How I Spent My Christmas - Part Three

Well, it is one of the better pics - it shows the darkness of the color but still light. It is the most realistic pic that I could get.

This turned out to be quite a bit of work. I think there is an art to painting around the tape. I found that even though I stayed within where I wanted to paint, the paint stuck to the tape and kind of pulled off. That may be the melamine part, though.

Also, the floor is slightly gummy feeling. It is dry and no paint is coming off but... Thinking that I needed to put laminate or something on the floor, I went back to the hardware store. A very nice lady there told me that melamine takes about 30 days to cure and to just not work the floor hard, don't wash it and just wait. I shouldn't need to top the floor with anything. Personally, I'd love to slap another layer of paint on it but we'll see. It was relatively easy to do this as I just moved the cat box to the hallway by the door and adjusted my needs but with two of us it might not be as easy.

As you can see, part of the tub was painted. This wasn't the initial intention - just the baseboards was but with the extra paint and the fact that I don't have steady hands it ended up being part of the tub. Yes, there still needs to be some final touch ups - some of the loose paint needs to be removed but I think I have had enough for now. This has taken about six days to do, counting the drying time. This can be done whenever.

The things in the middle of the side of the tub are stick on tiles. I think they broke up the stark white a little.

And to think I thought about doing the walls. I'd love to do it the Canuck burgundy/red color but the thought of it is headache inducing. That color would look really neat on the tub, though!
The melamine should be really nice in about a month. I'm really looking forward to it.

I hope Husband likes it. If not, well, then maybe he should have used the sealant.

Or stayed home at Christmas.

hee hee hee

How I Spent My Christmas - Part Two

This is about the best pic I could get of the floor. The floor itself is a little darker than the pic but the other pics show it to be almost black and this shows the details a little better. I ended up cleaning the floor and leaving it overnight and then marking with the tape. There will still need to be some clean up afterwards but I believe I have some good stuff for this.

I ended up getting a fair amount of paint all over my hands. Of course, there are no hardware stores within walking distance so I head off in the car with little red gloves on as my hands are all sticky. If you ever need something good, "goop remover" rocks.

The only bad this is now I have a slight chemical burn on my hands, but it can't be any worse than the mutilation that the rats produce.

There are uneven spots on the floor and it was quite difficult to get behind the toilet but as far as I am concerned it is a heck of a lot better than the white tiles. I don't care if it is the new style. White tiles and white grout on a bathroom floor is idiocy.

Now I have to wait and try to dry this.

How I Spent My Christmas - Part One

This is the bathroom. On the floor are little white tiles with white grout. Foo foo fancy and quite difficult to keep clean. Husband was supposed to put sealant on, but we are still awaiting this. It's kind of hard to nag a man who doesn't nag about the critters so it was just something that never got done.

He had to leave sometime and going to see the folx at Christmas is as good a time as any to make a mess. That'll teach him to procrastinate. heh heh heh

Off I go to get the paint. I have been looking at the web to see what can be done and figure that an oil based paint will stick the best. Epoxy is suggested but I feel more comfortable with the oil based. In the back of my mind I am thinking of the Canucks colors but will see what is there.

Lo! There are the Canucks colors. Actually, there was every hockey team color available but this is a Canucks household. Looking at my choices, the melamine looks most appropriate as it is made for more wear and tear. I only need a quart but end up with a gallon because this is the only size I can get with my needs. Anyone need some paint?

So, with some cleaner, paint tape, roller, brush, etc off we go.

Finally! Pix! Let's Introduce Clementine:

This is Clementine. Like Hilda, we aren't sure what her age or background is and whether her and Hilda may be sisters. She is definitely more feisty and nosy than Hilda and roughhouses with the other ladies quite a bit. Clementine and I had to get to know each other a little bit sooner than otherwise may have happened as Clementine came to us sick. We had noticed shortly after coming home that she had a rash or something on her front paw (you can see the redness in the pic) as well as some kind of problem with her chin.

