Guinea Pig Puppy Love

I posted this earlier and then was reading through some different blogs and came across Smiling Sally's Blue Monday.  I sat there thinking, "I could participate, but I don't know if I have anything blue."  I came back to my blog and look at that...Hedgie's cage is blue! 











It's really funny to watch Charlie and Hedgie socialize with each other.  He's huge for one thing and she never paid any attention to Goldie, but for whatever reason she will sit in her cage and let him lick her.  He's not hurting her and she's not trying to bite him, so I guess they're fine. 

Hedgie by herself is driving us bananas!  In the last two weeks, she's starting demanding food every time someone walks by.  This is hard to avoid since she's in the front room and she can hear you coming from whatever direction.  Forget the fact that the dogs are all over the place and that will set off her chomping the cage for food as well.  We've all been trying to convince Shelby that we need to find a new home for her to no avail.  I like her, but believe me when I say that this is the last guinea pig this momma's gonna fall for!  The dog's are more than enough at this stage.

She is really cute though.

Let me clarify my mother's comment though before anyone gets offended. I will cry like a baby when Hedgie passes away, I did with the last guinea as well. That said, she's been with us much longer than expected and with two shepard/lab 6 month old terrors, my hands are a little full. My 11 year old can't bear to part with her guinea, but yet isn't a whole lot of help with her either. I'm working on convincing her to let us find her a new home, but in the meantime, I'll have to keep enjoying her until her time comes to an end. Now it's really going to be something if Miss Hedgie decides to be one of those lifer guinea pigs, I won't promise not to complain, but I will keep feeding her.

You can click the link at the top of the post to enjoy more Blue Monday posts.

Mandy

Guinea Pig Drama

It's been a while since I've shared the antics of our guinea girl's.  Friday, their cage guinea mansion got a much needed clean-up.  They both got sprayed down and rubbed with their smell fresh spray and Snowflake enjoyed a brushing.  Miss Hedgie doesn't appreciate the brush so it's probably a good thing that she's got really short hair unlike the other one that sheds like no tomorrow!  Snowflake also tolerates being wrapped up like a baby in a towel.

Not sure what my daughter's issue was other than I think she doesn't want to admit that she loves her sister's pets!

Both girls enjoy their time outside in their little play pen.  Normally, they get the concrete, but it was a little chilly outside.  Snowflake is cute, but she's got quite the mean streak going on too!  They were sharing a little hut that they both fit in fine, however Snowflake has decided it's hers and lays in the doorway refusing to let Miss Hedgie in.

We went and got the giant igloo for them.  Mind you, they should have both been able to share this one and didn't have to touch each other.

Yes, both huts were still in the cage.  Snowflake refused to let her in the large one, chased her out after nose-butting her!  She got tapped on the nose for that one and told to be nice.  The second attempt wasn't any nicer, only this time the nose butt was accompanied by a growl.  You'd think they just met!  To keep the peace, we took the large one back and got another mid-sized one.  They're happy both happy now...

Spoiled little girls...

One Smart Corgi, One Trained Owner

After being introduced to a Welsh Corgi years ago, I knew that I needed to have one.  When our girls were 4 and 1, I found Corgi/Sheltie mix.

Bob, who was out of town at the time had kept promising me that we'd get a dog since we'd been in the house a few years, but he also kept putting me off.  One day at work, I was on the Animal Defense League and there she was! I went at lunch and much to my surprise, Goldie was completely shaven!  Evidently, her elderly owner had passed away and no one took care of her thick head of hair.  They assured me it'd grow back, so I brought the girls back after work to see what they thought.  They fell in love with her as quickly as I did.  Without calling Bob, I brought her home.  She hid behind the couch and we left to go buy food and other items one needs when they've never had a dog before.  I did call him then, "Honey, when you get home don't be alarmed.  there's a dog behind the couch."  I'm sure he growled, but he knew he'd also been avoiding the inevitable. 

Fast forward 10 years and she's a little older, 14 to be exact, but just as smart.  Since we got the guinea pigs a year ago, her herding skills have been sharpened.  Snowflake has an annoying habit of chewing on the cage and making a ridiculous amount of rattling noise when she wants food, attention or is just bored.  I'm guessing it bugs Goldie because once the wild ruckus begins, she'll come and get my attention (loudly sometimes) and take me into the other room to shut them up.  In the last few weeks though, she's picked up an annoying little habit herself.   At any given time, she'll decide she needs a treat.  First she'll just give me the eye and if I ignore her, which I always try first, she'll start barking at me.  Once I'm up, she'll lead me to the kitchen cabinet and stop.  I comply like a good human and give her the treats and she's content again. 


