Mod Mischief

Our little Cutie traveled all the way to Whitehorse, but unfortunately she won't be moving into our new house with us. Cutie hanging out with Chris in our motel room She'd become so frail over the last few months, we're really impressed she actually made it so far. Hops is a little lonely but we're looking for a new Yukon friend or two to add to the mischief soon.

Cutie My coworker's son had a lonely rat in need of a new home, so Chris and I agreed to take her in. Hopefully Cutie will enjoy living in a much larger cage with her new rat friends.

Juniper was a fan of the extra large food dish Unfortunately, Juniper didn't make it to her second birthday (it would have been on the 29th) but she did get to enjoy a few months in the dining room hutch turned rat cabinet. After we got back from Burning Man, we sanded and painted the bottom of the cabinet to match what we'd done to the top . And we added some stainless steel hasps from Lee Valley so there'd be no way for the rats to break out (yes, before we did that there was an escape, but no harm done).

Way back in 2009, I blogged about wanting to turn an armoire into a rat cage . Well, 3 years later, we've finally gone and done it! Before  (just the top part) We found a cheap hutch at Value Village and cleaned it out, sanded it down and then painted it. making it shiny! We varnished the whole thing and added a stainless steel back splash to part of the inside. glueing in the back splash The bottom of the inside was sealed with countertop coating to make it rat proof and easy to clean. mix A and B, apply and then wait forever for it to dry We installed wire mesh on the doors and front where the glass panels used to be. the shelves started their life as a shoe rack Finally we added shelves and ladders and food dishes, and all the other rat necessities. rat cage! The new occupants think it's great! Barley enjoys her new digs And since we finally had the space, we took the opportunity to introduce two new rats to our misch...

On Tuesday, I dutifully carried around a camera * and did my best to photograph my day for the A Day Project . It was a pretty boring day. Here's the unabridged version The day started the same way my mornings always start, with coffee. Unfortunately my new job requires me to go in early (for me). I check my emails after getting dressed. I head to work with my travel mug of coffee firmly in hand. I've usually also got a thermos with me. I have a pretty nice view on my commute. I normally pack a lunch, but since we didn't have any leftovers in the fridge, I treated myself to a BLT. It was a beautiful day for lunch on the lawn on the hill. Chris had to run some errands downtown so he met me after work. After a long day,  it's time for some home brew and a snack. I do the dishes while Chris gets started on dinner. I'm so lucky that Chris is a great cook. Me made us a delicious meal. After dinner, we start a loa...

Juniper is totally trying to steal my green beer How is it that we're already past the Ides of March? This month has been flying by! I'm super busy with several big projects, so I'm sure that has something to do with it.

Meet the newest addition to our family: Barley. This adorable little girl came home with us last weekend. The lovely ladies at La Ratterie des Trois-Rives were an absolute pleasure to deal with - if you're looking for well bred and well loved rats, and you're within driving distance of Montreal, you should give them a call! Both Juniper and Potato came from their rattery and when Julie, Julie and Isabelle heard of Potato's untimely passing, they offered to give us Barley for free so Juniper wouldn't have to be alone. As you can see, they're already the best of friends.

  I'm so sad to report that Potato is no longer with us. Our little girl developed a tumor that grew very large, very quickly, and while the vet did his best, she passed away shortly after he tried to remove it. We hate to see Juniper lonely, so we're hoping to find her some new company soon.

Potato brushing up on zombie survival strategies Even mainstream media seems to be taking the threat of zombies pretty seriously these days. The Globe and Mail ran an article on Budgeting for the Zombie Apocalypse , This Old House had a feature on protecting your home from the undead and the CDC issued official guidelines on how to prepare for the walking dead . This is a topic that Chris and I have obviously thought a lot about. But recently we've stepped up the research and planing as we're working on designing the ultimate zombie-proof fortress for the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition . With over 600 registered, I can't wait to see what our competitors come up with! For our entry, we're working on a plan with an Ottawa area twist. All the number crunching has been giving me headaches but the end result should be epic. Stay tuned for more details; we have until the end of the month to get it done! PS: Add entering zombie-themed architectural contes...

I took the day off work to spend some time working on Promdemonium decorations. A recipe for a great Monday morning: Johnny Cash on the record player, adorable rats on my shoulders, a full mug of coffee and yards and yards of colourful bunting Juniper and Potato were obviously a huge help with the decorations. Those triangles were once bedsheets or bits of fabric relegated to the bottom of my craft bins, now they're going to help dress up the NAC on April 9.

Here are the newest additions to our little household: Juniper and Potato. Born October 29, 2010 at La Ratterie des Trois-Rives , these two little girls are settling into life at the tta quite nicely. We thought naming them Juniper and Potato was a step up from calling them Gin and Vodka. Other rejected names (mostly cut because they'd be better suited for boys than our lovely little ladies): -Bebop & Rocksteady -Threepio & Artoo -Rosencrantz & Guildenstern

Nim just the other day Sadly Nim passed away yesterday.  The apartment seems much emptier without my rats. Update: Thank you to everyone for all the well wishes and to Kim for posting the photo of Nim on desire to inspire .

I really appreciate all the kind words and condolences from everyone. I wish Noi could have lasted long enough to meet the two baby girls we'll be welcoming into our home in December. We hate to see Nim all alone, but hopefully she won't be too lonely for long. photos from Ratterie des 3-rives

Our little girl has developed another lump. She did so well recovering from the last surgery that we're hoping she"ll be just fine after they remove this new tumor today. Update: Unfortunately the tumor was much worse than expected and Noi did not survive the surgery. We will miss her very much. baby Noi

Fancy rats are unfortunately prone to tumors.   Our Noi developed a large lump that quickly grew to the size of a ping pong ball. Today she had surgery to remove it. She was so well behaved, the girls in the vet's office said she was the nicest rat they'd ever met. Now, instead of spending all her time devising new ways to open her cage , she's focusing on figuring out how to unwrap the bandages keeping her from chewing on her stitches.