This is so pirated... haha. Took a photo off July's issue of Nat Geo, about a story of a family of mountain gorillas caught in midst of a civil war-kinda tussle. Really sad. If you can pick up a copy of NG, you'll see how comforted this lil gorilla looks, leaning against the comforting cares of the park ranger. (: I'm still waiting for the next issue of Asian Geo!
This is out-of-the-world random, but too adorable to miss. I love 'em monkeys!
I miss waking up to monkeys and that wild hog pig. I miss the flying squirrels and the hilly adventures. I miss the sight of that beautiful sea as we stood up on the cliff. I miss trekking. I miss Borneo.
This has gotta be the cutest little puppy I've ever seen. I bet my old little Pon Pon was just as adorable when he was a pup.
Going through this stream of photos on flickr reminds me of the days just over a year ago, when my baby Tabitha gave birth to her little of mice pups. I'll never forget the kind of excitement I found watching them grow up and when Provolone was first to open his eyes, it was just so amazing.
New birth always brings such great joy. The marvel of creation -- the glories of the Creator.
"Have I faltered, Lord?" - I made myself ask "Come, sit with me," - I hear him call "Papa..." - I found myself say "Yes, my child. I love you," - he whispered
Our conversation lasted a mere minute or two But it came worth a thousand years Then he carried me, and I held him close His strength was apparent; not a hint of discomfort I fell asleep in his arms
"Fear not, for I am with you." Isaiah 43:5
Naked, I came into this world Naked, will I depart All my fears, my weaknesses, and my final ounce of strength Placed at the foot of the cross With him, who holds this world in place
True joy was made complete When I came face to face with the Creator of all things
A heart of awe; a heart of gratitude The selfless love; the glorious sacrifice The ordinary miracles of life.
I'm down on my knees once again Completely surrendered to him
He is my everything He is my all He is my everything Both great and small He gave his life for me Made everything new He is my everything Now how about you
Like honey in the rock Sweet honey in the rock For He tastes like honey in the rock O taste and see that the Lord is good For He tastes like honey in the rock
This possum's so adorable, she/he/it made me smile despite the disastrous head-exploding feeling that I've been getting all day.
Did you know that possums are reknowned for playing dead. They look, smell and are completely unconscious the moment they sense danger.
I half-wish I was a possum based on that fact alone. Involuntarily knock myself out, foam at the mouth and simply be dead temporarily until the danger goes away.
Today has been a strange day. Well, I would have said it was a bad day but I don't think it was a bad day. It's so complicated, I don't know how to put it.
I was definitely not happy. But I was also reminded that having joy doesn't equate literal happiness. And unhappy days doesn't equate bad days.
I guess it's all part of growing up. The things that bother you before, bothers you less. The things you never thought bothered you, start to creep into your everyday life.
My dear Tania passed away today. Actually, I think she passed away yesterday. I wasn't home, but her body was no longer stiff when I held her today. I cried, no doubt, but I don't know if I was secretly glad. My emotions are so mixed up.
My poor darling has been suffering - with humongous tumours growing under the neck. There's nothing you can do for a mouse - at least not here in Singapore.
But I prayed hard for her everyday. It's weird to pray for a mouse - you think? I did that for all my previous little lovelies who left me. Their lives are so short, so precious.
I prayed for a miracle. I also prayed that she may find rest. I prayed that if she had to go, please let Zong Ren return before she leaves.
God answered my prayer. She left the day he returned.
Why did I make such a prayer? Because he's the one who helps me with the burial.
I've never quite seen an anteater before. I always had this vague impression that it's scaly until I saw the above photo in my inbox. So silky! :) I think I had them mixed up with the armadillo - who also feeds largely on ants.
And for some peculiar reason, I had a brief argument with my colleague about the name of the anteater. He thought anteater was just describing the animal and that there was a proper name for the animal. I was about to puke blood on him when he said, "You are a copywriter but your name is Karene!"
Our argument ended when I wiki-ed anteater and true enough, there was no other name for that creature. Eeeesh.
On a sidenote, I named my cushy dog toy - Liwei got for my b'day - "Marshmallow Mayhem"!!! haha. Fierce ey!
Anyway, Ang did this video and save for the iguanas, I love this to bits. :)
I also caught Arctic Tale today and it made me cry. I don't know how I can help, but I had this fleeting thoughts about beating up Adam when I see him.
