They are so cute!

I can't believe it's been a week now. I'm still just as fascinated by my chooks as the day we brought them home. Actually, I think I'm more fascinated with them now. They have grown so much in just the past week, Bessie is almost as tall as my knee and they are starting to peep less and bock more.
They even talk to me when I'm with them, I just wish I knew what they were saying.

Bathing beauties. (Ms. Fisher in front, Alexis in back)

They are making themselves at home and that makes my heart glad. They like to rearrange their bedding after I clean and fluff it everyday. They seem to have a schedule worked out, I get chirped at if I'm late in the morning and they have enforced nap time at around 1100 every morning. Kate calls them to roost and Ms. Fisher rounds up any stragglers.

Get on the perch! (Clockwise from top left: Kate, Dot, Bessie, Fisher, Alexis)

All 5 of them will eat out of my hand and Kate (the gray one) will follow me around as I tidy up until I sit down with her snack. It's funny to see her avoid me and chase me at the same time. Earlier today she was pecking at something and I touched her to shoo her away and she didn't even flinch. Maybe she will let me pet her soon.

Got snacks? ( Kate facing you.)

Life is good here with the chickens. Now I'm off to study them some more! 

Sylvia the Linus Dutchi and her changes; part 2

The wheel set my dear husband got me for Christmas made all the difference in my riding. The roller brakes let me stop with out having to put my feet down and my pedals no longer take a bite out of my calves every time I stop. The 8 gears instead of 3 means I'm now able to go as fast as I want without spinning like a lunatic and I can easily get up all the hills in my area without needing to get off and walk. With the exception of the stupid overpass, but I will conquer that one eventually! I'm saving up for a dynamo light set to go with the generator, then I'll have light anytime I want it. The rims are way beefier than her originals and the spokes are a bit thicker so I don't worry when I hit a pothole or take her off a curb. Supposedly these rims are lauded by mountain bikers and BMXers for their strength and durability.

As she is now. Ready for anything.

Her grips are now natural cork because the bike shop that spread her for the new gears cut my nice foam ones and I wanted to try something different. As soon as I get a job I'm going back to the foam though. I don't like how hard the cork is. I'm a squeezer and these just don't have the give I like.

Her new basket helps balance her out and can hold a lot of stuff. It's the perfect size for my bag and has made her even more stable feeling than she was before. I definitely like the added weight in the front. It's not the first basket she's had, but I think this one is the winner!

Cyclops bike.

There are still a few small changes I want to make. I want dynamo lights,  better tires and maybe a beefier kickstand. I really want another water bottle holder and I've been playing around with where to place it. I think the basket may be where it goes. 

She goes well both on pavement or dirt in the alleys. She is cheerfully oblivious to most bumps and can carry a very nice load. We can toodle along at a stately 8.5 mph or if necessary fly along at a zippy 15 mph. (Fastest we've gone was 22 mph, but I couldn't sustain it for more than 2 blocks.) She's comfortable for long rides/distances and makes our usual short jaunts fun too.

I'm so glad we found her! She's practically perfect in every way! At least for me!;)

Princess approved.

I registered for school today!

I went down to Tucson College today to finish my registration and make the first payment! I was so excited I managed to get lost on the way, but I made it with 5 minutes to spare before my appointment. I still can't believe how Sylvia flies with her new gears!
I got to fill out even more paper work and answer a bunch of questions about why I want to go there and what my goals are. It really helped clarify things in my head to write it out for them. I want to get an education that will improve my life and the lives of others. This is a quick stop on my end goal of becoming a nurse. It's a bit sad that it took me until age 37 to realize I want to be a nurse. I'm still a writer in my soul, but that will be my secret identity. Now I just have to wait for the acceptance letter to be a real student. Have I mentioned that patience isn't my virtue? I hope it gets here fast!

This will be where she waits while I'm in class! Door to door with covered parking!

On the way home from the school the job I wanted at the hospital called. He re-posted the position and wants me to apply then call him immediately. I need to see if they will work around my school schedule before I decide to try for it again. I really wanted that job; I could have ridden to work every day and worn nice clothes. It was in the hospital which is where I want to be and the other phone operators seem great. There's the chance to get benefits and a cafeteria that has the best fried chicken in the universe! A month ago it was my dream job. Then I wasn't selected and it crushed me. I cried and everything. I had wanted so badly to go back to the hospital. However, not being picked really helped my to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

I decided I needed more than just a job, so I hatched my crazy plan to finally get back to hands on healthcare and make a difference in peoples lives. I love my plan, but the siren call of that other job is ringing loudly. It whispers that I would still be helping people and if I get chosen this time I would be making a bit more cash to boot. Plus, I'd never have to drive my car again because parking at the hospital is a nightmare and they have bike lockers.

