Monday, March 18, 2013

I Dreamed of Mice


(If you've read my posts for very long, you will know how much I loathe mice. I can face down the  heftiest bull, catch the craziest horse, and not flinch in the face of most wild animals, but let a mouse cross my path and I am reduced to a screaming idiot. This is a repost from a while back that I think highlights so well why I despise those little things...)

The dream always begins the same. I am on a steeply inclined road, laboring to ascend. It gets harder and harder to scale, and as I move upwards, the sun quickly sets and leaves me in near darkness. I feel movement on the ground, although I cannot see what it is. The movement continues up onto my feet and climbs up my legs. I pull something off and reel in horror as I meet its beady eyed stare. They are mice, columns and hordes and undulating masses of gray, naked tailed mice. They begin to rain down on me from the sky, and I startle myself awake.

I've never thought this nightmare was prescient, but I am considering changing my mind.

Last month, I was with my class in the workroom area of our main building, built as part of FDR's New Deal in the 1930's. The whole building is full of character, but also full of little holes in the ceilings and baseboards. We were picking up some supplies to take back to our room when I heard a scratching, scattering sound from above. A dark, furry blob dropped from a small hole in the ceiling and a mouse exploded to life on the counter in front of me. Like a spinning top on jet fuel, it zipped willy nilly up and down and all around. My students told me later the mouse scaled the wall  back up to the little hole it dropped out of and disappeared. I was not there to witness it as I was already running down the hall faster than I ever imagined I could in heels.

Two days ago, I stepped out of my building. The wind blew gustily and I was glad I was wearing warm boots. Something no less than the goodness of God made me pause at the top of the steps. A dark object plummeted millimeters past my nose and plopped to the ground between my boot toes. It didn't move, which made me think for a moment it was a rock or something that had blown off the roof of the building. That idea was dispelled, though, when the little MOUSE picked it self up, did a woozy little circle between my feet and scooted off into a hole under the steps. The last part, though, I could not verify from my new vantage point atop the highest stair railing.

I hope to dream of Manolo Blahnik shoes tonight. Because, well, you know, if the things in  my dreams are going to be dropping on me from the skies...

96 comments:

  1. I have tornado and spider dreams. My fears.
    I have a great image in my mind about a woozy little mouse spinning circles.

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  2. Mice. Awful. This blog post made me shudder just thinking about it. I can envision your taking off with a speed faster than that of a bullet.

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    1. Nonnie: I think I surprised everyone, including myself, with how fast I could run...

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  3. We had mice in our walls once. You could just hear them scurrying around in there. You would not have liked it!

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    1. Sherry: *eyes closed, fingers in ears* LALALALALA!!! I cannot even THINK of such a thing!

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  4. Dear Shelly, well, I've heard of it raining cats and dogs, but never mice. I can see that you are a real magician! A magnus! Peace.

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  5. Those are horrible experiences. I'm terrified of mice. Once when I was substitute teaching, a mouse ran out into the classroom. A nasty horrible kid kicked it so it came at me. I never subbed in that part of the building again. At least the kid apologized later, but only after he found out who my son is.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Janie: I might have filed assault charges against him!!!

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  6. I don't particularly like mice, but I don't scream either. This post reminded me of my own mousey post a while back: 'This is the mouse that inspired a post'. I see you can say the same, but in plural, I suppose. I wish you a mouse-free rest of the school year.

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    1. Linda: I so hope they are gone, but they've started plowing the fields around school, and that always stirs them up...

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  7. I just read Janet Evonovich's Explosive Eighteen. There's a scene when something comes out of the ceiling--not a mouse, but rats! Reading that made me lose my appetite! I'm not fond of either;).

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    1. Maria: That is the stuff of horror movies- rats coming from the ceiling! Acccckkkkkk!!!!

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  8. Mice don't really bother me, but things that wriggle or scuttle do. So I understand the feeling, if not the trigger! If snakes and spiders started coming out of the woodwork, I'd be screaming and running too! I wonder if the school caretakers need to address the mouse issue ... I hope you've seen the last of the furry critters!

