As long as they are outside, I'm pretty cool with them, though I don't like the skittering in the alley, trashdiving and when I see them trying to start a nest, I obstruct. And this one was so...domestic, chillin' in its new garden flat... Cat-neighbors Pooch and Kittyboy have limited roaming and Pooch has poached rats, so do not EVER want to harm them.

I like rats as a species, but city rats can be a hazard.

They give me the heebie-jeebies.

This one was all bright eyed and not very ratlike. Hence, I thought it a field mouse at first (it was smaller then!) Some of the rats I've seen around are probably 5+lbers and some rivaled small cats! This one is just an overgrown mouse.

That said, I've heard stories of when Memorial Stadium (the perimeter of former parking lot maybe 25yds away? The old seating maybe 100?) was demolished and the rivers of rats that streamed into the 'hood on a daily basis. You couldn't drive down the street without squashing at least one. The city sent out door-to-door vets to do rabies vacs to household pets because they were that worried.

Now THAT would have me screaming.

Rats totally freak me out, even though I grew up with a lot of white lab rats around (snake food, I'm afraid). But the big brown-grey Norwegian rats? Give me the shudders, like Burrell.

And I have just finished paying off the back taxes and penalty to Utah for Hubby's lumpsum Social Security payment. Yay! That was two years worth of work, and done. Just in time for a new muffler for the Taurus and a couple of tires for Hubby's SUV.

Still I have my diet cherry ginger ale to sip on a lovely night.

I love my siblings. After the fun overnight in the ER, my sister called my brothers and told them they had to be nice to me. AND she bought me a box of really killer salted caramels. And then my middle brother called me today and told me to plan to go to Kilimanjaro with him next winter.

Which I admit is really tempting. Kilimanjaro! Just imagine!

I would totally need a diamox prescription, though: 19,000 feet is really fucking high.

Here, natter, I made you a kitten: [link]

Consuela, those are good siblings. Definitely don't need to trade those up. Quality.

Oh, god 7:30 meeting. Why do I remember that now, sitting up, here?

Okay, bye.

Oh, god 7:30 meeting. Why do I remember that now, sitting up, here?

Oh, that's just wrong. Off to bed with you!

...and with me. Night, all!

(It was an unproductive day, but I did send out two or three networking-type emails.)

(I shall not panic about being unemployed. I shall not panic about being unemployed...)

Take some ibuprofen, Matt. I'm glad you're okay.

Not even necessary, actually. The scrapes barely even hurt, so I just Neosporined them to avoid infection or catching halfwit cooties.

You too, ita, you too?