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My mom recently commented to me, "I wish I could die and come back as one of your pets." Sadly, I kind of have to agree with her. My furballs enjoy pretty sweet lives. So this week I embarked on some cage renovation for the little sea pigs. Sparked by a fellow pig owner's comment, I found out about using fleece to line the pigs' cage. For the uninitiated, you generally line the cage with a mixture of hardwood chips (something non-aromatic and oil-free, like aspen) and CareFresh which is a crinkly, paper-like absorbent material. The CareFresh is expensive but important because wood shavings are dusty, oily and even the scent-free kind can irritate sensitive piggy noses. This works well to an extent. The cons are that it creates a lot of waste, and cleaning is kind of a hassle (no one likes scooping poop), and it can get expensive though the wood helps cut the cost. Lastly, the pigs tend to choose 'bathroom' spots that get wet and smelly faster than others. Obviously smell is bad, and no one wants to live in a spongey environment.

The first step to the renovation was to expand the cage. The really truly dedicated pig people say that 10.5' sq is ideal for two pigs. The last cage reconfig only gave them 7.5' with a 13"x13" loft and I've been feeling guilty ever since. I have a ton of spare cube pieces so when I couldn't sleep on Monday night I got out the zip ties and went to work.

The new abode (I like to call it Pigwarts) has different rooms. Pictured above is the Apéritif y Antipasti room. Note the two water bottles for multi-pig hydrating. This is also where most of the veggies land. You'll notice that the AyA room has a traditional CareFresh and wood shavings floor. This is because pigs (like most rodents) are multi-taskers and tend to do the input and output of food at the same time. Plus the waters are drippy.

The middle of the cage is now dedicated to living and lounging space. Several layers of cotton towels are topped with soft and plushy polyester fleece. Urine quickly drains through the polyester into the towels, which are laundered 1-2 times a week. A quick daily vacuum keeps the poop under control and the whole thing supposedly will stay drier and cleaner. Ideally the pigs will concentrate their waste activities in the areas with CareFresh. In the meantime everyone seems quite pleased with the velvety soft bedding.

Last but not least, you should notice the second kitchen, the tube tunnel (with viewing ports) and the expanded hay loft. The hay goes in up top and 'Tufo and Ginnie spend a lot of time pulling it down (much easier than just going upstairs). No picture yet, but it's very cute to watch such stubby animals go up on two legs.

The bottom of the cage provides convenient storage space, though I think the next project will be to create a curtain to go around the bottom. It doesn't look that bad, but the cubes just seems so dorm chic to me.

I'm sure this won't be the last change to the environment, but for now the pigs and I are pretty pleased. It really seems like they have a lot more room and I like the look of the space (key since it's in my office.) Several weeks of dedicated socializing have also brought about huge changes and I'm free to pet and pick them up, rub their noses, bellies and cheeks and there is far less terror involved, especially from Ginnie.

Wheek wheek!

PUBLISH OR PERISH
I'm trying not to be bitter that Sarah is having seasons. Cathy and I are going to try and fake it while I'm in DC next week. She's been posting like crazy lately, but seems to have fallen off the bandwagon this week. Heather warned me she would be late, but I think she forgets that the rest of us are on EST, so she still makes the cut in my book.

It's a busy time of year at work as I slog through thousands of pictures to find the few prize winners that will grace our annual calendar. I'm also tossing around layouts that I'll probably show to the decision makers on Friday. I think this 'look' will be the winner:

In our business there are a lot of things that need to be right about a picture. Everyone needs to be in safety compliance, we don't want to show proprietary information - either our own, or our clients - and we want it to be an interesting picture! My simple mantra for the guys out in the field is SOMETHING IN THE FOREGROUND AND AN EXPANSIVE JOBSITE IN THE BACK. One of our core clients' few jobs this year is already done and this picture was the best that anyone bothered to snap.

It looks fine, right? People in the foreground, jobsite in the back. But the two guys holding the stick...well, you don't have to know what you're looking at to wonder how many men it takes to hold a stick. The answer should be one. In the actual situation, one man is training the other, but for the sake of appearances I altered the situation a little bit:

Easy peasy. There's no how-to tutorial to accompany this because it is pure clone tool. One of the best things about our job sites is monotonous patterns that can easily be modified to clear off camera date stamps or remove wayward safety hazards. Or like that one time I took out the handicap parking lines from our parking lot after we closed it off in order to have a bbq. That will just be our little secret.