I love Remy! (And I love Emile, his brother, too!)
The movie's fantastic :) I loved the graphics. I loved the story. And I loved the characters - so much! (Especially Emile, he's so flabbeliciously funny) The food in the film looked so real and yummy.
The only problem is... Rats don't really eat cheese. *oops* It's a common misconception. Cheese - and other lactose laden dairy - causes diarrhoea.
The picture above is from one of my favourite scenes in the movie when Remy cooks up an omelette for Linguini and a mini one for himself. The mini omelette was so cute! Hur hur.
I was walking to work this morning from Jalan Besar. As always, I would cross a canal on a mini bridge and midway, I would stop briefly to watch the many many long kang fishes swim by. Today was no different until I noticed a little stumpy bird fly by. It's got a plump body like a duck but a skinny long beak like it's made for fishing - which must definitely be so, because I saw it fish!
It stood quietly by the edge for awhile and suddenly swoooop its beak into the water and caught a little fish! I saw the fish struggle and I saw the bird swallow. I thought I just watched an episode on Discovery Channel.
Liwei tells me it's probably a heron. And I think he's right. I think the fella is a Little Heron!
Woo. Isn't it amazing? What a wonderful morning. :)
ps. sorry for the pathetic camera phone pic. Haha.
A day before I left for Bangkok on Airasia, there were news reports about the disabled being unable to fly. I thought it was quite funny and it must be really depressing for the poor copywriter and marketing team who thought they came up with the perfect tagline.
Anyway, I visited their Zoo. I checked all the websites online and they all told me the zoo admission tickets were 30 baht or so. When I got there, I realised it was 50 baht for Thais and 100 baht for foreigners. They're such suckers. I nearly got my way through with 50 baht but then I couldn't lie. I told them I'm not Thai and then they took 200 baht from us.
The zoo was small and badly taken care of. The animals were so few and they all looked like they needed a new home desperately. Or maybe I was too used to our zoo, which is really tops. :) That reminds me. I have a discount coupon from the NDPgoodie bag for 50% off Night Safari admission tickets. Yay!
This meerkat has a smiley face! Hehe :) I didn't edit it; I sweeeaar.
Children at the zoo
And then we also went to Ratchada Market, a really old non-touristy spot off the central shopping area. The place and almost everything it had was vintage! I bought a big packet of pop corn for 10 baht and it was all so sweet and yummy, unlike the lousy ones we get here at the cinemas where 75% is plain pop corn that didn't get the syrup on them. Yucks. :(
This, I didn't take at Ratchada but at Silom. But there were plenty of these (and Vespas) at the Ratchada market too! Wish I could have one!
Anyway, I have officially progressed to Lesson 2 of my riding! Yay! And you know what... I have had a total of 7 sessions of Lesson 1, including the orientation session which isn't really a "test-able" stage. You know how we usually regard 7 as the perfect number? Hur hur. :)
I still have quite a bit of problems with my throttle control and banking angles but hey, I sure improved a lot since my first time! I did ram the cones a few times though. :X Nonetheless, I'm moving on to the more complicated circuits.
I think learning riding has been one of the key moments of my life that I will always remember. The times I fell. The times I spent practicing on my bicycle. The times I wanted to give up. And the times God revealed His love and faithfulness.
My instructor from two weeks ago still recognises me. When he saw me riding the outer circuit - again, he asked me in Mandarin, "Why are you still here?" So I told him that I had actually gone onto the inside cornering circuit but didn't manage to do it. So when I had to retake that bit, I had to retake the entire outer circuit again as well. He then walked over to my session's instructor and asked if he was going to bring me into the cornering circuit. He said, "Are you going to bring this girl in to do cornering? You must bring her in. She is okay already; can go in. Last week she went with Mr Ho already."
