Blogiversary #9

Wow.  2019.  A rough year of moving, losing two pigs, running multiple trips to doctors and hospitals.

Oof.

But plenty of good stuff, too:  I've continued with my new years resolution of new recipes at Game Day (I'm sticking with that one).  Danced (and danced some more!).  Bought a kayak.  Own a house!  Finished my sister's quilt (which is the ONLY quilt I have to show this year).  Spent time with friends, family, and meeting the local wildlife.  And blogging.

I Like Thursday: Boxing Day

Happy Boxing Day. 

I finished my sister's quilt!  Just in time to bring it to our family's Christmas celebration on Monday.  So I was under pressure to get good photos on Sunday before giving it away.  The photos of it took some creativity and work (thanks, Rob!).  I should be posting more about it in the next few days.  (There's always a flurry of blog posts at the end of the year.)

Needless to say, my sister is thrilled!

Christmas finally guaranteed me a few days off from work.  Huzzah!  I certainly like that.

Remembering Wedgwood

When we adopted Wedgwood her name was Storm.  It was a good name - she was certainly a stormy pig.  But I named her Wedgwood, which fit this wedgy, whiny, grey and white pig.  

Highs and Lows

I spent the day yesterday with a couple of good friends.  It was a lovely day - everything I had anticipated.  We discussed the ups and downs of life over mugs of tea.  We went for a hike in the woods.  It was pretty.  No leaves on the trees yet, but plenty of green moss.  We searched for a wrecked boat at the top of a hill (and found it too!).  We enjoyed good food and each other's company.  They day flew by; I wish we had more time.  Uplifting!

Lipstick on a Pig?

I do not like to share berries with my guinea pigs.  Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries are mine, all mine!  (Besides, they shouldn't have much fruit because of sugar content.)  They get a few cranberries in season, strawberry tops and the very, very rare blueberry.

They lucked out yesterday, scoring two blackberries.  We came back from grocery shopping and as I rotated what was left in the fridge, I found a couple of squashed blackberries.  Wedgwood was not sure what to make of them.  Smelled good enough to bite, but then she dropped it and tried to bite my finger instead.  No, no, not me!

I came back a few minutes later to see their verdict.  The berries were all gone - but they left a telltale mark.  I laughed when I saw Wedgwood's very pink lips.  Blackberry is a good color on her, don't you think?  She looked like a little tart. 

Thinking of Spring

Wedgwood is sure spring is in the air.  Can't you smell it??

Snuggles

Lose Some, Win Some

I walked into the kitchen to find this grape tomato in the middle of the floor.  Which was odd, because when I had last seen this tomato, it was with Mabel under the stool at the bottom of their ramp.  She'd even managed to bite into it.  Grape tomatoes are tricky:  tough skins to bite into and they have a tendency to roll away.  Usually once a guinea pig pierces the skin, they can conquer the rest of it.

Evidently, not Mabel.

I've seen guinea pigs roll stubborn tomatoes into corners, hold it down with a paw to keep it from rolling long enough to bite into it.  One of my pigs knew to bite straight down into it.  Mabel does not have any of those talents.

I saw this and wondered - did it just keep getting away from her?  She's not afraid of the wood floor but I can't imagine her following it that far.  Far more amusing that she attempted to take a second bite and shot it across the floor and she had no idea where it went.  Mabel fail.

I Like Thursday: Winter Came Late

Winter waited until March to arrive.  First was a few inches of powdery snow and lots of wind.  A day later came another eight inches of heavy snow.  Earlier snowfalls were immediately followed by warmer days, so it melted quickly.  It's been cool enough this should hang around for the week.  

Cilantro Tug-of-War

Mabel came down down the ramp to mooch at me on Saturday afternoon.  I rummage through the fridge for some cilantro.  I made her come out on the floor for it, but didn't let go.  A tug-of-war ensued.  Mabel fled before we could grab the camera.

Later, both Wedgwood and Mabel came down.  I bet Wedg smelled cilantro on Mabel's breath.  One does not let another guinea pig eat all the good stuff alone!  This time we grabbed cilantro and the camera at the same time.

Wedg and Mabel are so entertaining.  And persistent!  Even on that slippery wood floor. 

I Like Thursday: Lovely Things

Happy Valentine's Day.  May you get to spend some time with someone you love.  Of course, some of your loved ones may not be humans.  Like some of mine.

I love Mabel and her moochie nose.  It's so hard to get a photo of her just chilling out, because as soon as I get near with the camera, she starts looking for treats.

Wedgwood, on the other hand, is much easier to capture all comfy and relaxed.

A Happy Recheck

We went back to the vet last Thursday for a recheck.  Good news all around.

First, I was excited to see Dr. Holmes.  It was her first day back after a leave of absence.  I was glad to see her.

Second, Mabel gained 100 grams in less than two weeks.  No stones detected - so hopefully she passed them.  We'll keep an eye on her in case they return.  In the meantime, she's back to her normal moochie self.

Third, Dr. Holmes saw Wedgwood for the first time since her surgery in August.  She was happy to see Wedg doing so well.  The tumor seems to have stopped growing. 

Medicating Mabel

Mabel had been losing weight very slowly over December.  Not enough to be alarming, but enough that I was watching her.  Then early in the new year, she dropped another ounce and I found blood spots on the fleece.  You know what this means....

