Baby Girls are Little Miracles

A big congratulations to my sister and her partner on the birth of their daughter, Lily Rose! She was born yesterday morning at 10:49am, weighing in at 7.04 lb and at a length of 51cms.
I am so happy for you both! I knew there was a reason why I was inclined to go baby clothes shopping yesterday morning!
(No pictures as yet, they live quite far away, but I will post as soon as I get some!)
Big cuddles to you all from a very proud Aunty!

I have some other news too, but I'll share that once he gets settled in more...

Crocodile Whisperer

I was sent this via email and just had to share it with everyone! Steve Irwin would be proud!

If you thought the legend of the horse whisperer was impressive, here's an animal "tail" with even more "bite".
Rather than trying to tame wild stallions, fearless Costa Rican fisherman, Chito, prefers a playful wrestle in the water with his best pal Pocho - a deadly 17ft crocodile. The 52-year-old daredevil draws gasps of amazement from onlookers by wading chest-deep into the water, then whistling for his 980lb buddy - and giving him an affectionate hug.Chito made friends with the croc after finding him with a gunshot wound on the banks of the Central American state's Parismina River 20 years ago. He had been shot in the left eye by a cattle farmer and was close to death. But Chito enlisted the help of several pals to load the massive reptile into his boat.He says, "When I found Pocho in the river he was dying, so I brought him into my house. He was very skinny, weighing only around 150 lb I gave him chicken and fish and medicine for six months to help him recover. I stayed by Pocho's side while he was ill, sleeping next to him at night. I just wanted him to feel that somebody loved him, that not all humans are bad. It meant a lot of sacrifice. I had to be there every day. I love all animals - especially ones that have had to suffer at some point in their lives."It took years before Chito felt that Pocho had bonded with him enough to get closer to the animal. He says: "After a decade I started to work with him. At first it was slow, very slow. I played with him a bit, slowly doing more. Then I found out that when I called his name he would come over to me."

This odd couple have now become a major tourist attraction, with several tour operators, including Crocodile Adventures, taking visitors on touring cruises to see the pair. On the Crocodile Adventures website it describes the spectacle as: "One of the most amazing things that no cruise ship passenger will want to miss, the adventure show between the man and the crocodile."At one point during his recovery, Chito left the croc in a lake near his house. But as he turned to walk away, to his amazement Pocho got out of the water and began to follow him home. Chito recalls: "That convinced me the crocodile could be tamed."
When he first fearlessly waded into the water with the giant reptile his family was so horrified they couldn't bear to watch. So instead, he took to splashing around with Pocho when they were asleep.Four years ago Chito showed some of his tricks to friends, including getting the animal to close his eyes on command, and they convinced him to go public with a show. Now he swims and plays with Pocho as well as feeding him at the lake near his home in the lowland tropical town of Sarapiqui, Costa Rica.

Snappy Friends Weekly Challenge

Yes, I know I didn't keep my promise to stay up to date with the Snappy Friends Weekly Challenge, but life has been a little hectic of late. I'm only one week out though!
So without further ado, here's last weeks challenge: Shadows.The kookaburra took off and I just managed to snap his shadow on the telephone pole. A lucky shot!

This weeks challenge: Black and White Photos.I thought this dragonfly sitting on a grevillea flower bud looks great converted!And these pied currawongs sitting in an old gum tree turned out pretty good too!

Owl Pin Giveaway Winners!

Thankyou so much to everyone who entered the giveaway. I didn't realize that the owl pins would be so popular!
Now down to business - the winner!

Take it away random number generator...
Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

32

Timestamp: 2010-05-20 06:26:14 UTC

And it's number 32, which means that Sue of Charlotte's Cottage is the winner! Congratulations!!!!! Sue, I'll be in contact with you soon to get your addy so I can send you your owls!

Wish you'd won? Desperately want some owls of your own? Let me know and just maybe I'll do a swap for a set of them.
I have already done a swap with Narelle, Sarah, Cam, Lisa, Sandra and Christina. And Khris sent me the most wonderful thankyou package for hers!
When I finally get my camera back from being fixed -again- I'll be showing off all my fabulous new items!

Clay Magnets

I've had this picture on my computer for years now, so I thought I'd show them to you. I made them for a swap that never went ahead. This was the first time I had ever made something with clay, and I think they turned out ok in the end. A platypus, gecko, and sugar glider magnet set.
I'm not exactly sure why I chose these animals, but they look good together anyway. I suppose there's a whole world of other magnets I could make, same as the pin toppers. I might have a play around once this numb feeling passes and I get my groove back. If you have any magnet or pin topper ideas you'd like to see created, let me know and I'll have a go. This shall be my photo for the Snappy Friends Weekly Challenge - something old.
Thank you to everyone for their support!
The giveaway is still on (2 posts back) so if you haven't, enter soon!

RIP Jake

My beautiful dog Jake passed away this afternoon.

