A Rodeo, how fun jorr! My dear father always took me to Salinas, CA Rodeo's, but it was always as hot as you know what. Rain would have been appreciated,lol. But he and I always had such a fun time togethe in spite of the heat.

Sounds like a lovely memory, LoveItaly! Memories of time spent with a parent are so precious. Especially if you were doing something fun! But, of course, even memories of doing "chores" together mean so much when they're no longer with us.

Wanted to also add my sympathy on the loss of your daughter's friend. So sad!

Oh thank you CAPH! It was a shock for sure. And she died on her 45th birthday! I didn't know that yesterday. I can't even imagine the anquish her loved ones are going through. As I said to Tiff, heaven has a new special angel for sure.

CAPH, I had the most fun and wonderful Dad. We did so many things together and the memories will never leave me. Art Galleries, museums, walking through the old cemeteries reading the tombstones together, the Salinas Rodeo, lots and lots of days on our N CA beaches, walking around SF, going to band concerts at Lake Marriott in Oakland. Watching the polo players at GG Park etc. Fun and special times!

And dear, I am sure glad you didn't have to have a root canal!! Also, an idiot went roaring up a residential street in our city last year, he was going something like 90mph in a 25 mph zone. Children had just gotten out of school. He killed a little brother and sister, trapped a pregnant woman up against a car and injured ten other children, some very seriously. A very devasting situation for the whole community. But I have noticed while out and about that again people are speeding through school zones. Very short memories. I wish every community could afford to have a traffic PD vehicle at ever school in the morning and after school. Your story made me cringe. Hugs!

OK, I have another question. Sundowner makes a good point about not using too many moth balls otherwise the house will stink. I need some idea of how many moth balls to use in order to drive away squirrels and not people. The attic doesn't cover the entire house, we estimate the attic space is about 1500 square feet. Can anyone make a suggestion for how many moth balls we need? I am going to buy them today and DH will put them in the attic early tomorrow morning before it gets too hot. Thanks.

What a horrible story, LoveItaly! And boy do I hear you on the PD car. We're in an unincorporated area patroled by the county sherriff's dept. And, once in a great while, they'll have someone around at dismissal time.

I've used that fact many times to stretch the truth a bit. I tell people who are attempting to come through that blocked off intersection that there's often a cop around that time of day and that it's a $75 ticket if they get caught (which it is). That usually deters them. But sometimes they're just too fast for me! And, of course, that woman yesterday not only turned into that blocked off street, she went through a stop sign first! Oh well, I'm just very grateful no one was hurt.

And, to shift gears completely...! How wonderful that you were able to spend so much time with your father. I'm sure that has a lot to do with what a lovely, gentle person you are! I think when adults show children that they truly value spending time with them, it's the best confindence (and, by extension, character) builder there is.

P_M: while we don't use mothballs in our attic, we use them around the pool machinery before we shrink wrap it for winter, and we put 2-3 mothballs in ziploc bags that I punch some hole in so the smell gets out but the mothballs don't blow away.
you might try that - i would say a couple in each corner of the attic and / or near eaves or where you think some might be entering - and if you have screen/ventilation windows/slits hang a bag from there.

the things I found from the squirrels were, thank goodness, not ruined items (once they got into my moms cottage and ripped to shreds her drapes and couch) but before I knew exactly what I had (the squirrels and mice) I found acorns, pennies, cigarette butts, little pieces of trash,- the worse was bits of insulation, which when the refrigerator broke in the garage, we realized where that had come from as they'd ripped it all off the back which made the fridge shut down - all those little creatures are such little scavengers -
and that's when you don't mind buying "the poison"
:)

and keep anything in the attic you care about in plastic bins or something they can not open or get into.

ttt