In memory of our hamster, the gymnast!

Today, my bro's hamster died while having his regular bath. Why he died, no one has any idea. It was a regular routine, when their cages get clean, they too will get a bath each. My bro had two hamsters. One minute he was jumping in the tub, the next min, he was lying motionless. 

He was a crazy hamster from the start. The two hamsters used to share a cage, but Mr Gymnast loved to fight and bullied his cage mate. The fight got so bad once, Mr Timid was bleeding from Mr Gymnast's abuse. So my parents created a cardboard wall to separate the two, but the wall lasted one night and then a hole was created. If you are thinking, it must be Mr Gymnast doing all that work, you are right, but only half right. Because Mr Timid loves company. He loves it so much, he joined in the effort to create the hole, forgetting that the company he was hoping to get is going to hurt him again. Very innocent. It seems like no matter how many times he got hurt, he doesn't seem to remember....Sigh.... Well, when all else failed, they both get their own cage. But Mr Gymnast, being a hyperactive, super crazy hamster that he was, could not stop at staying still. When there became no fight to pick, this became his way of using his energy. 

BTW, he was 30cm off the ground, hanging on to the disposable chopstick which is swinging from side to side. He loved it especially when the chopstick was moving. Really a hilarious thing. Every time we stuck a chopstick in like the one in the picture, he would use all his might to jump and catch hold of it. He would attempt to stay up there as long as he could. 

Don't Run Ahead of Him...

Some time ago, a friend recommended me to read a book "The Hiding Place " by Corrie Ten Boom. Didn't get to read it until very recently and one passage really struck me at the core and I thought I would just share it though I am sure maybe you already know.

Before these words, the author has just returned from visiting a family whose baby has died and while waiting to be tugged into bed by her daddy...

"....But that night as he stepped through the door I burst into tears. "I need you!" I sobbed. "You can't die! You can't!" Besides me on the bed, Nollie sat up. "We went to see Mrs. Hoog," she explained."C0rrie didn't eat her supper or anything." Father sat down on the edge of the narrow bed. "Corrie," he began gently, "when you and I go to Amsterdam-when do I give you your ticket?" I sniffed a few times, considering this. "Why, just before we get on the train." "Exactly. And our wise Father in heaven knows when we're going to need things, too. Don't run ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need - just in time."

The book is packed with so much good stuff that if you do like this tiny bit, go and get the book. It is a treasure.

The ants in my household

I remember I love to watch ants at work as a child, they would risk their lives from my mother's ever relentless effort to exterminate them, and come to collect our cake crumbs and bread crumbs which we might have dropped while eating. We all know ants love sweet stuff, a drop of honey, a drop of sugar, a little piece of cake. These things attract them and it is I guess what everyone knows.

Well, the ants in my household, they are different. They always go to where our water is. I have no idea why. At first I thought it was the warm flask they are attracted to or that boiled water is perhaps sweeter. Because we only find them in our boiled water. Then one day in a hurry, I left my half drank orange juice out and when I came home, no ants in them. I started an experiment putting all sorts of sweet sugary things near the boiled water. But each time, I find no ants in those things, just in the boiled water, swimming. Maybe they like to swim to death. I have no idea, they just seem rather silly to me. And it actually does frustrate me a little no knowing what I could do with them really.

So anyone has a swimming ant problem and know an answer to exterminate them, please do tell me. At this point, I would try anything.....

The ants of my household, they are definitely swimmers with no brains......