Wheels and Plastic

Another belated illustrated outfit post! I've pretty much worn the texture off of those cords but they're so comfy and great for shopping or relaxing days. On 2/3 I went out and ended up buying a bigger cage and wheel for the hedgie. Ira wasn't thrilled at first, but since the first night he's become a wheel-running maniac! I'll go to bed to the sound of him running, and then wake up in the middle of the night and hear him still running like mad. Is there something inside little critters that helps them know how to use a wheel? Will he eventually become the buffest hedgehog ever known?

I've been thinking more about putting some items up in my neglected etsy shop, and experimenting with shrink plastic again with varying amounts of success. The results are so wildly different each time that it drives the perfectionist in me crazy trying to keep the shapes consistent. On the other hand, it's always fun to anticipate what's going to come out of the oven next ^^



Just a few cute ideas for now! Next up, a hamster for iamchubbybunny!

Lately...

-- making lots of silly round owls, inspired by my souvenirs from Matsue Vogel Park from my trip from Matsue, Japan.

-- excited about seeing Ponyo! at the cinema! The art is so strange and amazing.

-- learning new exercises to do with my new (free!) body ball

-- browsing through want-ads and feeling pretty blah

-- finding new blogs to read that are full of beautiful things and ideas (any suggestions?)

-- putting in holds at the library. Since discovering the whole "library holds" system, I've been enjoying the silly thrill of pushing the online button to place holds with reckless abandon.

-- and, just for the fun of it, Ira Ira Ira!

Blue

Here's the semi-daily (weekly... occasionally monthly!) ANMD hedgie photo post! These kind of reflect my recent mood as well, but maybe that's just because work made me feel sick today. Grump grump grump, but with a twinge of frightened optimism?

It makes me feel terrible that my friends are updating their blogs and here I am being lazy! It seems like for now my life is in a pleasant holding pattern of pets, half-baked schemes, and work.

Ira has been a cranky fellow for the past couple of days, not letting me cut his toenails. A few more days of this and I fear that they'll reach gigantic monster-toe-like proportions. He'll wiggle around, sit still for a couple seconds and let me hold his foot gently, giving me that glint of hope -- yes! This is my chance! -- and then quickly pull his foot away and huff. So frustrating!

Family

While cleaning the other day I found the papers that came with Ira when I bought him, including his pedigree. Curious, I decided to check out the breeder he came from -- Hedgehog Valley. Besides having a wealth of information about hog pet-ownership and breeding, HV also has pictures of their own breeding hedgies, including Ira's parents, Kopo and Baignette!






You can see the family resemblance :) It was really exciting to find out more about where he came from!

The weather has been snowy and generally horrid here, and I've been doing my best to make sure Ira stays warm and happy. My stress levels have been through the roof worrying that the power will go out! He seems pretty content to burrow around and snuggle up to his heat pad, though.

Time for a light snack!

New Pocket

An old sweater has found a new life as a hedgehog bag! Ira's not really sure what to make of his new little pocket and doesn't want to sleep in it, but he does like to spend time there when he's outside of his cage. It's been getting colder recently, and I've been really concerned about keeping Ira at a cozy temperature. African Pygmy Hedgehogs should be kept at a temperature at least 70 degrees to ensure that they don't make an attempt at hibernation -- if they do it could be fatal.

Now, with the bag, I'm not so worried he's going to get chilly when we spend time together!

Blankets

Ira seems to share my love of these microfiber blankets that come out of the closet during these colder winter days, or at least he likes chewing on them and then trying to burrow into them.

Welcome to Another no mail day

Welcome to the new home of Ira the hedgehog and his snuffly adventures. Ira is an African Pygmy Hedgehog, the most common type of hedgehog kept as a pet. His main interests are harumphing, eating mealworms, and cuddling in his blanket.





This is also occasionally the home of the various ramblings and fancies of some Michelle girl, lover of cute, sender of mail, and taker of pictures. Mostly of Ira.