Haunted from the grave.

Well, I thought live rats running about the house was bad, but let me tell you rooming with dead ones is far worse.

A couple of days after the little rat 'treats' went out things seemed to be going smoothly. On the second or third day after we had put them out I bumped into Mr. Rat in the kitchen, he seemed to be somewhat sluggish and didn't really run away very quickly. I went and got the broom, optimistically thinking I could just sweep him out the door and that would be that. He was still too quick for me and ended up getting into his favourite crack next to the stove. Rats! (he he he) well he obviously won't last much longer now...

The next day, a Sunday, having pretty much forgotten about this encounter, I noticed a slight odour that was not so appealing in the kitchen. It smelled somewhat like food scraps or something that might be rotting and I was in search of it. It was also Sunday morning, we were running late and I was irritable.
"WHAT is that smell?"
I demanded from Shane.
"ARGH!"
I vented my frustration.
"Let's leave and then you won't notice it anymore!"
Shaned snapped, for once he was the one trying to rush me out the door (believe me THAT doesn't happen very often!)

On the drive to church the obvious dawned on me. Having seen with my own eyes one very sluggish rat limp behind the stove the day before
"You know what? That smell is the rat. We will have to get it out after church".

I was right and we did (well when I say 'we' I really mean I got Shane to do it. I think fetching decomposing rats definitely falls in the male 'to do list' don't you?) it was fairly simple. He knew where it was and got on with it. We cleaned up behind the stove and wiped our hands of the whole messy business. Or so we thought.

Ok, I always knew there were possibly more rats out there and so a few days later I began noticing 'the smell' again.
"Grrr"
Ok, we just follow our nose and find the culprit and easy peasy its dealt with. Well, the smell got stronger and we looked for the rat and we looked. We pulled back the stove again and tipped it up and looked underneath. We unscrewed the back of the stove, as that seemed to be where the smell was coming from, pulled out all the insulation on the back of the stove and still nothing! Oh my gosh this smell is driving me insane! It hasn't been so strong that I've contemplated evacuation or anything but its just THERE. Hanging around putting me off doing the dishes, or anything in the kitchen really. In fact it is putting me off housework in general. What is the point of getting the house spick and span if it still smells disgusting? It's hard to convey just how much of an impact this odour has had on my spirits. It has really got me down, really frustrated, annoyed and discouraged. This dead creature is sure rocking my world right now.

I think the smell was the worst on Tuesday and Wednesday...It has faded significantly, but I still get whiffs of it as I am doing the dishes or putting things in cupboards and then the search starts again, the futile search that leads to more frustration!!! It has bothered me so much that I am starting to wonder if it is some satanic plot to throw me off my game just as I am finding myself in a bit of domestic bliss.... Yes, I am happy to say since we have been back in Darwin my housekeeping has reached new heights in consistency and efficiency and I have been feeling pretty pleased with myself. And then this .... this smell is threatening to throw me off my game. Well, whatever and whoever the culprit I will have it known, that this domestic goddess will not be defeated by any rats; dead or alive! SO THERE!