i love ratties

Two years on

2009-04-27T21:16:00.005+10:00

Or, seven years since we first met.Everything and nothing in these numbers,a lifetime wouldn't be enough anyway!Happy Anniversary Bear!Husband of the Year two years running!

Resting up

2009-04-24T23:51:00.004+10:00

This is Milo, sleeping in his hammock during run around time. He's not well at the moment, so he's resting a lot more and running around a lot less. Hopefully he'll feel better soon. He's very special to us.

Passionfruit and raspberry souffles

2009-04-23T23:37:00.005+10:00

Adapted from this recipe by Neil Perry. I doubled it and found that it actually filled three ramekins, so that was a bonus! Unfortunately the flavour was rather muted. Next time I think I'll cook the fruit puree/juice with a bit of cornstarch to thicken it first (like this recipe by Luke Mangan), and see if that makes a difference. I've had Luke Mangan's raspberry souffle and it was totally

Frutti e fiori

2009-04-23T23:18:00.002+10:00

Some pictures in detail of the invading zucchini plant in our backyard. I am always astounded when I see how large the flowers are when open (in the mornings).Tasty tasty flowers. Mmm.

The surprisingly excellent passionfruit cake

2009-04-13T22:27:00.003+10:00

This evening, faced with two bunches of rapidly wrinkling passionfruit, I hunted around for a recipe. I didn't quite feel like a passionfruit tart, and shortbreads didn't use up quite enough at a go. What I really wanted, I suppose, was a passionfruit mousse cake, one of those things that you ever only get at classy bakeries with expensive arty decorations on that cost more than 50 dollars.

Milo in the yellow submarine

2009-04-12T16:52:00.003+10:00

All fuzzy half asleep.

Veggie garden - Summer 2008-9

2009-04-06T00:47:00.010+10:00

This was our veggie garden, many months ago.The climbing beans are in the middle, with dwarf butterbeans at the bottom, and two rows of carrots on the right. Corn is on the left. The zucchini are further away in the background, and there is some of the dill which grew like crazy then went to seed just like that! Tomatoes are all the way to the left, not really in the picture.Here is a closer

Diary of an illness

2009-03-02T16:27:00.004+11:00

Saturday. Big Wet sneezes. General air of low grade misery. Blame it on allergies.Sunday. Mucus mucus everywhere! Require afternoon nap. Use up entire box of aloe vera tissues. Cook up a luscious veggie and bean stew thing. Unable to taste it.Monday. Overnight, the mucus has turned a yellowish-green. Very fashionable. Yellow is very in! Wake up every two hours to dispense of nose gunk. Start

A nice salad

2009-02-08T22:46:00.004+11:00

I just wanted to write the recipe down for the salad I had for lunch today (and yesterday) so that I don't forget it. I didn't take a photo or anything, because I didn't think to do so, but it was really good. So, for posterity:Some cherry and plum tomatoes, from the gardenA small bunch of rocket leaves from the gardenA cucumberRed bullhorn chilli (or capsicum)Small shallot (or half a one)

Return of the bats

2009-01-19T23:42:00.007+11:00

One of the unexpected joys of our new house has been the fig tree, which was surprisingly prolific last summer considering its dead-like scabrous condition during winter when we first moved in. Perhaps it overheard me saying that we should cut it down because of said dead-like appearance, and made a special effort to show us that it was still alive.Anyhow, several very pleased people benefited

Hooray for souffle!

2009-01-17T23:03:00.005+11:00

We made a chocolate souffle!In our saucepan! It was light and luscious, for at least the first serving, and then it became decadent and rich and then finally too much, as we greedily helped ourselves to large seconds, polished off with the aid of strawberries and whipped cream.Yom.

o_O

2009-01-16T13:38:00.006+11:00

Today, I called my literature review stupid. As in, "I have to go back to work now on this stupid literature review".Immediately, I apologised to it. (In my head, not out aloud, I'm not performatively crazy yet!)I think we will all be glad when it is finished.