We ended up taking her to the vet to find out what the problem was. The paw is just dermatitis but the chin problem turned out to be that her mouth was full of pus. The vet said that he could clean it and I could take her home and give her antibiotics and see if that did the trick. The other option was that he could put her under and clean it out and see exactly what the problem was. I opted for the latter and she had her mouth cleaned out, the dead tissue removed to clean to bleeding tissue, a stitch and then reversed from the anesthesia. Poor baby. I'm starting to learn with rats is to just pay the money and get it over with because it will alway be something!

So then more fun with medicine. She didn't want the chocolate syrup (what is it with these rats, anyways??? Pass on chocolate????????) or the yogurt so we had to do it the fun way. She is a forgiving and sweet little girl so it wasn't that bad. At least she didn't do the Nibble trick which is to put the tongue in a certain way so nothing gets down the throat. She wasn't happy, but did swallow the medicine. Yay! The vet gave her pain killing drops and some kind of saline as well. She is doing much better. She wasn't happy to have been separated from the others during the first almost week after the mouth repair, but we couldn't take the chance that they other nosy parkers wouldn't have made it worse or pulled the stitch or cause some kind of trouble that only they could cause.

We will enjoy having Hilda and Clementine with us for as long as they will have us.

Finally! Some Pix! Let's Introduce Hilda:

We brought this lovely lady home on the evening of November 16. She was one of a group of rats that were dropped off with SARS and they had no idea how old they could be. Hilda is quite shy and likes to hide but is getting along quite nicely with the other ladies. I am not sure if she is a sister to Clementine as she is about twice the size and quite a bit more reserved (I would say more mature as well). I am still trying to figure out her personality but really don't want to scare or stress her out any more than need be. We are still quite happy to have her with us and she is a sweet little lady.

It's Been Awhile and Things Still Suck

It has been a most hideous week or so in Canuckland. Can't really think of much to say except that it is getting easier to heckle the games.

I guess that's a positive.

I wonder what will come first - some trades, a firing or a ten game losing streak?

Meh.

On a positive note, found a great video to cheer a hockey fan up, even one who like myself is not a big fight fan. Two actually and then a cutesy one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfXCYIUJcNg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfjrHD0Dgfg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyjq9RJ-_yM

It's Working Out Just Fine

Quite the week or two it's been. The ladies are getting along well considering there seems to be a number of instigators in that cage. Between Siggy and Albie being their usual annoying selves, Boggle is a pain in the butt. All in all, they are getting along well and sleeping together. Simone was right that the two new ladies are eaters. Not a problem though. We like to feed our ladies and they will fit right in. Will have to take Clementine to the vet's. She has what might be a cut/sore on her front foot and on the corner of her mouth. I want to make sure it is nothing more than that and the sore on the foot is not bumblefoot. Maybe the vet has some suggestions for salve.

It's snowing, I have a cold, the rat needs to go to the vet, we have four hockey games in eight days but all is well. Can't complain. Have to get those pics of Hilda and Clementine happening!

I did see an ad on the Small Animal Rescue website for two kittens - one is blind and the other has one eye. If our Miss Kittycat wasn't such a grumpy old lady we'd have considered it. It wouldn't be fair to her to bring in two kittens after having been on her own for so many years.

Some Skill, Some Luck and a Valiant Attempt

It's always something to watch the twins in action. Naslund was the recipient of a masterful pass from Daniel and Green scored on a delayed penalty for the game winner. The valiant attempt is for Khabibulin who kept the game respectable. Without Khabibulin it would have been more like five or six to one instead of the respectable two to one.


Next game: November 28, 2006 versus the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Garage

A Pretty Good Game, But Then It's St. Louis

Poor Husband has to remind me about the game as I have been so bad and haven't updated this blog in a while.

IIRC (and with a bit of help), it was a good game with Kesler looking like a scorer. There has to be something good to be said about players who attempt the lost art of a backhand to score. It is getting old to have to watch players spin around to take a shot. Methinks that if an enterprising player could work a decent backhand they'd do pretty good as goaltenders are used to having that extra bit of time to be able to get set when the shooter has to go to the forehand.

Anyways, Kesler should get into fights at every game - it seems to do something for his level of play. And anytime you see Kachunk get hit in the head is a good time, indeed.

