baseball playoff games, and my new job routine have all added up to my eyes wanting to slam shut right now. I mean it. I can hardly keep my eyes open.

And as tempting as a nap sounds, I don't really want to take one! What I would like to do is sit with a cup of hot cocoa and finish the novel I'm currently reading. I could effort that, I suppose. But if I find that I need to read the same paragraph four times, then the nap will win.

I do like reading on my Kindle right before bedtime. I use a larger font, so it is easy on my eyes. And when I start to read the same paragraph four times, I know that it's time to shut down. (It's interesting to see how far back I need to start the next time I pick the book up. Sometimes I find that I really didn't comprehend a full ten pages!)

To do:  Read.  Drink cocoa.  Try to stay awake.  Take nap if necessary.

Utilizing Our DVR

Now that the fall season is upon us, Lew and I find that our DVR is filling up faster than it did during the summer.  New episodes of our shows are finally airing again!

TV shows that we still watch and enjoy:

• Castle
• Person of Interest
• The Middle
• Last Man Standing
• Elementary (although no new episodes yet)
• Masterpiece Mystery

We are doing what we can to watch a show here and there, but baseball is taking priority. (We are really behind on Masterpiece Mystery; there are several "Miss Marple" episodes waiting for us.) Watching the baseball playoffs is fun this year -- and not nearly as stressful as if the Red Sox were playing!

October Baseball Musings

It's been a week of work, church events, and baseball.

I wrote about a specific MLB playoff game yesterday. Today I want to share my analysis of the potential World Series match-ups, particularly what would make each one interesting.

I just drew this rough sketch. If you follow baseball, then you will know which teams I am referring to. (If you don't follow baseball, then you may not care about this post anyway!)

 

Key:

Best Records. Best regular-season record in their league.

Wild Cards. I hope this one is self-explanatory.

Geog. Geography. Teams that are close to each other, and may share some of the same fans.

Coast 2 Coast. Teams that are on opposite sides of the continental USA.

2013. Both of these teams were favored to beat the Red Sox in their respective playoff series last year. But as we know, my beloved Red Sox won it all. ("No comment" regarding 2014....)

 

Yes, I know that I left seven squares empty. (Feel free to offer suggestions on why those match-ups would be interesting!)

And in case you're wondering, I'm not rooting for one match-up over the other. But if I had to pick which one, I'd say Kansas City vs. St. Louis, due to my years spent living in the Midwest (both Kansas and Missouri).

Ahhhh... October baseball. :)

A Questionable Pitching Change

I am making up my own writing prompt today: Baseball managing.

It is post-season baseball time. Each game is important.

I just watched the last few innings of game 2 of the ALDS, Detroit at Baltimore. Detroit was ahead 6-3 going into the bottom of the 8th inning, but ended up losing 7-6.

Detroit's relief pitcher had pitched a couple really clean innings, but the manager took him out of the game after the 7th inning. My question is, "Why not put him back out there for the 8th and wait to take him out when he gives up a hit or a walk?"

I just told my parents that if I had been the Detroit manager for just that one decision, Detroit probably would have won the game!

Neither Detroit nor Baltimore are my team, so it's okay with me whoever wins. I just don't understand the "over-managing" that sometimes takes place in baseball.

And my five minutes are up.

Two Cats in the Window

Busy day today, so this will be brief. It is Throwback Thursday anyway, so a picture will suffice, right?

Regular readers of this blog know that Pepper the cat almost "ceased to be" about a month ago. But due to veterinary science (and some of my parents' cash), she is still with us!

Here is my favorite photo of Pepper and her old friend, Bagheera. (Our current cat Jerry looks a lot like Bagheera, whom we still miss.)

Bagheera and Pepper - two sweet cats.

Dad 221: Of Mice and Man

(Dad wrote out today's post on three pages of yellow-lined paper. His note to me at the bottom of page #3: "Tracy - Sorry so long, but the story must be told!" Enjoy! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Not enjoying a cloudy, cool, dismal, drizzly day in the Northeast. We don't have a choice, so we'll live with it. No like, though!

A while back I had a truck that would not start. Found out a relay was bad so it was replaced. (Had no prior trouble like this for years.) Well, about six months later, I had the same problem. Replaced the relay and purchased one to carry with me.

All was well until returning home one day from a dump run. My dash lit up and a message told me to "service my 4-wheel drive". When I turned the key off the truck would not shut off. The problem was that I needed to replace the relay (fuse) panel located under the hood. It seems I had a mouse infestation and the critters totally destroyed the panel. The local Chevrolet dealer had the necessary part on its shelf and said this problem was not unique. The panel was replaced, costing a few hundred dollars.

Just last week, I decided to service the truck so as to mount my plow and have it checked out for free at a local truck center. (They do a pre-check every fall and replace all fluids.) While servicing the truck I decided to check the fuse panel. Guess what we found? A lot of mouse droppings, along with the hole that allows the pesky pests to live with the fuses.

The war is now on. I opened the panel and covered the fuses with a dryer sheet and a box of D-Con. The next morning I found the poison had been disturbed and more mouse droppings. I moved the truck and set the same trap. (I used dryer sheets because the Internet said this sometimes works as a deterrent.) The next morning I found the same results, even though the truck was moved at least 50 feet.

I decided to use stronger methods to control (kill) the beasts. Son-in-law Lew told me to use a mouse trap. So I bought a two-pack mouse trap at Ace Hardware. Yesterday morning I found one mouse dead. I replaced the trap and checked it out early last evening. Found another mouse. Reset the trap and checked this morning. No new customers. Have I got them all? I don't know, but there are two less mice living in the motor compartment of my truck.

I will leave a crumpled-up dryer sheet plugging the hole to the fuse panel and will also keep trap and D-Con available for a couple more days. I do not wish to replace the fuse panel.

Hopefully I will have no more problems!

Sooo....

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!