How to write a literature review

2009-01-12T16:56:00.005+11:00

Writing a literature review for one's phd thesis is not, as it turns out, a matter of finding everything relevant in a fairly narrow topic of study and creating a kind of annotated bibliography (as it was in honours), nor is it the gathering of everything relevant and then evaluating and synthesising the lot in a coherent back history that leads naturally to your study (as it was in masters). So

Fear and cookies

2009-01-10T00:44:00.003+11:00

As my 29th birthday approaches, two things occur to me.1. I have nearly used up all of my twenties, and2. I am running out of youth!For that matter, 29 isn't even really a 'twenty' but so much more an 'almost thirty!' (with forced-cheery exclamation mark)No more am I going to blithely go about exclaiming how much I feel like I am already 30 anyway because of the company I keep. It's actually

Two rats in a hammock - Part II

2008-12-30T03:30:00.004+11:00

Simon makes an excellent pillow for Beans.Doesn't that look so warm and cosy? I swear Simon is the plushest creature ever. It is impossible to resist picking him up and rubbing your face in his flagrantly fluffy fur. Mmmmh!I wish he was my pillow!Oh well. Off to bed now.

Two rats in a hammock

2008-12-30T02:39:00.005+11:00

Hanging out with your mate.The best way to spend your holidays!(P.S. I have so much free time! It's incredible!)

Milo in his house

2008-12-30T01:59:00.005+11:00

Milo sitting on his comfy facecloth rug, looking out of his cardboard house.I love making houses that rats like to hang out in. So satisfying in that deep warm fuzzy happy way. Like baking cherry pie. Hmmmh.Not at all like the self-flagellating prickly drudging falutin that is academia. Some of the time anyway. I'm just sayin'!

We made ravioli

2008-12-30T01:32:00.008+11:00

From scratch! >_

The North Wind Blew South

2008-11-17T15:55:00.001+11:00

Such fun to watch, this video by Keith Loutit, on scenes in Sydney made to look miniature.

Milo vs the mites

2008-10-29T01:24:00.003+11:00

My bright-eyed boy has been battling some itchy mites for a month now, with a horrible red and scrappy looking sore chin. Tonight we did another dose of the treatment and accompanying mad scrub down of everything, and he looks a little happier, maybe? Fingers crossed everyone for my little Milo!

Bear turns 38

2008-10-29T00:54:00.004+11:00

The invitation. The outcome.Happy Birthday Bear!The party was great fun, there were shiny balloons, spelt out candles and ice cream cake, and all our favourite people turned up.(No, there are no photos of the actual party or the excessive amounts of food.)(Because I forgot!)(And was busy cooking all that food, damnit.)

Adrian and Alysha's wedding

2008-10-07T23:51:00.003+11:00

A happy happy day! Gorgeous outfits. Apparently inspired by the very scary clockwork frenchmen Madame Pompadour Dr Who episode. Very very scary episode. Still, they looked great!There was much excitment amongst the under-10s about the throwing of rose petals. This young man on the left wasn't sure if he was allowed to throw them on the couple so tossed them over himself instead.We had a great

Rubble rousers

2008-08-16T16:17:00.005+10:00

Digging up the floor!Now we are so sore.But there are only six rows more!

Alfie opens can of pringles

2008-08-13T00:08:00.006+10:00

I was looking through my rattie pictures and found some old 30 second clips of Alfie, opening a (mostly empty) can of Pringles. His method was basically to make holes in the lid around the edge till he got a strip of it detached, and then pulled on that to take off the lid. Alfie was also the one who figured out how to twist open the yoggie jar and then taught Monty how to do it. The third clip

Introducing Simon

2008-07-24T18:25:00.006+10:00

Hi Simon!Simon came to live with us in March this year. We picked him up from the RSPCA Blue Mountains shelter after seeing his ad on their website.When we first got him home, he was healthy but skinny and surprisingly well-behaved for a rescue rat. He would certainly have been a pet in his previous home, being used to being held and petted, and very generous with licks and cleaning our hands for

mucosal musings

2008-07-23T16:48:00.004+10:00

I have been home sick for a week and a half now.When it began, I thought, oh well, I'll just rest it out, remembering the need to take lots of afternoon naps from the last time this happened.Of course I'd forgotten that the reason I'd had to take all those afternoon naps was because I could not get any sleep at night on account of All That Snot. Needing to be ejected, painfully hacked out, or

An extraordinary story

2008-03-13T16:14:00.002+11:00

From the TED talksFrom TED.com: "Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment."

