Shoe Testing Required.

The peculiarity of living in an old house.

Living in South Africa one does expect exotic animals to pop up and out of any gap in a house. And they did. Scorpions, spiders and snakes were top of the list. Well, scorpions actually only whilst camping but nonetheless, spiders and snakes do the trick of keeping one on one's toes. Shaking out a shoe before putting it on was second nature...just in case.

Fast forward to a nice and comfortable house in the midst of Europe, a place sans scorpions, poisonous spiders or snakes and the ease with which one can don a shoe even when half asleep. But that is so last season as now we have a few resident mice who have taken up house in our extensive shoe collection.

With a feline murderess hunting up and down our house one can't blame these little rodents for taking refuge within a shoe, smelly or not, knowing full and well that her highness can't reach them there.

Clever little things really. I only became aware of these sanctuary seekers when I saw Miss Maus taking up her post hours on end watching every movement from the shoe rack. At times she must have attempted to shake the little buggers loose as there have been mornings when none of the shoes were on the rack but all inelegantly strewn about the vestibule.

My long shoehorn comes in handy before I put on any of my shoes. I actually run it inside each shoe to make sure there isn't an exhausted rodent seeking a much deserved rest from their wicked feline huntress. She, who never lets up and she, who I fear might one day decide to give us the spoils of her hunt neatly thrown atop of us while we are sleeping.

There is a plus side to it all as Miss Maus has hours of entertainment trying to chase her little nemesis around our house. Better than any store bought cat toy!

Biggi