Drifting

My first week back in class after Christmas break was a busy one. I completed an entire semester's worth of math assignments and tests in the span of 4 days, to get it out of the way. On top of that I finished with 95% and the professor suggested I tutor. It's not something I'm interested in doing but it's nice to hear that kind of thing nonetheless.

Other than school, I'm not up to a whole lot. I've been cooking, and gaming a lot, especially since I picked up Red Dead Redemption two weekends ago. I snatched up a recliner from my parents' when they got themselves a new living room set. It was originally my grandfather's, then my parents had it and now it's mine. My kitty is more than happy to have it.

My supper last night was the above-pictured mushroom and red pepper linguine, with a healthy dollop of sour cream. The leftovers are something I'm certainly looking forward to eating tonight too. There's nothing better than good, simple food to make me happy. Cheers!

Goodbye 2013

I may have let this blog lapse into long periods of silence but I couldn't let myself allow the last day of this year slip away without some sort of post. The things I have been doing these last few weeks... Primarily, being a hermit. I don't go out, I don't call anybody, I don't have anyone over. I quilted my little heart out in time to make my mother a lap quilt for Christmas. I've been doing plenty of baking and cooking. Also probably a lot more eating than I should be. Video games, late nights, quality kitty snuggle time and a marathon of Nip/Tuck has also been a recent thing for me. 

I have another five days off before classes start again. My holidays have just flown by and that makes me sad. I'm honestly dreading classes this semester, the schedule is brutal and I'm going to be waking up at 5:30am four days a week. It's no worse than what I've done before but still. Not looking forward to it. I could look back at 2013 and think of all the things I've done, but I don't care enough to. I just hope 2014 brings a slimmer, less lazy me who actually knows what the hell she's doing with herself half the time. Happy New Year...

Sundown Sand Boa

The rain is coming down again today, so my pumpkin-picking trip with friend and baby is postponed until tomorrow. I don't mind too much, having a lazy day in my pajamas feels good. My parents, grandmother and I went for a dinner at my college's culinary-student run restaurant last evening. I was gifted a paid meal for four there and it was absolutely delicious.

Top - Thrifted from The Salvation Army

Dress as Skirt - Purchased from Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy

Leggings - Ardene's

Shoes - Gift from grandmother

It was a really nice way to end my week of mid-terms. Next week is reading week so I have no classes. Time to relax! I have one essay I want to work on but otherwise, I plan to spend my time relaxing, visiting friends and family, and making good food. I'm going to clean out of my animal room and attempt to organize it as best as I can. I still don't have a garden shed so I think I'll just box up my things and bring them over to my grandmother's, since she said I could store things there.

My lovely female Kenyan Sand Boa has finally reached her full adult size. From this point, she may get fatter, but she won't get much longer. She's such an adorable chunky little thing! I love my pretty Halloween, and I'm still glad I named her such, it's so fitting. But she's one of the snake-babies who's tank needs a cleaning so I'd best get on that. Cheers!

Little Creatures

I've already found several adorable little creatures in and around my garden, and I've found another. Garter snakes are such lovely animals and they're even sweet when they're tiny. This one was hanging out on top of my compost pile and I couldn't resist photographing it.



And here below is a final photo of my Grey Tree Frog. My parents' caught it back in 2009 and I kept it as a pet until this past week. I decided that after all these years in my care, that the little fella deserved to go back out in the wild. Maybe make some more little froggies. It was really hard for me to let it go, but that's just my nature with animals.



I actually acquired three more little life forms on the day I released the frog... Three little catfish, barely the size of my thumb. While walking along the lake shore in North Bay, I saw a large school of them doing their little fishy thing, and couldn't resist taking some home. They're living on my kitchen table in a little tank for the moment. I'll likely release them before the year is through, but I'm enjoying having them for the time being. Cheers!

All's a Garden

I've actually been wearing some really cute outfits lately, but I've been too busy/lazy to take photos. My garden is getting plenty of attention though. I'm at the point where little wildlife is coming to live in and around the garden and that pleases me more than I can say. It was one of the things I'd been hoping for so it's wonderful that little creatures are making a home there now.



