Fuzzberta Book Giveaway

Do you follow Fuzzberta & Friends on Instagram?  They're awfully cute.  They're one of a few guinea pig feeds I follow.  Several months ago I stumbled across a Fuzzberta book.  It's adorable.  I thought I'd share the cute.  Would you like a copy?

This giveaway is a What the Fuzz?! book.  To enter:  leave a comment of any fun guinea pig Instagram/Facebook accounts that you follow - or none at all (really?  not one?).  I'm a fan of The Lava Empire on Facebook; that diva sow Bianca makes me laugh.

If you're a no-reply blogger, please include your email address in the comment.  If you can't comment (I am told occasionally that the comments don't work), email me (address is on my About Me tab).  I will pick a winner at random from the comments on this blog and emails.

The drawing closes on Friday, July 5th at 12pm EDT.  Congrats Wanda!  I hope you enjoy the book. 

I Like Thursday: Cake and Dogwoods

I missed Saturday's game day due to guinea pig drama (Mabel's been stable the last few days).  Bummer.  I had made this lovely Chocolate Eclair Cake with a gluten free crust to share with the group.  Instead, we've had to eat the whole thing ourselves (I did share some with one friend).  As you can see, I do heavy on the chocolate compared to the original recipe.  Very good.  It fits right in with our stress-eating diet. 

As much as I don't like the stress, the upheaval, the uncertainty, the cost, the timing... oh, so much stuff... I need to stop.  Just for a moment.  And realize:  it's temporary.  I have the means, the resources, the friends, a place to live.  Oh, goodness, it makes me emotional.  I may need another slice of cake.

By Special Request

People like the name tags I've created.  Most of them are made of Sculpey.  I love the detail I can add to those name tags, but they're heavy and prone to breaking (only one of them has survived without repair).  I recently made one from fabric.  Much lighter, should be far more durable.  Nothing is going to snap off!  It's a whole different process to create.  I haven't figured out how add all the detail I'd like; I will be experimenting for a while.

A few weeks ago I was asked how one could get a Sally-made name tag.  I told him; he requested one in blue and green.  Weeks later, I finally had a little time to work on this.  Some research, two sets of background before I got it right and this what I created.

Rough Patch

Mabel has had a couple of rough weeks.  She went to the vet because she was losing weight and had developed a wheeze.  She came back with a slew of antibiotics which quickly knocked out the breathing issues and the weeping eye.  However, in the ensuing week-and-a-half, she developed stomach issues and was showing signs of pain (she started destroying whatever cozy she could sink her teeth into and was chewing stuff on the floor).

We headed back to the vet on Wednesday.  More x-rays and a shaved belly for an ultrasound.  Poor Mabel.  X-rays seemed to indicate a possible blockage between the small and large intestines.  She was still pooping (which she demonstrated to the vet), so we were sent home with fluids (everybody's favorites... not), an analgesic and told to keep up with probiotics and gas drops.

I Like Thursday: Smartphones and Sewing

Missed last week's I Like Thursday.  Too many distractions (and not enough photos).  I pulled myself together this week.  I enjoy writing these posts and it's nice to be back.
 

The new house has no cell service.  So I bit the bullet and moved from a dumb phone to a smartphone (so it will work at the house through the WiFi).  Spent hours on the phone with tech support:  between the age of the phone, the limits of my old plan (I don't think they even offer it any more), the spotty connection I have at my place, it took us three days of attempts before the phone number was successfully switched over.  I was pleasantly surprised with the three tech support people I dealt with for knowledge and patience.  (Although it would have been nice to know that the spotty connection would cause so much trouble - I'd have tried activating closer to a cell tower.)  Spent another day with setup and understanding how it all works.  My brain is full.  But it's done!  I'm officially in the 21st century.

NYB Goosed B Blocks

The original B blocks looked so bland next to all the other NYB blocks I've made.  Plus I didn't like how a couple of them were pieced together.  I decided to jazz them up with some mini geese by modifying the inside strips of the E block to replace the plain B block center.

I didn't like the yellow on yellow on the first block, so I replaced the rays with rusty red, then replaced the center to match.  The second block retained its original oranges and blue with only a row of geese added to it.  I decided the last block would require too much rework, so I left it intact (lower left).  The last block was created from scratch.

These geese were tougher than the others I did.  Too much ironing caused part of the freezer paper to permanently adhere to the fabric.  I had to soak and pick it off.  I was careful after that.  The seams were thick and the whole piece was prone to shifting.  I'm glad it wasn't any smaller!  I don't think I'd attempt this with the 8-inch pattern.  I love how they look, though.  Well worth the trouble.

Boston Spring Pignic 2019

Once again we managed to hold the Spring Pignic on a glorious day.  Lots of lovely green grass and clover.  Happy guinea pigs.  Only one pig banished to the Time Out pen (and for once it wasn't mine!). 

This pignic was a smallish group of 17 sows and 15 boars.  Some great piggy pair names:  Milk and Cookie, Betty and Veronica, Simon and Garfunkle.  There were a few big pigs; a big loafy boar named Paddy beat them all weighing in at 1452g.  The smallest adult pig was Baci (a skinny pig - I wonder how much weight of a guinea pig is fur?) at 809g.  There were a few new faces and lots of familiar regulars.  I also added a few new names to my pignapping list (Max is lucky he's a boar - he's still at the top of my list).  I was busy inspecting pigs and answering question (always a pleasure), so I don't have many photos.  Just a few here.

NYB Modified I and J Blocks

These are the last of the new NYB blocks.  The one in the upper left is an F block inside with a J block outside.  To the right of that is a C block inside with an I block outside.  (The bottom two blocks are regular J and I blocks for comparison.)

I'm going back to the B blocks next - they need to be jazzed up a bit to fit with the rest of the blocks.  One is getting a modified center, another some serious rework, and a third I'll make from scratch.  So close!

Sharing with:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I get a Whoop Whoop?
Sew Fresh Quilts - Let's Bee Social

I Like Thursday: Outdoors, Indoors, New Doors?

Last week I enjoyed a class on mushroom hunting.  Learned a bunch of things about local mushrooms and how to identify edible mushrooms.  I'm curious, but not ready to make the jump to become a mushroom hunter myself.  However, while hiking over the weekend, I was delighted to find evidence of someone hunting mushrooms near Kripalu.  These look like Dryad's Saddle mushrooms, and had a series of cuts in them.  I found large red mushrooms further along that look like they had been harvested as well.

Chick Yoga Weekend XVII

This year's trip to Kripalu was just what I needed.  It took a full day of beautiful weather, good food and fun friends to let the mind calm and the anxiety to let go.  But it happened.  I feel so much better.

Four of us met for lunch on Friday, excited to have a few days off.  We arrived at Kripalu early, but they had our room ready - a six-bunk room just for us, overlooking the lawn from the quiet third floor.  Added bonus:  it had a sink.  Yeah, the stupid little stuff that floats our boat.