Nice to see the Canucks be able to take advantage of the struggling teams - something that hasn't been evident in past seasons.

Next Game: November 19, 2006 versus Chicago at the Garage

There Be Rats!

No pics yet - it has been a crazy week and we just picked them up last night.

We have two new ladies in our household! We are excited to have Clementine and Hilda with us. They are from the Small Animal Rescue.

http://www.smallanimalrescue.org/

one more time

http://www.smallanimalrescue.org/

Go take a look and maybe find yourself a new friend.

We are back up to six, which seems to be our manageable number. They are friendly and really cute. We are not sure how old they are, but they are quite energetic and curious.

Welcome, Hilda and Clementine. Pix to come!

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

Decent game. Suppose it would have been too much to expect the Canucks to win. BUT. Having the coach handicap the team is nonsense.

I have officially fallen off the fencepost with regards to Coach V. I realize that having one good line and then pretty much budget talent after that limits opportunities, but sometimes you have to use what you have intelligently. Having Pyatt, Kesler, Green and Burrows on the ice with the goaltender out in the last minute of the game is not using what you have intelligently.

And no, we don't buy that the "eggs in one basket" line was tired. That's why God made time outs. You have one ace line and need a goal you use that line. Sorry. Anything else I call bullsh*t.

One nice thing - they will be well rested for Friday's game as they weren't pushed too hard at the end of this one.

Dunno if I want to see Coach V go. There are a few things I do like about him - his willingness to pull the goaltender early, the way he gets the team working.

Having said that, there are a number of things that I don't like - his way of handling Linden, the management of the players in general, his love of grinders and (although we didn't see much of it this game) his line juggling.

Linden. What to say? Others on other forums have crunched the numbers and I am too lazy but Linden has been doing better points per time played than other players on the team and has been solid defensively. Why is he in the doghouse then? Why has his time on ice so low?

It's like we have Crawford Lite - loves the grinders, plays favorites, manic line juggling without the voice. Mommy, I'm scared.

Next game: Friday, November 17 versus the St. Louis Blues at the Garage

Birthday Gift Early and Then Down the Slippery Slope We Go

Friday a nice lady named Jennifer who actually works at the same place I work at - large place never met her - found my doctor's name on a prescription in my wallet and called my doctor.

I belong again. I exist. Thank you, Jennifer. I hope the karma police are paying attention one day when you need it. I must do something to earn back some good karma.

No bank card or credit cards. Husband has been smiling solidly for three days now.

We didn't go to the hockey game. I wasn't feeling well and Husband is such a nice man. He stayed home and laid in bed with me and watched the game. As it was.

Pfffffft.

Next home game: Tuesday, November 14 at the Garage versus Dallas. EDIT: Oooops. That was Detroit on Tuesday

That Really Sucked

And that's all that really can be said.

Well, no, more can be said: AHL defense which really wasn't THAT bad, disinterested forwards, bad goaltending and weird coaching. You know it's bad when the fourth line is the only one with any jump. It was deja vu to see the team give up in the third. I half expected Bertuzzi to come over the boards.

Hope they got that out of their system. One bright spot is that Sabourin doesn't look that bad. Can't really blame him for the two on one goal (no I don't care who scored it) as Krajicek couldn't be bothered to play the pass. The way he waved his stick at it you'd think he was trying to get a hooking call.

At least it wasn't raining on the way home.

But even a bigger kick in the teeth was losing my wallet. It was in the grocery store and a big thanks to the #$%#@ who couldn't be bothered to return it to the cashier. No cash but ID and other irritating and time consuming things to replace. Disappointing as I know I would have went out of my way to ensure that the wallet was returned or at least gave it to a store worker. Have fun trying to use the cancelled credit cards. Guess we should check the credit bureau in a month or so to make sure I don't have any new "problems".

All in all not the most wonderful week.

Next game: Saturday November 11 versus Calgary at the Garage

Gone But Not Forgotten - Houdini

It was a little hard to find a good pic of Houdini. Usually when the camera came out or we came close to the cage, they all crowd the doors thinking that treats were coming. Not Houdini. She'd be waiting to make sure there were treats before coming out.

