And I'm home

 Trip back was uneventful. I admit I was a little anxious on Monday and yesterday, wondering what horrors I might find in my house (dead mice? the water line to the shower chewed again? a dead appliance [a colleague once had his fridge die when he was away for six weeks teaching a summer field class, that was not good.]).

Walked in the door - ran to the bathroom, because I needed that first. But then I tried the shower - it was fine! Checked the kitchen - the fridge was still running fine, it and the freezer were still cold. None of the traps I set had triggered in the kitchen, and there was no "sign" under the cabinet where the damage was before. 

Did I drive them away with the repellent? Did the fact that the hoarder-house a few doors north of me had been cleared out lead to their departure? 

I don't know, but I hope they're gone. (I will say a couple were killed *in the garage* so maybe those were the "ringleaders" or the ones doing the damage?)

I'm still getting an exterminator out to look, but I need to clear some areas out first better so they can work.
I have rented a storage unit - it's actually close to my office building so I'm thinking I can gradually load up a few boxes and take them with me, and then drop them off before I head home for the day. I've already loaded a couple boxes for tomorrow but it is going to be kind of a big job.

Still no luck on finding a general contractor; apparently Lowe's doesn't have one that works through them so I will have to ask for recommendations. I did go to Lowe's and look at the sinks and I know what measurements I need to take (and I think I saw the one that is very similar to mine - except a heavier gauge of stainless steel). They DO have people who do the sink installs so I will probably just go through them for this one - pick out the sink, pick out the faucet, tell the guy I need the plumbing under the sink also re-done (and pay accordingly) and that's the biggest worry off my mind - if it takes me a couple weeks to find a good contractor, that's okay. (I still do want to have some reconstruction done in the lower cabinets, and maybe get them all re-faced, and have the subfloor fixed and the floor covering replaced. And eventually - replace a ceiling fixture in another room that died, and do a little drywall repair where there was a leak in the roof that later got fixed). And eventually, a new roof and new siding....I think the kitchen stuff is the most urgent, but if I find a GC that I like there might be some other things I want done (there are some places I would *love* built in bookshelves).

But of course, first, there's the boxing-up and clearing-out and probably throwing away of some things. Like, I have to sort through the t-shirts and jeans and things - I know I have some that are worn out, or some jeans that no longer really fit, and just get rid of those. 

But I am hopeful in that I didn't come home to gnawed books or a water leak or anything like that.