Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Gaining the Kingdom Back or the Rodent Turd Wars or Woman on the Warpath











Well, I am making a bit of progress. The Christmas Tree is down, the presents put up, and the living room is now passable for living.
The purple couch is marvelous - it goes with everything! See that pale throw rug? Well, something bright and zowie is going there! I still have to get the carpet cleaned. Apparently one of the boy cats went rogue and well - - -
Ms. Meowi has made herself at home, apparenty sensing the study is MINE!
Little guy had to show me his fun day outfit for school - this is my study looking into the kitchen. I made my husband move his 130 books (don't ask how he got that many into the bookcase) on marriage out! I think he's an expert on marriage, only he must have another wife somewhere. Anyway, he has three other bookcases, this one is MINE.
Now - the awful thing about this reclamation project - is the RAT CRAP WARS! Little fellow has a pet white corn snake, which is really pale pink with hot pink stripes and even though snakes are down on my favorite pet list, this one is tolerable because he is PURTY. He stays in his aquarium like a good snake. Well, the story goes - snakes eat mice, rats. Supposed to be fed outside! So ex-son-in-law who thinks he owns the house does the snake feeding inside. He buys two rodents. The snake only wants one. Instead of flushing the blasted extra thing down the toilet, he locks it in my study! Yah. I am roaring crazy mad; imagine Turtle Woman on the Warpath. You betcha.
My husband figured out the whole rodent mess from the odor emanating from the study - and commanded ex- to get the blankety rodent out of the study, out of the house, period. Well, the rodent ended up in a plastic box in the garage. Next:
My husband heard the words all husbands fear to hear - "What in __________ is that dead body smell in the garage?" "Who has turned into Dahmer?" "I want answers, NOW, answers!"
Hubby headed to the garage and discovered plastic tub full of rodent droppings and pee that ex was storing in the garage. You'd think that was the last straw, right? Nope, it wasn't.
I continued cleaning the study - and found a folded up black plastic carry all. Looks like the cats have barfed on the outside. So I opened it and only the strongest will power kept me from adding to the barf. It was full of rodent crap and pee. So this is where the rodent was living. I screamed and took it directly to the garbage can outside.
And, under where the bag was, as a very special present for me from ex-son-in-law on my pale grey carpet, is a now yellow and black polka dotted with rodent excrement, grey carpet. We begin cleanup - Hubby goes back to garage to get old vacumn cleaner - who wants hanta virus in the new one? Vacumn cleaner is gone, OF COURSE.
Guess who has it? Yep, ex. Two calls, he refuses to bring it back. He thinks we have no business telling him what to do with his rodents. Tonight is the third night, the carpet has to be swept, cleaned, then sterilized. I feel a real urgency. Carpet will later have to be removed, a rather expensive project.
Today; still no vacumn. Three is the magic number, tonight I am calling him asking him if he thinks his right to keep rodents in my study/and or garage is more important than being jailed for stealing a vacumn cleaner from our garage.
Now, it all comes back why I spent two years in Wyoming facing down blizzards, ice, snow, boundary invading landlords, five ruptured discs from two accidents, hostile County Commissioners and employees, no sushi, loneliness and so on down the long list. No one will stand up to this crazy idiot - well, I'm taking my house back. The Rodent Turd Wars is not the only battle in the past with this fool.
Am I mean? Yes. Do I care? No. My house. I (& hubby) pay for it. I clean it. We pay the taxes. Idiot can keep rodents in HIS house and leave mine alone! Grrrr.

16 comments:

tshsmom said...

Check the furniture in your study. Rodents have a nasty habit of chewing their way into padded furniture. :(
Ex needs to know that he's no longer a member of your family. He must learn to be a respectful guest in YOUR home, or out the door he goes!
There's one good thing about Wyoming...it toughened up your attitude!

Gardenia said...

tshsmom - - - - ooooooooooh boy - I'll check. Thanks. The vacumn has returned!

tshsmom said...

WOW, you must have ATTITUDE to get results that fast! You go, girl!! ;)

Biddie said...

Wow. Are you (or were you) close with x son in law? Does your little guy live with you? Why isn't he doing this at HIS house?
I could feed a live animal to a snake. Just couldn't. We've had pet rats and they are so friendly and intellegent. mind you, they lived in a cage, and didn't have free reign of the house!
I hope that the furniture is ok, and x cleans up his act. I'm surprised that the kitties didn't find the run away rat....

Gardenia said...

I too once had a pet rat - it was a sweetie - we lived out in an old farm house and it was so terribly cold when winter came, it caught a cold and died. However, it was cared for and not thrown into a room to forage. (We were all miserable there at that farmhouse - jees - our washclothes would actually freeze at night.)