Road Trip!

The vet is not a place that any guinea pig wants to go.  It didn't take long to confirm that Mabel has a few tiny bladder stones.

Mabel does not like her face being touched.  I've tried to get her used to having her teeth examined.  Nope.  Not cool.  So giving her meds twice a day is a challenge.  (I tried taking videos, but it looks like I'm trying to strangle her - really, I'm not!)  She also won't stay in the bowl - I've had her leap out and try to leap into the cage multiple times.  Mabel likes the taste of the medication, but she still won't take them on her own.

I Like Thursday: Buried

I had been hoping that 2019 would calm down a bit from the end of the year stress.  Not really.  We've added some new fun features!  But I have carved a little bit of time to share the good things I have experienced (even if it's a bit later than usual).

Work has been brutal, being asked to work weekends and evenings and it needs. to. stop.  However, the coworkers I deal with day-in and day-out are the best.  One guy I jokingly call my work-husband - we've been working together since '91.  He keeps me sane on the worst of days.  The rest of the team - I strive to do my best for them because they help me out whenever I need it, too.  I hope we all catch a break soon (we deserve it).

We spent a chunk of the weekend at the hospital.  Everyone is fine (and I certainly like that).  I also liked the staff we dealt with: doctors, nurses, orderlies.  They all treated us with professionalism and kindness.  It made a stressful and unexpected experience a lot more pleasant.  

Now for some fun stuff!  Don't you love finding unexpected treasure?  This week it was in the form of Christmas cookies.  I had been positive I had polished them off.  But  behold!  One last box of the good stuff.  Yum!

There Was Badness

Ah, Wedgwood.  Isn't she cute?  Look at that wonderful innocent face.  In fact, is that a smile?  Just don't look too close at that extra tuft of black (black?) fur hanging from her left whiskers.

What could that be?  It couldn't be a chunk of Mabel's fur.  That would be bad.  That would mean Wedgwood had just been caught hair-pulling.


She looks a bit more guilty in that second photo.  But Mama - Mabel was in the way.  I had to bite her.  Well, that may be true, but you didn't have to pull out the fur as well.  (The remaining mouthful of black hair had dropped to the floor by this time.)  Behavior like that gets you unwanted attention from The Mama.

I Like Thursday: Blogiversary #8

Look at that... I Like Thursday and a blogiversary on the same day.

Another year.  Where did it go?  Gained a pig.  Lost a car (and, omg, as of yesterday afternoon, have a replacement).  Did lots of sewing and reading.  Had fun with my new years resolution of trying out new recipes on the Game Day group.  Danced my tootsies off.  Kayaked with my sister.  Herded guinea pigs and clipped lots of piggy nails.  Enjoyed time with my friends.

Lots to like.

Then I blog about it.

Christmas Baking Mishaps and Successes

I did a little last-minute Christmas baking.  First was a chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake for Christmas dinner.  This has been bookmarked for some time - originally earmarked as a Game Day experiment before I decided to bring it to my family's Christmas.  The recipe is for a massive cheesecake, so I made it half sized.  According to various sites for pan conversions, half of a 10" springform pan should fit into an 8" round cake pan that was 2" deep.  Well... not quite.  I had to add sides to it to make sure it didn't overflow, because I clearly had more than two inches of batter.

I successfully halved the recipe but the rest was a comedy of errors.  Reconstructing the pan required redoing the crust.  Then I mixed sour cream and cream cheese in the wrong order, over-beating the batter.  Recipe clearly stated that will cause a crack.  Which it did.  Made for anxiety-free baking knowing it was going to crack regardless!  Then I layered it wrong, mixed in the chocolate chips too early.  Seriously? 

I ended up with extra balls of cookie dough because I made a section that was dough-free (anticipating family preferences).  I used the extra cookie dough as decoration.  It also identified the cookie dough-free section of the cheesecake - thus the uneven placement.

Good news is, it popped right out of the pan once it was chilled.  Made a  nice presentation, too.  Only one tiny wedge came home with us - the rest disappeared.  So it's a hit!  I will certainly make this again (and hopefully do a better job following the instructions).

A Fun Photo Shoot

We had a long-awaited photo shoot two weeks ago with Salem Pet Photo.  Working with Joey is always a blast.  I had been worried if Wedgwood would be up for it, but she was perky and happy on that Monday (and she's still doing well!).

Are we wrapping or unwrapping?

Are We Comfy?

I caught Wedgwood nesting.  She pulled all the hay out of the holder then settled in the middle of it.  It's so nice to see her relaxed and enjoying herself.  She's off of most of the pain meds and is maintaining her weight.  She even did an extra lap around the living room with Mabel after breakfast on Tuesday.  Wedg is not the pig she was six months ago, but she's still doing better than I hoped.

I Like Thursday: Holiday Prep and Sewing

I love, love, love the photos of last week's session with Joey from Salem Pet Photo.  So much cuteness!  I'll be sharing more of them soon.  I got the photos in time to order Christmas cards with some of the prints.  Perfect!

Doesn't it look like Mabel is ready to catch snowflakes on her tongue? 

I liked having a week off.  Got lots done.  Still have too much to do!  Damn - can I retire yet?