YUM-YUM WITH FAIRY DUST!

 

April, 2012
Yum-Yum moves into inspects
my birthday box from FAIRY!
HE APPROVES and is ready to
move right in!
err...ummm...Yum-Yum, it was
my birthday and I'm happy to
share but you can't LIVE IN IT! 
This morning he had convulsions
again. Squirrel has begun running
and popcorning about, chewing on
my drafting table (maybe he's a baby
beaver?) and Yum-Yum is already
enjoying his companionship in their
Extra Large, plush, Cavy Hut!
Every piggie gets individual cuddle time
at bedtime and we are carrying on 
best we can, given there is no diagnosis
 to treat convulsions. They resemble dry 
heaves, like he is trying to throw up.
Yesterday's X-Ray revealed no blockages.
Lots of love, all, and thank you for
your best wishes. We need them.
Love You, one and all.

Seasons Change...And So Do The Days of Our Lives

 

There was a pull and tug in my heart...
a darkness I could not describe,
nor understand. A darkness was
gathering in the skies, the water,
the sea, and in me...

 

It told me to find another guinea pig but
it didn't tell me why. So, every day for about
ten days, I asked the Pull & Tug to explain.
ONLY SILENCE.
Three days ago, I listened to my Heart.
Hearts don't give reasons, they whisper
only of Love.
I knew this had something to do with love
and that my friends would tell me how crazy
I am because I couldn't explain it.
I listened to Love anyway because
she has never been Wrong.

 

Yum-Yum had been doing poorly 
and I was worried for quite some time.
Guinea pigs live (if they are lucky)
an average lifespan of 5 -7 years.
Yum-Yum is between 5 - 6, I think.
He was the second rescue I ever got,
back when we still lived at the Wildlife
Refuge and PandaPig ADORED him.
But something didn't feel right.
It just seemed like he was fading,
losing interest in life. He has Ankylosing
Spondylitis (his spine is fusing and arthritic)
and his body is riddled with benign lymph 
tumors. He never complains, though I hear 
him cry out sometimes.  
Animals hide illness because
 in the wild a poorly pig would be 
fodder for a predator.
He has been courageous. Still, my heart ached.
 

Three days ago, I did the unthinkable.
Having read articles about how good guinea
pigs are as therapy animals for hospice
patients too weak for a dog or cat,
I thought "Why wouldn't a guinea pig
be a good therapy animal for a hospice
guinea pig?" and I found a squirrel and
brought him home. It was spontaneous
on one hand, but had also been percolating.
QUESTION WAS: Would Yum-Yum 
love him or try to eat him? It was a gamble.
Meet precocious "Squirrel."

 

 

 

 

 

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!
I made a little "barnyard" for
the two of them under the antique
drafting table i got at a thrift 
shop for drawing. 
They loved it!
Yum-Yum adores his baby 
squirrelly-pig and is no longer
lonely and despondent, like before. 
He has a protege pirate
to groom and bestow his Pirate
Powers upon. He is happy.
~*~
THE "WHY" REVEALED:
This morning, one day after moving
in together, Yum-Yum became sick 
and saw the vet this afternoon.
I couldn't believe it.


He and Squirrel were dining on
organic romaine lettuce leaves
when Yum-Yum began having what
looked like dry heaves, convulsions! Guinea pigs do not throw up. 
He kept convulsing. The vet 
didn't find out why. But she did
discover a small bladder stone,
blood in his urine, his temp was 
below normal, and he is ill.
You know what? 
Whatever happens now,
he has his Squirrel and us.
Yum-Yum is geriatric, ill, and has treatment to endure. But he is no longer alone, listless, lifeless, like before.
 He's happy in "the barnyard" with his special baby pirate who - at just five weeks - already sports that FINE 
"James Bond/Yum-Yum Swagger."
Whatever happens and for however 
long he remains in our lives,
Yum-Yum will receive all the 
love, care, compassion, and companionship we can gift him
 for the rest of his life.

As for those naughty Vampires and Werewolves?
Bhindi and Peter-Peanut, are spared
(for now) the "Snip-Snip."
...to be continued.
For Now, it is Good.
~*~

Peter-Peanut did WHAT?!

 

Don't even ask how, but
Peter-Peanut JUMPED
INTO BHINDI'S CAGE
AND ATTACKED HIM!
Now, the rabbit pen gates
are securely closed.
PIRATE-PIGZ!
Must have been inspired
by the OlympiGz.
Still...?!

Bad Hair Day, Anyone?



 Why we goin' offline for a few:
SomeMommy needz a Time-Out!

(You did not see this and
I was never here.)

MOMMY'S FALSE ACCUSATION!

Whatever you wrote about me in the next post is untrue and
no one who knows how sweet I am will believe a word of it, mom!

WE SNIP. OH MY!

