SATURDAY "PINPRICKS"

TONIGHT is Saturday and we expect snow tomorrow.
For the first time since Raj died, mom actually bathed, dressed
herself, went out for a decent meal, a latte, read the Rolling
Stone edition Connieeee sent her featuring an interview with her
favorite on-air personality, Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show"
and she ordered blueberry pancakes for breakfast tomorrow
in case we got snowed in. Then she got us freshly squeezed,

raw, organic carrot juice!

She has a word for days like these: "Pinpricks." They're good!
We gave up fighting for normalcy after we lost Raj. Her health-
care providers all come here anyway, she just kind of went into
shock, took care of us, and did the barest necessities...I can tell
the story most objectively having been here the shortest, but
everyone went to sleep in darkness and woke up in darkness
no matter what the hour was, and mom just kept saying to people
on the phone how great her friends were, that she couldn't believe
what wonderful friends she had! That was about all we felt we had.

But even though I'm the "new kid on the block" I lost something, too, when Raj died. Before he died, mom got me for him. Because he couldn't live without his brother Taj, who never came home.
And since YumYum was suddenly (surprisingly) behaving in an
unexpectedly magnanimous way towards newbies, he allowed not
one, but two new pigs to live with him in the brand new gigantic
pen that our anonymous benefactor bought for us...and he hasn't had a live-in friend since PandaPig, the original founder of our
Sanctuary, passed away: Now he has three! We all loved being
together, got along, each played, ate, drank, popcorned, slept,
and snuggled in perfect harmony and even though I'm the size
of a Pacific Northwest Logger, I am still a baby, too...and need a herd...and knew I was being groomed for the most important job ahead: to comfort Raj once his pneumonia was cured. Then he died sleeping next to mom under the covers that cruel night and both mom and YumYum became inconsolable and nobody remembers what I lost: this wee little scamp here, VinnyGuinea!
Now, YumYum and I share him and our own brand new gigantic
pig-pen is due to arrive Monday and can actually be attached to
YumYum's as long as mom is ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY CERTAIN that YumYum can't "get me" or that I can't jump over
given my hay trough vaulting abilities...


Thing is, it's Saturday and mom had her first pin-prick of Real
Life and Real Hope Day with a hot breakfast, latte, and the Rolling Stone. But I needed to tell you all that I lost something
too: the happiness of fitting in, of belonging, of having my own herd, of snuggling up in a fuzzy sleeping bag with that little scamp all soft and velvety...sharing a wheatgrass breakfast on
Runabout. We all lost a lot. 


But one pin-prick of hope, mom knows from experience, always
brings more. And, over time, pin-pricks of hope become intertwined into Joy which become threads of continuity which
become woven into a fabric where smiling replaces weeping which create a fabulous new quilt into which the pinpricks
of grief become fewer and fewer as the memories become
transformed into one's history that begins to mellow into smile
which will always bring with it tears but with those tears come
the recognition that our lives have been made all the more
beautiful because they were in them.


love,
Bhindi

I am not Bhindi.

WHERE'S MY BITS? WHADDA? WHADDA? WHADDA?

YESTERDAY on our Epic Runabout, mom got a good look
at Bhindi's bits and - lemme tell ya - they big enough to use
for the Olympig Shotpoot Commition this summer in England!

YOWZA-BANANZA!

So, during our twice daily antibiotic "bonding" ritual (mom,
seriously, do you really think we buy THAT?) she took a
good look down under to inspect the size of my bits...mebbe
mine would be used for the women's competition, mebbe 
girls under the age of 10...all she needed was some bits,
anything, anything...

Well, am I turning into a handsome so-and-so or WHAT?!

I'm so velvety soft, and I scoot so fast and make everybody

laugh especially scooting up and down my bright, high, orange, 
CARROTUS-GIGANTICUS...no one wants me to grow up 
and if I did then I'd have Bits and Chips or at least

a weiner in a bun...aren't I turning into...

(have I said that already?)

Mom just erased a lot of the post so getting off before she loses

what remains of my post along with the rest of her mind.

