Warning: Contents Is Graphic

Yes, you’re right. That IS a petrified mouse sticking out of the end of a Shop-Vac hose! It was the highlight of our day, which tells you how well Day One of bathroom demolition went.

Let’s all take a second here to tell Mason how incredibly great he is. “Mason, I love you, honey.” That’s all I could keep on saying as he worked for hours today in the 90-degree heat, peeling layers of wood planking off the bathroom walls and ceiling. With each plank came down a pile of insulation that had been shredded by squirrels, birds and mice. It was 4 inches deep and intertwined with rotting leaves and turds of every delight. And all of it was raining down on Mason as he tore it out. (You can see the insulation; be thankful you can't see the mouse turds melting in the sweat on his back and shoulders).

Mason is rarely grossed-out by things. He was grossed-out by this. I kept hearing   him groan ... and cough.   He finally conceded to donning a mask, but tore it off 2 minutes later when his glasses steamed up. Did I mention it was hot and humid today? Oh wait, yes, that’s EVERY day!

SO, first he employed a full-size shovel to remove the nesting.

Then he used a little whisk broom and dust pan. 

Then came the Shop-Vac.

See that well-lit area between the roof of the house and the ceiling of the bathroom? Yup, that's a big gaping hole in the siding to the great outdoors. A very big, bad hole. And the end product of the day's work? Two huge contractor bags full of bags of this:

So, who wants to visit???

For the record, today before Mason got jiggy with this project, he jacked up the back of the house, which was sinking into a rotting 2-inch piece of shim lumber atop the concrete blocks that supply the precarious perch to our little piece of paradise.

And also for the record, after Project Mouse Turd, Mason promptly showered, then launched into beer bottling and brewing – our regular Sunday chore of love.

Oh, and the shower? It may be the second-to-last one we get inside the house for a few weeks. HELLO, Mother Nature au natural. (Don’t worry, we’re quite secluded. We’re well aware nobody wants a full-frontal body shot of the Flat Top Twins.)

(And please thank Leslie Plesser for the photos. And all of the other Minneapolis women who bought me this fabulously handy little camera. THANK YOU LADIES!!!)