Mice? Oh rats! And a whole host of other problems.

So, we thought we had mice in our loft but, after further inspection, a little web research, and discussions with other people about the size of droppings, we've decided we have rats. Booooo!

They seem confined to the loft above our extension and the wall cavities. After calling the council and hearing that it would take up to 5 working days to get back to us, we put poisoned bait down and this didn't initially seem to help.

The man from the council came today though. He was a very helpful little Yorkshire man, who's been doing the job of pest control for about 5 years - though I sense he could actually "smell a rat" if required - probably at a hundred paces.

He identified where they are probably coming in and out (rats have to get food and water, and there ain't none of that in our loft), and put down lots...LOTS more bait. We'll have to wait and see what happens. "They're wild animals", he said, and their behaviour is not predictable.

In the meantime, they've chewed our electric cables, tripping out our electricity, and subsequently causing us to have a non-functioning boiler. No electric, ho heating.

The fuse panel has several fuses and an RCD device. The RCD was what was tripping and this takes out the whole panel. Again, after a few phone calls and chats with other people, we worked out that our fuse box is completely incorrectly labelled, ran around the house flicking fuses and switches until we knew which fuse did what, and have isloated the upstairs lighting circuit (which is why we think it's caused by the rats nibbling cables).

So, we now have rats, and no upstairs lights, but our heating and other electrics are back on.

If that wasn't enough. I've done my back in (so I'm off the bike...AGAIN!), we have a leaky connection at the end of our washing machine inlet hose, which had caused a big puddle to form in our utility room, and our oven broke just before we had 6 people coming for new year (the timer switch, which has to be on for the oven to be on, had burnt out its contacts).

The joys of owning a house!!! Can 2008 have had a worse start?? (Well, yes, we could be in Kenya, which is in a right state at the moment - our problems are kinda put into perspective when you watch the news at the moment).

Good ride today

Haven't done a training ride for a while but went out in glorious sunshine today and did Cricklade and back (16.5 miles) in a fraction over an hour. Not bad going. Must get out and train more often - I loved it! :-)

Oh yeah, it was a bit of a test of some new clothing too. I got some "Seal Skinz" waterproof and windproof gloves. Brilliant! Not as breathable as I'd been lead to believe but my hands weren't soggy. The key thing was windproofing. My hands were VERY warm - even more so than when I wear ski gloves. It really is the wind that gets you cold.

Song 1 - The Pogues' A Fairytale of New York (Key of G)

I just know I'll regret this...it's already taking over my life. I'm almost embarassed to write anything because I'll be writing my resignation post before I know it. Still...let's give it a go.

Week 1 of the new year's challenge. Learn a popular song every week for a year.

There were various discussions about which to do first, but I've decided on Sally's suggestion of The Pogues' "A Fairytale of New York". Pretty simple music, mostly Gs, Ds and As with a few Bm's, but with some interesting words. It helps that the words kind of tell a story as it's easier to remember.

The choice of a male/female duet may probe interesting too.

I've actually spent more time trying to learn the words than the music. That will have to change. The problem is that it's one of those songs that I've heard a million time and I think I know some of the words from what they sound like. e.g. I always thought the chorus bit was:

"The wise and the unwise singing (something) were singing going (something)"

when it's actually

"The boys of the NYPD choir were singing Galway Bay"

which makes a LOT more sense.

In other "52 songs" news, I've using technology to help me! I've started downloading some popular tracks from iTunes at 79p each. I'm going to create a "52 songs" playlist to help me along, and I have a folder for keeping the tabs (guitar chord music) in.

Anyway...off to learn the music! Report back - and a new song! - at the end of the week.

Mice again

Bother it...we seem to have mice scuttling around in our loft. How annoying. I hate them. I lay awake worrying about them terrorising me and taking over my house. Which is stupid because they're pretty harmless.

I've set traps.

Mice...

and Elephants...

Grrrrrr.

Cleaning the bike

I got a chain cleaning box for Christmas (thanks Sarah and Guy!) and I've invested in some proper bike cleaning brushes so gave the cheap hybird a good clean over (with the help of Cycling Plus' Winter Cycling Guide recommendations!), and replaced the front brake pads before heading back to work tomorrow. A job well done, even if I STILL have black hands a few hours later.

There was a LOT of crap on my chain and cassette (the cogs) and the deep clean has really made a difference. Well worth the investment in both cost and time. And getting into a cleaning routine should help me keep the bikes in good nick and running smoothly.

Still awaiting the new bike though...should be here soon!!