Gonna snow tomorrow,  so we thinking of our Bavarian meeris 
and Ingrid and Helmut and our Fairy and Marigold and her mum and Dad 
and our Millie Bea and Almond Joy in Wisconsin and the big party 
they gonna have in that warm, red, Mesa Guinea Pig Place.

love you,

VinnyGuinea: MAN-BITS WAITING TO SNEAK UP ON YOU

AND YOU WILL FEEL BAD FOR MAKING FUN OF ME!

UNLESS YOU SEE A LOT O'LIL BITS STUMBLIN' ABOUT

NOT CONNECTED TO MY MAN-PARTS AND...
ISN'T THAT HOW FAIRY MAGICALLY APPEARED?!
SOMETIMES THE BEST SURPRISES HAPPEN IN PRECIOUS, 
TINY, FURRY PACKAGES...
(i could be wrong, but seems like that's Fairy's story and I'm stickin' to it!)

DID I SAY IT GONNA SNOW? 

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD!

TODAY VinnyGuinea and Bhindi pretty much

had the Run o'the RunAbout all day since I didn't

have the strength to leave the apartment; so they

indulged in massive, eager doses of popcorning, chase, 
treats, resting together in sleeping bags, cuddle cups,

square ferret houses with round holes & hidden 
treats with infinite jump-through opportunities
 pOpCoRnING-FULL-THROTTLE through
their HappyDayTogether!

AND IT WAS GOOD.

THEN I got too tired and needed to give them antibiotics

so placed them back into their cages to medicate them before

Molly Movie Night or I fell asleep, whichever came first.

AND IT WAS NOT GOOD.

BHINDI HAD A FIT! 

A

FIT.

HE'S quite the acrobat, much as Taj Mahal was, and finally
jumped right INTO HIS HAY TROUGH in an effort to see
what was on the other side: could it be Vinny? Could it?

IF he just s.t.r.e.t.c.h.e.d. far enough...was there any chance

he could find his best friend and maybe somehow find a way

to escape captivity of The Cage and regain the Wonder of their

SUPER SPECIAL DAY?

IF ONLY HE COULD STRETCH JUST A WEE BIT MORE?

ON TOP OF HIS PRECARIOUS PERCH

ATOP HIS PRECARIOUS HAY TROUGH, THE

FEEDING HOLES OF WHICH ARE LOCATED

ON THE BOTTOM?

WHILE YumYum eats his hay, Vinny looks Startled, as if
having an "out of body" experience...half of it is feeling the
meeries from Bavaria, the realization that the time to post their photographs has come and then it will be too late to take back
the affection that has grown between him and his dear friends
Fairy and Marigold and his new Bavarian meeries and once he
has posted his love for them...what next?


The OTHER "out of body" experience is urgent! Where is his
former cage and playmate Bhindi? He loves and adores YumYum
and wants to live with him but a time was, not so long ago, when
they all lived as one, before Raj died and mom and YumYum finally took leave of their senses, it was the last straw for both of them...

"What to do? What to do? What to do?"

"BHINDI!"
"VINNY!"
"PLEASE DON'T EVER LEAVE ME AGAIN!"
"PLEASE DON'T EVER LEAVE ME AGAIN!"
"I PROMISE!"
"I PROMISE, TOO!"


AND IT WAS GOOD.

Life Is SO UNFAIR!

ALL DAY like yesterday, today, and tomorrow,
the Pacific Northwest, particularly our furthest NW corner
of it, has been getting battered with wind, rain, sleet, ice,
snow in higher elevations and mountains, just not happy
dance weather and then today - for the first time in our
entire lives, we received our first ever party invitation
for piggies in a place called MESA!
While mom isn't exactly sure where Mesa is, she said
"sounds like an Arizona word, hot, a red place, with
plateaus that turn every color at sunrise and sunset...
dry, a place that would be such a happy place:
hot, dry, and PIGGIES GALORE!"
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE! WE ROARED!
DOUBLE SQUEEEEEEE! WE SOARED!


oh cruel fates,
tis not to be
for mom is sick
and happy we
...are not.
(the "Mangosteen" thing really throwing me off here, sorry.)


oh cruel fates,
we take it back
you're kind to us
for LIVE we shall!
just not in Mesa
nor e'er we will.


