I Like Thursday: Leaping Into March

Happy Leap Year Day (is that a thing?).  It's time for me to link up with LeeAnna's I Like Thursday.  

Top of the list of my likes is guinea pigs (and I'm sure you'll agree).  We're fostering again and it turned out Laylla was pregnant.  Last week she had three beautiful little babies!  I'll get to keep them until at least the middle of March - but I'm sure they'll be adopted quickly after that.

It's been a hoot.  We have hosted a pregnant guinea pig before, but she had only one pup that lived with three older sows.  This time around we have a solo sow with three little pups.  It's a very different dynamic this time around.

Stink Eye and Accomplishments

Foster guinea pig Laylla's pups continue to entertain.  

Crackle has so much attitude in such a small package.  He's also an expert at giving me the stink-eye.  He's the biggest of the trio, weighing in at a whopping 150g.  So strong and wriggly, too, considering he can fit in the palm of my hand.

Family Time

The continuing adventures of Laylla and pups - my foster guinea pigs from Dakin Humane Society.

I don't know if it was because I knew Laylla was pregnant (so I was anticipating the babies) or because Laylla had three of pups, but I am spending way more time watching them than I did watching Banzai a few years ago.  I've actually pulled a chair next to the cage so I can sit and watch.  And they are entertaining!

I'm currently calling the trio Snap (Baby One), Crackle (Baby Three) and Pop (Baby Two).  Crackle is the biggest and has the most attitude - which is why he got the biggest name.  Snap is quick and smart, and Pop is noisy.  

Nothing brings guinea pigs together like food!  The pups are often packed under Laylla and have also been digging into the hay and pellets (which is best eaten from inside the bowl).  Snap has had a fascination with ceramic for a day or two - I'd often hear his teeth clinking on the sides of the bowl.

The pups have been very interested in Laylla's lettuce and have tried nibbling a bit of that, too.

I will often find them all snuggled up together.  They hay rack is a favorite spot.  And I can't find any of the pups, they'll be piled together in the tunnel.

They're adorable all together, aren't they?

Our First Day

It's hard to believe it has been nearly three years since we fostered baby Buckaroo Banzai with his mom Bolt and Aunties Bear and Browny.  Banzai had been a total surprise, because Bolt hardly looked pregnant, let alone ready to give birth.  I loved watching Banzai follow his aunties around, hanging out with the big girls.

What a different dynamic compared to the current foster situation of three baby guinea pigs and a single mom.   

Project Quilting 15.4 - Time Flying Postcard

I made another postcard for Project Quilting's 15.4 challenge - Hourglass.  The challenge required an hourglass shape.  The first thing that popped into mind was an hourglass with wings.  Sure - I'll roll with that.

My first idea was to make it symmetrical with the wings on either side, but I had a hard time fitting everything on a 4x6" card.  This is what I came up with.  Time flies when you're having fun!

Sharing with:
Persimon Dreams - Project Quilting 15.4

Three Little Pigs

Foster guinea pig Laylla had her babies! Rob stopped at my office door to say Laylla was making odd noises.  I got over there to find her cleaning off baby number 1.  I was in the middle of an upgrade at work that was (luckily) taking forever - so I spent 40 minutes running back and forth between the computer and the big event.  I was trying to take photos, email Dakin and texting my sister all at once.

Then bloop!  There was baby two.  I need to upload the video - but that piggy complained loudly as mama cleaned them up.  At this point I was sure there had to be at least a third, and voila! suddenly pup three appeared.  That one looked like it was struggling the most, but seems to have sprung back the fastest.

Anticipation

Laylla on Monday - she's even bigger now

Foster guinea pig Laylla and I are in a race to see who will lose their mind first.  It's a pretty close thing; I fully expected Laylla to give birth on Monday and I'm still waiting.  Meanwhile, she's a needy, uncomfortable piggy.  She rushes to the side of the cage any time I pass by, constantly begging for treats and accepting being patted.  She's so blobby when she rests, but I can't get a good photo because she jumps up as soon as I approach.  She is wound up and restless and won't sit in one place for long.  She's drinking so much water - which I guess is good for flushing those kidneys!  Oof.

