This is not an earth shattering heart break, not a momentous one, merely a small breath taking moment. I caught my breath and held myself still for a moment when I saw this.

There have been mice in my linen drawer. It appears that they have a refined taste for hand embroidery and cotton lawn. The embroidered throw over did not fare well. The rest of the linens and the mouse traps I set lay untouched. I tried bacon, I tried peanut butter but as I said, these mice are refined.

There have been other signs too. Occasionally my fabric drawers have rendered up a sample that looks like it has been attacked by a 3 year old with blunt scissors. In fact, this is what I told myself it was the first 3 times. I set a mouse trap there too, on the off chance something might happen.

I am bold, but squeamish when confronted with these little things. I once scooped a mouse out of my cutlery drawer. In my not so calm state, I knew that 1 - I didn’t want to kill it and 2- I didn’t want it in my flat. I ran to the street and threw it as far as I could before I could stop to think just what might have happened when the thing landed.

I imagine troupes of mice filing past my little traps and giggling at my efforts. I know a simple trap with extra buttery mashed potato or a plate of warm custard would have me in an instant. I get the feeling these mice do not think with their stomachs in the same way that I do.

In the end I relented and rather than sacrificing any more treasures, I set some poison carefully, beyond the reach of little fingers. I dread the thought of the girls trying to rescue the chalky blocks. For now my linen drawer appears to be safe. The poison might have worked or it could be that the weather has improved and they have moved outside. Maybe I’ll set another trap just to be sure.