It was also a little difficult to get close to Houdini. We initially got her from a pet store and she was a bit skittish even at that time. We brought her home and within an hour she was out of the cage. We didn't realize the bars of the cage were too wide and so we had to put her into a smaller cage by herself. Being worried that being alone in a small cage for a period of time wouldn't be healthy for her, we ended up going and getting her sister, Nibble, for company. Then, to make matters worse, I took her out of the cage and was trying to "get to know her" when she just freaked out and took off out of my hands. We ended up finding her under the TV and had to get her out any way possible as we do have the cat and didn't want to take any chances. That ended up making her skittishness worse.

She was still a relatively friendly rat, just quite reserved and had to be dealt with at her own speed. As noted previously, she bonded strongly with Scully and that helped her to become more confident where she started to come to the cage to see what was happening when we came to it. She also never had any problems with taking food out of hands.

As with Sly and Scully, she started to lose weight and her coat wasn't as nice as before. We took her into the vet's numerous times and were given first an antibiotic, then a combination of different antibiotics to try together and, finally, a bronchodilator. None of these did the trick. She did start to get tired of the chocolate and without any good coming out of the antibiotics we decided to get an x-ray to at least find out what was happening. We found that in just under a month she had lost two-thirds of her weight. She was quite a round little thing and became this very thin girl in a short period of time. She still did like her food, her chocolate syrup, cereal and popcorn.

The x-ray determined that she had masses in her lungs and the vet said that she was in quite a bit of pain - so much so that she had bit him when he touched her around her chest area. I guess I never realized this because she let me hold her, pick her up and stroke her. After some discussion with the vet we decided to have her put to sleep at that time because of the pain factor. She was laboring with the breathing and with the pain that the vet said she had we felt there was no choice. We would have prefered her coming home with us to die with her cagemates but not at the cost of suffering.

I feel so sad that it took Houdini getting sick for us to become closer. I took her out of the cage often - ideally on a daily basis, usually with Nibble or Boggle to sit on the couch with me, as I did with all the other rats. She would usually just run up my arm and hide. I guess that happens sometimes. It could have been the trauma of having to pull her out from under the TV when she was a baby. I wish it could have been different but having the cat around (couldn't lock her in the bathroom ALL day hoping the rat would come out) gave us no choice.

I hope she had a good life. She had cagemates who loved her, people who loved her and comfort.

Houdini, you will be missed greatly. Even though you weren't demonstrative in your affections, the trust you placed in me to take care of you at the end made me very happy. I hope we were deserving of that trust.

Give our love to Sly, Scully, Teeth and Snort at the Bridge when you see them.

It's Different When Someone Else Gets Jobbed to the Canuck's Benefit

What to say? It's always nice when the Canucks win, but it is getting tedious when useless calls are making the difference.

The horse left the barn on that topic last entry. No boring rehashes here. Only boring NEW content!

It was nice seeing Luongo play like he can. That save near the end of the third was the game saver. Pyatt showed the patience of a skilled player. Edler looked like the real deal for the second game he has been here for. The team needs some finish around the net, though.

That was a nasty case of deja vu, wasn't it? It will take a lot more than that to make up for Lidstrom's goal than that. At least it was a nod from the Hockey Gods.

It is so nice to see a team that will work throughout the whole game and not when the mood serves. Also nice to see a coach that will shorten the bench as necessary. YMMV as to who to place on the ice but a little goes a long way after the last five years.

As someone who is not a fight fan but a hearty BOOOOOO to the refs for breaking up a possible Barnaby/Bieksa fight.

Next Game: November 9 versus The Anaheim Ducks at the Garage

Well, maybe not

The team played well, but these bogus calls are starting to get irritating. So many silly phantom calls for both sides. If the refs are going to start being the game, then let's see come calls for diving. It is really tiresome to see thoroughbreds falling over at a nudge.

Ah well. Sucky reffing isn't a new issue, so it shouldn't be a shock to the Canucks. Time to suck it up and still play hard. Bulls*it reffing should be a motivator, not a deflator.