Toads are some of my favourite animals as it is, but itty bitty toadlets really take the cake. They're just so tiny and hoppy and cute! Perfect for eating all the little insects in my garden that might be harmful to my plants. My compost pile has been attracting other animals, mainly Northern Red-Belly snakes, my most favourite Ontario species of small snake. They're completely harmless and don't get much bigger than the one in my photo below.



They're another fantastic species to have in and around a garden because they mainly feed on slugs and small snails. I found this little fella living in the dirt directly inside my compost heap. There must be plenty of delicious things for it and its little snake friends in there because I've seen one almost every time I'm out there adding to my heap or turning the compost. I hope you are having a good week. Cheers!

Reptile Cameo

I've mentioned often how I have a collection of exotic pets, from tarantulas to snakes. Here are a few photos I took of one of my ball pythons, and my two adult crested geckos. The lilac bushes in the front yard are in full bloom and I knew it would make for a perfect backdrop for my reptilian darlings. I hope you like them!

They're frightening and gross to some people, but these animals are just beautiful to me. Total sweethearts too, they let me cover them with kisses without issue. If I made just one person see these animals in a new and positive light, then I did good. Hope you have a good weekend. Cheers!

Beautiful Tarantula

Most people would never refer to any spider as beautiful, but I really think my big boy deserves such a word. He's got such lovely colours, he really is pretty. My male Pamphobeteus sp. platyomma molted a few days ago, and I've just been waiting until I could get a good shot of him post-molt before showing you all the photos. I feel oddly proud, like a mother I suppose. The first photo is of him pre-molt on his back, preparing.



There you have it, a metallic purple-pink spider bigger than your hand. My handsome lad! It's taken four years for him to reach maturity, and he started off the size of a quarter. I'm a little sad that the darling turned out male since that really shortens their lifespan. Females can live up to twenty years, but this fellow only has a year or two left to go. I am definitely going to cry when he dies. I hope at least some of you can appreciate these photos. Cheers!

Snakes in a Kitchen

Tomorrow makes it a week my having lived in my new apartment and it's really starting to feel like home now. I still have some boxes to unpack, but most of it is photos and nicknacks, nothing particularly crucial to my ability to live in my home. I have a lot of organizing ahead of me, but at least I don't live in box-central anymore. My snake babies don't seem to have been at all affected by the move either, and that's relieving.

 Top - Gifted from Heather

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Ball Pythons - Mother Nature

Even my toes are multicoloured! I really don't look like what most people probably think a snake enthusiast should look haha... I stopped worrying what people thought of my appearance a long time ago though, and it'd be hard to go back to blandness.

It's hard to believe I've had these boys for about four years now. They're such sweeties, as are all my snakes. My animal room is all set up for them now, and I just need to unpack my sewing machine and set up my craft station and the room will essentially be finished too. I love that I'm a lady who sews and keeps snakes, who loves shoes and collects animal furs and other odd 'morbid' bits and bobs. A personality made of bright juxtapositions. Speaking of which, I have more boxes of bones to unpack. Cheers!

Geckotastic

Not much to say today, just sharing some photos I took yesterday. I have one baby gecko left from my last clutch, and the pet shop will be buying it off me this week. It's an adorable wee thing, and I could probably keep it easily enough, but I'm going to part with it now before I get too attached. The other three crested geckos are more than enough for the time being.

Ah what my cat would give for a few free moments to play with that nifty wiggly toy thing! He's good about obeying me when I'm around but he's gotten himself into a few pickles while on his own. Which is why the animals have their own room now. I hope you all have a good start to your week. Cheers!

New Arachnids

Some of you may be aware of my large collection of pets, but today I've made two new additions to my little zoo. I already have 8 tarantulas, but most of them are either adults or in the late stages of being a juvenile. It's been a long time since I've had little baby T's around. So today - with a lucky opportunity to have them dropped off for free from Tarantula Canada - I got two slings, baby tarantulas.

The top one is a Hapalopus sp. Colombia large aka Pumpkin patch tarantula. The bottom one is a Cyriocosmus elegans aka Trinidad dwarf tarantula. They're both less than 1/4" in size right now, but they'll grow to several inches in size. I'm so very happy to have these little ones under my care, they'll grow into beautiful adults. I hope you're all having a good weekend. Cheers!

