This morning when my hubby and I woke up he tells me he saw a mouse earlier in the morning...in the corner of the kitchen. First of all you must understand my husbands, well lets not say "fear", let's say "discomfort" with mice. He grew up in London, so maybe it's distant subconcious memories of the plague...I don't know. You've never seen a funnier sight than to see my husband even think he hears a mouse....I can see the "discomfort" sweep over his face. To his credit, he takes full responsibility for getting rid of any strange creatures in the house, despite his discomfort :) Anyway, so we get up and I hear his tense voice say "it's still there, do you think it's sick or ....gulp dead?" So I come over to take a look...non too comforted myself, and as I look closer I realize it is a popped balloon (left overs from his b'day)...I smile sweetly at him, tell him it's a balloon and go about my business. Next think I know he has the swiffer out and it trying to poke it with the handle.....he then exclaims frustrated, "that's a mouse!" I go over and reach down to pick up the BALLOON and he grabs me back heroically. By this time I'm laughing pretty hard, so I grab the end of the swiffer to show him and he grabs that from me to...so eventually, me laughing...him scolding we, together, sweep the PURPLE POPPED BALLOON into the middle of the kitchen. whew, it was great fun.

But, we do actually have a mouse in our apartment. I've heard it and Jonathan did actually see it running one night. I have no idea how it got in, we are on the second floor, but never-the-less it is there. At first Jonathan said we would get a humane trap and then drive it off at least 10 miles and dump it out....so it would not find its way back of course. :) Well, now he wants me to look up on the internet how mice survive in the winter becuase he's worried about it. He thinks maybe this is its first winter and it doesn't now how to find food and so it found our house where it stays nice and warm. He is haunted by the idea that this poor little mouse will freeze out in the snow. He even suggested we leave some food out for it! Oh, my husband is so sweet. So, if anyone knows anything about the habits of little mice in the winter...feel free to let me know so I can set his mind at ease, and still get the mouse out of my apartment :)