We got our transmission replaced but then...
We got our transmission replaced and it is running great! Yay! Let's just let that sink in a minute before I continue the story...
This morning, I was starting to pack up our van to leave Bend, OR for warmer weather (finally!) when I opened the back of the van and there was a million little pieces of toilet paper in a mound under the bed. A mouse is living in the van... we have had our van for five years and that has never happened before.
I panicked and went back into the motel room to get Patrick (I am definitely afraid of the mouse) and together we went through every inch of the storage spaces in the van. Who knew one animal could do so much damage in just a few days. The mouse destroyed every roll of toilet paper and paper towels, chewed a giant hole in a bag of dog food, chewed through the envelope of all of our important papers, chewed a hole in our outdoor rug, chewed through three bags of pasta, and chewed multiple holes in the cord we use to charge our battery. I am so frustrated.
Apparently Patrick saw a small chew mark in a beef jerky stick that was left out in the van when he went to go pick it up from the mechanic. Our van sat for multiple days in the garage at the mechanic with literally his entire engine taken out. A mouse most likely smelled the food we keep in Olaf and made itself at home when it could easily climb through the open engine compartment.
So we are still in Bend and we are further from leaving than when the day started. The motel room we are staying in is such a mess because we pulled out all our clothes and books and papers and food and anything we thought the mouse could get into. Patrick is out now getting a few (no kill) mouse traps at the hardware store. We also paid for two more nights at the motel to try and figure this out.
Do you believe in God? I was raised Catholic but I am not sure their white, masculine, all powerful "God" does it for me. I believe more in the energy in the universe and I feel so angry with the universe right now. So many hard things keep happening and I keep searching for some sort of explanation as to why I can't catch a break.
P.S.- Patrick got a vintage camera as a surprise for us. It is the first polaroid camera ever made and I am so excited to explore taking photos with it. This photo of our pup in the motel is one of the first photos he ever took on it, I love how the tone is different than my newer (as in released more recently) polaroid camera. You can also control more of the settings so I am excited to try out some different artistic ideas. The film for the vintage polaroid camera is $20 per pack so I think we are going to learn how to use it a little more slowly...
Let's be friends! Let me know in the comments- have you ever had time in your life when it felt like you just couldn't get a break? Like bad things just kept happening? How did you get through it? Asking for a friend ;)
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