We bought a sofa

2008-02-18T03:49:00.002+11:00

Today, Bear and I bought our very own very first, brand spanking new sofa!(photo courtesy of the Myer catalogue)In this colour!(It's actually much lighter in colour than it shows up on my monitor)Super exciting! We are now waiting on the 6-8 weeks for them to make and deliver it. >_

Night time fooding

2008-02-16T04:34:00.010+11:00

I am nocturnal again, and I have embraced it.On the days where work people schedule morning meetings and seminars, I stagger through the day zombie-like and muted, but otherwise, it's grand! Like a secret life in the quiet night.So I made stock at 1am tonight. With the carcass of a bought roast chicken and carrots from the garden, the usual onion and celery, a slightly old piece of ginger, a long

Zucchini

2008-02-05T20:06:00.000+11:00

I bet you did not know,that when a zucchini is picked,fresh from the plant,it is kind of spikey!I did not know that either!

Stephen Rothwell

2008-01-21T18:01:00.000+11:00

I just came across, via boingboing, the collage art of Stephen Rothwell. Click on the image to see more of his deliciously dark and creepy images.

A perfect tomato

2008-01-20T18:23:00.000+11:00

From the garden.

Veggies galore

2008-01-12T03:51:00.000+11:00

Right bang in the middle of summer, we're looking at our last crop of tomatoes.That makes me upset!I've been so used to picking them off the plant, still warm from the sun, flavours so bright and bursting, manifesting their true fruit-ness, but no more!Sigh.*mope*I've been meaning to write about our veggie garden for months now, since we started it. I even took some photos ages ago. Since I'm up

The Misunderstood Rat

2007-12-23T03:11:00.000+11:00

A short, neat article, from the Physician's Commmittee for Responsible Medicine.The Misunderstood Ratby Jonathan Balcombe, Ph.D.Rats are one of the world’s least understood creatures. Stigmatized as filthy “pests” for centuries, these inquisitive opportunists are actually naturally sociable and make excellent companions. New scientific studies show that there is more to rats than laboratory

Pilates 4 U?

2007-12-23T01:50:00.000+11:00

Hurry! Bookings Essential!

Summer afternoon

2007-12-22T03:37:00.000+11:00

Totally awesome cockatoo

2007-12-22T02:45:00.000+11:00

Oh yeah!

Brilliant Harry Potter puppet video

2007-12-22T02:06:00.000+11:00

And there's more! At www.potterpuppets.com

Art

2007-12-20T18:15:00.000+11:00

This painting by Josh Keyesis SO COOL.

Random conversation

2007-12-07T02:47:00.001+11:00

(Whilst supervising Beanie during run-around time yesterday.)Bear: Beanie's getting big...Syn: Yeah! Beanster! Beeeeeanz.Bear: ...Bear: No, you know what? He *is* big.Syn: ...Syn: No more chocolate cake for Beanie.Bear: No.Beanie: !@#$$!

A happy meal

2007-11-12T23:34:00.000+11:00

I was looking at Not Quite Nigella's entry on Una's in Double Bay and it reminded me of one of my happiest meals, at Una's on Broadway. The thing is, the food wasn't all that good even. It was just such an unexpected meal, and soooo welcome and warm, that it makes me smile on the inside to think about it. I say that it was unexpected primarily because we were supposed to be up in an airplane at

It's Bear's Birthday!