 

PoP has changed with the seasons: posting is now on Wednesdays and Heather of thingsandthin.gs has joined us! Hooray. Cathy has been on a whirlwind of posts including a new advice column, and Sarah is taking her turn at a little bit of slack. But she's got plenty of quality posts that I am behind on, so no worries.

I wrote out a to-do list for everything I needed to do after work on Monday. The good news is, I got everything done. The bad news is, I forgot to put PoP on there! Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Caitypillar:

 

My new apartment has a little sliver of a backyard and it's absolutely perfect for me. I've rented houses with lawns, but a lawn is so intimidating. If you're going to make a change it needs to be big and fit in with the house and be something your landlord is going to accept. The small scale of the yard gives me enough room to plant some flowers and herbs, have a BBQ, a little sitting area, and still room for the cats to dust bathe and poop.

 

It's this last, unglamorous requirement that led me to Home Depot a few weeks ago. The previous tenants had tried to carve out a little space in the yard though I think they ultimately ended up container gardening in the space. All that's left is a thriving aloe plant. The dirt there is diggable and not covered in grass, so the cats have been taking the path of least resistance in regards to their toilet activities. This space is right next to the patio so there's often a certain odor floating on the wind as I sit on the porch and relax in the evening. Though it is kind of interesting to watch the giant flies try and answer the age old question regarding pin heads and angels...only with cat dung and themselves.

 

All of this has meant that designing the yard got bumped up in my move-in priority list. The first stage became a "smell barrier" at the edge of the cement slab that is the patio. I picked scented geraniums and marigolds as partial sun/shade plants that produce strong but pleasant odors that will both block any yard odor as well as deter mosquitoes and other insects. Win-win. Also, I think marigolds are just the most cheerful flower and I know that they're hardy and won't die on my immediately.

 

 

I picked a great time to plant because the day after was the start of a week-long early evening deluge. So far the plants appear to be taking well, though in looking at this picture I realize I need to add some more wood chips. Can't let the weeds settle in!

 

In addition to the marigolds I wanted to pick up some dill. But I ended up also picking up a little passenger along with the dill. She and the dill ended up in my cupholder on the way home, thus the title of the post. I bought her a parsley as well as some pintas and other "butterfly" flowers. Sadly Caitypillar has abandoned me, but I'm hoping she'll come flying back at some point soon. In the meantime I need to find some resources on square foot gardening and see if it's something I want to try. I want to put the herbs and butterfly flowers in a raised bed, but I haven't figured out what my ideal edge material is (brick, wood, pre-built plastic?). I will attempt to get the rest of the plants in the ground this weekend so they don't die and go to waste. More pictures and plans as the yard develops.

 

PoP: Thank you to Sarah, both for her awesome conversation and cheering skills as well as being our consistent poster. Catherine has another VenusZine piece up, but she's not cross-promoting yet. Bad PoPper! Speaking of cross-promotion...I do blog fairly frequently, I just do it for work.

Paint Colors -- Low odor, zero VOC paint from Mythic. Walls = Wild Mallard (152-1); Trim = Blush of Dawn (016-1); Ceiling = Celestial Blue (028-2)
Duvet set -- Peacock Dove Duvet Set by DwellStudio
Roman shades -- Most of the room in the house have nice roman shades, but if I need to get better light blockers, I might go for a traditional or tulip roman shade in a satiny finish.
FLOR carpet tile -- I want some modern edges to set off the luxurious/romantic feeling…but I'm not sure if these modular carpet squares will look right or not. I'm leaning towards something shiny with maybe a stripe.
Most beautiful bed ever -- Totally worth the whopping $3500 in my opinion, the Sophia Bed is what I never knew I've always  wanted.

I am at T-21 hours so it seemed time to get the spare bedroom order. This room is really my office, but the changes are dually beneficial. I have tucked away unsightly odds and ends, but this aso keeps those things safe when the kids visit. And the new Ikea bed is a regular twin for adult visitors, but there is a faux trundle underneath that Ben loves. It's also useful for spare blankets. The computer monitor is actually a TV and the bed is only a few pillows away from a daybed. With the curtains pulled shut it becomes a wonderful little sanctum in the apartment, safe from everyone but the cats as Penne demonstrates here investigating the 'lack-case' I've assembled from unused end tables. Tomorrow is kitchen, hall, car, decorating and airport pickup!
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