The Mouse and the Tomato

I never mentioned that a few days ago Hans caught a mouse! ("WHAT?!", you might say, "A MOUSE IN THE HOUSE?!", but I'd say "Oh, nevermind that, I have a wonderful cat!") It was actually pretty funny because I was watching him play with it, thinking it was a toy mouse, and I noticed the rather realistic tale on this particular toy and had to stop to think "Oh God, that's not a toy". He was having a jolly good time playing with it and was very upset when I took it away, was only slightly appeased when I gave him a dried seaweed treat. I took that mouse right to the compost and lay him down to rest beneath some flowers that had died, I'd been meaning to bring them there too.

So thats the story about the mouse. Onwards and upwards:

It is sort of a running joke back in the Old House in Baltimore, that whenever anyone came into direct contact with an avocado, I would promptly stick it in some water and demand that it grow. Several weeks later, with some watery-gook still left at the bottom of whatever cup I had borrowed, someone would simply toss out the rotten pit. Apparently, the last one I had setup in Baltimore actually started to grow after I left. Who knew?! But I have seen nothing of it, and I haven't heard much since Claire has been MIA.

Anyway, I have been continuing the joke in the apartment, and its much less funny now because I have to toss them out in the end anyway. But hey, this new guy looks promising! (yes, they all do, at first...)

As for the rest of the garden, I actually got to eat a tomato the other day. I plucked him and said thank you and cut him up into little pieces and put him into an oniony cheese sauce tortellini dish I made.
Another was turning a lovely shade of orange, but early this morning I looked out the window and it was gone, and there was a squirrel across the roof, and nearly 4 feet away, was the remnants of that orange tomato. Guess we have found the culprit!

Cucumber looks nice, I guess I should do some research as to when to harvest him, since I know I'll end up waiting too long.
Hans looks so good in natural light, and with all that crazy shower-curtain color!
Haha yesterday was laundry day, and I took a walk to the dollar store and bought Hans a new toy. It is lovely in that it has a suction cup and will to stick to about 3 surfaces in the apt. The oven was our first choice. Such a happy kitty, blinded by the camera flash.