 

 

 

On Sunday I was up north in Birch Bay and hungry!
No easy customer by any standards, one cafe sent me
over to an adorable old-fashioned soda fountain where the employees pictured above utilized "It Takes a Village" to create the perfect sandwich for me and perfect it was! But, even more exciting was meeting the owner, Tammy, an avid animal rescue volunteer owned by her cats and animals who helps sponsor the annual Birch Bay Music Festival to benefit WeSnip.org, dedicated to preventing the agonizing euthanasia of so many unwanted animals and pets resulting from lack of awareness of the necessity of spaying and neutering our loved ones. In fact, you all know that I LOVE my guinea pigs so much that they will be getting those bowling balls they drag around removed September 21st and not a moment too soon: Tonight, sweet, precious, darling little Peter-Peanut, clearly inspired by the 2012 OlympiGz in London, actually (true) HIGH-JUMPED off his box into Bhindi's cage where they "engaged" before I even knew what happened! Luckily, I was online wishing our FAVORTIE MOD, Papa-Pie Carl, Happy Birthday next to their habitats and broke it up before anyone was seriously injured or worse.
Peter-Peanut has lost all visiting privileges with his (best friend?) Bhindi, as I had to shut all the tall gates to his rabbit pen after his unexpected, athletic, militarized coup d'etat. 
Anyway, here's Tammy's cafe and I'll be back, because just LOOK AT HER EMPLOYEES ready to snip that cheese, lettuce, tomato, and "I want this but not that, grill the toast first THEN add the veggies please, oh, and toast the bread, THEN please grill it with the CHEESE before adding the veggies and..." HEY! Knock it off, that knife was never meant for me, and those of you who know me too well: HA-HA! I'm still here!
LOVE,
CHANA

Visit www.birchbaymusicfestival.com for more info on WeSnip and this important, fun, fundraiser.

WE REMEMBER.

 

 

 

 

{Thank you, photographers: we were unable to give
you photo credit, but you know who you are...
who you were.}

Self Portrait: Red Backpack, Fairhaven, WA, 2012

My snowy owl I got with JoyfulJerri,
drumsticks to jam on the street with
my bucket from Lowe's turned upside
down (you never know where you'll
find a band around here, seriously)
and a volume of The Collected Poems
of Emily Dickinson, first published
posthumously in 1890. She was rejected
as a poet in her own lifetime, never to
experience life as one of the most beloved
American poets of all time.

XXIII.
"I HAD no time to hate, because
The grave would hinder me,
And life was not so ample I
Could finish emnity.

Nor had I time to love; but since
Some industry must be,
The little toil of love, I thought.
Was large enough for me."
~ Emily Dickinson

Rock on.

Peter-Peanut Sunbathes His Nose



After breakfast, everyone takes their morning nap.
Peter-Peanut naps in his (furry, yes I'd wash it but
he loves to smell his own fragrance, so...) sleeper.
But his nose: SUNBATH! SUNBATH!
Still in the Afterglow of JoyfulJerri.
What a Wondrous Day!

~*!~

AND IT WAS GOOD. WAY AWESOME GOOD!



I've been touched by an angel.

She LURVES Garfield and her photo
album here was actually autographed
by Jim Davis himself!

For those who don't know, Village Books
here in Bellingham sold Molly the Owl 
by Eric Blehm and this is Joyful Jerri with
the very last copy plus a calendar we
discovered of barn owls by artist
Jeannine Chappell (is she a MOD?!)

We laughed for hours. And one thing...
every single person who we met became
Joyful around Jerri. True. Now I can rest
because I have met my first MOD.
AND IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN BETTER!
(non-MODS: Molly Obsessive Disorder,
please GOOGLE it because it's just not an
affliction that can be explained!)

Jerri was so deeply touched knowing how many
of you asked me to give her your love. She was
genuinely moved, sharing it was this same love
that got her through her heart surgery.

YAY LOVE!

MISSION CONTROL: THE GARF HAS LANDED!

TODAY, my friend Garfield arrived in Bellingham! Meet Joyful Jerri, who is not only a MOD, but a...hmmm, yeah, she told me this wouldn't be easy; not like someone with Garfield Obsessive Disorder could be called GOD. (We'll have to work on that.)Despite having never met in person nor having spoken on the phone before her impending arrival, we spoke tonight for hours on the phone once she checked into her hotel room because I spent a second day confined to bed, and this is one gracious, kind, empathetic, awesome friend. She understood and encouraged me to rest so we will meet up tomorrow around 11'ish! (I can hardly wait.) Felt like talking to an old friend I have known forever. YES, MODS, I TOLD HER YOU ALL SEND YOUR LOVE AND BEST WISHES AND EVEN NAMED NAMES, YA'BETCHA I DID!
KNOW SHE FEELS THE LOVE.Well, tomorrow is NOT going to be Day 3 in bed so off to sleep we go with our friend bringing record-breaking, unseasonal, gorgeous, sunny weather with her for which I am personally grateful. As much as the rest of the world is being traumatized by catastrophic events caused possibly by global warming and climate change, this is the first real "summer" I have experienced since moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1991, and I am LOVIN' IT!
This is Joyful Jerri in her award-winning "Witchypoo Garf" costume which, should she wear it here, would make her look like a "local!"
(We're that kind o'town, ya know!)
Sweet dreams, all. I'll give her a big hug for ya, too!
~nighty-night~

IS SHE HERE YET? MOM! GET OUT OF BED!

WE ARE HAVING OUR FRIEND
OVER TOMORROW AND YOU
HAVEN'T BEEN OUT OF BED
ALL DAY: PIP-PIP!
HOP TO IT!
Do you ever get to a certain age and simply stop asking why? We have waited excitedly to welcome
Joyful Jerri for as long as we can remember, walking
every day, feeling absolutely FAB! So today is a sick
day? SERIOUSLY. Well, tomorrow is a new day, and it's for hugs, laughs, and mischief-making, so
off to bed and good morning to all of you, and you MODS OUT THERE, LISTEN UP: JERRI ASKED
ME TO GIVE YOU ALL HER LOVE!
SQUEEEEEEE, MY FIRST MOD IN PERSON!
Sick or no, Life is Beautiful.