Ssssweet Things

What a day I've had! I won't go into details because it's stressed me out enough, but suffice to say I am very unhappy with the Government of Canada, how they run this country, and how they treat their citizens. So on a lighter note... feast your eyes on some of the tasty sweet things I've been baking up in class this past week, and shots of my gorgeous Jewel the female albino checkered garter snake.



The above are a Pithivers and six overstuffed Chaussons aux Pommes (apple turnovers) made with puff pastry dough. The top pastry is filled with an almond cream and I'm really quite pleased with how it turned out. The only hitch was the little "petals" should be round rather than pointy.



I can't believe what a big girl my sweet Jewel is turning into! I remember when she was barely as big 'round as a pencil and now she's such a chunky spunky thing. She just gets prettier the more she grows, with those gorgeous yellows and lavenders in her scales.



Lastly, here's one you all probably recognize. I baked this Black Forest cake on Friday. I even made the chocolate shavings! It was a really fun practical that day and I'm happy with how it came out, even if I wound up not using nearly enough simple syrup to soak the cake layers and it turned out a tad too dry. Live and learn! I won't be making that mistake again. Anyhow, that's that for now. I hope you've had a good Monday and your week goes well. Cheers!

Off to the Circus

The owner of Pet Circus on Bank street here in Ottawa bought up my last baby crested gecko - other than Toffee, my very first hatchling.  Until the last two eggs hatch out anyway. I took a few photos before I sent the little critter off.



I really adore these little lizards, and it was harder sending this one off to a pet store than it was to give them away to friends and family. I won't get to know how this one grows up or know if whoever purchases it will be a responsible owner. I can't imagine how it feels to be a dog breeder and trying to find puppies a good home! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this gecko interlude. Cheers!

Morning Hatchlings

I was already having an absolutely wonderful Saturday when I got an extra little gift. Two more crested gecko eggs hatched this morning, and out popped more adorable little crestie babies. The last two that hatched out have already found homes - with my father and a cousin - so I wonder if any more of my friends will fall under the crested gecko spell and want to adopt these little guys too. I snapped a few quick photos before settling them into their new home.



Aren't they the cutest little things? I really hope the left one keeps some of its orange colouring, that would be fantastic. I thought it would be difficult getting rid of them - I can't keep them all - but it's actually neat this way because I get to enjoy them while they're itty bitty teency weency before anybody else. Then I see them off before enjoying more itty bitty teency weencies. I've finally seperated my male from the female though, so depending on when they last got busy, she'll be done laying in the next one to eight months. Anyway, I should be getting ready for my women's social. I hope you're all having a really great weekend. Cheers!

Another Newbie

You might recall a little less than a month ago when I shared photos of my first ever crested gecko hatchling. Well yesterday I got home from work to discover that an egg from the next clutch had hatched during the afternoon! I was thrilled, and I'm in love with the wee thing already. Its clutch-mate (since crested geckos lay 2 eggs at a time) still has yet to hatch, but I figure it'll join its sibling in another few days. Before photos of the new baby gecko though, here's a new outfit.

Top - Fairweather

Skirt - No idea, some mall shop

Leggings - Sirens, I think

Sandals - Thrifted from Value Village

I wore this last Saturday to help my friend Chrissy (who took these photos) start packing up her apartment. In retrospect, wearing a white top while packing was kind of a bad idea and I wound up getting pretty dusty, but nothing a good wash won't clear up. I bought this orange tube skirt and one in pink for $5 each, only to realize they're near transparent. I wore this orange one as a tube top a little while ago actually, so while I can't wear them on their own, they're still proving very useful for light layering. Now if only I'd noticed my leggings were uneven...

Getting dressed that day made me realize how few shorter tops I actually have that aren't long-sleeved. I went through a phase where everything had to cover my butt, which is fine and dandy, but sometimes I want something that doesn't have the ability to stretch near-to-my-knees. Methinks I'll have to do a spot of thrifting to remedy this sometime soon. And now... the gecko babeh!

