u/PresentPreference

My house was built in 1899 and has suffered a mice infestation in the past that I've been cleaning up as I renovate. The house can sometimes smell really musty and micey but has been so much better than it was when I bought it, although the (unfinished) basement always smells really bad and I'm still working on cleaning that up. However, this winter I had to replace my furnace and in doing so upgraded to a central cooling heat pump. But now that cool air is coming through, the smells are again permeating throughout the house worse than it ever used to. I had the company who installed it come out to make sure it wasn't pulling up any air directly from the basement and they said it was all fine and recommended getting my air ducts cleaned. Everything I've read about it says that it is a waste of money. I've also gone down there in the basement and looked through some of the ducts that I could manage loose and it looks like standard dust but no mice nests yet. I'm wondering if the stronger system mixed with cold air is forcing more through the old returns that definitely look pretty gross when I've looked into them from the main floor. I'm wanting anyones advice or experiences with something similar. Is it worth it and is it realistic to hope that I can manage a company to clean them for 500 or less?

My house was built in 1899 and has suffered a mice infestation in the past that I've been cleaning up as I renovate. The house can sometimes smell really musty and micey but has been so much better than it was when I bought it, although the (unfinished) basement always smells really bad and I'm still working on cleaning that up. However, this winter I had to replace my furnace and in doing so upgraded to a central cooling heat pump. But now that cool air is coming through, the smells are again permeating throughout the house worse than it ever used to. I had the company who installed it come out to make sure it wasn't pulling up any air directly from the basement and they said it was all fine and recommended getting my air ducts cleaned. Everything I've read about it says that it is a waste of money. I've also gone down there in the basement and looked through some of the ducts that I could manage loose and it looks like standard dust but no mice nests yet. I'm wondering if the stronger system mixed with cold air is forcing more through the old returns that definitely look pretty gross when I've looked into them from the main floor. I'm wanting anyones advice or experiences with something similar. Is it worth it and is it realistic to hope that I can manage a company to clean them for 500 or less?

I’m trying to identify a novel I read around 2007 that was being passed around among friends as a joke and curiosity. It was definitely written for adults and centered on a young woman’s romantic and personal awakening. The story was told primarily from the heroine’s point of view. She was likely around 17–21 years old and lived near a wealthy, unmarried bachelor who had a reputation for being involved with many women. Early in the book, she becomes fascinated by him and observes aspects of his private life from a distance, like watching him go down on another woman in his yard lol. Over the course of the story, she becomes romantically involved with him, and they eventually fall in love. He helps her gain confidence and experience
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The setting felt older (possibly Victorian, Edwardian, or Southern plantation-era), but I don’t remember it being focused on real historical events. I vaguely remember a masquerade ball or mask-related imagery, and I think the cover may have featured a woman’s face and/or a mask. There was also a memorable scene involving a mirror that related to the heroine’s growing confidence.

The book was a regular trade paperback, probably under 500 pages. I keep thinking the heroine’s name may have been Miranda, but I’m not confident about that and could be misremembering. Does this sound familiar to anyone?