We're not sure exactly why, as one minute he was fine, the next he was shaking uncontrollably and walking around in circles, staring at something only he could see. We rushed him to the vets, and after an hour of watching him get worse, they finally told us it was probably a back injury and to take him home. They gave us some anti-inflammatories and that was it. So after a night of constant worry and no sleep (for Jake or us) and a morning of worry and watching him trip over and run into things and another 2 vet trips with the same answer, we took him to a different vet to get a second opinion. He collapsed on the way out to the car, and couldn't breathe properly, and his teeth started to chatter. The vet rushed out the doors when we arrived and helped us get him from the car. He watched him walk around in a circle and then fall over backwards, and his eyes roll in his head. He ordered a stretcher and took him straight into the theater and onto a table. They took some spinal fluid and blood, but as we rushed it to the airport to be flown to Brisbane, they called to let us know that he'd died.
Thankfully, Jake was given a drug to make him sleep, and we were able to say goodbye before we left. He passed away in his sleep, dreaming good and happy dreams.
We had him for 10 fantastic and wonderful years!Rest in peace my darling! Thank you for the laughs, the walks, the wet kisses and the constant company. Thank you for the good times and the bad, the mischief you made and the hugs you gave. Thank you for being there when I needed a friend, and for always listening, no matter how silly I must have sounded. Thank you Jake, for being a good dog. We will miss you always!

Give your animal an extra hug tonight, as you never know when you might have to say goodbye.

Edited to add:
The test results came back. Turns out Jake picked up a very rare condition called Angiostrongylus cantonensis, or Rat Lungworm. He contracted eosinophilic menengitis from it. There was nothing we could do, and even if the vet had realized what it was and put him on meds straight away, there was only a slight chance he could make it and even then with side effects. I've included a link in case anyone is interested.
Thankyou for all your kind and supportive comments. They mean so much to me! I shall get through, and the fun times he has given me to remember will last a lifetime.

Owl Pin Giveaway!

I've reached 100 followers! Yay!!!! What an amazing milestone! Who'd have thought 100 people would be interested in my little part of the blog-o-sphere! I love each and every one of you!

So to celebrate, I'm having a giveaway! A set of 5 owl pins!All you need to do is -

• Leave a comment on this post with a way to contact you if you win! If I can't contact you, then I'll have to choose another name.
• Leave a separate message if you're a follower, or if you become a follower, and I'll enter your name a second time! If you don't leave a second message letting me know, you won't get the second entry, so make sure you do!
• Let me know what your most searched item on etsy is! Don't use etsy? Then what's your most googled craft item? Knitting, quilts, clay, embroidery etc.
  

I'll draw a winner on the 1st of June, which means you'll have 20 days to enter. Good Luck!

Happy Mother's Day

What did you get up to for M Day? Did it start off with breakfast in bed? Then turn to unwrapping presents and exclaiming over each one? Perhaps going home to spend some time with your Mum? Perhaps a phone call, because you can't spend the day with her? Or maybe even a quick glance at that framed photograph and a whispered "I miss you, Happy Mother's Day Mum."
My Mum is my best friend. I'm happy that she is! Who better to go shopping and chat to and whine over things with?

What was your Mother's Day present? What did you give your Mum?

Mine - A face washer and hand towel set that Narelle made for me (see picture 2 posts ago!) And a cushion cover I sewed up for her, knowing how much she loved the one I sent back to Christine in the Ugly Fat 1/4 swap! Here's the pics -I can't remember which blog I got the stitchery from.If anyone recognizes it please let me know so I can give credit to the designer.
Again, Happy Mother's Day, no matter what kind of mother you are!

Snappy Friends Weekly Challenge

Well I haven't been doing much on the crafting front besides making owl pins, and some other pins that I shall reveal soon...
But I did manage to find something green for the Snappy Friends Weekly Challenge -Firstly a green fruit fly I captured this afternoon on a green frangipani leaf.Second a green tree frog I found hiding near our green water tank.

I'm very tempted to show you a picture of Nyoka the green tree python, but she's still a baby and hasn't turned green yet. She's still yellow, with green creeping through that gives her a real moldy look. Nyoka belongs to a friend of mine.

Parliament

Don't worry, I'm not talking about politics!
A group of owls is called a parliament...I've had quite a few people ask if I'd be selling my owl pinheads. Sorry guys, but no, I won't. But I will gladly do a swap for some! Let me know if you'd like that, along with a way to contact you if you don't have a blog, and we can arrange something!
One set has gone to Narelle in a swap, she traded me a fabulous crocheted-edge hand towel and face washer set (which is going to be a gift for Mother's Day! Shhhh!).I have two more sets waiting, but I can and will gladly make more sets for however many people would like a trade. If you don't craft, you can always grab me up some supplies from around your area!
I've been working on some other pin heads too, so keep watching this space - I will reveal them soon!