That being said, it was a fun night for the boo birds. After feeling the breeze of a Canucks player skating by Vokoun managed to go down like he had been shot by an elephant gun. Hence thereafter he was roundly booed each time he went near the puck.

Yes, it's OUR money. We'll entertain ourselves as we wish.

The league really has to take a hard look at the product they are putting on the ice. Too many phantom calls and missed calls. Not only for the Canucks but the Oilers tonight were the most recent beneficiary of this oddness. Yes, please call hooking, tripping and obstruction but also do it fairly and make sure that it actually hinders the players. Waving a stick in the general direction of another player is not a penalty. Let's also do something about these players who when they feel a hard breeze decide to fall over like they've been shot.

And what's this about feeling the need to even up calls? If a team is not disciplined then give them all the penalties. It's called a rule book. Utilize it.

Enough of that.

We won't even contemplate the Minnesota game.

Next game: Monday, November 6 versus Dallas at the Garage.

It seems to be coming together

Except for about a three minute period where the Canucks decided to be silly, they worked very hard and deserved a little better than a SO win. However, since the Caps aren't going to be an issue fighting for a playoff spot it these are the ones to give a single point to.

It seems that they are finally starting to get it together. The defense looks solid. Luongo must be getting bored with less than 45 shots per game. The forwards are starting to also look good together. The line of Bulis, Naslund and Morrison looked dangerous and would have been even more dangerous had Naslund not been having an off night. Sedin/Sedin and Pyatt also looked quite good, but the twins would look good in a phone booth. Anson who? Right. The guy who only has one point so far. Glad he mentored the twins. *koff*

Everyone has been raving about Ollie the Goalie but the goals he did let in didn't look that great and a lot of the 40+ shots were relatively easy ones for an experienced goaltender. Kolzig only had about half a dozen to ten really difficult saves but he did look good when he needed to. Unfortunately for the Caps and nice for the Canucks was the Morrison shootout goal which ended up being the winner. Save the really hard ones and let stinkers like that in.

It's nice when puck luck works in the Canuck's favor. Bout time.

Nice hardworking game. What a difference a summer and a coach makes.

I like this new coach and how he employs the concept of a shortened bench. Welcome to Vancouver, Mr. Vigneault. Please stay for awhile.

NEXT GAME: October 31, 2006 versus Nashville at the Garage.

Day late and a dollar short.....

as my grandmother used to say. Can't remember anything specific about the Oilers game on the 16th except to say that the Canucks won and there were no fights. It was an entertaining game, though, and the defense looks like it is starting to get it together. Let's hope the offense starts doing this soon.

I'm not going to comment much on away games because my attention span is short and when it is on teevee there seems to be hundreds of other things to distract, namely Husband, rats and cat. Chances are I will miss something important. Going to the game is a whole different thing as where we sit we can see the entire rink (no blind spots) and we can watch plays unfold. On teevee we are at the mercy of the broadcasting crew as to what we should see. The new goalie didn't look too bad once he got over being shellshocked.

Have to make a general complaint though. Linden sitting? Huh? Of all the people to be crapping on? Why not some of the people making more money and expected to score and don't have a point yet. How about those that are minuses? I don't know about this coach. He sits Linden, doesn't play Luongo against a division rival in what is a 4 pt game and then does something so cool like pulling the goaltender near the end of the game. Odd. The jury is still out, but I am tipping towards the nay side. Then again, he isn't Crawford.

Righteous weekend for sports fans - back to back hockey with the Canucks and then FOOTBALL! on Sunday.

Next home game: Friday, October 27 when Ovechkin and some other guys from Washington come to town.

Home Game One: San Jose at Vancouver

San Jose 6 Vancouver 4

Thoughts from the game: New thingiemabob circling the area. Yay. New ways to advertise. Does this mean the ticket prices are going down? It did look rather snazzy though. Don't like the removal of the out of town scoreboards, shot counter, penalty counter and time. Too hard to see the numbers of what they do offer between adverts.

I think this was the first time that they hauled all the players on the ice for the home opener. Nice to get a look at all the players, but when did we pick up Kevin Linden?