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    1. jenny_o: Our building is so old, and they are prohibited by law from putting out poison, so glue traps are about it, and they stick to the kids' backpacks more than the mice stick to them. Ugh!!!

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  9. When I was a teen I saw a dog eat a mama mouse and found one of her babies left behind and I felt terrible so I took it in and raised it the best I could. Unfortunately I didn't do it that well because it only lasted two weeks but I've had a love for mice ever since. Not that I'll ever own one though. I'm terrified of bees and fire ants because I'm SUPER allergic and I need my epi pen in case I get bit/stung!

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    1. Julie: Oh, fire ants! We have them all over down here. And for taking care of the baby mouse- you deserve an extra star in your crown!

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  10. Shelly, I cherish this image of you--the bullfighter vs the mouse. This totally has children's tale written all over it! lol Do you think in the end they will be friends?

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    1. Chantel: I am SUCH a coward when it comes to mice...even cartoon mice give me pause. But it might be a good idea to conquer my fear by turning it into a tale...but I have to quit gagging first when I even think about a mouse.

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  11. No Dell rat jokes from me, dear Shelly! Ironically, only one hour ago I watched an episode of Infested, the cable program about homes being taken over by various types of pests. One family's dwelling was overrun with rats and one of the rodents ran across the mother's open toed shoes in the kitchen, digging its sharp nails into her toes. I hope your school isn't infested. Strangely, I have lived in Central Florida since 1984 and still have not seen a rat or a mouse. Mrs. Shady once found a scorpion in her robe when it came out of the clothes dryer and we have lots of spiders and snakes during the warm months. I hope you had a great weekend, dear friend!

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    1. Shady: Wow- you all live in a great area to be free of them! I do know about the scorpions as we have them down here and I had my own encounter with several of them. I hope that one didn't sting her! Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

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  12. I shouldn't laugh. I shouldn't even smile. But you ARE so cute to be scared of mice and not bulls or horses!

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    1. Jeanette: It doesn't make sense, I know, but a horse or bull can't run up your leg like a mouse can!

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  13. Eeek! Usually your posts make me feel warm and happy, reminding me that the world is a beautiful place. Not today! I'm not terrified by mice, but I wouldn't want them flying past my head.

    As always, wonderful story telling!

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    1. Amy: This was NOT a feel good post at all- for sure! And anywhere mice are is not a beautiful place to me. It still freaks me out to think of it falling past my head- ack!!! Gag!!!

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  14. Now I'm going to have nightmares of mice...

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    1. Jamie: No! Don't think of them before you sleep- think of happy, pleasant things! Those things are bad enough in real life...

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  15. We rented a house that had a nest of mice. I sent for pest control and all he did was put steel wool around the pipes and set out poison that my dog ate. I had to take the dog to the vet hospital. She was okay. We got a cat. No more problem.

    Mice falling out of ceiling and roofs is a new one to me and a horrible thought. I'd run for my life too!

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    1. Belle: Oh, something about those words "nest" plus "mice" so close together gives me chills! Ack!!! I'm glad the cat worked~

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  16. I had to laugh when I read about your prowess with larger animals but terror of mice! I can truly understand. There is something about rodents -- quick, stealthy and creepy -- that make one's skin crawl. After my parents, who were hoarders, died, my husband and I had to clean out their rat-infested house and it was totally horrific and aerobic. But one of the most trying times of my adolescence was somehow a little worse because, in addition to rodents, I'm terrified of snakes. My brother went this phase where he bought himself a five-foot python, kept in a cage in the back yard, and then raised little white mice to feed to the snake. OMG! I avoided the back yard for ages! And it was such a relief when he passed on to another phase of growing up and discovered girls!

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    1. Dr. Kathy: Oh, I would have been a basket case because #2 on my list of most despised is snakes! Eeek- I would never have been able to go out at all. I just wish snakes and mice would eat each other up. I know it would somehow upset the balance of things in the universe, but I would be content...