And he continues, "Let her fall a few times then she will learn how to corner!" jokingly. :X
Safe for the "let her fall" part, I was really amazed that he would bother to do that for me. I think this is one of those occasions that I know God is has an abundance of blessssiinnngggss waiting for us to discover. :)
Thereafter, my instructor did bring me inside (not just because my prev instructor urged him to but also because I obviously have no problems braking anymore!!!) and I did squash a few cones, scream a whole lot, and fell about 3 times. Yet despite my chaos, my instructor that day - while reprimanding another guy for bad posture - said, referring to me, "She will improve. Her posture is good, just that her eyepoint is not quite right that's why she falls but she will improve"
I felt really encouraged. I thought I was really screwed up but hey, my instructor believed in me! He said I will improve! And I did!!!! I stopped falling. Although I wasn't 100% steady like some of the other guys, I was definitely going through the course and not screwing up. No fallen cones. No screaming. No falling. :)
God loves me soooo much!
"...how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:11b
Surf's Up is so so so so good I would watch it 10 times over! Hehe.
The trailers didn't seem overly impressive but trust me, it is the best animated feature I have seen since Cars! (I absolutely loved Cars but because I'm quite - ahem, very - animal-crazy, I have to put Surf's Up on the top of my list now and relegate the motorguys to 2nd place. Hur hur.)
Sure, the storyline isn't anything new and swanky. It's the same old finding yourself/winning isn't everything type of moral stories. But hey, nobody really gets tired of them - not most of us, at least. And definitely not me.
While I loved Happy Feet, I got annoyed towards the end when the moral of the story became something totally different from what it started off with. Conservation is no doubt a very meaningful theme, but if they had started with that in the first place, the transition wouldn't have been so abrupt.
Surf's Up, on the other hand, stays true to the theme they started off with. Interestingly... I think the theme is exactly the same as Cars! Wooo. :) Call me a sucker, but I'm hooked.
Every character is so endearing in their own ways. Cody, Geek, Lani, little Arnold, Mikey (a tweetering bird with stick legs, haha) and my favourite - Chicken Joe. (below) He's hilarious. Happy-go-lucky and always looking on the bright side of things, so much so, he seems oblivious to the negatives! Haha.
Even the bad guys are fun to watch. Tank is really bimbo (or rather, himbo) and Reggie is really shrewed but also totally screwed up!
The format of the film is a documentary style - which I felt gave everything a very insider realistic feel. Pretty new ey! :) Plus, the CGI is so real. I thought I was watching animated penguins on a real life backdrop kinda thing.
Some of my favourite quotes from the movie: Chicken Joe: "You know, we've known each other way back since, like... yesterday, I think it was." Smudge (Baby Penguin): "He's a dirty trash can full of poop." Tribal Penguin: "Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum..."
I know they don't read very funny but if you would just watch it, you'll laugh too. I'm sure you would!
I'm so sad!!! My fishy all passed away last week and as if that wasn't bad enough, I bought new (and very pretty) rummy-nose tetras over the weekend and they too have died.
There's something seriously wrong but I don't know what. I'm so upset. Sobs.
Remember baby Provolone, the first little one to open his eyes?
Yup, that's him in the first photo and the second (taken on the day when he first opened his eyes!) Look how much he has grown! :)
Today marks another chapter of his life and of Phinehas'. They officially complete their weaning and now live in a separate cage from their sisters, mommy and aunties. Just the two of them. :)
I went to Serangoon North to gather my supplies to ensure my little boys have all they need for their "new" home. This must be the first time I bought so many things from there too! Actually the only thing I bought for them specifically is a new wheel. The other stuff are for all my miceys in general... new bedding, new potty litter, new food, new vitamin drops... oh! I bought a roll of twine! I had long wanted to buy one of those bird toys for my mice. I know they would love them too... but a simple ropey thing costs at least $10!
So I bought twine for $2 and plait it up just like the bird toys. Hehe. I tied a treat to the top and Phinehas caught on immediately! He's a darling. At first he was just sniffing at the rope and biting it... then he starts his ascent. Hee. He's my super boy. :) Meanwhile, Provo was contented with running frenzily on his new wheel.
I hope the two brothers will enjoy each other's company and not fight! But considering they're still young and have lived together all their lives, I think it's okay.
God is sooooo good. He gave me soooooo many miceys!
I fixed new tubes to my cages (not really new tubes, but new arrangement) and my little babies are so cute. They squashed themselves together to sleep in the tube! Hehe.
