Uninvited visitors

On Saturday the casserole for that evening's meal was in the oven and everything else was under control so I thought that I could treat myself to a bit of blogging. I was sitting at the kitchen table with my laptop when I heard a rustling noise. The noise appeared to be coming from the lobby between the kitchen and the utility room. This is a small square room that the kitchen door opens onto, as does the utility room door and the back door opens off it. I went to investigate. In the dark I saw something move amongst the rubbish, that I had earlier decided it was too cold to put in the dustbin. Quick as a flash I was upstairs to my husband. He was quickly downstairs and into the kitchen. We both stood there listening. Yes, there was definitely something happening in the lobby. My husband opened the kitchen door but couldn't see what was making the noise, so opened the utility room door and as he did, a small dark brown creature scuttled into the utility room. Now we had lost it as the utility room is quite big. We moved things around but it had gone to ground and was silent. I think that it was probably a mouse, but the question is how had it got in? It was three and a half hours since the back door had been opened. Surely, if a mouse had been in the lobby for that length of time we would have heard it sooner.

We have not heard or seen it since, so either it has found its way out or is still in the utility room. Since this incident I have insisted that we keep all the doors, both internal and external, shut at all times to try to prevent the mouse getting into the house. It is amazing the number of doors that we have in the downstairs of the cottage. Each room has at least two doors. It is a bit like a rabbit warren.

Later in the evening I remembered the windfall cooking apples that I had left on the utility room floor. Recently I had noticed that some of them looked as if they were being eaten but as I could not think what could be eating them, I had assumed, that as they were now old and going rotten, that they were self decomposing. I realised that the mouse had probably been in and out for a few weeks helping itself to our unwanted apples. The apples have now been thrown away and we are planning on having the utility room refitted.

Then last night just as I was about to drift off to sleep I was aroused by some animal doing a clog dance in the loft. It wasn't a mouse. It made too much noise. Two minutes of Strictly Come Dancing in the loft and I was wide awake for the next three hours! We need to have some repair work done to the barge boards, soffits and gutters and hopefully any holes into the roof will be filled in.

Thank you for listening

I am very pleased to have been given this unusual award of Van Gogh's Ear Award by Akelamalu. The award has been created by Roger of Idaho Photo who wrote on his blog:

'Every year I like to make up an award and hand it out to people that make a difference in the blogsphere. I like to make it an award for all to enjoy and pass out if one so wants to, I just ask if you are going to give it out to link it back to me as the creator of the Van Gogh's Ear Award.'

The inspiration of the Van Gogh's Ear Award:

'You may know the story of Vincent Van Gogh - a well known artist in history. Although a brilliant painter, in his later years went quite insane. He received the nickname of fou roux ("the redheaded man"). The most bizarre a of Vincent's behaviour is when he cut off the lower part of his own left ear lobe, which he wrapped in newspaper and gave to a prostitute named Rachel in her local brothel, asking her to "keep this object carefully". After this he suffered recurrent bouts of mental illness, which led to his suicide on July 29, 1890 when he was 37 years old. His works of art are priceless.'

The point of this award:

'We are all artists in are own way be it art, photography, writing, philosophy, comedy, blogging and we all go a little crazy sometimes. But if you ever feel so crazy to cut off your ear and give it to a prostitute "Seek help"!'

Always remember you're unique.

Just like everyone else.

I hope that I am not going mad but it is certainly a trial living here. Thank you Akelamalu for giving the award to me. I am going to pass it on to the following bloggers:

blog that mama
french fancy
ladybird world mother
moannie

Akelamalu has also kindly given this You stand out from the crowd! award to those that commented on her blog during December. I have decided to pass this award onto those bloggers who commented on my Out with the old post. The comments on that post were much appreciated. Thank you to those bloggers who commented.

I am sorry I can not get the links to work.

Sad bastards' New Year

Twas the Sunday after Christmas. All was peaceful and quiet. The neighbours had gone away. How did we know that they had gone away? The infernal flashing red lights, that had adorned the front of their house since the beginning of December, had been turned off and their car was gone from the drive. Normally at this time of the year they go somewhere warm for two weeks. The peace and quiet was broken on Tuesday by their Alsatian dog's incessant barking. We put up with it for so long, then at 9 pm phoned the Police, who took our details and passed them on to the RSPCA, who then phoned us and advised us to contact the local Environmental Health office the next day.

On Wednesday morning (New Year's Eve) my husband phoned Environmental Health, who took our details and said that they would send out some forms to us and the neighbour and we were to keep a record of when the dog barked. We felt that we were going round in circles and not really getting anywhere. I decided that we would have another go phoning the RSPCA. This time my call was registered as a complaint and passed onto an inspector for possible investigation. On Wednesday afternoon my husband saw an RSPCA van outside the neighbour's house. The dog, of course, was not barking but we felt that our complaint was being taken seriously. I again contacted the RSPCA to find out what was going on. They said that we would be contacted when their investigation was completed. During the evening of New Year's Eve the dog barked non stop for five hours!

When these neighbours first got this Alsatian dog it went into kennels when they went away. Then they started to leave it 'home alone' when they went away for a few days. Neighbours or friends come round to feed the dog but its' only exercise is walking around the garden which is no more than medium size. Until November, the dog was well behaved and they got away with it. When they were away at the beginning of November the dog barked non stop for two successive evenings and for another hour starting at 4 am one morning and 2 am on the other morning. My husband complained to the neighbour and got a very casual response. I expected, rather naively, that the problem would not arise again and that the dog would in future go into kennels, when they go away. The dog lives in a kennel, in the garden, which looks like a giant rabbit hutch. It is such an attractive thing to look at from our bedroom window. I wonder what Prince Charles would think of it? Apparently there is no mattress, duvet or blanket etc for the dog. He has to sleep on a cold concrete floor. Recently the outside temperature here has gone as low as minus four degrees centigrade. The neighbour has, no doubt, been sunning himself somewhere tropical while the unfortunate dog shivers back here.

On New Year's Day we were out all day returning home about 7 pm. About an hour later our phone rang. My husband answered the phone. It was the neighbour. We assumed that he must be back home. He was aware that the RSPCA had called and assumed that it was us that had contacted the RSPCA. My husband will not tell me exactly what the neighbour had to say but he called him a sad bastard and told him to get a life. As it was me that phoned the RSPCA I suppose that I am also a sad bastard who needs to get a life. Oh and he is never going to speak to us again. We can live with that. The next morning we realised that he was not home. So either someone has contacted him to say that the RSPCA had been round or he has been viewing the recordings of the CCTV cameras on his house while on holiday. How sad is that?

On Friday I phoned the Police and asked for the community police officer for our village to call round which he did the following day. He was very understanding but no one seems to have the power to remove a barking dog that has been left alone.

The neighbours are now back and we await the outcome of the RSPCA's investigation.

Out with the old

The last week or so have been the biggest non-event as far as my husband and I are concerned. On Christmas Eve I received from my brother his Christmas present, of a nasty e-mail. So much for the season of goodwill to all men. It obviously does not apply to sisters. The Christmas that we had planned was ruined. Instead of being relaxed and contented I was tense and twitchy. Then to make sure that our Christmas cake was well and truly iced our neighbours have gone away leaving 'home alone' their barking Alsatian dog. On New Year's Eve my mother in law, who has not been well, was admitted to hospital and yesterday was spent travelling down to Northampton and back to see her. We can only hope that things will get better.

Happy New Year to bloggers everywhere.