Pixie the Baby Field mouse

Hi there!
It's a cold and wet Saturday evening as I sit down to write this post.
My family is otherwise occupied for the time being so I thought I would write this post.

Looking back on my blog posts this year I realized I had not blogged about this sweet little mouse.
And I wanted to share the story...

In December of 2012 we went away for 10 days to the Cederberg Mountains. A beautiful, rustic part of South Africa. So rustic in fact that there is no cellphone or internet signal. The day we were packing up to leave, my friend discovered a litter of new born field mice in her daughter's clothes. We put them in a box and put them in our caravan tent, hoping that the mother would find them and move them to a new home. We saw her zipping past, with a baby in her mouth and were thankful that our plan had worked...or so we thought.

When my husband moved his fleece jacket to pack it away, we discovered she had moved them all to his jacket (and ripped it to shreds making her nest!). So back into the box we put them and waited until she found them.We saw her move one or two and then put the box in the long grass on the edge of the campsite where we had seen the mice had a "run". It was the best we could do considering the circumstances - out in the middle of nowhere and trying to pack up.

Eventually we had packed up and with one last peep into the box, we saw some squirming and heard little high pitched squeaks, but it didn't look like the mother was there. We left and began our long journey home...

Fast forward to a couple of hours later and we were unpacking the caravan. Hubby lifts up some towels and guess what falls out....a teeny tiny baby mouse!

Somehow during packing up, the mother had snuck one of her babies in! Probably meaning to come back with all the others but didn't make it that far. We were not sure if she was in there too. In the meantime I took the baby mouse inside. Not knowing at all what to do. I didn't want to handle it in case we found the mother and then we could reunite mother and baby. So in the meantime I went to the vet and bought some kitten formula, some hamster bedding and a syringe. I did research on google and decided to start feeding the little mouse, not knowing how long it had gone without any food. We put a friendly little trap set up in the caravan (a little box that would simply fall down and trap her in it so that we could reunite her with her baby).

I got a hot water bottle ready and put that in the bottom of the box with hamster bedding on top.I then began the process of feeding the mouse, holding it in a face cloth. I had learned, during my research to take a cotton ear bud, make it damp with warm water and turn the mouse over, stroking it's belly a few times. This is what the mother does, before she feed them. She licks them on their little tummies, to activate their appetite and get their digestive system active. It also wakes them up so that they are ready to feed. I then tried the syringe but it was too big and came out too fast. So I found a tiny paint brush which I dipped in the formula and after opening it's mouth, and putting it in, the little mouse began to suck furiously on it!

It was really quite a process. The little mouse wasn't more than 3cm, fitting in middle of the palm of my hand. It's eyes were still closed. At first she didn't want to feed, but after I got the hang of it, she was feeding quite often. (every 30 min at first and then I switched to every hour). During that night I woke up every two hours to feed it. It was like having a new born baby again! I had to get up to warm the hot water bottle too and re- arrange the bed.

The next morning, I felt like a steam train had ridden over me. The first thing I thought about when I woke up was the mouse, checking on her straight away! During the course of the day, my hubby made a horrible discovery. My cat had caught the mommy! So she had come with after all and the poor thing was probably searching for her baby.With a heavy heart I realized the babies she had left so far behind now didn't stand a chance...I was so sad. I realized too that now this tiny, fragile sweet little life rested entirely in my hands!

I had read the chances of a such a small mouse (probably only 4-6 days old) surviving were very slim but that those that did manage to hand raise one, did so to raise a very loyal, loving little pet. I had hope...

However as the day progressed little Pixie grew steadily weaker and wasn't drinking at all. I held her as often as I could to keep her warm. I couldn't hold her continously though...later on, I went to check on her(it had been about half an hour since I had last checked and tried to feed her) and when I opened the box I could see she wasn't good. I picked her up, she felt cold and faintly stirred in my hand.

 

I knew it was her last...I held her and just sobbed. As silly as it may sound. I had invested so much into this tiny little life and was willing her to live. I held little Pixie as I felt her tiny little life ebb out of her. I just couldn't bring myself to go and tell anyone or put her down. Eventually I went to my hubby and told him.
The children were sad too, but I cried more than anyone...
We buried little Pixie in the garden. I was sad for days after that! I couldn't even bring myself to clean up her little box until a full week later.

So that is the little story of the tiny little field mouse Pixie that crept into my heart for just over 24 hours.
It was an amazing experience, even though the end result was so sad.

