Firstly, I have a new addition to my Mischief (fyi, that’s the collective noun for a group of rats). A new behbeh Black-Based Roan Husky Dumbo girl! Going with my photography-themed names to match Iso and Vignette, I named her Macro, which is apt since she’s still very tiny! She’s already starting to get her husky coat, so I suspect she’s a fast- or medium-fader, whereas Ramoth was a slow-fader, and never fully came into her Husky coat (though she was still beautiful!).

Macro

I also got scratched on the inside (yes, inside!) of my upper eyelid by a cat in our apartment block. The cat was meowing for aaages so I went to investigate why, and while I was inspecting the fat cat’s stomach (thought she might be preggers and in trouble), she casually (and not at all aggressively!) waved out her paw and her claw caught me as I blinked, creating a scratch inside from the middle to the bottom of my upper eyelid. It’s all complicated to explain via text, but long story short, the cat was fine and was just lonely (this I figured out when she proceeded to wander around my flat inspecting everything with a lot of, now softer, meowing). I went to the doc, had my eye checked out (apparently in his 40 years of practice, he’s never come across a scratch on the inside of the eyelid haha), was prescribed some ointment to use and was booked off work for the next two days (couldnt drive, etc with my eye all greased up). Thank God, literally, that it missed my eye, as that could have been a whole lot worse.

I missed Wormy’s 1st birthday (yes, I’ve beaten myself up about this a lot already! :,( sigh) so I threw her a belated birthday party and made mini rat-sized flapjacks for them to feast on. Of course, being the nutter that I am, I also broke out the party hats…no wait, party hat, since the other hats string had stretched too much. Iso didnt care for the hat and quickly took it off, and Macro was just too small for it to stay on. Wormy’s 2nd birthday will be on the 9th Sept, and the other older girls will celebrate their’s in Dec, so keep an eye out for more birthday pics later in the year!

Wormy and Macro

Vignette (Fig)

One of the few photos I got with Iso wearing the hat

And finally, we celebrated my sister’s 30th birthday on the 31st May, and had her party last night (she was writing her final Chef’s exam on the 1st June, so we decided to have her party after she was done). It was a fun party, with great music and company, as well as delicious food consisting of 6 different soups (all made by my sister): chicken veloute, spicy tom yum, cream of mushroom, vichyssoise (potato & leek), cream of tomato (specifically for my bf, as this is the only soup he really enjoys!), and butternut and orange. There were platters of meat, as well as cheese and crackers, and of course dessert which were tartlets of chocolate (made by meee!) and of lemon curd, topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. Yum! In other news, I’m now down to 52.2kgs (from 55.8!) and I’m loving it!!

The Pimp Cup

Buying drinks at the bar

My man, smokin’ the hubbly

Me, also celebrating my new weight of 52.2kgs!

So Iso was one of the first names that popped into my head, and I like it because it sounds nothing like a normal name. Iso was taken from ISO which is film speed in relation to photography. She’s a Burmese Self.

Next is Vignette. This is pronounced Vin-yet and relates to the dark (or white, in some gaudy cases) corners that one sees on photos, either done purposefully in post processing or done by a lens adapter or lens hood (usually on a wide angle lens).

Wirenth has not been as horrible to them as Orly was to her and Ramoth, but she’s doing her fair share of nipping and kicking which is difficult to watch, but is natural. Rule of thumb, no blood, no foul. However I do keep the spray bottle well filled and Wormy does get her fair share of spritzes. At the moment, if I have the all on the couch together, they’re fine but if I put the girls in Wormy’s house, she hunts them down and bites them. So now they’re all in the babies’ house together, which is not Wormy’s territory so she’s behaving…for now. At the moment, the worst she’s doing is giving me doe eyes to let her out of this cage thats “not big enough to swing a cat, mom!” Poor thing looks so claustrophobic.

Anyway, without further ado! Tons of pics!

Meet Vignette and Iso!

Iso – this pic rocks in high res!

Fishing for rats! I almost caught one!

Almost caught another!

Wormy showing em who’s Top Rat around here

Peeping over the couch: Vignette, Iso and Wirenth

It’s Iso!

It’s Vignette!

Later, when the girls were all tuckered out, this is where Iso thought was a nice place to sleep…in the food bowl!

And Wormy slept on the couch with me just behind my legs…

And then moved on to my waistline, legs a-danglin’

Behbeh rat feet!!

