ratmice and a couch

one day last week,  i tried to drive her to the bus stop.  we slipped all the way down the one mile hill to be there on time.  we were.  the bus never came.  i forgot to check the website.  it had alerted us to the morning run being canceled.  won't forget that again on a snowy day i bet.  we went home,  just the two of us.  david had already left with max and olive for the morning.  it was a school day for olive, and a go-to-work-with-daddy-morning for max.  i made some hot tea, preparing for the drive up the mountain this time, for the 4 mile hill up to her school.  we got 2 miles up.  i  did not like what it was feeling like, at all, to drive up that hill on those roads.  i called it.  i heard a sigh of relief from her, and a huge relaxation come over her body, and mine,  the second i said, 'screw this, i'm turning around.'  it was a good feeling to call that, and feel her response.  i had an idea, as we were headed back down.  i remembered the gift my sister had given her for her birthday in july.  a felting kit, to make little felted mice.  (oh my, look at this one i just saw!!  and this one!!!)  once home, i asked her if she knew where that was?  she did!  right under her desk in the abyss of little girl stuff.  we parked it by the fire, for one hour, and started poking at wool, with a step by step guide of what to do.  it was really divine.  after that hour, it was time to go get the boy, have lunch, and then take him to school.  once he was at school however, we had 2.5 hours to spend, continuing on with our felting.  neither of us could wait to get back at it.  we went to the trident of course.  a friend came to visit with us while these cuties were being born, and acted as baby ratmouse doula, for she has much experience with needle felting, it turned out.  and another friend, the one who just happened to be there to doula both my girls' births, came to the trident at that same time.  a little synchronistic convening of birthing helpers.  thank goodness for that snow day i called!  thank goodness for intuitive gift givers like my sister.  thanks goodness for craft~loving little 7 year old girls.  and thank goodness for doulas and friends.  there are plans to make a slew of ratmice over the weekend, for the siblings and the parents.  at home. by the fire.  with tea.  and cookies.



tis now after the weekend.  two more little fuzz balls with long tails were born.

olive's lady mouse wanted to bow for the camera.

at first these were rats.  now they are mice, zhi has decided.


 look at that sweet face.  zhi is so crafty.  and morbid sometimes.


these mice get tucked into bed at night by their caretaker.  they are very loved and it melts my hard cold heart  (heh) to see how sweet she can be.....i am wondering if the mountain moguler might bring some of those other kits for this angel.




ummmm.  and here is our new couch.  we got it used at the consignment store.   so i can blog about it.  it's like it was thrifted, right?    our old one is gone.  gone into a higher state of being i hope.  it was too wrecked to even be donated anywhere.  it was a very good couch.  i'm wanting to honor it properly.  it was such a good brown couch.


we were gone for that thanksgiving week.  our sensitive cat, lily, apparently didn't like our house sitter this time.  she peed on the new couch twice.  it's so weird how strong smelling cat pee is.  david and i actually fought about this whole happening.  he started calling the cats vermin, which he does here and there when they're bugging him.  i couldn't stress out about a couch, and the fact that he was, sent me into a crazy place.  so i stressed about him stressing about it.  it's ok now, between us.  and i'm working on the couch.  this is my fourth attempt to get the smell out.  i used bac-out three times.  this time i put a baking soda paste on it.  it vacuumed off perfectly.  there is still a smell there.  but it smells like sweet bac-out and vinegar, which i put on too, i forgot.  it's gross, but better than cat pee.  it would be cool to air the couch out outside.....but it's snowy.

so,  i made a pillow to help cheer things along.  it's soft.  cashmere soft.  good for winter snuggling.  while you smell that gross smell.  mmmmmmmm.

at least it looks cute.

how crazy that we go and buy a new to us couch and then the cat just about ruins it.  david says he'll sit on it once a week, to see how it's coming along.  i might just hang a hammock in the living room.