Beware, there are pictures

I said I would make a tribute to my darling little rats, and so here they are in all their glory. This is now:

and back when we first got them:

Dill is the one with the white diamond on his head. He is the more cautious of the two, and while he is extremely friendly, you don’t want to rush him. Walt is plumper, more outgoing, and generally the more social one. They cuddle all the time, but occasionally we will hear terrible screeches and rustling from their spats. Siblings. I like having rats so much, they are so easy to take care of, so friendly and clean (yes, clean), and they are so smart! I think Jeff and I will be rat owners for years to come.
Oh, the most recent fiasco- Jeff was trying to adjust something on the bookshelves without taking the rat cage off of the top. CRASH. One panel of glass completely shatters. Dill runs behind the washing machine. Walt sits there stunned, but allows us to grab him and set him on the desk where he proceeds to let out a pile of shit that I wouldn’t have thought possible. It was kind of amazing. Like, were I to do the equivalent, it would be the size of our loveseat. For real. It was awful getting Dill out from behind the washing machine, and he was pissed. Now they are fine, and we’ve got wire on the side that broke. I actually think it’s better for them this way, more ventilation. Anyway, lesson learned.

Here’s the bookshelf. My camera sucks right now for some reason, so you’ll just have to forgive the poor quality. Before there was a desk and a computer there. We got rid of the desk, gave the computer away, and this is what we have now! 🙂 Much better.

Next, the office. This was a pretty functional space, but it was really disorganized. Now everything has a spot. Also Jeff built shelves up above.

And then the bedroom. We moved to the smaller room, so really there is only room now for our bed and a dresser. I love it. We just wanted it to be as comfortable as possible, and I think we achieved it. We’ve been calling it the “love pod.” I think that’s a good sign.

From left to right, Clara, Dad, Mom, Gretchen, Ben, me.

I love this photo of Clara and Gretchen.

This is Jeff in my bro’s caterpillar costume. I love that man. I don’t know where that scarf went… I liked it.

This morning I had to drive Jeff to work at the crack of dawn… actually, before that. Normally I’d be going to work too, but I have the day off. I needed to so that I can go swoop him up later and we can go straight to another Thanksgiving shin-dig with his side of the family. I tell you, even leaving the house at 6:30 in the dark, windy, 22 degree weather, only to find that the drivers side door latch is frozen open so we have to drive most of the way holding the door closed, and we can’t rig it with bungees because the trunk is frozen shut as well… well, I just really like living my life. Exactly how it is now. The lights in town are all up on the trees and there are wreaths on some of the buildings. Ann Arbor was recently recognized as the first city in the US to have all their street lights converted to LED. I watched the sun rise right as I was turning a corner. I guess my point is, there’s always something to be grateful for. As bitter as I could’ve been for having to get up on my day off, I just… wasn’t. I was actually happy that I was up. I think there’s just a choice like that in everything.
I came home to a super warm doggy, who I am also so grateful for.