Rats In The Garden

The Prof has an optic migraine today and is doing his Blanche Du Bois impersonation by lying weakly   in quiet parts of the cottage.
Mary is spending most of her time gazing longingly out of the living room window in the desperate hope of seeing some baby rats. A family of eight have been living in the field wall and the day before yesterday they entered the garden en masse to steal the bachelors' grain supper.
Unfortunately I had to deal with them, as they are too close to the little knot of cottages this side of the church, but Mary never forgets and is seeing baby rats where baby rats are not to be found so the vigil continues!

With the Prof out of action, I have given the living room a spring clean and made him a cheese omelette for lunch which he just managed to polish off.
Lying under a heavy wool throw, he whispered a weak " I think I could manage a little homemade cake!"  before he fell asleep. So I knocked up a batch of mini coffee cakes as Mary kept a look out for baby rats in the garden

I spoil that man

63 comments:

  1. Chris is awfully lucky. I hope he knows it. 😊

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  2. I usually put on a pathetic 'nearly dead' voice, and ask for Lemon Drizzle Cake.

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  3. Ya love him so spoil him. Simple!

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  4. Is there anything you don't do??

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  5. yes you spoil him because you love him. and mary is being a good watchdog. I would like to try one of those mini-cakes.

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  6. Spoil the one you love.

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  7. You are better than me. I keep going through just about every sickness and have a decent amount of disdain for those who get dramatic about it. It's a flaw I work on....empathy. Not there yet but at least I am learning to keep my mouth SHUT!

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  8. Food cravings are typical of certain migraine sufferers.
    It seems your partner doesn't fully cooperate with your wish to loose weight if he asks for 'homemade cake.' Family cooperation is very important when in the process of weightloss.

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    1. I envy your strong will - I would've scoffed at least 2; they look yummy. Hope they helped the Prof's poorly head.

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  9. Are those cakes outside to try and tempt more rats for Mary?

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  10. What a good spouse you are!
    Now- what's for supper?

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    1. Cauliflower and lentil curry

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    2. Apparantly i had not peeling the potato! I very nearly gutted him with the veg knife at that comment

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  11. You do indeed. I could just eat one of those.

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  12. Those cakes look sinful. I am so sick of the rats here, the nursery behind us has been sold to make way for eleven large homes. Every time they start moving stuff around the rats scurry into the surrounding property. I need a Mary.

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    Replies
    1. They were so so...i put in too much baking powder

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  13. Rats, why did it have to be rats! I have a vivid memory of my mother destroying a nest of mice one spring - surprising the things she would say in a moment of frustration and anger.

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  14. I have great sympathy for the Prof. I've gotten migraines with aura (flashing lights that make it almost impossible to function for at least a half an hour, followed by headache) since my teens. Now past menopause and on estrogen therapy, they have diminished, but not completely. I'd gone for almost a year without one and then had three within the space of a couple of weeks recently. Finally narrowed down the "trigger" to my eating some aged cheese after going too long between meals. I'm glad you are good to him. It is hard for people who haven't experienced migraines to understand what the migraineur is feeling. My husband always was understanding and helpful but it wasn't until he had one of his own that he said, "Oh, I get it now."

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  15. Anonymous4:12 pm

    Oh John, this is beyond parody. Only my upbringing and uncharacteristic self restraint make me refrain from voicing an astute observation.

    U

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    1. Never stopped you before dearheart...go on let rip

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  16. A man with many skills you are. Migraines can be terrifying and sometimes the best thing is to lay still somewhere. Greetings to you.

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  17. Well, at least looking out the window keeps Mary from doing other, more naughty things ...

    Hope the Prof feels better soon, and yes you do spoil him but isn't that what one spouse does for the other? I hope it goes both ways :)

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  18. You have quiet parts in your cottage?

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    1. His office...its a no go area..even the hoover doesnt dare venture in

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    2. I thought Albert went in the other day.

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  19. This mornings first chore to put
    the dead rat in the bin.
    I heard the trap snap last night
    as I was getting myself ready for bed.

    What exactly is the purpose of rats?
    Nasty critters.

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  20. I just read an article that said ginger is very good for migraines and as effective as some meds out there. Hope prof begins to feel better. We had waffles from breakfast and mexican will be for dinner. Damn...time to cook...

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  21. I used to get a bit of weird sight in the middle of my eye and then jagged light that seemed to be in my left eye..it gradually moved outwards for about 30 mins and then disappeared! No headache thankfully. Not had it for years now, but will probably come tomorrow as I have tempted fate! We get rats in the garden, but after the rat poison man eventually just put some poison in a plastic bag under the hedge, and the dog ate it...we will just stick with the rats ! Dog was Ok but had to have VitK for ages to make sure. Oh and 2 blood tests that cost!

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    1. Frances, what you're describing is a textbook description of a migraine aura. Some people get a headache, some don't, so you've been lucky in that regard.

