Charlie and the Snake

(Don't worry, not a real snake!)

To answer angeljoy's comment on my previous entry, I shall tell you all that Charlie seems to be doing very well. His weight is now good and healthy for his size, and he is very cheerful in himself. Occasionally I give him some painkiller if it looks like his mouth is sore, otherwise I stick to giving him pro-biotic powder which helps his system cope with more food. I am weighing him once a week in a washing up bowl on top of digital scales, which has varied results depending on his level of patience (and probably mine too!)

He enjoys jumping off his ramp in his hutch (Charlie likes any kind of jumping and leaping) and goes somewhat crazy when let loose in the lounge, hopping and binking all over the place. I only learnt it was called binking the other day - a kind of little twisty jump kick which is very cute :) He'll have another check up in March when he gets his jab.

The other thing I was going to share with you, for the benefit of the crafty ones (!) among you, was this snake card I made for my nephew's 8th birthday at the end of January. It took quite a bit of time and needed lots of reinforcing because of the shape, but I was quite pleased with it. So not a real snake, and nowhere near Charlie. But it sounds like a book title, doesn't it - Charlie and the Snake ?!





Today: 3/10, high

cakes, cameras, cards, and a bit about books & the weather...

Friday's little gathering seemed to go well. There were 11 of us in all - sadly Sarah was not well enough to come. It was lovely to see Rachel, however. Her archaeological dig was rained off on the Friday afternoon so she curled up on our sofa and read her book - with me joining her in between preparations! M surprised me by bringing a beautiful birthday cake she had made, as you can see, with the help of her 3 year old daughter. Rachel bought me an absolutely gorgeous orchid for my birthday present, which I am now trying to work out how to care for properly in our (somewhat cool) house - I have put it in the spare bedroom as that is likely to be the warmest. I don't know much about caring for orchids - any tips?

I've asked for money for my birthday, towards a digital SLR. Have been trying to do some research but it is difficult to know where to start. I want to get something good, versatile and something I can be happy with for a long time to come. Again, any tips? I'd love something I could use with the old lenses from my film SLR but I'm not sure which cameras take what and scrambling around on Google takes ages...

Andy keeps squirrelling away my birthday cards as soon as they drop through the letter box! I'm afraid I adore receiving birthday cards. I am terribly, terribly sad, because I even count them (sigh). That is my confession for today (!) Seriously, though, the wonderful thing about birthday cards is that they tell a story, of where you are, what new friends you have made, who you've lost - and maybe regained - touch with.

My back aches, which is aggravating. Pfft! I have just finished reading Bram Stoker's Dracula which completely absorbed me the last couple of days - not the subject matter per se, although of course suspense is what is aimed for, but the style of writing. It got to the stage where I was annoyed that I had to stop reading because my eyes were hurting. I did the same thing with the Lord of the Rings once, reading the trilogy in three days flat - yeech!! I was a student on holiday; I had time for such things! Was weird 'waking up' to normality after I'd finished that, if I remember rightly.

Anyway.

A welcome respite from the rain today. The news from Northumberland and other areas, particularly poor Tewkesbury, which was completely flooded only 14 months ago and is suffering the same again, is appalling. I can't imagine losing every thing, attempting to recover, only for the same thing to happen all over again. They are saying that more rain comes in tomorrow...all over the world, the weather rampages...

Today: 4.5/10, medium