Chas is still with us and doing fine, Alfie died on October 27th, after a prolonged fight with an infection which went systemic. He was bruxing and boggling right up to the end. He was an outstanding rat and he will be always missed.
On November 5th, Esme came to stay. She's named after Esme Weatherwax and it's a good fit. She has grown quite a bit, but is still teeny tiny next to Chas. She's still very much a skitterbiscuit and just now beginning to seriously trust me and bond.
As soon as two more females are available, a Gytha and Magrat will be joining the pack. :)
1st Dec 2011, 23:35
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tags:Rat Tales,Chas,hand,whiskers,Alfie,Esme,rats,pet rats,hl,134comments (14)
Well, you can almost see it - my birthday loot from Rick, a gorgeous Le Creuset kettle. Chas & Esme got a new box out of it, so they got loot too.
The day before my second episode of acute pancreatitis was a very good day. A
friend of ours had come up from Grand Forks to stay a couple of days and we drove the backroads to Dickinson to visit the Dinosaur Museum there.
The museum was very nice and along with many fantastic dinosaur bits, had a side devoted to rocks and fossils of all kinds.
None of us needed any encouragement to bring more rocks home, but we all ended up buying rocks and fossils. This ammonite (
Cleoniceras besairei) was my primary treasure. 150 million years old, from Madagascar.
18th Sep 2011, 04:59
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tags:The Day Before,Dinosaur Museum,Dickinson,Kamakanui,friends,visit,road trip,fossils,rocks,ammonite,Cleoniceras besairei,Madagascar,150 million years old,Oooooh,treasurecomments (5)
I started a piece this June, giving myself just under a year to finish it, in order to get it into a show in June of 2012. Health issues (see previous post) seriously interfered with this goal, so I've been trying to play catch up after getting out the hospital the last time.
It's difficult to keep up my motivation with this piece, it's my first foray into textiles and it's a tremendous amount of work. To keep me actively working, I started blogging my work, which can be seen here, from the beginning (start with the bottom post and read up, then scroll back down and click 'newer posts'):
http://thousandstitchesdeep.wordpress.com/page/2/
although I came close. Too close. I've spent way too much time in the hospital this year, dealing with pancreatic issues. Two bouts of acute pancreatitis left me in bad shape, the second episode found me dangerously dehydrated with barely functioning kidneys. ETA: Oh yeah, had the gallbother out on August 1st. Surgery and I do not get along. My recovery was long, difficult and unpleasant. The bruise on my abdomen still hasn't gone away.
I'm better now, although still extremely worn out and tired. The good news? After what seems to be endless tests, I don't have pancreatic cancer.
Through all this, I haven't stopped my photography, however, I accidentally formatted my card last week, losing over a thousand shots. :sigh: So, I'll have to take time to get out and about and take more.
On top of all that, I had wireless issues out the arse. My wireless unit was functioning very badly for two months or so, then decided to die. First, the cord was replaced twice, then we tried to find another battery, which proved to be impossible locally, and I couldn't order one off the net, so Rick had to wait and do it when he was back in Dickinson. The battery arrived and didn't help, yada, yada, yada. Finally, verizon agreed to replace the unit and after much waiting, we had internet again. I think I'll be happy to say goodbye to this year.
I'm also very tight on time. When I haven't been in the hospital, I've been spending all my time working on a piece that must be finished by May at the extreme latest to enter it in a June show. I'll post about that later.
My apologies for being gone for so long, I have missed everyone, and I promise I'll do my best to make time and catch up with everyone.
16th Sep 2011, 04:39
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tags:I Aten't Dead,health issues,pancreas,hospital,acute pancreatitis,endless tests,poked,prodded,kidneys,lost photos,tired,workcomments (20)
outside my window and what a wonderful sight, a nice little Downy Woodpecker.