Goaltending: Luongo had a tough night. Shit happens and sometimes a God will look human. He'll be fine.

Defense: Ohlund's starting to look a little more like Ohlund. Maybe in a couple of games he'll get back to normal. Mitchell is probably worth his money, but haven't seen that yet. Having said that, haven't really seen that in many of the players yet. A few of the boards have been ragging on Fitzpatrick. Being a minus three will give that sort of attention. It is too early for me to give the thumbs down yet. Krajicek didn't leave any impression on me which can be a good thing as I tend to notice either really good plays or really idiotic ones. Poor Luc. Looks terrified to make a mistake yet the one time he decides to pinch the puck ends up in the back of the net. See you next game, Luc. What I don't understand is that you have this rookie that makes rookie mistakes and he gets punished for it? Uh, okay. Last but not least - Bieksa. I was really impressed with him last year and was hoping that he would make the team this year. Some really smart plays and a goal with two assists. Nice.

Offence: The Sedins. They are going to be a treat to watch this year. I am not quite sure what to think of a linemate for them. There have been arguments for and against Naslund staying with them, but they really need someone who will crash the net and have a little finish. Naslund probably should be anchoring his own line. One line that I saw in preseason that looked good was the Kesler/Cooke/Burrows line and really haven't seen it again. I wonder why? Bulis was brought in obstentiously for the twins yet he isn't really playing with them.
Bulis and Pyatt showed a little skill but not able to finish. Hope that changes. Hope a lot of things change from last night's game. Can't really say anything about any of the other forwards as they didn't really exist. They skated and no one got hurt but.....

Honestly, though, it would have been nice for the Canucks to have won the game and they looked good at times (hello Mr. Sedin and Mr. Sedin) but there was no finish, spotty passing, tentative play, dubious defensive coverage (two breakaways ended up in the net including the sixth back breaking goal) and odd line pairing.

Having said that, the Sharks looked good last year and are pretty much intact while the Canucks have gone through wholesale changes. Not to make excuses, but a little time should sort some of this out. If they are still playing this way on the 20th game then perhaps they have a serious problem.

If I were the coach: I'd start to work those lines a little. Yes, Crawford made me batty with his insane line changes, but in this case with so many new faces there has to be a line combination that works that doesn't include a Sedin. Try them for a whole game. See how they look. Three shifts just won't do it.

Obligatory rant: Some Vancouver fans are idiots. First home game and already hearing garbage about how Luongo a is bum. STFU, have another beer and relax. Then, because of too much beer (or just because they are idiots) there were almost two fights in my section. It's really hard to watch the game with five security guards in front of you. At least this time security didn't have the guy fall on my legs as they were trying to drag him away.

Next game: Edmonton Oilers Monday, October 16 at the Garage

Fun with Medicine

We had noticed a lump on Boggle about three weeks ago and decided to monitor it to see if it got bigger or was just an injury that had happened when they were playing.

Also, we had seen that Houdini was getting a bit thinner and her fur didn't seem to be as nice.

Time to go to the vet's.

Made the appointment to go and take both in; one to confirm that yes, indeed, Boggle had a lump and it needs to be removed and two to see about some medicine for Houdini.

No problem. The vet decides to give Houdini a shot to get her started (a shot being better than oral) and Houdini did not like that at all. She made such a fuss when the vet tried to give her the shot that he had to go and get a different preparation that was more concentrated as she would not sit still for a regular shot.

So comes the time for some of the oral preparation to be given to her - about half an hour before going to work. How hard could it be to give a little rat a bit of banana tasting medicine?

Well, first we tried it in the syringe having read people saying that *their* rats will lick the medicine right from the syringe. Yum! Not our Houdini. So then we try the next step - holding her under the pits with a circular thumb and middle digit. Hell decides at that time to break loose. Wiggle wiggle wiggle scratch scratch scratch. Out comes the gloves for better traction. Full scale escalation. Rat wigs out completely. I give up after said wig out to see that she has managed to rip her toenail off. Husband goes on the web to see what to do about a ripped toenail. The thing is bleeding. Styptic power? No. Cornstarch? No. Flour? YES!