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  17. I am like you. I get scared of mice very easily. There are a few mice that I am sure you will enjoy too. They are in a blog called "Mouse's house". This lady makes her own little mice and then takes pictures and then blogs about them. I think she also made a book with that name. Those mice are cute, but they are not real.

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    1. Munir: Those are the only kind of mice I could handle. I am going to look for that blog in your site and visit it. Thank you for making me feel better about mice, my friend!

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  18. Oh you had me laughing out loud you are very funny. I do hope your new shoes don't hit you in the head keep looking up:) B

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    1. Buttons: If those shoes were to hit me on the head, I would be OK with it!

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  19. Mice scare me too - you need to remember to set some traps in your dream! sandie

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  20. Good morning, Dearest Shelly;
    Oh My!!! This post reminded me of my sad experience when young. My hina dolls "girl's day dolls" from my grandmother destroyed by mice. I clearly remember the day my mother and I found them in the box made of straw she stowed the dolls away (haha, almost 40years ago). We both were half in tears p;) I remember I had nightmares of mice sometimes after that, whew...
    I found your writing beautiful despite the contents, my dear friend(*^_^*)

    Sending you lots of love and hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*

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    1. Miyako: Oh, I am so sorry about your dolls, my dear friend! I do remember reading about the hina dolls, and it would certainly traumatize me if it happened to me. Those little devils don't care about anything and will eat whatever they find.

      I hope neither of us have to have any more ad dreams about mice! Have a wonderful week, my friend~

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  21. Oh...my...gosh.......I'd be in a panic like you Shelly and dropping down rather than scurrying across the floor. That would be too much for m!! I don't like them either; they say the mice are more afraid of us than us of them......but I don't think so in this household, I'm definitely more afraid!!!

    betty

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    1. Betty: I would be too afraid I'd get the brave ones to find out! Ack- they positively gross me out!

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  22. I hate mice in fact the only one I like is the one called Mickey........lol

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    1. Jo-Anne: That would be one I could handle, too!

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  23. If they're falling from the sky, I wear a size 7.

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    1. Missed Periods: I'll try to catch some for you!

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  24. You need a cat. :-) I'll talk to Liza Bean Bitey, of the Minneapolis Biteys.. She knows cats who know cats...

    I can't say that I'm afraid of mice. Now MOTHS. MOTHS, I'm afraid of.

    Pearl

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    1. Pearl: I knew Liza Bean would come through! And I haven't liked moths much since Silence of the Lambs...

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  25. Please forgive me Shelly, there is a woman up in Tennessee who could not help but laugh a little when she read this post. I know how you feel. Have you ever seen or heard of a Norwegian rat? (No, they're not blonde. :) )We saw them in Plano and I always laughed at the story behind them: They came up from Houston by way of Richardson. I kid you not, that is the story. :) They were huge and we had a drowned one in our pool. They are HUGE!

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    1. Cindy: Norwegian Rats!!??? Ugh!!!! I can't imagine what I'd do if ever I came up on one, even drowned. Oh, I hope they don't come any further south than Houston...

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  26. p.s. I love the title of this, by the way.

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    1. Pearl: It's a looooong way from I Dreamed of Africa.

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  27. Lol! I'm scared of those too and cockroaches, spiders...

    ~Nas~

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    1. Nas: I think the world would be a much happier place without them!

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  28. You probably don't want me to tell you about the time I killed a mouse in the classroom with a baseball bat while two dozen sixth-graders looked on. Oops. I just did.

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    1. vanilla: A teacher next to me one time killed one (actually cut it in half) with a metal yardstick. It was a long, long time before I could go into her room. And the baseball bat? At least you killed it!

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  29. ha! I am not afraid to those little cute mickey mouses but when I see one in the house I scream at the top of my lungs!

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    1. Annmarie: Mickey is fine- the real ones are not!!!

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  30. Many years ago, we lived in a house nearby where they were building a new tract of homes kind of up in the hills. All of the wildlife who had lived there were suddenly running for their lives to find new homes. Sometimes in our homes. One night when my husband was out of town I was up bumping around in the wee hours, as I had a hard time settling down when he wasn't home. I heard a small sound by the door, and all of a sudden a little mouse popped in from under the door. We stared at each other for about 10 seconds, not knowing what to do. I had a quick thought wondering how many times this little guy had come into my room while I was sleeping and this time I surprised him by being awake. All of a sudden he ran for it. Right into my closet. I slowly pulled the covers over my head, and tried to sleep. It wasn't easy.