Cats are used to having this room door closed - my first visit home, they had shredded the seat of my desk chair in the study. They were then verbotten. Also verbotten from the garage - if you saw the garage you would understand. It is full, so everyone had put all their stuff in here, as a storage room and just closed the door. I'm still digging it out bit by bit, its already better. Today I shampoo carpet. Difficult because the garage is so full - I am actually embarrassed when the garage door is open.

This ex-son-in-law has a history of moving in with someone and taking over. It's been a nine year fight to keep my home in order. I first met him when I went home for lunch one day and he is washing his clothes in my washer. (My daughters always had a habit of picking up strays - animals, humans, etc.) When it went to showering at my house as well, I threw another fit and clamped those activities down. I've been trying to put limits on visitations for years. I hate coming out of my bedroom in my nightgown to find him on the floor in the living room.

He sleeps in his house, but won't fix it up, wants to spend all his time off work here - I had lost my life before I left - couldn't even have people over -

Its a long long story - sad, but I'm too old, too tired to be saving 40 years olds. He's in waaaaay better shape than me physically. I have always thought he is not "all there" in the head - as a normal person would not NEAR have the guts to get in your face in your own home, "I'm gonna do what I want in your house attitude" he does. He actually once took all my craft supplies out of a dresser in the garage and moved the dresser to a room in the house. I returned for a visit and once again hit the roof...it would help if my husband would back me, but he's a chronic people pleaser and his solution to a problem is to pretend it isn't there. (I guess after I left, he just moved to his bedroom with the door closed - laying in bed watching TV, yeh, house & yard show it.)

I insisted the dresser be put back, but it is just turned upside down and many of the supplies missing. I haven't a clue where they went. As soon as possible, I am hiring a person to bring a truck to the garage and I'm having it loaded for the mission. I have been instructed to have a garage sale, but I can't lift anything - so if hubby wants a garage sale, he has two weeks.

If this works, I will write a book on house to get your life back.

Biddie said...

Your x son in law sounds alot like my Hubbys brother. He is past 40 now, several years than Hubby and I, and he too, goes from house to house. He is currently living in my in laws basement, rent free, and has all of his needs taken care of. His (80 year old) mom, cooks, cleans, and takes phone messages for him. he keeps her up until all hours of the night, and actually brings friends over to drink and smoke (stuff) in his parents house. Hubbys dad is fine with it, but his mom is at her wits end. She too, has come out if her room in a nightie only to be confronted by strangers that brother has brought home.
Last week, Brother drove Hubby to the pharmacy to get insulin for J. Hubby had endure a 25 minute lecture about money and responsiblity from a man that has 3 kids that he pays support for 'when he can.' He works fulltime, by the way.
Hubbys mom has hinted that maybe Brother should move in with us. If he does, then I move out. I too am tired of saving people.
I would love to read your book!

tshsmom said...

"... his solution to a problem is to pretend it isn't there."
Yup, our husbands are definitely related somehow!

Lee said...

I dunno about all this snakes and mice and hubbys and stuff but I love the zebra bureau in the top pic! Very groovy!

Anonymous said...

change ur locks then its breakin n enterin u can alwasy take out a paper 2 make him stay away u no

Pickled Olives said...

Nothing says love to a rodent like a commercial mouse trap. snap snap

Gardenia said...

lee, you like that? I painted it - with the good intentions of putting knobs on it - its partner, the chest of drawers is awaiting transformation as I type....

Pup, I have traitors on my staff who let him in - oh its complicated - yes, I will keep in mind THE "paper"

The only time I ever killed anything was when a rat (yeh, wild rats in the humid south) got in my storage and ate my paints - honestly my beast came out and I didn't even care that the trap had to have really hurt.........oh yeh, I killed some chickens once for Grandma, oh, that was awful...horrible. And some plants, unintentionally.

Gardenia said...

lee, you like that? I painted it - with the good intentions of putting knobs on it - its partner, the chest of drawers is awaiting transformation as I type....

Pup, I have traitors on my staff who let him in - oh its complicated - yes, I will keep in mind THE "paper"

The only time I ever killed anything was when a rat (yeh, wild rats in the humid south) got in my storage and ate my paints - honestly my beast came out and I didn't even care that the trap had to have really hurt.........oh yeh, I killed some chickens once for Grandma, oh, that was awful...horrible. And some plants, unintentionally.

Lee said...

I think it's great! There's a store out here that sells whimsical painted furniture for small fortunes!

Wandering Coyote said...

First of all, cool mirror.

OMG re. the rodent turd wars! What's next? I'm with TSHS - let the ex SIL have it. It's ridiculous!

**Ya Think** said...

Hey Gardenia!!!

Ex In Law truly truly needs to go and stay gone!!! Boy he has the same nerve I always remember him having. You hang in there and remain tough!!! He is passive aggressive in many ways. Passive Aggressive People are difficult to stand up to.

Ya Think?

Gardenia said...

ya think - no doubt - they have a million ways to get around to get what they want