Social Sunday No. 6

Hey folks. I hope your month's been good.

Quick little updates....

+ I have installed a "how to navigate this blog" page at the top left column... you should all check it out.

+ My etsy shop now has a mailing list. I will be using it to notify folks about sales, new products being launched, etc. I'm only going to be sending out probably 1-2 [no more than 3, ever] emails per month. You can join by emailing silverbeatshop [at] yahoo [dot] com

+ Due to more insanity than I've dealt with in a while, I'm jobless. Again. It's making me really moody.

+ The other night I accidentally deleted 25 comments. My apologies.

Now, onto the creamy nougat-y center.

What's one change you've made recently that you're super proud of?

My Answer: I cleaned out the garage and it makes for a really great storage space. I've got all of my old kennels and cages in there, plus 4 bales of hay, extra towels, my vermicompost bins... soon to add more!

WELCOME NEW FOLLOWERS, Please do join the fun!

Social Sunday no. 5

Hey y'all. I hope you've had a wonderful week. I am in a bit of a rush so this month's Social Sunday is gonna be pretty quick and dirty.

For those of you with C&C Cages... How long have you had a C&C cage setup and how many times have you rearranged the cage? [added a loft, made it bigger/smaller, changed the shape, etc]

My Answer: I have had C&C cages for as long as I've had cavies, and for my bunnies as well [four years now]. I have changed my pigs' setup more times than I'd care to think about... but here is me thinking out loud:

1st cage: 2x5 L-shaped cage for Sophie-Mo + Olive,

-->added a loft soon after building

2nd cage: 16.9 sq foot odd-shaped windowseat cage for Mo and Livvy, which they later moved back to with Tasha, Milo, and eventually the babies [and not Milo]

3rd cage: 2x8 divided into three sections: one housing Livvy and Laika, one with Milo and Winston, and one with Tasha, Mo and Ferdie.

4th cage: 2x6 for the girls, 2x3 for the boys

---> added a 1x6 loft to the girls a while after building

5th cage: 2x9 for the girls, my first floor cage

---> added a 2x3 flip-up loft, attached to a 1x4 windowseat loft recently.

There is a more detailed post about my cages coming soon.

***For those of you without... what cage setup do you have?

Social Sunday #4

Greetings, True Believers. Let's get right down to it.

Our fourth Social Sunday is a suggestion by Cassandra, one of our most avid readers/commenters :) She would like to know:

Why do you have cavies/what do you love about cavies?

My Answer:

I love so many things about guinea pigs, but the thing that sealed the deal for me was the little "wheek wheek" noises they make. Sometimes these noises are not so little. Hehe.

I just love being greeted by those cheerful noises whenever I walk in the front door/up the stairs/roll over in my sleep/breathe.

I look forward to hearing your answers!

I also have exciting and yet not-so-exciting news. A dear family friend passed away recently, and his wife is now "getting rid" of some of the extra stuff lying around, so I am finally getting my own [Dell] laptop, instead of having to write to y'all from various shared computers at whatever hour I can get ahold of them, I will be able to write whenever I please [oh no], and be a lot more organized about it. I love Macs, but I'm really terrible at navigating them. I was raised on Windows.

photo-less Social Sunday

It's still Sunday for a few more hours...

So here's our third Social Sunday question:

What is one unique/remarkable/just plain silly thing that your guinea pig[s] does/do? This can be a trick you have taught them, a habit they've formed, or just something about their personality.

My Answer: The babies [Winnie, Laika and Ferdie] have always been more agile than their older cagemates. Winnie loves to jump up onto his hidey and lounge the day away, or perch and watch the world go by. And Laika and Ferdie, when they do zoomies or popcorn, they will include their hammock into their "laps;" they jump into it and right back out of it without missing a beat while running their laps. It is one of the funnier things I've seen in my years.

Happy Independence Day to those who celebrate it. :)

Ready for another one?

Hey everyone,

Oh my goodness, it's been a week! This one got away from me; I was planning to do a new Tiny Tips post about cleaning but never finished it! It should be ready by Tuesday or at the very latest Thursday, so y'all have that to look forward to :)

Things are crazy as always here at the yellow house. I was just informed yesterday that the lease I plan to sign next month has been changed from a 12-month lease to a 6+ month lease. My landlady wants to sell the house, and Scott and I sure aren't buying it.

Such is life. I am still working on the guinea pigs' room, and I'm honestly glad I found this out before I finished it; now there won't be so much to do if we're just gonna move out in six months or so. This news is a disappointment, but also presents some exciting new opportunities for me as a future farmer.. it means I can look for a new house closer to the country.

I hope you've enjoyed a peek into my personal life. Now onto our Social Sunday question. This week I would like to know...

Your story. How/why did you get your guinea pigs? Were they a pet store "rescue"? Adopted from a friend? Snatched up as they quivered before the dripping jaws of fate on a cold and dreary November night?! Tell us!

Most of you already know my stories so I'll be brief.

Olive and Sophie: adopted whilst transporting a fiesty lionhead from shelter to sanctuary

Natasha and Maybel, aka Milo: adopted when a babysitee of mine had a second accidental litter

Winstonn, Ferdie and Laika: Brought to you by the terror that is Milo Two-Face aka Maybel the Mountain Pig. His intro is coming soon.

You all are welcome to be as detailed as your heart desires.

Social Sunday #1 and an Etsy update

Hi everyone,

Welcome one and all to our first-ever Social Sunday! Each week I will be asking you all a question relating to your piggies, and I would love you all to participate by answering in the comments section at the bottom of each post. Even if you do not have a Blogger ID, you can comment using your Livejournal, AIM, etc. The purpose of this exercise is so that we all get to know each other['s pigs] a little better :)

Our first Social Sunday question is this: What are your pigs' names and what is one ridiculous/silly pet name you have for them?

My answer: My pigs are Sophie-Mo, Olive, Natasha, Milo, Winston, Laika and Ferdinand. Two of my silliest pet names for them are 'Tasha 'Tocks--because Natasha is a bit heavier than the rest of my pigs, so I call her by her huge butt--and sometimes I sing Winston's name: Winnie The Guinea-Pig!

Etsy update: 15% of my Etsy proceeds will be going to the Oswego County Guinea Pig Rescue indefinitely, to help Jennifer free up some space for her rescue cavies. The money will go towards a bigger cage, or cages, for her sanctuary piggies. Most of her permanent resident pigs are singles and she would like to house them together, so I and my Etsy shoppers are going to help her with that. I will post monthly at my shop how much we have donated. If you have yet to check out my Etsy shop, I encourage you to do so now! :) New stuff that's on the way includes bunk-bed hammocks and custom-sized cage/crate pads/liners for C&Cs, Ferret Nations and Midwest dog crates.