And finally, I gave em a chicken bone and I thought this was a very cute face to photograph…

But by Monday, she was fine! Her head tilt had cleared up, there was no porperhin to be seen, and although she sneezed occasionally, her appetite was good, she was eating healthily and zooming around the couch at the best speed she could muster. My heart soared for her! Every time I looked into the Settitube, hammock or box she was sleeping in, my heart swelled to see her bright eyes looking back at me. She had made it through a second illness. My girl is strong!

Yesterday morning I sat by the cage, thinking how blessed I am to be working from home that I can see them all day and cuddle them when I feel lonely. I played with my two girls yesterday morning and took a few videos of them on my phone. I picked Orly up and cuddled her to my chest and she bruxed. She had started bruxing every time I cuddled her, so I was unsure whether she was happy or annoyed I gave them left over OatsoEasy and Orly ate heartily alongside Wormy.

I left for yoga that evening, at 17:50 and returned at 18:20. I walked through the lounge, put down my yoga things and turned the oven on for dinner. Immediately after that I went straight to the cage and found Orly on the floor of the cage. She had an unnaturally flat look to her and first thing I thought (from V’s descriptions of her boy’s seizure) that she was recovering from a seizure. Then I noticed her back legs stretched out behind her and her little back feet were blue.

I’m ashamed to say I couldnt reach in and check for myself, so I ran to get the bf who reached in and felt she was very cool. I sobbed so hard because this was so unexpected after the week we had had. Eventually I reached in and picked her up. Her belly was still warm but there was no heartbeat and she was blue. I cuddle her lifeless body for a long time and eventually wrapped her in toilet paper, put her in a box, and put her in the deepfreeze. I will send her for cremation today.

I dont know what happened. She seemed fine, there hadnt been any sign of returning headtilt and I hadnt seen another seizure. I didnt notice any breathing problems like gasping or anything to point towards a collapsed lung, so I can only presume she had a heart attack. She looked peaceful, so I pray it wasnt a painful death. I pray it was quick and that she didnt suffer.

My Orlith. You fought through two illnesses, you bullied Wormy and Ramoth in your prime, you melted Daddy’s heart to rats. You were my Ball-y, my Orlywhip, my Fatbelly Girl. I remember in your prime you were the hussy who vibrated every few days like clockwork. You will forever be in my heart, and you will be sorely missed. I love you my Ball. Thank you for fighting so hard for me, especially over Christmas. Finally you can rest in Peace. You deserve it.

Do you like the Snow Fall on my blog?

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LOL it appears I was the only voter this week. Ah well, the next poll is about your Christmas shopping…please take a peek and vote.

Life has been so hectic lately, my new job draws near as the New Year approaches…and my poor Orlith has been so very sick with Head Tilt, but by the grace of God has pulled through! It’s been a very stressful festive season for me as I’ve been nursing her back to health with Baytril for the infection and Prednisone for the swelling of her one eye (from the infection underneath it). She also stopped eating for a while, so it was mashed potatoes, pronutro and rice for dinner and breakfast: all soft things to help keep her nourished.

On top of that, I went away for a much needed weekend (pics later) and V kept my babies for me while I was away. When I went to collect them, on the way home Orly suffered from heat stroke and after a frantic drive at 100km all the way (please dont let me have any speeding fines!) and a frantic phonecall, the bf had a bowl of tepid water at the ready when I got home. After an hour or two of keeping her in water, syringing Energade into her mouth for rehydration, she finally recovered but the head tilt was so pronounced and she couldnt even keep herself upright and kept falling over. It was so scary to watch and I felt so helpless, all I could do was cry and pray that she’d recover.

There are also two litters I’ve put myself down for next year, the mom is a wheaten burmese and the dad is a black eyed cream. They’ll be ready for adoption at the end of Jan. The next litter is due at the end of Dec, and are Husky rats, like my Ramoth was. I’m still indecisive about this litter, as I’m not sure if I’m ready for another Husky just yet, but I’ll see how I feel next year.

Christmas is almost here and I still have much to do. A few gifts left to buy, and then everything needs wrapping! I dont know what happened this year, but normally by now I’m done with gift buying and wrapping. Hell, usually I’m done by Dec 5th! Ah well, hopefully all will be done in time and I will destress soon.

And finally, my car repairs have been approved by the offender’s insurance, and my Bluebetty will be getting repaired soon. Yay! I was in another minor car accident the other day when someone drove into the back of me in bumper-to-bumper traffic. My bumper is dented and I had a bit of whiplash but I honestly have no time or energy to claim on their insurance. The guy was very nice about it though, and his car needs more work than mine, which he said he was happy about since it was his fault.

And that’s about it. Hopefully I’ll make another post before or on Christmas Day, but if I dont, please have a wonderful and safe Christmas!!