On Monday I go for orientation with a home health care company. If I survive it they will hire me and I will have a job! It's a great part time job and the shifts are short so it won't interfere with school. They like the fact that I'm getting my CNA and seem almost as excited about it as I am. My fingers are crossed that I survive!

I'm considering doing all three if the hospital will work me around school and I survive the home health care orientation on Monday. I could conceivably make it work, but it would be an insane few months and would take a lot of juggling. Once I start actually nursing school, which I plan to do in a year, something will have to give though. 

On the flip side there's a chance that I won't survive Monday and the hospital won't chose me again. That would suck! I hope at least one of the jobs chooses me, but if not I still have hope for my fundraiser!
In the meantime here's a quick photo update on Rory. He is doing great and is in love with Ginger.

Ginger and Rory

He wants to play ball with her.

Isn't he cute!

Some cute pictures of Rory. He's turning out to be a really smart guy. He lets me know when his favorite shows come on and he can flip his house right side up on his own.

Roly ball is fun.

He rolls his ball around and can even get it in and out of his house. There's food inside so it makes noise and I can't wait for him to figure out how to open it.

He knows there's food inside.

He will now take food out of your hand and let you pet him while eating it.

He now takes food from your hand. 

He also likes to be scratched behind the ears and will let you do anything if you have a carrot.

He also gives you a look when it's gone.

It takes him about 5 minutes to pull hay out and spread it all over his cage.

Who farted?

He has a great sense of smell and squeaks when ever we pull any thing fresh out of the fridge. He also squeaks when Martha comes inside. He really loves that dog.

It was you!

Coming over to investigate.

I had read that guinea pigs were shy, but he isn't. He comes right over and checks you out if you get near him. I'm still working on the biting issue but carrot bribery works most of the time. He's not mean, it's more of a test bite to see if we are edible. He can modulate his bite pressure and he's only drawn blood a few times, but it still hurts.

I see you human.

Please spread the word about my fundraiser. Every little bit will be very much appreciated. Thanks!

Introducing Rory

Yesterday I was able to bring home Rory. We met when I started at PetSmart and it was love at first sight. He would popcorn and chatter when he saw me (and probably anyone really) and loved to be held and petted. I really wanted to take him home, but he was in isolation and not available.
He has a broken toe that will heal deformed and a condition that makes him unable to live with other guinea pigs and therefore unsalable.
I was surprised that I could adopt him so soon, but I'm very happy about it. We already had most of what he needed and will pick up the rest today. I will be making him fleece quilts for bedding because he can't use the normal paper kind or the wood type.
Apart from his special housing needs and his toe he should grow into a normal and healthy little piggy. Tonight he will be introduced to the Princess and her court. It should go smoothly; she loves anyone smaller than her.

Hay is good!

Hello!

Introducing Sylvia

Introducing my new bike! I got her late last month and so far we've been having a ton of fun together. She's a shiny red Linus Dutchi 3 in the small size. The shop I found her at had only just opened in January; I got totally lucky! It's a great little shop called Transit Cycles owned by a wonderful man named Duncan. He was great about switching out the leather grips she came with for cork ones and trading the rear rack she came with for a front one.  I didn't like the feel of the plasticky leather and the rear rack I had on Lucy can carry a lot more than the stock one. I'm really grateful that he was willing to make the changes for me! He even swapped out the brown seat for a black one so it would match. 

On Saturday we get to go in for a check up and I feel a little guilty, but I'm getting a Brooks B67 S saddle for her. So far we've only gone on short rides, but I can't seem to get comfortable on this one. I tried the Terry saddle I had and it was awful. The more upright positioning made it rub in all the wrong places if you know what I mean. Then I tried a Forte saddle that was for upright bikes. It felt like it was punching my bum with every bump. That was FUN! So I put the original saddle back on. I just hope the Brooks works for me.

The only other adjustment I've made so far is the kickstand. The one she came with was too short and felt flimsy. Conan my big kitty rubbed against the bike and she went crashing down. Now I get to find touch up paint, but thankfully no one else was injured. Who knew a 16 year old cat could move that fast. She now has the sturdy kickstand off Lucy and the cats love rubbing on her tires when I get home. 

I also got a new helmet to replace the one I cracked when I fell over on Lucy. 

So far I've been having to much fun riding her and she is my excuse for not blogging like I should. ;)

An Adorable Rodent

On the night of the full moon my husband and I went out to take pictures of the bats emerging from under a bridge. Sadly I didn't get anything good from them. This is my best bat pic.

It's right in front of me and moving super fast!

However on the way back to the car my husband heard a rustling noise and we investigated. These little guys and girls were all over! 

They are tiny kangaroo rats eating mesquite seed pods! They looked and acted like mini gerbils and they were only afraid if I leaned down at them. There were tons of them all over the place, but they didn't like the flash. After getting a few shots we left them to eat in peace. I love shooting wildlife!