So adorable little fellas. And Phinehas wins my Most Curious baby award. He's the only one who would perpetually run to me when I put my hand into the cage. The Most TImid baby is Bianca! She's really skittish - but she's much better now. I hope she won't runaway from me all her life! Oh dear. :(
See how my babies have grown! They're just that weeeee bit smaller than the adults! Tiara, of course, is the smallest of the 3 adults but not much smaller than the babies' mommy, Tabitha. :)
They've begun nibbling on all sorts of solid food and Bianca (below) even attempted the wheel! But this wheel is way too big for her to maneourve. Although it really didn't stop her from trying her very best! Look her persistent she is - her hind legs are raised and her limbs are all spread apart for optimum power. Hehe. So funny. I bought a bone meant for dogs for my miceys. It's got peanut flavoured stuffing! I read from a website that mice love these doggy bones because they can burrow through it as they eat up the stuffing. I thought it would only attract the 3 adults but it turns out, the babies love it too. See how Blithe is devouring it!
By the way, mice are omnivorous - in case, you're wondering why I'm making them eat meaty stuff. They're not herbivores. :)
My babies!!! Can you remember they were still all pink and frail just days ago? Look at them now. If only you could see them run too. They're super sonic mice. Scurrying around like there was no tomorrow. Haha. :)
They look tame in this photo because they have finally finished surveying this travelling cage that I placed them in. It took them 20 mins to settle down! Once they're comfortable, they would rest their little selves and take a nap.
The baby sleeping closest in front is Bethany. My lovely Bethany is the friendliest of the lot! Remember I told you about the baby who was the last to open her little eye? Yup, same little baby girl! When I place my hand into the cage, a few of them sniffed me and place their front paws to check me out but only Bethany and Phinehas actually climbed readily onto my hands and sat there. Bethany also climbed up my hand, arm and onto my shoulder! She such a doll! Phinehas tried to climb too, but he didn't quite go pass my watch on my wrist before I took him down. I was worried he might fall.
Provolone attempted something else though. He climbed up my chest while I was standing upright! Vertical scaling! Mice are really really intelligent little creatures. He must have used his little paws (and tail for support) to cling onto the fibres of my t-shirt to perform that amazing vertical climb. Haha.
But I was rather sad... Bianca didn't seem to like me much. She behaves very much like Tania. Very skittish. So skittish, in fact, she jumped off my hand and disappeared under the table. Fortunately, there was a long paper towel tube which I left there and she crawled in promptly - almost by instinct. Mice love to tunnel. :) I'm going to try and spend as much time as I can with her to let her feel comfortable with me! Please Lord, let her be!
yeah. I love my little miceys - very much, very very very much!
Wow, time really flies. More than counting days and weeks, now my babies can be counted with months! At 15 days old, they're an amazingly active bunch! Scurrying around the cage from end to end, corner to corner... they have even invaded the other cage too. But I hope they don't stay there because the bedding is some woody thingy which I had to use because stupid pet shop ran out of bedding for me. :( I hadn't the time today to buy it but I will tomorrow. :)
It's becoming increasingly difficult to take photographs of them although I must say, they are extremely tame when on my hands. They sit quietly, sniff around and sometimes close their little eyes to rest. :) They're so much at ease with me, I could have never been happier!
Having said that, here are two photos of them in their little hut - where they were originally born in! :) I also took a video, which as usual, is taking forever to process. :P
I waited all day before youtube finally proceessseddd the videos. So here they are! (There's one more still processing. Can you believe it? It's only a few seconds!)
Baby Provolone on 13 May, when he first opened his eyes. He's really comfortable in my hands! I'm so glad I started handling them early so they're not afraid of me. He's so at peace that he was actually sleeping in my hand. :) So cute, isn't he?
Sorry this is a bit dark. I had to stick my camera into the cage, so the lighting was bad. And it's just a digital camera, so it doesn't quite come with "flashlight" for video. Heehee. Or maybe I just don't know how to use la.