Goldie in her "summer cut" waiting for a treat



Guinea-sitting the Guinea Girls

Favorite past time, sunning herself

Web Cams and Bell Peppers

On the laptop that my parents gave our oldest daughter there is a web cam built in.  I've given numerous lectures on why she's not allowed to use it unless she's in the living room or kitchen, and she's honored those lectures.  Tonight, she was on the phone with my mother and summoned me and Daughter #2 upstairs.  Guess who was on web chat?  My mother!  I almost cried!!  It was super cool to get to see my mother on the computer screen.  I know that I talk to her every day, sometimes two or three times a day, but this was awesome!  The girls stayed on the computer with her for a while after I walked out.  Watch out, I'm gonna steal the laptop!!

Check it out, Daughter #2's little orange bell peppers are turning orange!  I was wondering when they were going to turn...did we take them off the plant, or did they turn on their own.  Today I found that out..

It's still kind of small compared to the ones that we see in the stores.  Now I have to figure out if they keep growing once they turn orange or if they're done.  I really hope the Guinea Girls like them too!  The red ones that we are growing from seeds of store bought peppers have not produced any actual peppers yet, but they're really growing so we shall see.

Mandy

Baby Cucumbers and a Pesky Raccoon!

The guinea girls are going to be so excited...we have TWO baby cucumbers on our plant!  Last week they looked like this...

And yesterday, they look like this...

A close up of the biggest one...

The girls are going to love it!  The bell peppers are flowering, so maybe I'll have something to share on those next week.  The bell peppers are their favorites by far, yellow or red...they love them!

Miss Hedgie

Snowflake

Now to the pesky raccoon you were probably wondering about.  Last night we were in the backyard discussing the flower bed us and our neighbor friends are going to be doing this weekend and Amy spotted a raccoon on our neighbor's roof.  These are the neighbors with the 15 cats, and they have I think 8 bowls of cat food on the back porch at any given time.  My husband mows their yard and keeps us updated on the number of bowls in case you're wondering how I'd know something like that.  Anyways, Amy spots this raccoon and I rush to get my camera.  Finally, I got some shots of it...the whole time hoping he didn't jump off the roof and attack me! Yes, I have a very vivid imagination, but seriously if you were that close to a raccoon you might think the same thing. 

Crazy little thing, only he's really not that little!  And this people is why you should not have 15 cats and 8 feed bowls out!! 

Happy Friday!!

Mandy

Simple Woman's Daybook...Week of July 12th

For Today...from Mandy's Daybook


Outside my window...the sun has set for the night.

I am thinking...nothing at the moment, which is rather unusual!

I am thankful for...happy, healthy children.

From the kitchen...grilled cheese was on the menu tonight, chocolate chip cookies are waiting on the counter!

I am wearing...a brown/white print dress...I was comfy, so I haven't gotten out of my work clothes yet.

I am creating...I downloaded a playlist for a friend earlier tonight, surely that counts for something.

I am going...to take my bath early, need to get caught up on my daily Bible reading...not doing so hot this summer.

I am reading...just finished Sanctuary by Beverly Lewis, about to start Heat Wave by Richard Castle and my Bible.

I am hoping...that I keep the house picked up now that it's nice and clean.
I am hearing...CSI Miami

Around the house...it's still quiet. It's nice and clean too, thanks to some heavy duty Saturday cleaning.

One of my favorite things...holding newborn babies, got to hold my friend's week old baby girl on Saturday...so precious!

A few plans for the rest of the week...work, home, work, home and more work! Probably get through a book or two as well.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

You can participate in the Simple Woman's Daybook by going to the link below.


http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/
Have a wonderfully delightful week!

Mandy

Pizza Tuesday

I'm much to predictable, I think.  This morning, I pulled fish out of the freezer and went on my way.  When I got home, I said something about not really feeling like cooking, but that I had pulled out the fish.  My husband reminded me that's it's Pizza Tuesday and asked why would I be cooking.  You don't have to tell me twice!  Now for the predictability...I ordered the usual half cheese/half pepperoni from my usual place.  When I walked in 20 minutes later, one of they guys, smiles at me with a box in his hand and asks how I'm doing.  When I realized it was my order, I quietly asked him, "Please tell me you saw me walk in and didn't recognize my car."  Fortunately, he just saw me walk in!  I'm there every Tuesday and most Friday's when the girls are home, when I call, Bonnie knows what I order just by seeing my name on the caller id...it used to just be my voice and then they went and got techy on me.  It's probably sad, but I think I'll just embrace it!  If you're ever in San Antonio, look up Pizza Italia...you won't be sorry!

The guinea girls were making a fuss, so I got out Miss Hedgie, and man does she need some work!  She is by far the most talkative little thing we've had and she's a fidgety little thing...Snowflake justs plops down and cuddles, not this one.  I gave up when Snowflake refused to quit chewing on the cage, that's her way of letting us know that she wants something and she wants it now! Maybe they miss my little one, I know I do!!

