Then There Was One

I'm afraid I have some sad news today chaps. This morning as I was cleaning out the hamsters I realised that little Pip had passed quietly in his sleep. He had done very well for a hamster, and lived to the grand old age of two and two months which is really very old in hammy years.

He was kind of a rescue hamster, rescued from a house in Leicester that had too many cats, all of whom were agitating the cage and stressing him out. It took a while for him to build up in confidence but soon proved to be a very sweet and gentle little thing who was much loved by lots of people.

And I can't remember if I told you about my little Milo (below), who was found half in, half out of his orange house in August. He was the youngest of my hamsters (just under two), and I had had him from 8 weeks old so it was very sad to see him go.
I still have Patrick of course, who is his usual lively self, although looking increasingly scruffy! He's going for the unkempt look apparently. Just as cute as ever though.

Saying Goodbye

So far this week has been a lot of goodbyes. Apart from my new mug that is, my new mug is a BIG hello!! How lovely is the pattern? And I am definitely all for doing more of what makes me happy (as soon as I have finished uni that is).

The family also departed back to East Sussex yesterday. The Mother hid a 'Red Cross Parcel' in my room (so well I didn't find it and she had to tell me where it was!) full of things to help get me through the last few weeks of my university degree. The final hand in of the chimney project is exactly three weeks yesterday, a highly terrifying prospect!

It was very exciting unwrapping the parcel and finding so many goodies underneath the paper!!

That should keep me going for a while I think!!!

Sadly, the other goodbye of the week was said this afternoon to our beloved Poppy. She was an elderly lady (over two years old) and had what appeared to be a rapidly growing tumour in her tummy, making it difficult for her to manoeuvre around. Poor Lucy had to make the decision to have her put down, which was the right thing to do as the tumour would only get bigger and cause even more problems for Pops, but it was a very difficult call to make and very upsetting.

She had a fab life though (after a bit of a rocky start with some previous owners) and was thoroughly spoilt by various members of two households. She is now safely buried in a new flowerpot, covered in a bed of sweet peas which she would probably have tried to eat but will now always be a reminder of her cheeky personality and sweet temperament. Rest in peace little one.

Mother's Day!!

Good Afternoon Everybody!!! Happy Mothering Sunday to you all. I hope that you Mothers have been spoilt rotten today, and that all you others are those doing the spoiling! It has been really lovely today and the french doors have been open for the majority of the afternoon to let in the warm fresh air.

It was hamster cleaning time too (stinky creatures)- I'm never sure if they like it or not. Maybe they are like me and hate having their beds changed (it's usually just as you get it really nice and comfortable), or perhaps they enjoy having fresh clean bedding and lots more food to fill up their houses with. Milo was certainly straight in to the middle of his food bowl!

Cheeky little thing!

Throughout today I have been sent lots of photos of things happening back in East Sussex. The family went out with my Grandmother to Eastbourne to see some Saxon bones, and Daniel appears to have adopted the fashion! Then I was sent a series of photos to do with a mutated daffodil in the back garden. It seems to have multiple layers of the yellow centre and the white outer petals. (I think it looks a bit like a fried egg.)

The Mother took a photo of the M Day parcel that I sent her. Fully of interesting and edible goodies!! I think she liked it. I think Mother's Day is always a good time to recognise just how brilliant The Mother's children are- especially me. Tee hee. Happy Mother's Day Mum!! xx

A Summer Heat Wave

It seems to me summer is definitely here!! One of the best I can recall for some years actually weather-wise. Long may it continue!!

In-between blog writing and weather appreciation, I have been unpacking and rediscovering the treasures I brought back from France. This little jug was made by a very talented man at a craft market in Cannes. He was selling his beautifully glazed and painted pots, but when there was a lull in sales he sat at his potters wheel and just whipped up small pots, handing them out to the fascinated people in the audience for fReE!!!  So clever!! This jug only took him about 2 minutes to make and he chose ME to be its new owner!! The skill that has gone into this is incredible- I watched it turn from an uninteresting lump of clay into this refined, elegant, curvy....I could go on all day. It was very sad to open my suitcase and discover that one of the handles hadn't made it home in one piece, but I will take what I can get and I still love it dearly!!

We had ice cream every day from these little pots (the ones above were not all eaten by me, some pots were donated) in an evening ritual where we would go to the stall and have two scoops of ice cream by the seafront, then walk to our hotel, wash the pots out and get ready for bed. They are proper plastic bowls and I have many ideas on how to use them- storage, decoration, bead pots, picnic pots, paint pots....

...hamster pots?!

I took a few crafting projects with me, although we didn't really sit down long enough to make lots of things, I did manage to make one sardine though from a Mollie Makes kit. There are two more of these little fishes to make and then they become a key ring type thing- I'll show you when I'm finished.

These are from the island of St Marguerite. Sea glass, shells, a piece of washed green tile and some quartz-y looking white pebbles. I'm thinking of turning them into a commemorative mini mosaic but as yet I'm not sure how.



The garden is also inspiring lots of flower related projects which are currently jumbling around in my brain- I have several notepads which are just full of scribbles and random ideas which will hopefully amount to something exciting and pretty.

My SoES rose has done very well for its first summer. We have had lots of flowers- most of which are now slightly crusty around the edges. The best bit about these flowers is that, not only do they smell divine, but they change colour as they mature! The new flowers are brighter and more pinkish (like the bottom one) and then the older they get, the darker and more dusky they become.

The Last Few Days

Morning Chaps!!! I am sorry for the lack of writing recently, I have had a very busy few days and there isn't any internet at Sweetbriar at the moment so I am having to use the library computers- from experiences last year I thought the library computers wouldn't let me on blogspot, turns out they now do (much to my delight!!)!!! So all is good and I can catch you all up.

At the weekend it was my Dad's birthday. Absolutely disgusting weather!! It was horrible, rainy and windy and cold!! It was quite difficult to know what to do! We had a lovely breakfast with streamers, daffodils, presents (do you like the blowfish?) and cards.

It was decided in the end to go and buy a picnic lunch and eat it at the Jack & Jill Windmills. Strangely this was what we had done for The Mother's birthday last year, but oh what a difference a few months make!! Instead of the golden fields with flashes of red poppies, it was dull, grey, brown and foggy. We didn't stay there long!

Once at home, the homemade cake (made by The Sister) was brought out and we all sang- the  candles were lit twice!! The evening was spent in the pub at a family gathering with more presents and good food, including Dad's favourite....whitebait!

So the day after the birthday celebrations I found myself in the back seat of the car, packed up with all my uni stuff and strapped in with the hamsters and my new pots of mini daffodils. Patrick was so cute!

Much to my delight, when we got back to Sweetbriar, the plants that Lucy and myself had planted so carefully had grown and flowered!!

Even some we didn't plant are now out. Such a beautiful coloured Primrose.

So now there are lovely splashes of colour that can be seen from my french doors. I really love it!! (Especially when the sun shines)

New friends have joined me in my room too. A little foxy (minus Racoon) has joined the wildlife on the mantle.

And one of The Mother's crochet owls is keeping Roo the Rooster company by the door!