There were a lot of hard goodbyes this week. We said so long to little Elizabeth and big sis Anabelle. Hopefully we’ll get back to see them in early December.
“You better come back soon, Mimi and Pa!”
We left my dad’s house in NJ, it was hard, he appreciated our help over the last several weeks as he recovered from the strange infection that laid him low. He lives alone and will miss our company. By 10 am, we were rolling, I successfully backed out of his long driveway and didn’t cause any damage to his lawn.
We headed West, we plan on being at our son Ryan’s home about an hour West of St. Louis by Saturday. With a tank full of fresh diesel ($3.54/gallon!) and a warm sunny day, we hit I-80.
We worked our way to I-78 to the PA Turnpike, then on to I-70. One thing we love about having a Class A motorhome is the ability to use the bathroom on the road…the passengers, not the driver.
Marti came back from the bathroom and told me there was some kind of white powder all over the kitchen counter. That was really strange.
At a rest stop, I looked at the powder. It looked like little Styrofoam beads. There was only one place they could have come from and if they were Styrofoam, it could indicate a real problem.
The ceiling has Styrofoam in it, with the a/c vents cut into them. The only way I could figure that the Styrofoam had broken down into powder was some outside influence. One such influence came to mind: Mice!
I decided to keep that thought to myself until I could confirm it. Marti is not too fond of those little creatures.
A little later, Marti found the source of the powder. Not mouse caused Styrofoam bits, but something even more sinister.
Grits. (Also known as wallpaper paste to us Northerners. For some reason, Marti likes them.).
The grits container in the cabinet over the counter fell over and the top came off.
As we drove down the highways, bumps bounced the loose grits down on the counter from the cabinet. Phew! I had thoughts of a serious battle with mice, instead I quickly fixed the problem with my vacuum cleaner. Marti ensured this will never happen again.
Tonight, after a short 433 mile drive (PDD Silver Level), we’re overnighting at a Cracker Barrel. We had dinner and are looking forward to breakfast before we hit the road.
Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.
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That would not happen us, we do not cate for grits:)
ReplyDeleteWhew, good thing it wasn't mice! I love grits, George not so much :)
ReplyDeleteJim loves grits. He's such a southern boy sometimes. I would be doing a happy dance that it wasn't mice.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is so hard to say goodbye, and it seems to be the hardest with the youngest and the oldest. I know what you mean about your Dad enjoying your company and then having that feeling of loneliness once you leave, it is the same way when I visit my Dad.
ReplyDeleteSo glad that your "powder" is not related to mice. We are having our own problems with them here. Both in the house trailer and the car. Kevin found a little nest of six babies and the mother in our car yesterday. I knew I had a hitch hiker with me when I went to town as I saw her at one point when I was removing something from the car but I didn't realize that I had the whole family with me. Kevin has now looked after that problem, just hoping it doesn't repeat itself.
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
I guess grits are better than mice, but in my opinion, not much.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Dad will miss you two. Just glad he is well enough for you to move on!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE grits:o) I get the yellow corn grits that way I don't get them confused with styrofoam;o))
I also LOVE grits! We saw a display at a local mill. It showed the first product which was corn, after first grinding it became grits, then corn meal, then corn flower. So I guess you don't like corn either?
ReplyDeleteYou just need to add some bacon and eggs to your grits and see if you don't like them then!
Glad it was a simple clean up instead of mice!
Funny about the mice scare. Recently we heard noises at night and I thought we had mice, but Ron determined it was bats trying to get in the stove vent. We moved on and the problem went away.
ReplyDeleteNo grits here for us.
ReplyDeleteMuch better than mice though, easy fix.
Both of my parents had southern ties and even though we lived there, grits was not something we got into either. To each their own, I suppose. However, grits are definitely nicer to have around than mice. We had a mommy mice once who gave birth on a tablecloth in one of our outside bins. They were found and coaxed outside rather quickly. Enough of that for sure.
ReplyDeleteGlad the white powder turned out to be something non-threatening.
ReplyDeleteI purchased the four pack of Victor Ultrasonics Pest controllers ($35.00 at most hardware stores.). They are pet friendly but we have witnessed rodents making u-turns away from our rig once they hear the tone being emitted. They do require a 120 volt power source. After I recommended these to other RVers with pest problems they later reported back the problem had been resolved with the use of these controllers. I placed one in each room of our trailer and one in the basement and we have had no problems.
http://www.victorpest.com/store/rat-control/ultrasonics
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
I would take several helpings of grits rather than deal with those nasty mice! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are a smart man...Jerry too would not even say those words out loud unless he knew for sure since our home is not big enough for the two of us and it would win and I would stay out until it was gone and I had the proof of it's demise!
ReplyDeleteMice - bad, Grits - Good. Shows Marti has good taste. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the grits debate. :P
ReplyDeleteEven mice wouldn't come into a place where there's Grits! If you'd kept driving maybe the whole package would have spilled on the floor!
ReplyDeleteGrits and mice... Good thing Marti had to go to the bathroom!
ReplyDelete(probably the strangest comment I've ever made to a blog!) :-0
I've lived in the south nearly all my life and I LOVE home fries and fried okra and everything southern except grits. YUCK....about as bad as the evil brew wouldn't you say? Marti has the right fix though. Safe travels to MO. Actually you are probably there by now. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat kind of white powder I can live with. The alternative ... well, I'm with Marti on not caring much for those critters.
ReplyDeleteI love grits but I don't cook them. I save those for meals out.
ReplyDeleteGlad it wasn't mice, they can be a bugger to get rid of, ask us how we know.....lol
ReplyDeleteCracker Barrel has pretty good grits, best we've ever had surprisingly was in whitefish Montana at loula's cafe.
ReplyDeleteGtits with either honey or butter and brown sugar.....oh yum.
ReplyDelete