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    1. Karen: Gulp. Gulpgulpgulp. You are brave. I would have had to move into a motel room or a friend's house for the night.

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  31. This is why I always have a cat! Thankfully there is also a family of feral cats that live in our neighborhood, kindly cared for by a retired brain surgeon (he must be a poor brain surgeon to live on this street). For years I freaked out at the sight of rodents, opossums also give me the serious creeps. Maybe it's the naked tails, the beady eyes, the quick and daring feats of acrobatics. I have a horrid memory of our old hunting dog with a large rat hanging out of his mouth when I walked out to the pen to feed him. What changed my rodent phobia was my encounter with the bears in the Shenandoah. They were such gentle creatures but I am terrified of seeing one up close on the trails. When I returned from that trip, I lost my fear of small creatures. You are brave to not be afraid of bulls! They would terrify me up close and personal.

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    1. Jenny: Yes! It's that naked tail thing! Ugh! I love how you overcame your fear. I need to work on that. However, no matter how unafraid I become of them, I will never, ever, ever want to be friends with one or have one as a pet. I just don't get how people can do that!

      I'm so glad you all had such a terrific time on your trip- can't wait to hear more!

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  32. I cringed as I read this post. Mice dropping from the skies? A good pair of shoes would be more welcome. When we had a mouse problem in one apartment, I didn't handle it well.

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    1. Theresa: I could face down a hoard of the scariest beings from horror movies more readily that facing down a mouse, especially one falling down from above me. UGHUGHUGH!!!

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  33. Im not too manly to admit that i'm with you here.

    Although, i'm good with gerbils and hamsters which, lets face it, are really the same damn thing...

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    1. Slyde: They ARE the same things! I try to tell our elementary teachers that, but they just continue cuddling them...

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    2. I agree, hamsters are the same! A rodent is a rodent is a rodent!

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    3. Jenny: Anything that is classified as a rodent is no friend of mine!

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  34. Hi, Shelly:

    I have several brothers and, growing up, they brought home an array of pets. Of the rodent variety, they made my parents house gerbils, hamsters and (sit down for this) a tiny white mouse with deep pink eyes. I didn't care for the gerbils or the white mouse with the creepy eyes, but did like the hamsters.

    Now the rats I've seen on the subways, those would have me hitting turbo down the hall in heels seeking help, indeed!

    Hoping the rat-rainfall has stopped and the shoe-rainfall has commenced for you. ;-)

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    1. Janette Dolores: When I was a kid, hamsters and gerbils didn't bother me at all, but something in me has turned and now I can't even abide them. Good grief, if a rat were to fall down from above, I'd need CPR!!!

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  35. I do not enjoy mice at all! I too hope tonight you start dreaming of gorgeous shoes instead, so much better!

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    1. Stephanie: Those would be wonderful dreams, especially of a certain red pair I've long been in love with~

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  36. Bwahahahha! I love your take on this. I would FREAK, I tell you. ABSOLUTELY positively FREAK!!

    How can a mouse fall that far and live?? Are they like cats?

    That's crazy, girl. Crazy.

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    1. That Janie Girl: I think mice must have a million lives, and that's a million too many!!!

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  37. Ha ha, that's funny and gross. In my post-college shabby apartment, a mouse crawled onto my stomach in the middle of night. I wasn't scared. I just wiggled and it scurried away. Blech.

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    1. Lydia: I would have had to be carted off in a straight jacket...

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  38. Hi Shelly,

    Although mice might look innocuous enough to most people, I find them rather dirty and weird looking. It's probably just me......then again.......

    Maria RR

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    1. Maria: That's me, too! Dirty and weird looking...apt descriptions!