ENOUGH WITH THE MANGOSTEEN, IT'S 
MESSIN' WID MY HEAD, NOW I KNOW
WHY MOM HAS TO LIVE HERE
AND EDWIN GOTTA LIVE THERE!
love,
Bhindi
not Mindy
not Cindy
not Windy
(well, only 60+mph...)
not Hindi
(actually is Hindi, but...?)

SHARED CUSTODY? NOT SO FAST!

Yesterday I wasn't feeling well and giving them their antibiotics and fresh food, water, hay, and the like (with lots of love time) was all I could manage but, boy was Bhindi out of sorts! He kept gnashing on his bars and pulling them back and forth the way

Coconut did when she wanted to run around with the boys and

couldn't if any one of them was not neutered and Edwin nicknamed

her "Black Douglas" because he always imagined her on that 

battlefield alongside "Braveheart" fighting to free Scotland.

(The same way when he came here to free my apartment

years of repressive chaos and clutter and he spoke these

unforgettable words, much the same Douglas McArthur 

did when he freed Edwin's native Homeland, the Philipinnes

of Japanese tyranny during World War II.) Edwin dramatically opened the front door much like Zorro would have, to save the day, looked around, didn't bother to even put

his backpack down: He Saw. He left. 

I said: "Where are you going? I thought you

came to help me?" (This was, after all, Presidents

Day, a day off...)

"I need a haircut."

And off he went.

Seriously.

Later, he renamed Bhindi "Mangosteen" and took

out a lot of garbage and did some cleaning then

 returned to Seattle. A grand time was had by all,

particularly MangoWHOZIT?

The point is...yesterday, Bhindi-Steen hadn't had 

any magical Vinny time and I hadn't even noticed.

Last night I remembered, placed Vinny in his

cage, the two played chase until I started falling

asleep, and Vinny went back into YumYum's

cage to sleep with him in their sleeping bag,

the one that saved their lives by keeping

them warm and by a Miracle having their

cage placed away from the others'

and so far, they are running about 

with more energy than I HAVE!

ON  MONDAY we expect to receive a generous gift of
the same pen you see on the top-left, the one shared by 
YumYum and VinnyGuinea with lots of space and no top.
 It can even be connected to the new one with a (very strong) divider (or three or ten) to keep the two males from actually
fighting while each can rub noses with Vinny when he
is in the other cage. Meanwhile, they love the configuration
of tiny, narrow mazes, large lanes, huts, boxes, cuddle cups,
hay, water, food, and lots of paw-print fleece lining their
playground and each has an abundance of time to share
with VinnyGuinea now that I understand how valuable it
is to each pig to be with him. FAVORITE OF FAVORITES:
THE ONE AND ONLY MAGIC CARROT!!!!!!!
(THANK YOU, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) 
VINNY SCOOTS UP AND DOWN EL RAPIDO
 LIKE A SLIDING BOARD AND IT MUST
BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED!)
My nurse came today and saw them doing their
NASCAR RACE-AROUND-YUM-YUM'S-CAGE
since I had just put them in their Runabout
and she could not stop laughing!
Now that's a good nurse!
thank you for all your love...
hope to make it to Molly Movie Night if no migraine,
You have all given me a new definition of the
word "friend" to which I now aspire...


love,
to all of you

A BETTER DAY?

So much love from all of
you feels like Fairy Dust surrounding
me in colors Bright and Beautiful.
This is how HOPE looks
inside of me, sitting on eggs
of Spring Renewal
covered in Sprinkles of Magical
LOVE from all of YOU.