In a world so often filled with hatred, violence, and intolerable cruelty between human beings, something as tiny, weak, fragile and sweet like this happens. To hold such a tiny little life, a non-human life and be totally in awe with creation, with the beauty of life itself, in any form...

A winter walk

A week ago I took my kids to our local nature reserve. It's one of my favorite places to go.
I love the tranquility and beauty. I love the fact we can re connect with nature right here. That we can admire and appreciate beautiful creation around us.

It is really turning now from Autumn into winter. Although this day we went, it was a lovely day, blue skies and a slight chill in the air but still warm enough for the kids to run around and explore.

 Although it is odd to see trees getting new green shoots at the start of winter...

 A beautiful reflective pond and a striking Strelitzia.

 Lovely light falling through the golden leaves.

 My favorite view...

 Walking through the fynbos

 Some fresh aloe's that will be blooming in winter

 Gorgeous protea's

 Little berries

 And leaving, on the way out , this amazing Autumn-colored tree-lined driveway.

Hope you enjoyed my little winter visit!

Cozy by the fire

Hello ladies!
I hope you have been keeping well.

In less than a week, we officially start our Winter. So far the weather has been rather accommodating. We have had lovely sunny days and no wind. The past two days, however we have had rain and it's turned quite chilly. I feel so sorry for my kids, having to wake them up for school while it is still dark outside....

(something random: cupcakes for my daughters school oral she had!)


Although Spring and Autumn are my favorite seasons, Winter is sort of growing on me too. I guess I am now at the stage where I enjoy and appreciate each season for what it brings. If we only had one season, life would be pretty boring. It is the changes in the seasons that bring us variety, fresh perspectives, new wonders and a joy all on their own.

Think of Spring: the excitement of seeing new buds, blossoms, bulbs. How everything is green and vibrant.

Or Summer: the vast array of colors that burst onto the scene. Being able to enjoy the ocean, swimming, eating ice-creams. And Autumn: the spectacular display of color in the trees from burnt orange, to firery red,
tarnished copper..that leaves winter...
The things I love about winter are no flies, no mossies, no sweating. I love wearing boots and jeans, I love cuddling a bit longer under the duvet, I love cups of hot chocolate with tiny marshmellows floating on top, I love it when the kids blow their breath onto the windows of the car as we drive to school and then draw pictures on them.

I love cozy winter evenings spent in our family room watching movies, eating popcorn or playing cards or board games. I love hot puddings like malva pudding and sticky toffee pudding.
I love a glass of wine, a good book and a warm fire. SO many things to enjoy about winter...

Homemade chicken noodle soup and a magazine (or two)

Thought this magazine cover was appropriate!

A glass of wine and our cozy fire going! (which I made all by myself!)

Sitting in my jammies, fire going, glass of wine, magazines and my kitty...(hubby was working late and the kids were tucked in bed already for the night!) Bliss... moments of alone-time and quite solitude!

So what are YOUR favorite things about winter??
xx

Survey Winner

Hi there!
Just a quick post to announce the winner of the survey giveaway!

The winner is....

Mary!

Thank you! Mary you will be notified!
Thank you to all who participated!

Winner of Journal giveaway and some blogging tips.

Hello!
A big thank you to all who participated in my blogoversary games and giveaways. I must admit I was left a little flat as I was expecting a bigger participation and hoping for more to fill out the survey.(if you still want to fill it out, there is no prize now for doing so, but I am leaving it open for filling out)
So after some sulking I am over it now and moving on with picking some winners!

However...I did a really silly thing and in the survey I forgot to add a section you could put your name and email address in case you won!! ha ha! So will those who filled in the survey please email me so I can pick a winner!

Winner for the Journal giveaway is.......
Aquascrap!!! Congrats Judy! Please contact me!

Just a little note on how to comment on my blog (as somebody mentioned they didn't know how to do it in the survey).
At the bottom of each post, you will see it says "Posted by bonnie at....(time)and then it says (amount) comments.
Then Labels (what I label the post under) and reactions.

Like in the picture above. Where it says Comments is where you click to comment. Then you will see this:

Here you will a text box where you fill in your comment. Once you have filled it in, you then choose an identity. Most of us have a google account (if you have gmail, this is your same username and password) or if you have a blog you can choose Name/URL or if you have neither, you can choose anonymous and then just leave your name with your comment so I know who it is. ~You then will need to type in the words you see in bold. This is to stop spam. You then click "Publish your comment". ~Your comment doesn't show up until I approve it. I get an email with the comment which I either accept, delete or mark as spam. After I accept it, It shows up on my blog.