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  22. There is something very pleasing about watching a focused dog. Our old boy was obsessed with the squirrels in the garden. We had to have him euthanized last week, so now I'm watching squirrels for him. Bloody animals, steal your heart and then bugger off way to soon x

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    1. Aww so sorry Lisa 😣My pooches are obsessed with tge squirrels in my garden 😀

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  23. My daughter had fancy rats as a youngster. I was not keen initially, but found them to be quite lovely creatures and very intelligent. Of course, rats in the garden, not so good. Having a Whippet/Jack Russel cross has meant our problem with rats is a thing of the past. Nice to see you look after your man so well. Nothing like a nice bit of cake to make you feel better.

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  24. Has he tried putting red tiger balm on his forehead? It's fab stuff x

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  25. Well he's worth spoiling isn't he?

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  26. I hope by now that your husband's migraine is gone and he's relaxing comfortably.

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  27. The Prof is very lucky to have you.

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  28. My husband gets optic migraines. He said it is like looking through a prism. He lies down, eyes closed until it passes. There is no pain involved. I, on the other hand, suffered with debilitating-someone cut my head off PLEASE!!!-migraines for 35 years that required heavy duty meds, throw up, dark room and sleep. Thank god for menopause, haven't had a migraine for 5 years but still avoid the triggers just in case!! I'd take his any day!!!
    As for the rats-thank god I live in a rat free province! Yes, in Alberta we have no rats!!

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    1. Yup, it's great to be rat free!

      My sons had never seen one until I took them to Granville Island out in Vancouver and they were so excited!

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  29. If you feel the need to spoil anyone else I can certainly make myself available!

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  30. With your medical experience I expect that you know that a lot of migraine sufferers should abstain from: chocolate, citrus, cheese. This is what I was told by a doctor though thankfully I've never suffered with them. Hope he is feeling better very soon it must be awful.

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  31. Migraines are truly nasty things. I hope the Prof is feeling better.
    And yes, you do spoil him. I hope he reciprocates.

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  32. i wish you lived closer. i have one hell of an optic migraine today too.

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  33. My daughter takes a Maxalt when she feels a migraine coming on and it is gone in 15 minutes.

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  34. Anonymous12:50 am

    We want to get rid of the rats but don't want to use poison. I think our cat would be able to get a few; ... Helpful Products from Gardens Alive! Compost Digester.
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  35. You do too! ... spoil that man, I mean. But migraines are awful things, so he has all my sympathy. So unpredictable and totally debilitating. I have a friend who had nearly a year of her life "put on hold" by them, she was unable to commit to anything, and had to apologise for not keeping appointments until she was basically a recluse. Fortunately they stopped, and so far, haven't returned. I hope the Prof's is just a one off, and a rest (and cake) will cure him.

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  36. It's nice to be loved isn't it?

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  37. What s an optic migraine? Google doesn't show anything. Is it distorted vision but no pain? Or is it a migraine with pain AND vision issues. My migraines give me both tunnel vision and double vision, plus excruciating pain in my face/ eye. He isn t being a prima donna if he has such pain, some people can literally not function. A day when I wake op with a migraine is a day I wish I did not wake up at all. Ever.
    btw salty food work better than sweets, things like potato chips or salty french fries [I forget what you call them there, chips and crisps?]. The salt apparently stimulates something that then produces, uh, cortisol? which diminishes the pain. But of course if he wanted cake, give him cake!

    Poor ratties.

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  38. What is it about migraine and Sundays I idly wonder? Wish him well, being a fellow sufferer my heart goes out to him.

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    1. Some research points to weekend migraines as the result of the stresses of the preceding week being suddenly released. They think perhaps the migraine is a reaction to that psychological trigger. I know a few of my migraines had psychological triggers, especially when I was conflicted about something that I didn't want to do but had to. In that sense, maybe Sunday migraines are caused by conflicting emotions about the coming week. Whatever the case, they are not the way you want to spend your Sunday.

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  39. Migraines are the worst . . .
    Happy you are his "dear heart!"

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  40. I'm craving chocolate right now, but oh those coffee cakes sure look good! So sorry for the prof. I suffered with those migraines from around the age of 11 into my early 30s and then they simply stopped. So grateful. I hope your coffee cakes will make him happy when he's up and around again.

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  41. I want that phone. Sea Foam green is my favorite color, and I never the phone anyway so I could keep it in pristine condition and I would carry it around with me wherever I go as that perfect je ne sais quoi accessory that makes every outfit reek of fabulousness.

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  42. You are wonderful.

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  43. Anonymous12:56 am

    Discover 10 ways to prevent or get rid of rats in your garden, including removing bird feeders, with advice from BBC Gardeners' World magazine.
    ตารางคะแนนพรีเมียร์ลีก

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    1. Haha .... possibly the best of the new generation spammers that I have seen :-)

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  44. Oooh ... let me know next time you're putting a batch of cakes out to cool on the wall and I'll nip down for a drive past ;-)

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