Spooky

Our Halloween...

There was a ghoulish girl,

a guinea pig with bat wings,

and a black pie. 

The Punk Nugget

Introducing the latest addition to our pig pen. The breeder called her Cream Pie, my girls dubbed her The Punk Nugget. She is sweet and sassy and, as you can see very cute.

This is what she looks like right side up.

The Nugget was quickly accepted by the other gals and has settled in quite nicely. This is our current pig crew- The Groke (formerly Molly), The Punk Nugget, May and Little. We love them all, but we will always remember our first guinea pigs, the ones who started us out on this pig loving journey.

Gone but not forgotten - Pumpkin, Penny (my 1st and all time favorite) and The Woogie. 

getting out

Now that  the weather is lovely we have been spending a lot of time outdoors. Lots of hiking and nature walks. And afterwards always a peaceful sit down.

Yesterday we stopped on a bridge to enjoy the view. Swans, turtles, fish and herons entertained us. I happened to be carrying treats and tea which made our rest even nicer.

She always has her art supplies with her. She drew while our little tag-along guinea pig got cozy under the shade of her book.

This one doesn't tire easily. While we enjoyed our repose she ran back and forth at top speed. Everyone at her own pace, that's the way we "school" and the way we live. 

My Measuring Spoons

This is what they look like. Bent up and jumbled, but I still use them. If you have a sink disposal maybe you have some that look like this too. When my Mother in Law visits she often says "You need new spoons". I tell her it will just keep happening so why bother? She gave me a set that she used when my husband was little. I refused them because I don't want to ruin them.There are so many things in a house that are a bit off, like a chipped teacup.  Somehow the imperfect things become more homey to me. 

The messed up can be more endearing, like our new gerbil with the broken tail. I gifted my boyfriend (now husband) a baby ball python for his birthday 23 years ago and we still have her. Over the years my husband has fed her over 200 gerbils/rats. This is the first critter that has been pardoned by love. My daughter fell hard for this little guy with his broken off tail. She said "He's so kind. He's my buddy, how can I do that to my buddy?" Of course we couldn't do that to her buddy either. Maxwell Spock is proving himself to be a very sweet pet.

Honoring Christmas

As a  Christian I believe and keep the true meaning of Christmas- Jesus. I also completely enjoy the traditional trappings of Christmastime. I  revel in this time of year. The world celebrates, they have parties, hang lights, decorate trees and strive to spend more time with they ones they love. Some may even stumble into a church. Their actions may not convey their beliefs but they are still reminders of the birth of Jesus and his blessings which are poured on us all whether we choose to  believe in him or not.

 I trimmed the tree. (happy to have my new Moomin House  ormanent)

I decked the halls, the mantle and yes...even the skulls for Christmas.

 I made little tags while fondly thinking of the people who will receive them.

I baked cookies with my girls. Yes! More Moomin.

And a gingerbread house for them to decorate.

We even had fun celebrating this one's Christmastime birthday (two years old) with veggies and a new hairstyle.

Sure I have fun with holidays and seasons, but I never forget who it is that gave us the seasons, the animals, the beauty of this earth and then even his own life.

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. ~Charles Dickens

Mad Tea Party!

 Today I join Vanessa from A Fanciful Twist blog for a

Mad Tea Party! 

 All text is from from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

I was inspired by the court scene from the"Who Stole The Tarts"chapter. With it's tea, tarts, guinea pigs, little sisters and general madness it was a perfect fit for us!

 I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did.

"The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, All on a summer day: The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts, And took them quite away!"

"Call the first witness, "said the King; and The White Rabbit blew three blasts on the trumpet, and called out," First witness!"

The first witness was The Hatter. He came in with a teacup in one hand and a piece of bread and butter in the other. "I beg pardon, your Majesty," he began, "for bringing these in: but I hadn't quite finished my tea when I was sent for."

"Give your evidence," said the King; "and don't be nervous, or I'll have you executed on the spot."