So that is it! Easy-peesy! No need to fear it!

Another thing I picked up from the survey is that some did not know I had a newsletter.
If you look on my blog, in the sidebar, you will see this:

All you do is fill in your email address and click submit! You will then get an email asking you to confirm your subscription to my newsletter and click on a link. That is it!


Thank you once again. I learned a lot from the answers in the survey and what I can improve in to make my blog a better place for you. Also that I suck at twitter! (started working on that yesterday-hopefully there will be noted improvement in the quality of my tweets!) Oh and with regards to FB- I was on FB many years ago and I found it VERY time consuming. So I went off. I just don't think, even from a strictly business point of view FB is for me. I use other means: my newsletter and twitter.

Have a great evening/day!

Blogoversary:Some time left still

Just a heads up that there is still some time left to enter all the giveaways listed below.
I have had a very poor response so there will not be another giveaway today (crochet) as planned.
Thank you to those who did participate and took the time to complete the survey. I appreciate it.

Have a good weekend.

Blogoversary: #4: Giveaway contest.

Hi there!
I hope you are having fun today here on the

blog.
Have you taken the survey yet?
I know the survey seems like a lot of work, but it only takes a few minutes and you can win such a great prize!  so pretty please fill it out. It's all in the aim of making my blog a better place for my readers.

What about the game: find the coupon code game?
What about the game:Getting to know you?


Moving on...I have this great little giveaway!

What you can win: A 15x15cm Journal handmade by me. A machine stitched journal covered in lovely fabric and lace. Filled with assorted papers, tags and embellishments. It comes with a tiny little notebook too filled with graph paper.

 Some of the details inside...

 Here is what you need to do to enter this giveaway:

Leave a comment on THIS post to enter by answering the following question:
How long have you been reading my blog and what is it most you enjoy about it?
One comment = one entry.
For extra chances (but not compulsory) you can do the following:
#Blog it
#Pin it
#Tweet it 
and link to this post. For each entry make sure to leave a comment with your link to the pin/tweet/blog post.
  
That's it! Short and sweet! 
I will choose a winner and announce it on the 18th May after 8pm my time. (+2GMT)

*****************************HAVE FUN!***********************************

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edited to add: thank you for the response. I was a little disappointed that not many responded, but a few is still better than none! Giveaway is now CLOSED. Winner announced later today.

Blogoversary: #Game 3: Getting to know YOU.

 

A blog is about so many things.
It is a place to share thoughts, dreams, aspirations, inspirations, ideas, projects and opinions.
It is a place for the blogger to say "hey, this is me, this is my space".

When we visit a blog, we are in actual effect, stepping into someone's world, into their "home".
We are accepting an invitation that says, "welcome, do step inside, feel free to browse around."
We get to learn a bit about the person, to see their world through their eyes.

A blog is about sharing. It is about knowing that what you have to say,no matter how small and insignificant matters, at least to somebody else out there. Very few of us will ever get to meet the people that read our blogs in real life. Often, the reader remains as much as an enigma as the blogger herself.

However, you, the reader, know as well as I, the blogger, that we are real people. Mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, friends, aunts-we live and breathe and fall and get up just like everybody else.
We rant and rave, we get angry, we sob, we fail, we try harder. We loose loved ones, we watch our children grow and weep at their independence and laugh for joy at their victories.We have dreams and hopes and visions and families.

So dear reader...you are reading the blog of a REAL person. Picture me sitting on my bed, with my laptop on my lap, my legs curled up under me. Wearing blue jeans, two pairs of socks (cos it so darn cold!) a mustard-yellow top. Kids are getting ready for bed and the day is drawing to a close....

So let me have the chance to get to know my readers. Let me get to know YOU a little better.

Play this game with me...

#Leave a comment and tell me one thing about yourself. 
It can be what your favorite TV programe is, the best thing about your day, your favorite flower, a book you've just read or are reading, -anything.

I look forward getting to know you a bit better. Don't be shy.
...Let me know you were here.  No prizes for this one...just something real.


{more to come later}

edited to add:
Thanks for playing along, feel free to still comment on this post if you pop around anytime.

Blogoversary: #2: Find the coupon code game!

#Game 2 : Find the discount code

My Etsy store is packed with lot's of goodies.
Crocheted frames, vintage revival journals, fabric flower posies, gift bag sets and fabric gift bags.

Somewhere in this post you will find a secret code for a whopping 50% off ($10 or over purchase)
for my store. Now is your chance to find that code and use it!