2007-10-23T13:07:00.001+10:00

I like this cartoon

2007-10-18T14:37:00.000+10:00

Cartoon by Dave Walker

Permanent Vacation

2007-10-12T00:26:00.000+10:00

If you don't, if you don't have the time... to stay up at night, and not a Friday night but a Thursday night. And watch an early Jim Jarmusch film and enjoy it, can you really say you live?If space and time become so tight, that there is only the workday and then the weekend for everything else, and no loose time to be loose in, when do you catch the stuff that floats by?Is the organised plan

Caffeinated ranunculus

2007-10-11T00:02:00.000+10:00

So, it's midnight and I really should be in bed because it is a school night but I went out with some other postgrads, an Italian girl and an Austrian girl and a lovely newly wed couple, she was from Lebanon and he was from Jordan and they brought us to this totally kick ass Lebanese restaurant, where you had to book and order the food ahead of time and all the customers were gathered to break

Squeaky Beanie

2007-10-05T15:22:00.000+10:00

Beanie is the most vocal rat we've ever had.He communicates to us in little squeaks, usually when he's protesting about something, and it's so funny! Monty was also occasionally vocal, mainly when you picked him up from doing something naughty (like trying to get into the fireplace) to which he would emit a plaintive "Squeeeeeeeeeeee!" like a little high pitched "Nooooooooooooo!".Beanie is more

Ratties relaxing

2007-10-03T21:13:00.000+10:00

(Please ignore the weird first few seconds, some youtube compressing issue maybe?)Here's a relaxed Milo, perched on his lookout, bruxing away happily. Look for the end where he boggles! Whee!And here's Beanie, enjoying some special time with Bear. Spot the yawn!

Bear and Milo

2007-10-03T11:46:00.001+10:00

Sharing a moment.

Beanie

2007-10-02T23:22:00.000+10:00

Goes fishing!

Milo

2007-10-02T23:16:00.000+10:00

Wants to be your friend.

A cheerful outlook

2007-09-20T20:20:00.000+10:00

This is a good quote, from (Ralph Waldo?) Emerson, found from this column by Garrison Keillor.This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it ... Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a

Happy News

2007-09-12T14:10:00.000+10:00

Congratulations to Adrian and Alysha on their engagement!I told everyone it was so totally going to happen by Christmas!I love being right!Hahah!Seriously, it makes me happy, very happy, that something in the world went right, and they met each other.Cheers from Bear and I!

Rattie Macros

2007-09-12T13:36:00.000+10:00

I totally love this website! It can be a bit hit and miss, but with rattie photos + funny captions, you just can't go too wrong! :DIt always cheers me up.Some favourites:

Oh no!

2007-06-11T12:29:00.001+10:00

We've got rats!heheheheh.Everybody, please meet Milo and Beanie!They came to live with us nearly two months ago when they were looking for a new home. They're about 5 months old and full of energy! They're also incredibly sweet.This is Milo, snoozing on our sofa in our (his) mohair blanket.And this is a short clip of Beanie, not doing much except looking cute, with random commentary from Bear.

Whatchu lookin at?

2007-06-10T23:09:00.000+10:00

Wedding gallery is up!

2007-06-01T09:30:00.001+10:00

Finally, finished the web gallery! Please do check it out and let me know about any broken links or weirdness.Might write a post later on the planning process in case it helps anyone who happens to be in the crazy stages of planning one. :D

Wedding photos!

2007-05-21T17:19:00.001+10:00

Our photos have arrived! Today! Which is why I am not getting any work done. Hooray!The verdict? There were lots of good shots. I still regret the hair, but it was a happy happy day. Here are some to start off with:At the picnic site:Matt and Connor waiting patiently with the rings (and sneaking a peek):Tadah! Married! Just like that!

