Funny Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Photo!
My Second Life Avatar - Now A Witchy Black Neko!
My InWorldz Avatar - A Totally New Look (But Still Neko!)
Beautiful Picture Of The Goddess Hekate
Hekate is my matron goddess, so I always look out for nice pictures of her. I love this one especially! I think it's a re-worked version of an original Jessica Galbreth image, so all credit to her - she's done Hekate proud!
Top 30 Failed Technology Predictions
Why you should never make bold predictions about the future of technology! http://listverse.com/2007/10/28/top-30-failed-technology-predictions/Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
Some of you will know that as a child I had an incident in the local swimming pool where the swimming teacher wanted me to go in the deep end for the first time, then walked off and left me. I wasn't ready to go into deep water, and subsequently I began to drown. Thanks to an ignorant teacher and a total lack of lifeguards, it was left to a friend of mine to dive in and save me. I'm terrified of water to this day.
This article should be read by everyone who is even thinking about going near water. It exposes the truth that actually, no, drowning people don't splash around and shout for help - that's just how drowning is portrayed on television and in movies. The author, Mario Vittone, explains in detail what the signs of someone drowning really are, how to go about rescuing a drowning person, and crucially, what not to do - for example, if you swim right up to a drowning person to try and grab them, they will instinctively climb up you and push you down into the water too, possibly causing you to drown too.
I implore everyone to read this - it's better to be safe than sorry, and if Mario's article helps to save just one life, it will be well worth it. A must-read.
A Photo Of My Newly-Redheaded InWorldz Avatar!
Um, the title says it all really!
My Last-Ever Pet Rat Has Died - It's The End Of An Era...
Everyone who knows me knows that I have a passion for rats, and since 1994, I have kept pet fancy rats, who have all given me great enjoyment. We got our latest lot of rats, Arthur Teddy and William, at the end of 2008, and they were just adorable. However, rats are very short-lived creatures, and in mid-2009, Arthur died in his sleep after a short respiratory illness. Teddy and William soldiered on, but at the beginning of 2010, Teddy died naturally too - again from respiratory disease.
We had already decided that these would be our last rats, as I can't clean out the cages because of my health problems, and as she was getting older, and her arthritis was worsening, my mother was finding the job was getting more and more difficult for her to do. This meant that William would be left as a single rat, whereas we normally got bereaved rats new cagemates. William hated being on his own, and it didn't help that he had always been unhandleable for some reason, so we couldn't really give him cuddles or hands-on contact to ease his distress - in fact it would probably have stressed him out even more if we had somehow managed to keep him still in our hands. He missed his cagemates a great deal, and spent most of his time huddled in the corner of his cage asleep. After a few months, his breathing started to become difficult, but he kept on rallying. Every morning we'd check to see if he'd died overnight, but he never had, and it was awful to watch him suffering. Eventually, yesterday, he was gasping for breath, and while he clearly still had an appetite, as he kept trying to eat, he couldn't manage it because he was breathing so badly. We immediately rang the vet, and my mother took him to the surgery (I couldn't go due to my agoraphobia - I've only left the house 7 times in the last 4 years) where the vet gave him anaesthetic gas, then when he was unconscious, she gave him an overdose, and he passed away. It's always sad when you have to have a pet put to sleep, but there was absolutely no doubt that William was suffering badly, both mentally as well as physically, so I'm confident the right decision was made. If anything, I wish we had taken him to the vet sooner, as it may have saved him from suffering earlier. Anyway, we laid him to rest in the garden, wrapped in a rat hammock, next to the bodies of Arthur and Teddy, which I felt was only right and proper. We will eventually get a nice plant to place over the grave, like we have done with all our buried pets. So no more rats. I will miss having the little critters, but I know it's the right decision to stop now. Who knows, maybe in the future I'll be in a situation where keeping fancy rats becomes a possibility again, but for now, I have to concentrate my all attention and affections on my dog Stanley and my snake Gerty. We've already decided that when Gerty passes, which will probably be in a few years time, we won't have any more reptiles either. It's the end of an era for me.About Me
RosaHi, I'm Rosa! My full name is Rosalind Hughes, I'm female, 31 years old, and I live with my parents in the 'red rose county' of Lancashire in England, UK.
OK, boring stuff out of the way first. I am registered disabled due to several illnesses, including chronic severe pain, asthma, type two diabetes, hypothyroidism, (underactive thyroid gland) osteoporosis, Raynauds syndrome, non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD), borderline personality disorder, depression, agoraphobia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) & poor mobility. (I walk - badly - with a stick.) The problem with having so many illnesses, is that if you have a good day with one, you'll probably be having a bad day with something else!
I have only fairly recently come to a firm and final conclusion that I am attracted to other women, and now I am quite happy and proud to say that I am a lesbian. I have left it until now to 'come out' because I wanted to be absolutely sure, and now, after many years of confusion and eventual acceptance, I feel comfortable in my own skin.
I have two pets: my gorgeous Cavalier King Charles Spaniel boy Stanley and my grumpy corn-snake, Gerty! Stanley is simply adorable, and Gerty is a very crotchety reptile! I used to keep fancy rats (since 1994), but the upkeep of cleaning cages was getting too much for my mother, and I couldn't do it because of my problems, either, so after our last rat, William, was put to sleep on the 30th June 2010, we decided not to get any more. It feels like the end of an era.
Since mid-2006, I have lived my life following the path of the Solitary Eclectic Wiccan, and I very much enjoy it. I love all the stereotypical 'witchy' things - divining with angel cards, a pendulum, 'witches runes', and scrying with a crystal ball - but sadly, I am unable to turn people into frogs - never mind, eh?!
Last but not least, I am vegan, which means I don't consume, use, wear, or have anything to do with animals, so no meat, fish, eggs, dairy, honey, etc or wool, silk, bone - if it involves the use of living creatures I avoid it! Being vegan is naturally healthy, so I should keep losing weight - fingers crossed!