Rob tells me a watched pig doesn't pop... but she has to at some point!  I read that you can hear the unborn pups grind their teeth a week or so before delivery.  You can!  Sounded like a little ticking timer.  Wild.

I know there's at least two pups, but now I'm thinking there's more than that.  I'd love to weigh her to see how much she's gained, however she does not want to be picked up, and doing so would stress her out and possibly injure her or the pups.  Laylla is still lightning fast and agile even carrying that unwieldy bulk.

When she stretches out, you can see how narrow her shoulders are to the lower half of her body.  And when she walks, there's this tiny little butt on the end of that huge belly.  

It's gotta be soon, but those pups are taking their own sweet time.  We will all be happier when Laylla delivers.

 

 

Lots of Little Leftovers

Lots of little leftovers from two recent quilting projects.  First are my small citrus sections from the Project Quilting challenge.  I'm thinking of making another small wall hanging with it.  Right now these layouts measure about 14" across and 25" long.  I think 1, 3 and 6 are my favorites.  A couple of those layouts remind me of the Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

The other leftovers are from the rick-rack quilt.  I was left with a pile of ¾-inch strips from trimming down the fabric rejects to make the squares I used in the backing.  The colors went together so nice on the backing, I decided not to throw the scrap away, but sew it all together.

Lovely Lumpy Laylla

Oh, Laylla, will you be my Valentine? 

Laylla is a love!  She also such a fatso (I tell her that all the time - I hope it doesn't hurt her feelings).  She has a tiny butt, a smallish head, and this massive middle.  Oof.

She's active and curious - any time I approach the cage she runs to me (rather than running away to hide).  Of course, that's because she's hoping I have treats.  She reminds me of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.  Feed me! 

There's not usually a ramp to the second floor in my cage.  I added it because I didn't want Laylla to hurt herself if she couldn't leap up there.  Guinea pigs are amazing - Laylla usually skips the ramp and leaps up and down anyway!  I don't try to pick her up often but when I do, she can sprint like a much thinner guinea pig.  Zoom!

Project Quilting 15.3 - Citrus Banner

My entry for Project Quilting's 15.3 challenge - Inside Out is a wall hanging /door banner featuring the insides of a lemon, orange, grapefruit and lime.  It ended up being a five hour marathon on Saturday to complete.  Not how I like to work.  

I landed on the citrus slices idea while admiring the mini lemons produced by my mother's lemon tree.  Ooh - and maybe use my Dresden plate ruler?  I wanted to do something pieced, and my idea required something bigger than a post card. 

I spent a chunk of time cutting and assembling pieces before I realized I had measured something wrong.  The pieces were too narrow and weren't coming full circle.  (I now have a ton of little pieces that are begging for another project.)  My second attempt was more successful (but if you look closely at the lemon, I had to jam in one of the little pieces to get it a full circle).  So I lost what little time I had to work on this on Friday experimenting.

The whole design and assembly was on-the-fly with some vague ideas of what should work, and then doing and redoing things as I went along.  Not conducive for a deadline (I had to be done by 5pm on Saturday because of other commitments).  The quilt ended up with minimum quilting, a machine sewn binding and a few more mistakes than usual.

Laylla and Negrita

 

We're fostering again!  Two girl guinea pigs from Dakin Humane named Laylla and Negrita.  We picked them up yesterday.  They're settling in quite quickly - much faster than our last pair of piggies.

Laylla has very round eyes that make her look like she's constantly surprised.  She seems very sweet.  She also appears very pregnant.  Adult pigs can be bulgy, but she bulges in an odd way and she's gained over 2 ounces in two days.  Could be stress eating... but we'll see.  I'm kinda hoping she stays with us at least a few weeks. 

I Like Thursday: Into 2024

I missed writing an I Like Thursday post in January.  Lots to like - just no time to write about it.

We got snow in January - but on New Year's there was not a snowflake to be seen.  I went walking with my mother and we came across this creative wooden snowman.  He was big!  Must have been heavy, too. 

I came across a Scottish word this last week:  hurkle-durkle.  It means to lie in bed, or to lounge after it is time to get up or go to work.  Lots of overcast days this month - I'd much rather snuggle warmly under the covers curled up with a good book than face the day.  So I've been doing a lot of hurkle-durkling.