An early start

2007-05-15T08:29:00.000+10:00

Woke up uncharacteristically early today, with the helpful urgings of Bear, just so i could get stuck into my work for the maximum amount of time today. Needless to say, with a recent wedding, house purchase and immigration papers to sort out, not to mention all the other usual stuff that needs to be done, my phd work has... not so much suffered as stagnated. And there is of course no better

I am very bad

2007-05-12T02:05:00.000+10:00

This weekend, we are helping Bear's mum with her Mother's Day flower stall, which, serendipitously, will be held in our backyard since we have an enormous backyard and it faces onto a busy road.Mother of Bear and her partner will arrive tomorrow sometime crazy early like 6am, needing help setting up and etc. Which is why Bear, nearly three hours ago, strongly suggested that we both go to bed,

2 weeks later

2007-05-12T01:26:00.000+10:00

I am absolutely dying to see my wedding photos!In other news, just randomly googling my name with Bear's, I find out that the author, Han Suyin, after whom I am apparently named - does it count as being named after someone if your mum just decided she liked the name? Anyway, turns out Ms Han Suyin had an affair with an Ian Morrison, on which her book and the movie Love is a Many Splendoured Thing

Goodbye Alfie

2007-05-06T16:00:00.000+10:00

Our Alfie, the smartest, stubbornest and most irrepressible rat we've had the honour of knowing, passed away on Friday afternoon.He was approximately 2 and a half years old, and had been battling through bumblefoot, kidney disease and a large abscess. I brought him to the vet that morning to have the abscess lanced, successfully, but perhaps it was all a bit too much because that afternoon, when

4 Days

2007-04-24T15:46:00.000+10:00

It is 4 days to our wedding, and I am feeling nervous, excited, horrified, exultant, stressed, anxious, calm, worried and helpless, all at once!And the forecast is for rain!Aaah!*furrow brow worriedly**add umbrellas to the list*

A really nice rattie video

2007-04-10T18:55:00.000+10:00

Isn't that just so lovely?

Fun Rattie Clips

2007-04-07T01:47:00.000+10:00

This little video always cheers me up, here it is if you want some cheering up too!Again, watch for the last part - absolutely priceless! :)

Mega Cute Sea Otters

2007-04-05T22:20:00.000+10:00

Incredibly amazingly CUTE. Watch for the bit near the end.Thanks Adrian!

No more banging on the doors

2007-03-31T23:38:00.000+10:00

I miss my Monty.It's a bit hard to think about him still, so I try not to, but then sometimes, it just hits me that something's missing. Something warm and bright. Like tonight, when it was almost rattie dinnertime (10pm), there was no one banging on the living room sliding doors, no small furry white creature looking up at you with an expectant look on his face when you opened the doors, no one

Goodbye Monty

2007-03-26T20:46:00.000+10:00

Monty passed away on Friday morning.In my hands, as I petted him and told him how much we loved him and that it was all right. My little love went, and we are left bereft, without him.This is a poem by Rabindranath Tagore. For my Mon mon.Peace, my heart, let the time forthe parting be sweet.Let it not be a death but completeness.Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.Let the flight

Hair cut

2007-03-18T16:31:00.000+11:00

I cut my hair the other day.It's now too short to tie up, has more of those layer things and is entirely at the mercy of the mischievous hair fairies. See, I thought I was growing it for the wedding... so that you know, I could just put it up and be done with it.Now, it is wild and doing what my hair does when unrestrained by elastic - it goes Foom! The hairdresser had a euphemistic way of saying

Art

2007-03-14T23:24:00.000+11:00

I like this image from Julien Pacaud

Ratties demonstrate metacognition

2007-03-12T01:54:00.000+11:00

See this article.Excerpt:Researchers have believed for some time that people and non-human primates are capable of “metacognition”—reasoning or thinking about one’s own thinking. There have been studies on birds about this kind of thinking process, but results thus far have been inconclusive. The new study is the first that shows a non-primate species has metacognition—a proposal that may well be

Wacky wedding dances

2007-03-07T23:48:00.000+11:00

Wedding party seamlessly morphs into the music video from Thriller. Everyone looks awkward but game, except for the groom, throughly enjoying himself, and one suspects he came up with the idea in the first place. Hmmh! It is cool though, and fun to watch.This one's for Sammie, Dirty Dancing fan (if I remember correctly!)It's so sweet! Whee! Swishy dress! Rolled up shirt sleeves! Ahhh...