Code is good to go and expires on the 18th May.
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edited to add: Coupon code expired now

Blogoversary: #1 Take the survey and win a prize!

It's 4pm +GMT time and that means the fun begins here on this blog!



Thank you for joining me today! I hope you will have fun. Be sure to keep checking back through out the day as more posts are added.

*Giveaways
*Find-the-code
*contests
*surveys
*prizes

First up is a reader survey. You can fill it out online right  here.
You can win the products as shown in the above picture.
#2 rolls of washi tape
#2 rolls of bakers twine (100% cotton, 20m long)
 
Rules: *Please note that this survey is meant for people who have been reading my blog at least for a few weeks or longer.
*If you want to fill out the survey but not necessarily to win the prize, you may also do so.
*It is open internationally.(should I be unable to post the prize to your country for any reason, you will be notified and another winner will be chosen).
*If the winner fails to respond within 3 days of having won, a new winner will be chosen.
*You must have a valid email address and complete ALL the required fields in the survey to enter. 
*If the exact products in the picture are not available at time of posting, similar washi tape and bakers twine in exact same quantities will be chosen and sent. 
*The cut off is the 19th May 2013 at 10pm +2GMT time. Winner will be announced on the 20th May
here on this blog and an email will be sent to notify the winner.
 
Disclaimer: * This parcel will be posted via normal airmail after the 25th May 2013. No insurance or tracking number will be provided. Should you win the prize, you will be given the option of purchasing a tracking number for the nominal fee of R30 ($3.23 USD). *Insurance will cost extra and is optional for you to purchase. * I cannot be held responsibility for theft, loss or damage of the item once posted.
*I will not be held liable for any custom taxes and duty fee's.
*By filling out the survey and entering this giveaway you agree to the above.
*Your email address will not be shared or published and your information in the survey remains private.  


Have fun ! Go take the survey now! You only have 4 days!
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edited to add: Thank you for the interest and for those of you who took the time to fill out the survey. I REALLY appreciate it SO much! I will announce the winner later today.!

Today is the day!

Heads up!

Today is my 7th Blogoversary! yay!!! Don't forget the fun starts at 4pm +2GMT time
US/Mountain time-8am
US/Pacific and  MST,  7am
EST 9am
If your time zone is not listed here, you can check what time it will be here 

FUN people, I tell ya!!!!

Speaking of Fun, have you seen the awesome prizes on the webster pages blog this week??!!

For the $100 giveaway, you can enter here

For Plum seed  you can enter HERE

For Citrus Squeeze, you can Enter HERE

Come back later and all day!!!!

Little bits of happiness♥

It doesn't take much to make me happy... a sunny day, a smile, a hug from one of my kiddo's, a cup of coffee(or 10)an email from a friend...

An Etsy purchase that comes wrapped like a gift...

Same said purchase...vintage fabric bundles...wrapped beautifully, smelling wonderfully.

A new storage basket for all my crochet wool and projects...

Vintage hunting with a friend and finding some lovely handmade vintage doilies...

 This beautiful side plate...(I collect vintage side plates)

 This gorgeous vintage Pyrex dish with lovely rose decal on. Perfect size for a side dish.

And a little purchased granny chic...."Granny  Chic" by Tif Russell (Better known as "Dottie Angel") and Rachelle Blondel (better known as Ted and Agnes)Beautiful book.

My husband is now convinced...
I crochet...
I have a wing-back chair covered in rose-fabric...
I BUY vintage things...
I collect crocheted doilies...
I sit by the fire, in my said wing-back chair and crochet (horror)
I bought a gown for the first time in my 34 years...
I wear crocheted bed-slippers around the house...

It's official, I am a "Granny"!!!
But I don't care! I love these things and I do non-granny things:
gym,zumba,hiking, walking, mountain-biking, kayaking, rock-jumping.

It can't be all that bad!

So with all those little grannified confessions out of the way, don't forget Thursday the 16th is my Blogoversary day. Starting at 4pm GMT+2 (my time)
that is:
US/Mountain time-8am
US/Pacific and  MST,  7am
EST 9am
If your time zone is not listed here, you can check what time it will be here 

I will be hosting giveaways, on-the-spot prizes at intervals through out the day, fun quizes, discount coupons to my shop and lot's more! so PLEASE come join in, right click the image below and save it to your pc and tell everyone you know-shout it out on your blog, twitter, pinterest....

What are your little bits of happiness♥♥♥♥?