I've got to get back to my July budget or I'll never do it.  Meanwhile, we're just waiting to see what Tropical Storm/Hurricane Alex brings us.  Is it too much to ask for the rain to let up so that I can get to and from my car without getting drenched...surely not!

Have wonderful week!
Mandy

Lazy Days of Summer

I came home at lunch today to find Tater Girl and her BFF working diligently on a puzzle...they were working on the same puzzle when I got home from work tonight.  Tater Girl loves doing puzzles and once she starts, she takes over the kitchen table for weeks at a time.  Will be buying her a card table for the front room while she's gone this summer...you never know when she'll going on a puzzle bender, and I think I need to be better prepared!

The funny faces are thanks to the Ring Pop that my "picture taker hater" popped in her mouth when I said to smile!  They had a great day between the pool and puzzles, not to mention the Rock Bank concert that Giggles put on for everyone...thankfully I just heard it through the phone!

I thought tonight would be a good as time as any to clean out the guinea girl mansion as we lovingly call it.  Snowflake enjoyed sniffing around in their little fenced in area, and Hedgie eventually got the hang of it...not before having to be thoroughly sniffed over by Barkley, one of the Sheltie boys from across the street.  They did enjoy the strawberries and grape halves that we brought out for them. They were much happier once Dottie, the cat from across the street who lives with the Sheltie boys went home...she was ready to lunge for them until she got yanked back by the neck.  She went home rather perturbed and wouldn't come close again until after they went back inside.

Snowflake graciously allowed me to trim up her toe nails...second time was much easier than the first time.  Hedgie let me do her back paws, but I got a little too close and drew a little blood...she got an extra treat for that mishap.  Both got wiped down with baby wipes and then I think they were a little too hot.  Snowflake was sprawled out like she wasn't going to make it...quite the little drama queen!

I think she was trying to nap, but I really didn't realize how warm it was until I put them back in the cage. Oops!

I love it when my mother visits...we had Cheesy Chicken waiting for us in the crock pot (one of my husband's favorites) and yeast rolls...all I had to do was put the french fries in the oven, and dinner was ready to go!  Guess she wasn't impressed with the past two night's dinners of hot dogs and pizza!  She even did the dishes...I could get spoiled very quickly! 

Mandy

Guinea Pig Girls

15 days ago, we brought Cocoa home so that Snowflake would not be alone since we lost Zoey in April.  She was really tiny and for whatever reason didn't make it past day 13.  Very sad, lots of tears from Tater Girl...Snowflake didn't seem to care. Took Cocoa back, which I think is extremely morbid of Petsmart...they make you return the actual animal with the receipt. Okay, so I get the whole point that a good chunk of our society is less than truthful, but really...wouldn't a good picture work just as well!  Our intention was to just get our money back and let Snowflake be a lone cavey.  So much for good intentions!  I toted the dead cavey to work with me, in a box of course, and returned her at lunch.  The guy at Petsmart Friday was really nice, much better than the jerk that I dealt with the night before, but I'm past that.  He showed me two little girls that had been there a little longer than the others, so they were a bit bigger.  I fell for the chubbby brown one that looked like a hedgehog.  He was nice enough to break the rules and hold her for me until I could come back with Tater Girl and Snowflake to make sure everyone was in agreement. Yes, I took our guinea pig to the pet store to find a friend!  Meet Hedgie...

She's about half the size of Snowflake, but big enough that she won't be tossed around when Snowflake gets in the mood to run like a wild banshee around their cage. 

Another Weekend Gone By

I realize that as a general rule, weekends always fly by, but this one seemed to go exceptionally quick!  As usual, Saturday started off with volleyball games, Tater Girl went first at 9 a.m., and then Giggle's team played at noon.  Both teams won, Giggle's team remains undefeated for the second YMCA season.  The little girls are fun to watch now, as they've finally figured out how to move their feet and play somewhat as a team.  The big girls are always action packed, and keep this momma jumping out of her seat at the score keeping table! We've just got one last game until the summer break and then we have break until it picks back up in the fall.  I was never in to sports growing up, preferred music and so having my girls enjoy sports was a bit of a shock.  Now I'm a volleyball junkie...when my girls are on the court!

We had bought Tater Girl 2 guinea pigs for Christmas, and at the beginning of April, Zoe passed away...rather surprisingly!  We let Snowflake get over the loss of her friend and while I felt she had adjusted just fine, Tater Girl thought otherwise.  Yesterday after the game, we stopped at the pet store to pick up some bedding so that we could clean out the cage.  Wouldn't you know it, but they had at least 8 little girls just begging to go home with someone! We were one of those "someones" and after many minutes of oohing and holding several, we settled on Cocoa.  She's much smaller than we remembered the other two being, and is a little chatterbox.  Snowflake is holding her own by torturing the little one...enjoying it as well!

All in all, had a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to the next one!