The Best Cookies

2007-02-11T19:25:00.000+11:00

Presenting...The BEST Cookies I Have Ever Made!And possibly ever eaten too!These cookies are studded with cocoa nibs, hazelnuts and almonds, adapted from a recipe in Alice Medrich's Bittersweet - my happy birthday pressie from Bear!The first thing I thought when I ate one was that it tasted expensive, but to be more descriptive, they're buttery but crisp, not overly sweet, with a lovely vanilla

Not wedding dresses Part II

2007-02-06T23:31:00.000+11:00

These are in the running, but lagging behind a bit...Shirtdresses by Prada and Diane von Furstenberg, respectively.I like the lace shoulders on this one, but the ruched boobage is a bit weird.The style is, however, similar to these following ones, which are frontrunners.and There's another one I like even better though!

Not wedding dresses

2007-02-06T21:48:00.000+11:00

These, alas, are not to be.Marc JacobsGallery SerpentineIsaac Mizrahi

I don't want a wedding dress

2007-02-05T22:50:00.000+11:00

Today, I went to see a dressmaker in the city, to get some idea of what it might cost to get a dress made, seeing as I am afraid of entering a Bridal dress shop and cannot seem to find anything suitable at the shops.So, Bear generously drives me to the city after work and I rock up to this dressmaker, and tell her I was thinking of having a dress made. She asks more questions, and I say, probably

Need some help please

2007-02-02T14:24:00.000+11:00

Dear everyone, I need help choosing a photographer!The original one I wanted isn't available, and the new top of the listers haven't got back to me (and I probably can't afford them anyway), so now, it's between these four contenders:Tonia LawlessCaterina FaraKatie RiversChristopher RadfordAny and all opinions are extremely welcome.(Help!)

How's the wedding planning coming along?

2007-02-01T23:22:00.000+11:00

As requested by Jo, I shall start posting about wedding planning things. Most of the stuff is done, I think. You would not Imagine how much freaking time it took, but I still have most of my brain intact, albeit filled up with waaaaaaay too many images of tulle, pastels, flower arrangements and large glittery signs saying "Your Big Day" and "Bridal" and, for some reason, "Exquisite!"Despite all

Just like that

2007-01-30T22:17:00.000+11:00

All of a sudden, another year older.tadah!

Ratties doing rattie things

2007-01-14T16:37:00.000+11:00

An excellent video with pet ratties doing rattie things. And so many ratties! Whee!You like belly kisses? Yes I do!

Cute dresses

2007-01-14T03:16:00.000+11:00

From Tufi Duek on Amazon.com

"In Bed" photo

2007-01-14T02:44:00.000+11:00

I thought this photo (printed screen from this Washington Post gallery) was extraordinary.It's a photo taken by Thomas Coex, of a sculpture exhibit by Ron Mueck.via Neil Gaiman's blog

Monty & Bubba

2007-01-10T02:32:00.000+11:00

The stunningly gorgeous Monty, sitting on my old RGS jumper. In the background is Bubba, one of our gang of Ikea ratties.A minute or so later, Monty, being alpha rattie and a generally all round nice guy, decides to groom Bubba, even though Bubba is kinda squashy and... quiet. Oh well, he reckons, I'll just give him a once over, just in case.

Lane Cove Park photos

2007-01-09T01:54:00.000+11:00

Some pictures that Bear took, from our surveying excursion to Lane Cove River National Park, where our marrying-party-thing will be held later this year.Duckies. A male and a female, out for a walk along the riverside. Awww..The Lane Cove river.Er... The bit on the other side of the river. Yours truly, trying to figure out how to put up a tent in the catering area if it rains. The eyormous lizard

Ad with ratties in!

2007-01-09T01:37:00.000+11:00

Sho cute!

Two Turtledoves

2006-12-26T23:05:00.000+11:00

Cat and Girl is an excellent comic, today's one in particular!Click the banner to see the comic.