RAINBOW

View from out the back door
of the wildlife sanctuary where
we used to live, where we
first started PandaPig's Peace 
Sanctuary With PandaPig and
YumYum and Bear the Beaver Pig.
Snow covers these hills now
and we miss waking up to the
sounds of birds, wind, rain,
and the fragrant storms that rolled
across the foothills from the 
North Cascades only 50 miles East...
But we also realize we need the
ease and access of downtown life,
the bustling cafes, our art galleries,
and having company once we are
able to get out again...still...
to smell the storms, the rain, and watch 
fawns pass beneath our window with
their moms, and eagles carry long,
heavy branches to bolster their nest
from the wind, snow, and rain...
what a sight just out our door!
Rainbow Bridge>who knows?
It's just where we once lived and loved.

VINNY THE RAPPER!

i'm a baby guinea pig

whose name is Vin~ny

and when i get BIG 
i gonna

call m'self 
O'BINNY!

but for now i'm tiny 
and i'm teeny,
soft, and fast!
and my mommy hopes my teeny,
babyVinny-ness will last!


{composed
by VinnyGuinea
to cheer up mom}


All COPYRIGHTS APPLY
to smokin' hot whole grain 
pancakes fresh outta the
skillet, dripping with organic, local
butter, smothered in authentic Canadian 
maple syrup served with AWESOME
 latte: freshly-brewed with
just-ground, fragrant beans
bird-friendly, rainforest-friendly,
organic, farmer equalitied (you know,
just can't remember the words)
single-sourced, no trees cut down,
no fossil fuels used during shipping
from Guatamala by bicycle courier
um...well, hell's bells, we know
we done it right cuz we in
Bellingham and you can't
do it wrong even if you try! 


BUZZER JUST WENT OFF,
ALL CUDDLE CUPS, HUTS,
GIGANTIC CARROT AND LEAF, 
TUNNELS, SLEEPING BAGS,
EVERYTHING WONDERFUL
WASHED, FRESH,
SANITIZED AND HOT TO
SNUGGLE INTO FOR OUR NAP!
~

THE DAY I FORGOT...

Just awhile ago I cheerfully decided to put Raj on my lap
and brush him, the way I did the night he died.
Except I forgot he died.
I thought of perfecting the coronet on the crown of
his head because he always wanted it to be perfect
for Fairy, and how we trimmed his "tail feathers"
for her and how much he loved flattening his back
so I could comb it softly, slowly, gently, like a 
massage and make him beautiful. And how much
attention we paid to the details of his dew lap (double chin)
to make his two-toned lower lip stand out, as he was
most proud of it! I was in the midst of planning
when
I
remembered.
For we did this before tucking him in.
Next to me.
Under the covers,
that  night.
I remembered.
Stumbled and fell.
Crumbled and yelled.
Into my hands.
Covered in tears.
And cannot put myself together again.


Piles of papers with deadlines scattered.
The inspection has, at least, been postponed.
Social workers are calling: why haven't I sent
the papers back?
Why haven't I gotten my guinea pigs back?
I'm out of the hospital now,
where have they gone? 
A friend I emailed to warn that I might
sound a little crazy for awhile
said that he had two mentally ill
relatives in his family and he did
not need this so I was never to
write him again ever. He never
asked why...I felt crazy.
Because I was going to brush Raj...
And I forgot.

THANK YOU, FRIENDS

We're still hanging in there, with you, in our little boat.
This drawing's title is "Best Friends in the Boat of Life."
That's Us. 
Love You.
chana, YumYum, VinnyGuinea, & BhindiGuinea

FAIRY CONVENES FIRST INTERNATIONAL PIG-A-THON OF PEACE PIGS TO HONOR LOVED ONES

IT TAKES A FAIRY'S MAGIC to find a way
to bring us all together for healing and happiness
after so much loss that has touched each of our 
households, some more than others, but we are 
so close that miles and oceans no longer separate
broken hearts. And 2012 has been a Heartbreaker.


While mom can only post in short fits and starts, she and
Fairy's mum and the meeri's mum, and Almond Joy and
Millie Bea's mom will all be helping us create the first
EVER INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF 
PEACE PIGS!


We look forward to posting photographs of our
growing membership and Fairy will include Magic
with each membership herbal melange bestowed 
upon each new member. Once someone tells me
what a melange is: a hybrid watermelon/orange?


