Happy Tuesday! It’s a day late, but here I am with my weekly photo diary. I got in trouble with my upload schedule late last week as we had a little medical emergency with the ratties, hence the delay. Hope you don’t mind! There’s plenty to show you again though, so let’s take a look at what went on in my life last week.
On Monday morning, Robbert and I re-did the rat cage interior. I really think we should do this more often as it stimulates their curiosity and movement so much and makes them rediscover old toys that they’d lost interest in. Watching them explore a new cage setup makes it worth the hassle, for sure.
As I was preparing vegan hamburgers for our guests one night, I sliced open a tomato to put on the buns and found this. The tomato had sprouted on the inside. Have you ever seen anything like this before? I for sure haven’t and I must say it startled me quite a bit. At first I thought there were little worms inside, before I realised they have green leaves on top, haha! I had no idea this could happen to an otherwise perfectly fine tomato. I ended up serving another one.
The bright, low morning sun entering our living room is one of my favourite things about winter. It’s such a hopeful sight, don’t you think? I wish I got to enjoy this sight more often, but it does tend to be overcast here more often than not.
Bran the Man chilling in everyone’s favourite hammock.
Another night at the opera! I keep repeating this and I’m sorry, but getting a membership to the National Opera & Ballet was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Coming here to enjoy beautiful performances regularly brings me so much joy. This evening my friend and I went to go see Vivaldi’s oratorio Juditha Triumphans, staged as an opera. There was a baroque orchestra playing and it was a delight to watch. I don’t recall ever having seen a harpsichord played in real life, and with the addition of several lutes, an organ, and more unique instruments that aren’t typically used in opera, it made for a wonderful experience. You guys know how much I love the baroque period and this was a gem from that time!
A rattie cuddle pile on my lap after I got home. One of the best things there are <3
As has been the case these past few weeks, the majority of my time was once again spent behind my desk, working on content. I’m finally starting to actually get ahead, so I’m trying my hardest to keep it up and make it past that coveted two-week mark. I’m not there yet, but I’m sure I can make it happen. Having two weeks of content ready at all times will give me so much peace of mind, I can’t wait.
My kimchi was done this week and it turned out absolutely delicious. It was a massive portion but I actually only have a little left now as I couldn’t stay away from the jar, haha! Love this stuff. I’m going to try and make my next batch even spicier, as the recipe I use is very mild. You can find that recipe here, by the way.
On Friday morning I heard a squabble in the cage and saw the twins fighting, but I didn’t think much of it until I noticed Cefin acting strange and flattening himself out in the middle of the cage. When I came to take a look, I saw blood everywhere and was terrified. After examining him, luckily it turned out he’d just caught his toenail on something and ripped it off. Man, who would’ve thought that could turn so bloody! I disinfected his foot, Robbert changed the bedding, and Cefin got lots of cuddles and a piece of cucumber. I was pretty shaken but glad it wasn’t anything serious. After all was over though, I noticed Pádraig’s head was more cocked than usual and one of his eyes seemed bigger than the other. I immediately thought his inner ear infection might be coming back, so I made an appointment with the vet for him and Cefin, who’d been sneezing and wheezing a bit as well lately.
I filmed the tutorial and outro for the Eleanor of Aquitaine Beauty Beacons episode, took down the veil and ribbons, and headed over to the vet’s. Both boys are on antibiotics now and are doing well. Cefin’s little toe is fine as well! The wound healed quickly and very nicely.
On Friday night I headed to scouting through this tiny layer of snow. I had a camp planned with the explorer scouts, a movie & hammock camp to be precise.
The explorer scouts built a super comfy movie theater in one room, and we all hung our hammocks in the other room to sleep in. We watched movies all night long, slept for half of the next day, made mouse trap cars, played games, and watched more movies.
I had never slept in a hammock before and was pretty nervous about it, so I hung mine very close to the floor and placed my sleeping mat underneath to break my fall should something go wrong, haha! Nothing happened though, and it was actually surprisingly comfortable. We’re now considering taking our hammocks on summer camp and sleeping in those during our hike.
On Sunday afternoon Robbert and I headed over to Utrecht for the premiere of the Lego Movie 2. I’m a big fan of the Lego movies and Lego Batman in particular, so I was really excited to be there. Outside the theater they had this Lego café where they were handing out free hot chocolate. How cool is this, guys.
Will I ever not feel super awkward at red carpets? Maybe one day, but it is not this day :’)
Ok, for anyone who’s unsure what I mean when I say the Dutch NEVER DRESS UP: these are the celebrities who voiced the main characters in the Dutch spoken version of the movie. This is literally how the stars turn up to their own movie premieres. Jeans and a T-shirt (!!!!!!!!!!!). Le sigh.
Anyways, it was great fun, the movie was awesome (everything was awesome, heehee), it had Batman, and there was a massive Emmet. Robbert and I had a quick dinner in Utrecht before heading back home, and it was a good day in general.
And that brings us to the end of my week! I hope you’ve had a good one, guys. Talk to you very soon!
Hammock camping! I can highly recommend it. It’s the most comfortable way to sleep I have come across as of now (this includes conventional beds). It’s also much easier to find a camping spot if all you need are some trees; especially in forests or hilly terrain where flat ground is sparse. And sleeping in my very own nest feels a lot safer than being on the ground.
Just make sure you pitch a tarp to cover you from rain and have sufficient bottom insulation below your hammock. Even in the summer, night temperatures can get rather low and that windchill is something different, if only a thin piece of fabric seperates you!
Another thing to considder are mosquitos. Depending on the season and terrain they can be a pain, so you better get your head covered with a net of some sort.
And since you’re also interested in reducing waste; if you think about purchasing your own hammock there are also a few relatively light traveling hammocks (about 700 g) made from cotton. I’ve had an eye on trying one of those for quite some time.
Concerning your photos of the sleeping experience, I want to enquire, though, why you were sleeping in that hammock lengthwise? The diagonal is much more comfortable and stable. :)
I hope this doesn’t come across strange. I just happen to be passionate about this topic.
Thanks for the tips! We’ll definitely be bringing tarps if we do go down this road, and the cold from below was obvious even indoors so we’ll definitely bring insulation too. I hadn’t considered the moquitos yet though, that’s valuable advice :D I was in the hammock lengthwise because that was the only way I knew how at that point, but I consistently woke up on the diagonal, haha! You’ll roll into that position sooner or later anyway :P
Cefin is so so cute! So glad the boys are ok. You look very pretty at the premier. I would feel uncomfortable on a red carpet, and I’m not a particularly shy person, so good job for even getting out there! :-)
Haha thanks! 😄