Woah. Colour!

2006-12-23T21:35:00.000+11:00

The Butterfly Ball, Roger Glover and Guest. Illustrated by Alan Aldrige.

Bull vs Cow

2006-12-12T11:11:00.000+11:00

I really enjoyed reading this paper, written in 1963 by a William G. Perry, Jr. I liked his argument, especially as I've been trying to figure out how best to translate to undergrad students, this apparently obvious yet often only vaguely grasped concept of "higher-order thinking" and how to play the game, as it were, in uni.Excerpts:To cow (v. intrans.) or the act of cowing:To list data (or

Life with ratties

2006-12-11T22:42:00.000+11:00

Menu for Hope

2006-12-11T12:39:00.000+11:00

Oh! Look at the prizes!This is so odd-feeling. I don't think I've ever given money to charity, desperately wanting to win something! Tetsuya's! Becasse!

Some neat stuff

2006-12-11T12:19:00.000+11:00

LumenCoffee & Cigarette RingFlying Bird Ring

Again with the funny hat

2006-09-29T22:13:00.000+10:00

Two down, one to go!

On not being a morning person

2006-09-08T14:38:00.000+10:00

I was thinking the other day about "morning" people and how strange and alien they were. Then I wondered why I wasn't one. Anyway I don't think the difference is in a physiological response to sunlight, and I don't know that I necessarily come with a pre-programmed body clock or that I have some affinity with the moon in some mystical earthy moony way - I do like mornings after all, breakfast is

Alfie gets treatie with treatment

2006-07-15T00:04:00.000+10:00

We recently discovered the EASY way to apply the treatment for Alfie's foot sores. Before this, it was nightly drama/trauma/upset/claws for everyone concerned. This is much much easier!Video #1Video #2Again, Alfie gets bribed with a yoggie to let us put medicine on his feet. Note: Alfie is not usually this compliant. The things ratties will put up with for a yoggie!#3 Alfie Revolts!Alfie's pride

Monty opens the Treatie Jar

2006-07-14T23:00:00.000+10:00

Food please

2006-04-12T18:21:00.000+10:00

Okay. We're all food lovers here, right?What I really need are recommendations for good restaurants in Singapore. Places that have a nice atmosphere, not necessarily posh or pricey, but somewhere you'd like to have a celebration party kinda thingy. Good food is of course essential, Cantonese, French, Peranakan, Italian, Spanish, Fusion, whatever. Cosy or otherwise feel-good would be nice, i

Food, here we come!

2006-04-12T14:59:00.000+10:00

Just a quick note to let people know that I will be back in Singapore from Good Friday to the Sunday after... and Bear's coming along too.So. Who wants Krispy Kremes? :)

Whee!

2006-04-02T18:36:00.000+10:00

I finished my thesis!and handed it in!on time!WHEE!p.s. Bear and I are engaged.

Selling out or giving in?

2006-03-18T14:58:00.000+11:00

I have been a good girl lately, doing an astonishing amount of work without giving up, supported unremittingly in this process by Bear who has prepared meals, washed dishes, carried heavy books, punched holes and filed papers in alphabetical order, saving me from the ever-expanding Pile of Stuff on the floor around my desk (a.k.a. the big shelf) that regularly threatens to implode in a great

Ice cream!

2006-02-27T22:19:00.000+11:00

Courtesy of our favourite appliance, we present our latest flavour, Chocolate Cherry Choc Chip!Made with extra cream, valhrona cocoa, bits of dark chocolate, and fresh cherries macerated in vanilla sugar and soaked in brandy.Yuuuuuuuummm....

Thanks for the love

2006-02-24T13:22:00.000+11:00

I'd just like to thank everyone who took the time to write to me or comment with kind words and love and warm wishes. I'm surprised by how much I needed them, the acknowledgement of the pain and the sympathy. To know that people understood that they weren't "just" rats, animals or small furry houseguests, they were part of our little family. Then again, I am very new to this business of loss...