Update, or "Today was A Bit Better."

1.) My cold seems noticeably less severe today.

2.) The rain stopped at last.

3.) After only two more visits to the store, all the curtain rods are installed. In theory, we only have to go back to the store ONCE more, because they didn't have enough curtain rings in stock when Demetrios went before.

4.) The problem with Demetrios' car has been diagnosed, after it refused to start at all and was towed to the dealer this afternoon. Needs a new fuel pump. Parts and labor, over $1,200.00. It can probably be repaired by tomorrow afternoon, in time for Demetrios to drive it to his medical conference, which begins Thursday in Washington, D.C.

5.) Today was release day for the Squirrels, Mozart and Beethoven. They both hung around their cage for an hour or so after I opened the door. Then Mozart departed. Beethoven is spending the night back in the cage, with the door re-closed for his protection. Tomorrow morning I'll open it again. If Beethoven leaves tomorrow, I'll be down to 4 Gray Squirrels (weaned), 2 Raccoons, and 1 Mouse.

5.) Both Raccoons have learned how to suck out of a baby bottle (the kind human babies use.) They let you know when they are hungry by screaming loudly. They want feeding about every 5 hours.

6.) Tiki the Mouse, now confirmed as female, crawls eagerly onto my warmed finger when I put it near her, having already learned it means feeding. She gobbles down her formula from a bunny nipple, long and very thin. She also lets you know when she is full, by turning her head away. Or you could look at her belly and see how much milk is in it, since her skin is so thin and her belly doesn't yet have its fur. She wants feeding about every 2.5 hours. Round the clock. (Too bad for her; she goes longer at night, because I feed her at midnight, 3:30 a.m., and 7 a.m. only. I'm sorry, but there are priorities in life, and getting up twice in the night for a mouse isn't one of them.)

Here's a photo of somebody else's baby mouse. It looks just like Tiki, but Tiki is only 1/2 to 3/4 that size, eyes still closed, and looks to be in much better shape, all sleek and smooth. Whereas the baby mouse in the photo is squinting, in reality, the eyes are round and somewhat bulging, when open. (My digital camera is in Greece!!)

7.) The work on our new sunroom is all but finished, now that the curtain rods are up. All that needs doing now is painting trim and cleaning up the new tile floor. I will miss Charles and Tracey, the man-and-wife team doing the work. She is an exotic, dark beauty with a kind, sweet disposition. He looks very, very much like Paul Newman. They are honest, straightforward, responsible, hard-working, and they never charge enough. We always end up paying them more than they charged because we feel bad otherwise.

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