2 weeks old! My babies have all opened their eyes. Yesterday it was just Provolone and the right eye of Brielle. Today, it's everyone! Well, almost. Haha. I got home and checked all of them one by one. All except baby Bethany had both eyes opened! She was just like Brielle, a one eyed pirate. But it wasn't long before she opened the other eye too. In fact, it took less than 10 mins. I was so happy I was around to watch it happen! :D
So this shot was taken when I finally could clean up their dirty bedding. For the past 2 weeks, I didn't want to disturb their nest much, so I only cleaned the other cage. But now that they've all grown up, I decided to clear up the mess and the stench. Thankfully for the Timothy Hay which gives off a really fresh and fragrant aroma, the dirty bedding didn't smell as bad as it should have smelt - going for 2 weeks without cleaning. EEuurrrggh. The really hilarious thing about these shots was that the babies was absolutely reluctant to step out of their nesting outpost or this connecting tube and onto the bare table! Because I had the dirty bedding tray removed, the cage was sitting on the table. No matter how far each baby attempted, none seemingly dared to step onto the table! But when I placed the bedding tray back in, they all plonked off the tube and starting running amok - almost like it was an amusement park arena! It was such an adorable sight; I wish I had videotaped it for you! But I didn't. So like I was telling Liwei, I'll be the only priviledged one to witness such a delighful sight! Hee. :)
Jo used to tell me to feed my mice egg tofu but my old late mice were never fond of it. Thus, I had my doubts. I thought perhaps the egg tofu was only a treat to hamsters. But I tried it again anyway, because of the good proteins soya beans and egg can provide my sweet little mommy Tabitha. And you know what? She loved it!
And yes, here they are. Well, not all. Just 4 little ones snuggling up after that crazed run around the cage. :) From left to right: Bethany (yes, the babiest one!), Brielle, Bianca & Blithe.
My so-very-delightful little baby Provolone has opened his eyes to the world! :D He's the first and only one to open his eyes so far. I'm still waiting for the others, which I'm sure won't take long. Maybe by tomorrow when I get home from work, they'd all have "eyes wide open"! Hehe. Provo's eyes are really small still. I think he's still getting used to it. After taking a few photos, it suddenly dawned on me that I might be hurting his eyes with the flash. :( But nothing turns out if I don't use flash. It gets all blurred! EEeesh. So I took a video, instead. And then did a screen capture. Look how lovely my handsome baby Provo is :)
By the way, his name - Provolone, is a type of Italian Cheese. Pronounced as Pro - vo - low - nee. I named him after one of the characters in Psalty the Singing Songbook. Specifically, Provolone is a churchmouse found in the Charity Churchmouse's "On the Front Line" cassette - one of my favourites in my childhood. And yes, I was already deeeeeeply in love with mice when I was very young. Mickey Mouse was the king. Mighty Mouse was the one true hero. And Charity Churchmouse was my inspiration. Haha. I'm not kidding.
And here are two videos with bad ambient noise but extrememly adorable mice.
Look how pretty Brielle is in these 2 shots of her! And my lovely Bianca, is the most obvious little baby in this litter (beside Provolone who is so very brown, and most like mommy!) for the 3 little patches on her back. The others generally have their patterns in a "striped" format. Provolone seems like the really curious sort. He's always sticking his head out somewhere. Haha. I love him to bits.
And nope, that's not mommy. That's big nanny, Tania! If you could watch them, you'd see how Tania is such a loving and wonderful nanny. She's constantly sleeping with and grooming the babies. When they fall out from the nesting area (the outpost, pictured in the photo), she would quickly catch them back! Now that the babies are bigger, stronger and more active than ever before, they don't just fall out anymore. They CLIMB OUT too! Haha. But I never need to do anything about it. Nor does their mommy, Tabitha. Because nanny Tania would be that pronto!
It's true! I'm not exaggerating!
Made with lotsa love by Zong Ren, the cages are now mesh-ed up to prevent the teeny weeny babies from escaping in between the wire bars. At 11 days old, they can fit themselves through the wire mesh, of course, BUT they're not tall enough to climb and reach the wires yet. So this is made in preparation for the days to come, when they grow bigger and have the ability to climb their way out.
We took hours to get them in the mesh! No easy peasy task here! We got these BBQ wire mesh from the hardware store and Zong Ren had to measure and cut it to fit exactly. Plus, it has to have space for the door, the water bottle and the wheel!
No, I didn't quite baptise my baby mice. But I did give them their names - for the first time since their birth! And yes, I have abandoned the silly names like Pecan and Peanut and Button because however cute they may sound, they don't quite go in sync with how beautiful these babies are growing. They deserve beautiful names :)
If you can't see clearly, the names are Bianca, Phinehas, Provolone, Brielle, Blithe, Brianne and Bethany!
