and so, zoom and boom, december is almost halfway through. time is like a galloping moose these days. doesn't help that i had a nasty flu for over a week and before that there were some bad (as in worst ever) migraines. been in bed a lot, or at least confined to my home, so today it felt almost exotic to be out and about during the day. i went to the library, pet supply store and supermarket, left when the sun was rising, came home with it setting. daylight hours are few now, and the days shortening still. the air was chilly and a bit windy, but not too much. quite lovely, actually. everything was covered in a feathery frost.
i can't wait for 2016 to be over, and i know i'm not alone in this. it wasn't all bad, on the contrary there were many things i look back to with fondness. the searing sadnesses and shocks not so much... but most of all 2017 just looks more promising already. i will be doing some very interesting translating, of which more in the spring, and should be getting my personal ducks, if not in a row, then at least lolling about in one pond...
here's my darling sysi having some tasty porridge and pudding...
...oh wait, the naughty boy pushed the healthy bits aside and went straight for the vanilla custard with spirulina! (or is he just saving the best for last?)
most of my photos of the rats are dim and dark now, and i don't like to blast their sensitive eyes with the flash so it can't be helped. popcorn paused savu long enough to capture more than a blur. they do eat salad and veggies, too, and the new 'diet' is keeping them active, but we are all partial to treats in this household...
savu still has his tumour, by the way, but it has been growing so slowly that i opted against surgery at this point. not an easy decision either way but i feel like it is best for now. if anaesthetics were a lesser risk, i would've had the growth snipped in the bud, but savu was a smaller boy then and he has had respiratory sounds since he was a baby (so not myco, possibly just a nasal passage thing) and all in all i just had a strong gut feeling he would not pull through. if it ever starts to bother him then that's another matter but i hope he never has to go through that.
both are showing signs of becoming cuddlier with age. savu lets me pet him more and more, even asks for it, and tonight sysi was so happy after getting a bite from a potato chip that he stayed leaning against my hip (still not a lap rat!) while i scratched his neck for way longer than ever before. i almost thought he might fall asleep and stay. not this time but i have faith...
netflix sent me an e-mail today, saying they've added a show i might like. sure, except i watched the entire dirk gently's holistic detective agency yesterday already. it was quite captivating and really well done. i liked the casting a lot, too.
fingers crossed i get to go to the woods this week. i really want a yule spruce this year.