Who knows? Mom has already noticed my
vexation at YumYum for having me forcibly
removed from the Big Pen which I get to
express - unlike him - because guess
which one of us ISN'T NEUTERED?
ME!
MOM CALLS ME BHINDI-BOY BECAUSE
SHE THINKS I AM TOO "PRETTY" TO
BE A BOY AND WHILE COMBING ME
LAST NIGHT KEPT REFERRING TO ME
AS A SHE, WHICH VEXED ME, AS WELL!


Still, my runabouts with VinnyGuinea remain
way too much fun, and watching him race up
and down our carrot which mom propped up
at a 45 degree angle is so funny I just roll
over on my back grabbing my furry, swirly
tummy to keep it from exploding in GLEE!
THAT VINNY IS A CLOWN! WE ALL
HOPE HE DOESN'T GET MUCH BIGGER
BECAUSE HE STILL SCOOTS AND MAKES
UP TRICKS NONE OF THE REST OF US
CAN DO. WELL, EDWIN CAME TO HELP
MOM TODAY.
HE CAME.
HE ENTERED.
HE LEFT.
SOMETHING ABOUT NEEDING A HAIRCUT?
NOW HE COMES AND GOES.
MORTIFICATION, WHO DOESN'T 
HAVE IT LOOKING AT THIS MESS?
THEN MOM FORGOT TODAY IS
MONDAY AND THOUGHT IT WAS
SUNDAY AND THEN REALIZED SHE
HAD ONE LESS DAY TO CLEAN BEFORE
INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU VISIT...
NOT TO MENTION, IN THE MIDST OF
ALL THE PILES OF TRASH SHE HAD
SHREDDED SHE NOTICED SOMETHING
QUITE NOT-GOOD: AN UNCASHED
CHECK FROM THE ART GALLERY!
YUPPERS!
SO SHE GOT TO CALL RICK AND SAY...


WHICH IS WHY WE WILL NOT BE RETURNING
YOUR LOVING EMAILS UNTIL TOWARDS THE
END OF THE WEEK. BECAUSE OUR SIX WORD
CLASSIFIED AD STILL HAS NOT BEEN ANSWERED:


"DESPERATELY NEEDED:
FUNCTIONAL BRAIN,
URGENT PLEA!"


love,
Bhindi "I AM A BOY AND WILL SKUNK YOU IF YOU DOUBT IT!"
Then pet me and love me and feed me, thank you.
And, Fairy, well done, little lassie... well done.

MOM IN BIG TROUBLE NOW!

Bhindi Here. Mom is in BIG, BIG, GINORMOUSE TRUBBLE!
The Housing Inspection is Wednesday...

And the only thing she's cleaned around here in two weeks
is her hair! And she didn't even do THAT until LAST NIGHT.
So she was supposed to go to bed early because Edwin is coming up from Seattle early and staying late before taking the bus back
then going to work on Tues, all to help her.
They'll kick back a few shots of espresso:
 BADDA-BING! BADDA-BOOM! RIGHT?
DOUBT IT. EDWIN? NO DOUBT! GOOD MAN!
WITH MOM AROUND?
FUGGETABOUTIT!
(i like talking all "New Jersey" it's fun!)


Did I mention annual inspection and the only thing she 
done is her hair and she ain't even given us our 
antibiotics yet? whew.


Six Words:


"Lost Mind.
Please Return.
Desperately Needed."


SHE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RETURN EMAILS UNTIL
AFTER THE INSPECTION BUT PLEASE DO KEEP
WRITING AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO PUBLISHING
MORE OF YOUR BEAUTIFUL MEERIS AND 
ENLARGING OUR FAMILY OF FURRY FRIENDS!


LOVE ALL,
BHINDI
(don't tell no one, but i'm gettin' a friend once
the vet clears us for take-off! YumYum still 
blaming me for the vet! At least I get runabouts
with Vinny and we have lots o'fun, but once
back in my cage I feel so all alone...so
getting me a new friend, just don't tell
NOBODY!)