I was so worried I couldn't sex them but then I finally realised why. There was only 2 little boys and so every little baby I picked up had the same underside as the other. It took me a lot of effort to finally realise that these two little boys didn't have dots on their bellies - no nipples!
So the two names in purple (Phinehas and Provolone) are the two lovely little boys :) And here they are:
I tried to photograph them one by one for you but it was almost impossible. They're getting far too active! These two boys and two girls were all I could manage from the gazillion shots I tried and failed. Haha. Brianne looks like she's dancing, doesn't she? Hehe.
And if you're wondering how I tell them apart? It's the same way how mothers (or even good friends) tell twins apart. :) Takes time, acquaintance and observance.
With the addition of the 7 little babies, I have a total of 10 little miceys! Makes me wanna sing "one little two little three little miceys..." Haha. And yes, my babies are 10 days old and their tails are growing longer and furrier. Their bellies have turned white too! Unfortunately, I still can't determine their gender so I still can't give them names. But I'm contemplating a few names already - yet they might just not work out. I match names to how my mice look, so the names I have right now might not work because my babies are growing up so quickly - they are barely like the pink little squirmies they were just 10 days ago! It is becoming increasingly hard to take photos of them so I think I wouldn't be able to keep up with these daily records soon. They're becoming so agile - like miceys are supposed to be. Once they had problems standing properly and fumbling their way as they walked. Now, they can hop a little! Very soon, they'll be jumping all around! And I would need my cage ready for them. Eeeeks! Because it was so difficult to get a nice shot of all of them, I separated them into two teams. This team was especially orderly! (except for the one curious baby) And this team was so adorably impossible to photograph! But I did manage this one that captures their faces too! Their eyes are still closed. They're still little babies for now. But soon, they'll be running all around like they're supposed to.
Prologue: This is a combined post of 4 photos. Haha. Anyway, I've decided to post this one up first because it's my granny! :) with my 2 aunts, uncle and niece (my cousin's daughter), and also the camera man from RTM. They are doing some segment on former sports personalities and no, my granny wasn't one - although my late grandpa was a fantastic badminton player in his time. As it was, his skills were passed onto his children (which includes my daddy who still plays badminton every week, without fail, at a good age of 66 this year!).
Uncle Roland, Uncle Billy (right, in grey) and Aunty Eng (right, in white) were in the Malaysian national team. I must have mentioned this before sometime back. My aunt was a Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist and a Asian Games Bronze medallist - and that is amongst many other medals and trophies she's won. My uncles are no less, but I don't have all the details. My late Uncle Robert was also in the team with them, but unfortunately passed from cancer at a young age.
Onto something totally irrelevant, my mice have turned from pink to furry baby white! :D They're so very lovely I could kiss them all day! Now they are able to cling on tightly to my fingers and refuse to slide off! Do you see the baby right on top? He looks so funny like that! haha.
My lovely lovely so very pretty babies on their 8th day. Their fur is growing thicker and they're really getting more active! Just barely 8 days ago, they were all pink and frail and had problems moving about. Now, they're squirming out of my hands and clinging onto my fingers! Hehe.
And so I decided to show you a close up. Fuzzy-wuzzy-oh-so-lovely! :)
My little bundle of joy! Their pigmentation is getting so obvious and in a lovely shade of brown - just like Tabitha, their mommy. Oooh. So lovely. Their fur is beginning to grow longer too. The pigmentation however, is not really their fur. At least I don't think so. It really is a pigmentation of their little naked skin. :)
And I had them arranged for individual portraits. I'm having problems differentiating the babies in the centre row because of similarities in their markings. It's like playing "Spot the Difference"! Haha. So funny. :)
Look! You can see their patterns! Their fur is begining to grow now and they're just a little bit fuzzy - just like velvet! I love my babies so much! :)
Their pigmentation is showing! Can you see the different shades in their skin? The darker areas will most likely be brown like Tabitha's and the lighter areas white. Looks like they're going to be very pretty mice indeed!
And now I can handle them on my hands. I was told in the mouse forums that we have to start handling the baby mice at Day 4 to get them accustomed to humans (to me!) so when they grow up, they would be more comfortable with human handling.