This did not seem to encourage the witness at all: he kept shifting from one foot to the other, looking uneasily at the Queen, and in his confusion he bit a large piece out of his teacup instead of the bread and butter.

(You may observe a bread and butterfly. It's wings are thin slices of bread and butter, it's body is a crust, and it's head is a sugar cube)

"I wish you wouldn't squeeze so." said the Dormouse, who was sitting next to her. "I can hardly breath."

"I can't help it", said Alice very meekly: "I'm growing."

"You've no right to grow here," said the Dormouse.

"Don't talk nonsense," said Alice more boldly: "you know you're growing too."

"Yes, but I grow at a reasonable pace," said the Dormouse: "not in that ridiculous fashion."

"Collar that Dormouse," the Queen shrieked out. "Behead that Dormouse! Turn that Dormouse out of the court! Suppress him! Pinch him! Off with his whiskers!"

Here one of the guinea pigs cheered, and was immediately suppressed by the officers of the court.

Here the other guinea pig cheered, and was suppressed.

"Come, that finished off the guinea pigs! thought Alice. "Now we shall get on better."

All this time the Queen had never left off staring at the Hatter. "You may go," said the King, and he hurriedly left the court, without even waiting to put on his shoes.

"--and just take his head off outside," the Queen added to one of the officers: but the Hatter was out of sight before the officer could get to the door.

"Why, here they are!" said the King triumphantly, pointing to the tarts on the table. "Nothing can be clearer than that.

'Wake up, Alice dear!' said her sister; 'Why, what a long sleep you've had!'

'Oh, I've had such a curious dream!' said Alice, and she told her sister, all these strange Adventures of hers; and when she had finished, her sister kissed her, and said,

 'It was a curious dream, dear, certainly: but now run in to your tea; it's getting late.' 

But her sister sat still just as she left her, leaning her head on her hand, watching the setting sun, and thinking of little Alice and all her wonderful Adventures, till she too began dreaming...

She pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood: and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago: and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days.

Christmas Doings

Now that the doing is over, I can relax and look back on what was done.  Here is my latest advent wreath, I make a new one each year. Of course I  feel the need to sneak mushrooms and acorns into the  decor whenever possible. Sure the mushrooms are fake but they made it look much nicer, like a walk in the woods.

I was inspired by the The Complete Dickens Christmas issue of The Storybook Home Journal to make this Christmas pie. It is a puff pastry 'package' filled with beef, carrots and gravy. I enlisted my husband's help, an extra pair of hands made the process go smoothly. While he cut out the decorative shapes I worked quickly getting the filling to stay in the dough parcel. He came up with the idea to paint the "berries" before baking with beet juice to make them that pretty red.

My new fish and fungus apron. My friend Andrea, who always knows what I like, gifted me with this mushroom print dish towel. Much too crisp and nice to wipe up slops, I decided to make it into an apron adding an interesting fish print I love but so far have had no use for.

Who is that cutie in my apron pocket? Her name is Mei and she is our new guinea pig. Over the holidays we lost two of our beloved piggies, Penny and Pumpkin. Our remaining girl, Woogie has not been doing well finding herself alone for the first time in her life. She has lived with us and her two cage sisters for the last five years. Yesterday we brought lovable Mei into the family. Woogie has perked up and is acting like her old self again. 

Goodbye Bloggy Friends...

Tomorrow we are off for our annual beach vacation. Normally I would be elated. But, instead I am a ball of nerves. One of our guinea pigs, Pumpkin, is very ill. This morning the Vet hydrated her and gave her an antibiotic shot. She will be needing antibiotics and special food given to her 4x a day for the next few days or she won’t survive. We leave tomorrow for RI and a hotel that doesn’t take animals. ARGHHH. You see my dilemma. I am leaving her with a very responsible friend, but still I am nervous about Pumpkin and uncomfortable putting my friend in this position. I will actually have to force myself to relax and have a good time at the beach.

The photo is of Pumpkin the day I brought her home 2 years ago, she was soooo tiny.