Tea Party Celebration

I loved that warm and sunny break from the cold we had in the middle of the day!  The wind and rain we have again are scaring Arien, so she's back in the basement for protection.  😅  She's really cute when she's scared, but I do feel bad that she's so scared.  I don't understand why she's scared though because she wasn't always like that, so I think something must have happened when we weren't home or something.  I think I'll go make her a cat-sized bomb shelter (aka pillow and blanket fort 😂) and see if that helps.

I don't know exactly when Haleth was born, but she is probably two years old now, so we had a little celebration!  I didn't think she would live this long as my female hamsters have tended to have shorter lifespans, but I'm thrilled she has!  She actually seems to be in really good health so I hope she sticks around for a lot longer.  Or at least until March when we can celebrate her gotcha day.  💗  Maybe I'll try again to get her to actually wear her party hat.  😂

This was the first tea party that Glorfindel has attended.  He quite liked it!  Although he tipped over his tea cup after he was done eating.  I think he needs to practice his manners.  At least he is cute!  😅

Last summer when I first heard about text-to-image AI art and saw some of it, I quickly knew I wanted to check it out.  I was busy with work though so it wasn't until last December that I spent a couple hours over two days reading about it, looking into different platforms, and trying out a couple of free versions.  I soaked up all the info I was finding and the first chance I got, I proceeded to spend an hour telling Joe about everything I was learning and what I wanted to use this for.  He dived right into learning about it as well and by that night, we had Stable Diffusion installed on our desktop.  I definitely have a lot to learn, especially since I haven't actually spent that much time using it, but I'm loving the results!  I have a lot of plans for what I want to create with this.  In the meantime, I'm planning to share some of my favorite images with each post.

I am impressed with how much better than hamsters look now compared to when I was first doing images with them last year.  I do still think some of them look too much like a mouse or even a guinea pig.  Anyways, I knew I wanted to create images that would show what a hamster birthday party could look like if it included a party hat, cake, and lit candles.  The results varied a bit and quite a few of them had the party hat lit in addition to the candles, which I find both hilarious and adorable.  Overall, I really happy with these!

Happy Gotcha Days to Fili, Kili, and Haleth!

It's hard to believe that I'm celebrating 2 years with Fili and Kili!  I got these munchkins on March 24, 2020.  I brought them home from the Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control right before the pandemic really hit our area and the first stay at home orders started.  They were the perfect buddies for me during what turned into a much longer time at home than what was anticipated.  A year later, on March 17, 2021, I brought home Haleth also from the ACC.  I really appreciate that there are plenty of good options near me for adopting hamsters such as the ACC here in Fort Wayne, the Pipsqueakery in Bloomington, or even getting connected to people who've had accidental litters so I can have hamsters without going to pet stores which supports hamster mills with horrible living conditions.  That said, I do think it would be awesome if eventually I could buy a hamster from a reputable breeder such as Strongbrew Hamstery who focuses on hamster genetics and breeding better, healthier lines.

Fili doesn't really show any signs of aging, which is quite impressive since he is likely over 25 months old.  He gets really excited when he sees me because he wants treats.  However he always seems so grumpy if I reach in and give him pets instead of food.  Hahaha!

Part of the reason I am posting these a week early is because Kili probably doesn't have much longer left.  I'm spoiling him with so many yummy treats to encourage him to eat.  He still gets around and is my most active ham during the day, but he has been sleeping more and more, so I know the end is near.  I don't intend to get him out for any more photo shoots, but I'll keep you posted on him.  💓

Haleth has always been the most timid hamster I've ever owned, which is a shame because she is such a cute model!  Anyways, I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but at some point I discovered that Haleth is not at all afraid of our cats.  😒  There have been so many times when I've heard banging coming from the office and I'll go in and see the cats sitting in front of Haleth's bin watching her loudly rearranging her home as one does.  But as soon as Haleth becomes aware that I'm there watching too, she darts for cover.  I've even caught them all sniffing noses through the mesh.  😂  Anyways, I am glad that Haleth is happy and healthy even if she likes that cats more than me, and I certainly hope I have her for at least another year.  It would be so fun to celebrate a second "Gotcha Day" with her.

It was at this point that I realized that Haleth was putting SO much food in her cheeks that the hat would be hard to get off, so we took a break so I could take it off and then let her continue stuffing her face.  😂

Haleth wanted to check out Mr. Owl as he was the only guest invited to her party.  

New Flooring

I definitely struggled to get pictures of the hamsters on the new flooring we have in our kitchen and dining room.  I knew they would all need a very enticing treat so they wouldn't just run off while I was stuck laying on the floor to get the pictures.  So the boys got walnut which is their favorite, and Haleth got a pecan which is her favorite.  Anyways, back to the flooring.  I was nervous about the designs for this remodeling project because everything we picked out was so much darker than what we had.  However, the granite is quite shiny, and the black flooring we picked reflects way more light than the carpet could which is definitely not something I had considered so that was a nice surprise.  In general, everything actually looks brighter and more open!  We really love it so much!

In case I haven't said it yet, I think I am finally accepting that Fili has turned into a grumpy old ham.  I don't mind too much, but I think that's mostly because Kili is still a little darling and they look identical.  😂

For the record, I remember their names by saying "Kili is kind".  I never bothered to come up with something for Fili, but at this stage of his life, I think it would be "Fili is fury".  😅  I do love them both and love that they are unique even though I can't tell them apart in pictures.  I totally made a system of always photographing Kili first which is really only because his bin sits on the shelf above Fili and I start at the top and work my way down.  I also use watermark placement to keep the pictures straight.  I gotta say, this will probably be the last time I get identical hams at the same time.  😂

I'm quite obsessed with Haleth.  She such a gorgeous girl and even though she's more timid than any other ham I've had, she is still so sweet and fun to watch, especially when she eats.  😍

Christmas Nativity Scene

The weeks seem to be flying by!  But the presents are mostly wrapped (we're still waiting on a couple to be delivered), I've started the baking and have a thorough plan of what I'm making and when I'm making it, and I'm cutting back on my work so I can enjoy Christmas break with my husband.  I feel blessed that I can step away from the busyness of life and focus on the things that actually matter.  Nearly all of our Christmas decorations came from my in-laws, including this nativity set.  I miss them so much!

Laurelin was so calm and gentle as she inspected the nativity set.  She probably could pass as the angel.  😇

I'm fairly certain that Tarmund just doesn't sleep.  No matter what time of day it is, he is almost always awake.  I don't know where he gets all that energy!  😂

Fili and Kili are surprisingly still fairly picky eaters.  I offered them a bit of plain cooked chicken the other day and they didn't know what to do with it.  Haha!  Thankfully I know that if I want them to be still, I can give them walnuts.  😁