This was taken on their 3rd day. I didn't take any today (4th day) because of some new changes. I came back from cell and found 5 babies shifted to the outpost area - where Tabitha created a new nesting area; leaving 2 behind in the little hut! I don't know what she's up to but I'm afraid to shift them around, in case there is a good reason to it. :( I'm praying she doesn't intend to forsake the two (or the five for that matter!)
I managed to take better photos of the little pinkies. They're about 1.5cm in length and they look like they've this layer of pink skin stretched over their little faces and bodies. So funny!
I can't wait to see their pigmentation showing through, then I'll know what colours they'd be! So exciting! I'm going photograph them everyday!
I had an incredible MayDay surprise! I found little pinky things wriggling inside the little hut of my micey's cage. I couldn't believe my eyes! I have babies!!!
At first I thought they were Tania's - descendents of Theodore. But that didn't make sense. Theodore was too old. Then I thought they were Tabitha's because I thought her tummy was a little odd shaped when I held her two days ago. But no! They are Tiara's! My baby Tiara! I saw her nursing her pups! She's still such a puny little love and she's a mommy already!
Updated: 01 May, 10:30pm They really are Tabitha's! I thought they were Tiara's but I was wrong. Tabi's odd shaped tummy was really a case of pregnancy because I saw the babies suckling and refusing to let go. There must really be milk and so she really is Mom!
And so, Tiara really is still a baby afterall. :)
She must have conceived while she was still at the pet store. And to think I was still playing with her not knowing she was pregnant.
Tiara is a little smaller than Tabi :) And she looks a lot like Tiger! They remind me of Tania & Tasha when I first got them. But they're temperaments are much like Tasha. Tania has always been very skittish and scared. Aren't they the loveliest little dears? :)
I fell sick today and couldn't go to fashbash with Eunice, Wendy and Syidah, nor could I go for dance today, but I had good rest. I also sewed today. Can't remember if I mentioned, I bought dress patterns from Spotlight. I had a lot of problems transferring the patterns onto the fabric, so the cutting is a bit off. But nonetheless, I went ahead and nia nia lai. Haha. Haven't placed the buttons on yet, but it looks pretty ok for a first try. Zong Ren said it's pretty - and I know he wasn't just patronising me. He doesn't do that. :) So I'm glad.
But most of all, I'm gladest of all, because my beloved Zong Ren bought me two new friends.
Tiara and Tabitha!
The biggest one is of course, Tania. The one with more white patches is Tiara and the other is Tabitha. :)
Mice are social creatures, so I have been trying to find new friends for Tania ever since Theo left. My beloved Zong Ren went to Serangoon North and got these two little sweethearts for me. I really pray and hope they'll all get along well. Tania has been chasing Tabitha around every now and then and that's making me quite worried. I washed up the cages to make sure they're neutral as can be - sans Tania's smell. Hopefully, all will go well. I'm going to also hope that these two little dears don't attempt to squeeze themselves out of the cage just like Tania did last time. They're small enough to do so!
So far, this has been my happiest day this week - and maybe this month - even though I'm really sick. Hee. :)
By the way, in case you think my mice look scary because of their eyes... it's cuz they have nice red eyes that reflect when you take a camera flash. They're really cute and not scary. :)
This might sound peculiar but I've always believed that God absolutely adores and watches over each and every one of my little micey.
Today, I only have one little darling - Tania, with me. Tiger, Tezuka, Toby, Tasha and most recently, granddaddy Theodore has left me. Old age, tumours, blindness, abscess, fur loss, pus - I have seen them all, and loved my mice all the same whilst they were small, and oh-so-cute.
Perhaps it is my own little obsession, but perhaps God was also teaching me something. He taught me responsibility, patience, even hygiene and more so, love that isn't based on appearances. All my little sweethearts went through unsightly process of aging and illness but that only made me love them more. It didn't stop me from holding them, massaging their ears and kissing their little heads.
When I was so close to losing Theo once, I prayed so hard and saw the miracle of healing. And eventually, he outlived all his peers only to finally surrender to old age a few days ago.
I didn't look up baby name books when I gave them names. It comes as no surprise when I realised that Theodore means God's gift. He was indeed - without a doubt and most definitely - God's gift to me.