I coat her foot with flour and hold her and wait for the bleeding to stop. Now about 45 min late for work. Put Houdini in the cage and get ready. About five minutes later return to see that she has fussed the wound open and it is bleeding quite a bit. Wonderful.

Get the whole bag of flour, sit on the couch and stick her foot in it. Decide to stay home from work that night and babysit the rat to make sure she doesn't bleed out overnight. Nice boss. Thank you boss. Going to work overnight on a Friday to make it up sucked, though.

So we sit together watching really bad night teevee with her foot in a bag for about an hour. Then the foot is removed and then we sit and watch yet more teevee with my hand periodically removing her head from her foot for another three hours. At about 4:15 in the morning I figure it is fine for her to be left to her own devices.

It actually looks quite good all considering. It hasn't bled since and there appears to be no signs of infection. We tried mixing the medicine with yogurt which didn't work, but it seems chocolate pudding might do the trick.

Husband is way too nice to say the two magical words to me: "low maintenance".

Goodbye Scullybaby

Scully died tonight. We knew it was coming, but it is always a hard thing when it happens. We believe that he had the same thing as his brother as his decline was somewhat similar but not as extreme.

I remember when we first saw Scully and Sly and couldn't believe how ugly they were. I thought what in the world did we get ourselves into. In time, he became a gorgeous Scullybaby, especially with his illness. He was the calm older brother to the crazy females.

As it always is, it was a difficult decision to keep him at home and wait for the bridge to beckon. We debated daily about taking him into the vets as we weren't sure if he was suffering. He still liked his peas, kitty treats and chocolate pudding and continued to eat. We came to the conclusion that it was better to wait it out rather than putting him through the stress of taking him to the vets. He grew this terrible anxiety about being in a small cage/carrier in the last six months and even cage cleaning day became difficult. Finally, he would have to be held while the cage was being cleaned and the others continued the indignity of being temporarily homeless for the duration of the chore. While his life may have been declining, we made the decision not to have his last hour or so of life being one of misery, fear and anxiety. I hope we chose right.

Scully, we were honored to bring you home with Sly and I hope we did you well.

RAINBOW BRIDGE POEM:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Give our love to Sly, Snort and Teeth when you see them, Scullybaby.

Hockey Will Soon Be With Us Again - 30 sleeps to go

What better way to count down the last 30 days until regular season hockey starts than to see Darcy Tucker get laid out?

Drop the puck.

Home Sweet Home

This is the rat cage - a Martin's skyscraper - the best place to get cages (www.martinscages.com).

We had a blue ferret cage until there were too many rats for it and the bar spacing allowed the babies to get out.

Even with all the space, they usually decide to sleep on the top level where the green towelling is.

Occasionally there will be four or five rats in the hammock to the right and a couple in the Kleenex boxes (the haphazard large items strewn around the cage) when they are not chewing them.

**A special shout out goes to the ladies at the office who supply the Kleenex boxes.** The Highnesses would never thank anyone for their due, but their beleaguered cleaner does.

Gone but not forgotten: Snort and Teeth - AKA Tumor Twins

It's appropriate that Snort (the light one) and Teeth (the dark one) be blogged together. They came to us from the SPCA. I convinced Husband that it would be nice to get rats as I had them many years ago and they were interesting and smart creatures. Telling my husband that they were low maintenance (HAHAHAHAHA) and cute (which they are) and the sweet man he is, we went and took Snort and Teeth home.

Snort was a gentle, sweet soul. We believe that both were abused in some form before we got them. Snort would get frightened quite easily and pee. When she eventually realized that we would not hurt her and only good things came with the "big hand", like cool treats, she turned out to be a sweet soul that liked to just sit on your lap. Snort had some kind of respiratory issue - perhaps the equivalent of allergies/hayfever. The vet said she sounded fine - no problem with her lungs or heart. She also had to have a mammary tumor taken out. One evening we went to the cage and saw her lying in a funny position. It seems that she had a stroke. Thinking she was dying, we held her for a number of hours. Her condition didn't change during that time so we decided to watch her overnight. She didn't improve and was very lethargic and had the polyphorin around her eyes and nose. We took her to the vet where it was decided that she be put to sleep.