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  39. Oh, mice AND rats don't bother me. Which reminds me of a story concerning BUD. He hates 'em. And won't go into a crawl space without having someone else check the area for safety in mice turds, evidence, etc. But one night our Doberman was having a hey day barking out in the yard, in the dark. I turned the porch light on, and our Dobie was running around, sniffing of the car's wheel wells. I went out, and saw a HUGE rat's tail sticking out of and on the rubber of the tire. I knew it was too big for a rat. So, I went in, told Bud about it, and he came out [in his robe mind you] and helped me round up the dog...in the meantime, our dog, was either bitten or scratched on the tip of his nose...blood everywhere. The first thing I thought of was rabies. It remained on the wheel...the rat's tail, not moving. I went in and called the animal control, and they told me the engine was warm and the critter was seeking somewhere warm to spend the night. Well, big deal. I wanted them to come and capture it to check it out for tell-tale signs of being rabid. They said to me "If it isn't attacking you, it's pretty safe to assume it's not rabid." By that time, the dog was settled down, Bud came out in his robe still, and I was searching the car...it had crawled up in the engine. I unlocked the gate, slowly backed out and crept along the shoulder of the highway to an irrigation ditch. Now, the comical part of it all is: Bud was in his robe as I said, bare legged, holding a flashlight, and he had climbed up on a tree stump to get out of harm's way of the monstrous rat!! I saw this as I backed out of the property. It ended okay, no rat bites...it was an opossum. And when I stopped the car at the ditch, in the headlights I saw it meander slowly to the ditch. I love happy endings.

    I'm back, catching up on my bloggin' buddies today!! I'm glad you reposted this.

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    1. HOOTIN ANNI: This had me in STITCHES!!! Oh, what a picture- and I love how you solved it. I probably would have called the dealership and told them to come get the car and bring me another one!

      I think it's the naked tail thing with me. I don't care much for possums, either! Thank you for sharing that story- made my day!

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  40. I read this with my skin crawling!! Goosebumps in my scalp! Couldn't even finish your 2nd paragraph. I don't like mice much either! I didn't know they could fall from the sky.... I will be forever looking up ;-)

    xx Jazzy

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    1. jazzygal: Then you understand my revulsion! I hope they never fall on my from the sky again, either!!!

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  41. Oh, Shelly, I sympathize. I am not afraid of mice, but do NOT put me in a room with a spider. !!!!

    I cry, I run, I hide, it is just pathetic!

    By the way - how do you do a "re-post"? I have read the blogger tutorial, tried various Q & A sites and I still don't get it. Any guidance would be much appreciated. :) :)

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    1. Marsha: Oh, I get you! And to repost, all I do is copy and paste from the old post.

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  42. This is sooo strange, but I've been dreaming about mice too! I actually wrote a post about it and the hidden meaning. Here's the link if you have a chance to read it: http://ecwrites.blogspot.com/2013/03/dreams-is-your-subconscious-telling-you.html

    So wild!

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    1. EC Stilson: Ackkk! I will have to go check out your post. I certainly hope it only means those mice will be toodling out of my life for good...

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  43. I am also scared of mice Shelly. I don't like them at all. Strangely enough I have never dreamt of seeing them. Thanks for becoming a Follower of my Blog. I am happy to follow back. Take care and have a great week.

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    1. Judy: I'm sure in the grand scheme of things there is a purpose for mice, but it wouldn't bother me at all to see them disappear!

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  44. Mice don't bother me...we once had 2 pet albino rats....they really were cute! Following you back via GFC. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. menopausal mama: Somehow, they didn't bother me when I had some as pets when I was growing up, but somewhere along the way I've developed a serious aversion to them!

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  45. Mice. NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Rats. I will move out. Yeah, I think I might have a problem.

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    1. Bossy Betty: Rodentaphobia. I'm sure there's a more scientific name, but that's what it is.

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  46. If I had to choose between a mouse or a large hairy spider, it would have to be the spider. My condolences for having to have DREAMS of mice. Omigod, let me never dream of spiders crawling up my leg or nestling in my hair.........

    ~Lorna
    _______________________________________


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  47. Best of luck about the shoes! :)

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