This photo is slightly blurred - I apologize - but I didn't think it would be very polite to blind the wee thing with a camera flash not hours out of its egg. You can see that the egg on the left is much bigger than the empty one on the right because it's still full of gecko cuteness. The eggs grow and expand as the little geckos do, so once they're empty they tend to collapse into themselves, unlike hard-shelled bird eggs.

I really love this last photo because you can see that the baby is still all wrinkly in its newness. If I'm really lucky I'll go home today to find that the second egg has hatched open. It was still intact when I left at lunch time though. It's so exciting knowing there's a little life in there, I can't wait to see what it looks like. I hope you're all having a good week so far. Cheers!

New Arrival

I spent my weekend out in the wilds of Québec, and had an absolutely amazing time. We were camped out on the tippy top of a small mountain, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. The weather was gorgeous and we couldn't have asked for better. I mean really, what more can you ask for when you crawl out of your tent to this kind of view?



And on top of having a totally amazing weekend, I got to come home to a new baby crested gecko. The eggs I had been incubating finally hatched - of course while I was away - and I was delighted to find a new little life in my home. Sadly one of the two seems to have escaped. I'm hoping it just hid somewhere and that I will find it soon. Admittedly I am worried that my cat ate it. Hopefully not! The one that didn't escape is adorable. I think I might name it Toffee.



The sun is shining and my heart is filled with joy and love. My mind has been expanded and my eyes have seen new sights like none before. I hope you all had a weekend as great as mine. Cheers!

Have Some Cuteness

Seeing as I am leaving to head off to the Electronic Brain festival today, I thought I would leave you all with some fuzzy baby-bird cuteness (after my outfit of course). These photos were taken a few weeks ago while out walking around Dow's Lake with a friend also kind enough to take my outfit photos. Said friend is very tall which explains why the view of me is from higher up than usual haha... Why it never occurred to me to take outfit photos by the lake is beyond me.

 

Dress - Purchased from Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy

Belt - Gift from Heather

Sandals - Spring

Is it weird that I actually feel more awkward having someone take my outfit photos than I do doing it by myself via timer? Even if I'm in public, somehow being by myself is easier. I guess because I don't care what strangers think but I for some reason still worry the person photographing me will think I'm a loon. 

That first photo with the seagull swooping down just cracks me up. The baby geese were already practically bigger than it was! We'd brought along old bread and so by the time we left there was quite a feathered frenzy going on. A couple with a young baby were there and I gave them some bread and it really made the kid's day to have those baby geese waddle up to him!

For being such cranky, cantankerous birds, geese are still very lovely to look at. It's just a shame they poop so much! I'm pretty sure these geese parents only tolerated our getting so near because we were handing out bread. Anyway, off I go adventuring! Expect a post with tales of my weekend sometime upon my return. Have a great weekend everybody! Cheers!

One Less Frog

I've mentioned more than once in my blog posts that I have a wacky variety (and number) of pets in my apartment. Up until this week, I'd had two gray tree frogs. I found one of them dead in the tank on Tuesday, which was a bummer to say the least. It was just a frog, and I didn't cry over it, but my heart still sank in my chest. A little light in the world had gone out.

People have a hard time understand how or why I have such a passion for these animals. I know my frogs or geckos or tarantulas don't love me. They are not consciously aware of me beyond my being some giant looming shape that sometimes picks them up and drops food into their containers. And while the death of my frog did not bring tears to my eyes, I was still saddened.

These creatures captivate me, their very existence is a joy and wonder. Have you ever stopped to think how absolutely amazing it is that these little frogs can be frozen solid and thaw out to continue life as usual? If a human freezes, we die, that's it. These frogs not only live through that, it's part of their natural life cycle! They really are amazing creatures, from their little suction-cup-like gripping feet to their sticky tongues and color-changing skin.

The closest frog in the photo above is the one that died. I'll miss hearing them sing to each other. I'll miss how delicate it was compared to its larger companion, which allowed it to snuggle up to the tiny fake leaves in its tank. I'll miss my frog, and there's nothing wrong with that. I just wish more people could understand that even a life as tiny as a frog's can be precious. Cheers...