I didn't quite cry when I found him still. I suppose I saw it coming. Everyday when I come home and check on him, in my mind I ask, "When?" I was waiting for him to leave me - I wish he never would; but I knew it would be soon. Still, I'm thankful for all the wonderful days I spent with him, watching him while his peers were still alive - remembering he was always the most greedy one. Even at his old agea and shrunken body, he was still the greedy little dear. Giving all his might and strength into getting the food he wants. When Tania snatches his food away, he looks at me and knows I'll be there to give him a new one. I'll always be grateful for those little moments of contentment, of joy.
Anyway, I'm hoping to find companions for Tania soon. It pains me to see her alone. I have come up with a few names and will "assign" them once I see my new mice. :)
Tiara - my little princess Theodora (or Theophilia) - in memory of Theodore or Tamara, Tabitha, and perhaps... some Chinese names for a change: Tian Xi - Joy from heaven!
This was too cute to pass. Hahaha. The strange thing about this is its fluff. I've never seen such a fluffy mouse before! But it's definitely a mouse - big ears and long tail. Wooo.. Maybe a different breed or just an extremely groomed mouse! From CuteOverload.
Actually there're only two photos I'm posting. Haha. First, my new furniture! Okay I know. It doesn't look so fantastic. But you know, it's really different from before. Hehehe. Now I sleep upstairs! I bought a loft bed, so I could save space, place a table underneath and bring in my computer from the living room. So I don't have to compete with the crowd in the living room when I want to play my games or my songs and whatever. I feel reaalllly cosy in my own little under-the-bed work area. Hehe. And that white covered thing? My sewing machine! :D I can finally sew on a table!
I can finally sew! - without getting a backache.
And here is my little old mouse, Theodore. I've lost my other mice either to old age or tumours. Theo is my only surviving old old old mouse, along with Tania who is thankfully young and healthy. :) Maybe you don't think too much of this little guy because he isn't 100% cute, but heck, he is over 2 years old - coming 3. The average age of a mouse in captive is 1.5 years! He's lost a lot of weight and shed a lot of fur, but he's still such a wonderful darling. Old little dear. :) Nowadays he is either sleeping or sitting inside the food dish - eating. Every now and then you'll catch him climbing this fruit stick. He has always been a greedy mouse, ever since I first got him!
By Gracia Chiang, TODAY By end March, the public will be able to tell if a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) shop is selling endangered species products.
Under a new voluntary labelling scheme launched on Thursday, shops committed to not selling such products will place the red-coloured label (picture) at their entrance.
Organised by the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) and the Singapore TCM Organisations Committee (STOC), the "Acres and STOC Endangered Species-Friendly TCM Label" will cover three endangered species, namely bears, rhinoceroses and tigers.
These three species are currently given highest protection under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement of which Singapore is a signatory.
Mr Lee Tiong Sa, chairman of STOC said: "Even though this scheme does not guarantee 100 per cent that TCM shops will not sell such products anymore, it’s a form of psychological pressure because, by putting up the label, you have to set a good example."
Nine TCM companies representing more than 10 retail outlets have signed on so far. Mr Ng said that Acres and STOC would be holding joint seminars at the TCM College of Singapore and issuing circulars to STOC members in order to increase that number to 500 within half a year.
There are currently more than 800 TCM retail outlets in Singapore.
This new scheme comes on the back of a recent Acres undercover investigation into the illegal trade in bear products for TCM in Singapore which was conducted from May to October last year.
Five pairs of undercover investigators visited 115 TCM shops to inquire if they sold bear products ranging from bile pills to gall bladders. Some 20 per cent of shops were caught on tape, down from 73.5 per cent from a similar 2001 investigation. Although the significant drop is encouraging, director of investigations Ms Charlene Tan said the aim is to "completely wipe out the trade in endangered species".
Based on this tip-off, government regulatory body, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) made their own rounds at 100 TCM shops this year and found 14 shops offering illegal bear products for sale. Out of these, two samples were tested to be genuine bear bile products and these shops were fined $3,000 and $5,000. The remaining 12 shops that offered bear products, which turned out to be fakes, were fined between $500 and $1,000.
AVA’s head of wildlife regulatory, Ms Lye Fong Keng, welcomed the use of the labels. She said: "This scheme supplements AVA’s outreach programmes and continual efforts in stamping out illegal wildlife trade."
