galleys! and mice!

[lagilman]

Got the bound galleys for Staying Dead. It's a small moment of ulp! and glee! mitigated by the fact that they managed to drop out the acknowledgements. This annoys me greatly. I have already yowled (they got the dedication in, but not the acknowledgements which came in the same file). I hate not seeing first pass proofs. Here's hoping they can drop them in on second pass...

And, in other news, we have mice. Field mice, to be exact. They are going to be evicted on Thursday. Stupid mice. Y'know, I have no problem with wildlife. I don't even mind of they eat us out of lawn and garden. But they stay outside and we stay inside and that's how it should be, okay?

Oh well. Could be worse. Could be raccoons.

Comments

[neadods.livejournal.com]

They are going to be evicted on Thursday

Pandora's not already convincing them that this was a bad relocation?

[lagilman]

Well, her desire to get into the basement the past month or so now makes a little more sense...

But she has her sights set on The Damn Hare. I suspect mice sort of pale in comparison.

Sympathy

[caryabend.livejournal.com]

We'd get the occasional squirrel scratching in the wells. The management would usually remove it and patch the hole within a few weeks or so.

But the last time was the kicker. A squirrel got into the walls and fell. Turns out, if it falls, it can't get back out. So it made its way under the kitchen floor and decided to expire. Expired squirrels smell just like you think they do. It took the complex about 4 months to get the thing out. It was nasty. We moved shortly thereafter.

The worst part was knowing that the poor thing starved to death.

Re: Sympathy

[lagilman]

Ugh. yeah, we had that happen with a baby squirrel in the chimney. Poor wee thing...

Galleys! Party time!

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Enjoy thoroughly, my dear--you've worked hard for years for this. Savor it!

And you REALLY don't want raccoons. They'd eat Pandora--or at least try. Merlyn got out one night and was fortunate he wasn't Raccoon Chow (we had what looked like 30 pound raccoons on our property...we do grow most things bigger in Texas....)

And expired critters are sad--we didn't even know the mother squirrel had made a nest, much less that the babies were exploring, until one fell into the wall in the master bedroom closet. Fortunately, we were using that room as an office, or sleeping would not have been fun. The landlord never did fix the outside wall until after we moved out.

Field mice are darling--the size of dandelion fluff. But they will make short work of plants or boxed food. Explain to Pandora that this is a Tapas Bar, and she can start with field nice and then share a hare with Mom and Dad....

I discovered this morning while repacking and rearranging in the garage that I have my very own petrified toad. So...was he trapped by box heights? Didn't look squashed...I trust he's not a malignant spell (too much writing fantasy...) but gave him a nice bag funeral. May break down and go get him and dig a hole.

Blessed Be, little one.

[deire.livejournal.com]

Yay on the galleys! Boo hiss on the errors, and may they be fixed soon.

As for mice...I've had real infestations in one apartment flat. My downstairs neighbor finally poisoned them after what she swore was a mouse circle dance in her living room right before one leapt at her from the silverware drawer. They are cute. One baby came out once and touched my shoe and looked up at me in utter adorableness. However, they do NOT belong inside. They eat papers and cloth, pee and defecate on everything over which they climb, and carry disease. One sat next to me to eat my wrapped Easter chocolate while I was having too much of an asthma attack to stop the little bugger, and I was not quiet at the time. They get bold and nasty quickly. Relocation is best for all.

[lagilman]

The Mouse Evictors are coming on Thursday for the first pass. Totally poison-free. First they lure them out with mouse porn (or whatever, I'm hazy on this other than it won't be a danger to Pandora) and then they foreclose on the mouse-holes. And then they put in motion detectors to make sure no nobody else climbs in through an open window.

I really do love our local Western folk. They're fast, they're efficient, and they have a sense of humor. "Hi, I'm the Mouseman. You got me some mice?" And Pandora liked him. She's remarkably picky.

And in other news, looks like the acknowledgements will be dropped in under the dedication. Not ideal, but at least it's done. I hope. Telling l'editrix that inserting acknowledgements would allow me to live to finish the second book was probably a good idea.