Teeth, on the other hand, was quite a fighter. Instead of being a timid scared she was a mean scared. She was a hard biter and didn't like to let go when she did. After seeing web articles about forced socialization, we went and bought a pair of canvas gardening gloves and gave it a go. Slowly but surely she relented and, like Snort, realized that the "big hand" was her friend. She turned out to be the biggest baby and would lay on my shouder/chest area for hours and be petted. Teeth didn't have the respiratory issues that Snort did, but she was quite prone to tumors. We had two taken out and after the second one we determined that we would not put her through a third surgery. It seemed to have aged her and she took quite a bit to recover. Of course, she ended up growing two more tumors and we decided that we would let her go until it was affecting her quality of life. She started growing these tumors before Snort got sick so for Snort's short illness and death we were unprepared and it seemed a little harder to accept at first. Teeth, the fighter as always, lasted quite awhile until we were feeding the tumors more than her. We believe that she was at least 3 years old when she passed, which is quite good for a rat - especially one that had a hard beginning.

Even after all the cost and work, neither of us would have passed on the opportunity to have Snort and Teeth with us. They were great ambassadors to the joy of ratkeeping.

Gone but not forgotten: Sly

This is Sly, who came to us with his brother Scully. He passed away about a month and a half after we got him. He was probably a little ill when we first got him. We were told he was shy which was a bit of an understatement. We watched him lose weight and took him to the vet's many times with numerous medication attempts. In order to get him to eat, I would have to hold and sit with him. He passed away when I was holding him. We are not sure what it was that made him sick, but the vet thinks cancer. Don't believe it when someone tells you that all rats forget their bonds. Scully never was quite the same afterwards and Sly's other cagemates shunned me for a while.

BOGGLE

This is Boggle. She came to us sort of as a rescue. We saw an ad on Craigslist where it said "come and get my rat". Intrigued, we emailed and found that she was dinner that a snake refused. Already at five and really should be at four, we couldn't NOT take her. She also has no tail. She was born this way. She looks like a hybrid hamster, but very sweet to us and a terrible pest to her cagemates, especially Nibble. We were told she was about six months old, but I think she was a little younger due to her brattiness. She also likes to be petted, just like a cat. Even though we had to get a bigger cage to accomodate six rats, we wouldn't have done anything different.

SIGGY

Siggy, short for Seigfried, came to us with her sister Albie. We call her Siggy because she likes to try to put her head in your mouth. She is not as outgoing as her sister, but she is still quite curious and likes to get out and climb. We are overjoyed to have these two with us!

ALBIE

This is Albie, short for Albino. She is a very curious and friendly young lady. She was brought home with her sister Siggy. She loves to climb and is quite the adventurer. Her and Siggy like to play "bait and switch". One will distract us and the other will try to climb onto the top of the cage.

Houdini

Houdini came to us with her sister Nibble. She is aptly named as when in her youth she lived to escape from the cage. Because of those escapes she has been a little skittish, but is getting better in her old age and while is not happy about being out of the cage will be one of the first to be at the cage door to see what YOU are doing. She has bonded with Scully and they are inseparable.

Nibble

Nibble came to us with her sister Houdini as babies from a local petstore. We believe she is a little blind as she weaves her head side to side to try to see us a little better. Nibble loves to hoard all the food at the bottom of the cage and is quite the chirper when playing with her cagemates.

Scully

Scully came to us with his brother Sly about a year ago from a rescue. He was quite friendly, but became a lot more shy after his brother passed away. He is currently residing with five females. He may look a little different because he is hairless, but we adore him anyways!

WELCOME

Welcome to the site where rats rock. I am currently owned by one beautiful female cat and six gorgeous rats - five females and one poor neutered male.

We will start with the cat: Miss Kitty Cat.

She was found at the SPCA. She was a stray, so they weren't sure of her age, but they estimated her to about a year old. That would make her, in 2006, to be about 14 years old. She has been through many changes with me and I can't imagine a more special animal to have undergone those changes with.