BHW bits & pieces

The bank holiday weekend went something like this...

 

On Friday night Mitch and I went to see El Dorado at the Arcola Theatre just off the Kingsland Road. It was meant to be a black comedy but it was seriously dark so I didn't laugh much - it was v.good though! A small but compelling cast, minimalistic set with excellent use of sound and lighting. The bar attached to the theatre was pretty cute too and sold the tastiest crisps I've ever eaten. Afterwards we went for pizza at Bite (they picked the best cheeses for their four cheese pizza - not enough places are ballsy enough to wack on some gorgonzola).

Saturday saw us head to Rivington Street to buy Mitch's wedding suit. I had a feeling that going to a proper tailors would be hella intimidating but the guy at Mr Start was v.patient and super helpful. We were also given beer to drink whilst Mitch tried stuff on which was cool and kinda reminded by of wedding dress shopping. In the evening we went to a friend's birthday. Not only did he make his own bread but the most a-mazing dip (cream cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms and other stuff - I need the recipe). It was a hilarious night of plenty of booze (including Mitch's signature punch), food and a good old game of mafia.

Sunday started out very chilled - lunch with my nan, some sewing (finished the top of my friend's baby quilt) - but come the evening it all went down hill. Moriarty hadn't come out to play for the last two nights so on Sunday I decided that that was long enough. I took the lid off his cage to find that he was curled up in his nest and v.poorly indeed. I know it must sound crazy, getting upset about a hamster but he's our little hamster and seeing him like that was unbelievably upsetting. Frantic googling of his conditions lead us to the same advice: take him to the vet. Amazingly Mitch found a 24 hour one so we made Moriarty as comfortable as possible in a shoe box and drove him over there. The vet was impressed with how active he was (Moriarty had perked up somewhat in the car and waiting room) and prescribed him antibiotics and some 'recovery diet'. On sunday night I couldn't sleep and I woke up with my stomach in knots. Moriarty made an unusually early appearance on Monday morning and thankfully, seemed much improved. By the evening he was climbing the roof of his cage - the medicine seems to be doing the trick!

Certain that Moriarty was in a better way state than the night before, Mitch and I went out to buy a few essentials for our long weekend in the Lake District (and a rucksack which I didn't really need but it was only 12 quid and I bloody love it). The rest of the day was spent being incredibly productive and ploughing on with wedding-related stuff.

So, although Ronny O'Sullivan didn't win the snooker and the bank holiday weekend felt, at times, more like an endurance test than a relaxing long weekend (I certainly didn't feel well rested coming back into work on Tuesday), I'm just glad that it was sunny and Moriarty is on the mend.

Melon

A couple of nights ago, Moriarty tried melon for the first time. He liked it :)

 

he could've been rhino

A year ago today Mitch went to Streatham and brought back a v.tiny (and probably quite terrified) little hamster. It was on the bus on the way back to the flat, with the hamster in a box on his lap, that Mitch apparently thought about what to call him. It came down to two names: Moriarty and Rhino (after the hamster in Bolt). By the time he'd got off the bus, he'd made up his mind.

Last night, Moriarty scared the crap out of us. I'm still not entirely sure if he was half-hibernating or what but for about a minute I really did think the worst. I'd never seen him so still! Of course this lead to panic and much frantic internet searching in a desperate attempt to diagnose his lethargic state. Of course, reading about all the terrible illnesses hamsters can contract did nothing for my peace of mind. But, thankfully, the little one was back to his usual energetic-self this morning and his appetite has definitely returned to normal. Don't go anywhere yet buddy, there's lots of good times ahead :)

happy birthday little fella

Today, Moriarty turns 1! 

(Ok, so I've never had a pet before which means acknowledging the hamster's birthday is happening.) 

The urge to knit moriarty a little xmas jumper is quite overwhelming but I just know that he'd hate it so instead, we opted to make him some new cage accessories. Hopefully, he'll like them.

That little video is actually from the summer but seeing as Moriarty tends to sleep all day and only wants be to sociable in the evenings (which in the winter means it's dark) this is probably the clearest footage of him. He's not changed much since June so I promise you're not missing anything - no radical hairstyles or neon dye jobs. 

When he came into our lives I was v.opposed to having a hamster. But now, I couldn't imagine being without him :) happy birthday little fella. 

Moriarty

This is Moriarty.

Two weeks ago, whilst at work, I called Mitch on my lunch break. Almost the first thing he said was: "Guess what I've just bought! A hamster!" Apparently he'd been thinking about it for a while but had of course failed to mention it to me, because "you'd have said no!" Which is true. I'm not going to lie, I  was pretty annoyed that I hadn't been consulted. However, as soon as I got home and met our new resident I was smitten. I've never had a pet before, my sister is allergic to animal fur so pets were a no-no when I was little and at uni I was, for most of the three years, unable to look after myself let alone another living creature no matter how small. A lot of my friends had hamsters when they were younger so it sort of feels like I'm a bit late to the party. But, as the old saying goes, better late than never.

He's not your typical brown and white hamster (as you can see), his fur is more grey in colour. V.shy when when he first arrived but I think he's used to us by now - letting us feed and handle him. We got him a ball to run around the flat in - which he seems to love.

When he's awake (mornings and evenings) he darts about with impressive speed for someone so tiny - hence all the blurry pics, it's very difficult to catch him standing still. Even when he eats he sort of quivers. I am amazed at how much he can carry in his pouches, plus he looks super cute when his cheeks are full (once they were so full he couldn't fit into his little house)! It's only been two weeks but I love this little guy.

And yes, we are big fans of sherlock holmes although there's nothing evil about this Moriarty :)