Last weekend I had resolved to catch the mouse in the laundry room and resolve the horrendous smell in the living room.

I never did catch that mouse. I think it either went away or was a figment of Tino’s imagination. Maybe it just learned to be quiet.

The smell, too, lingered on. I tried everything I could think of: baking soda and vinegar down the drain, cleaning out the garbage can with cleanser, and getting all the “crusties” out of the stove. I did a ton of dishes, too, but I kept leaving this one casserole dish that I used for an eggplant parm, “for next time”, except when next time came, I would forget about it because it was off to the side. When I finally lifted the pile of pans stacked on it, I discovered something horrible. I dropped the pans, clutched my stomach, laid down on the couch, and pitifully called for Rob to come deal with the maggots that were worming their way through the moldy, runny cheese.

I miss my dishwasher!