Cleaning Up and Hamsters

Cups of tea: 6

Weight: 8st 12lbs

Song of the day: Neopolitan Dreams by Lisa Mitchell

Mood: Restless

...And the relatives came unto the Bowles family, and with them there came a madness in the mind of the mother that caused a great tidying to fall upon the land...

As it is my Grandma and Grandad's Golden wedding anniversary soon, a lot of my relatives are going to be at my house this weekend. This is good in many respects; I shall see my Uncle and his girlfriend again, and we are going out for a lovely sounding meal. However, I have had to scour my room from top to bottom, as my grandparents will be sleeping in it. I have been evicted to sleep in our caravan on the drive. Awesome.

...And with the madness of the mother there did come restlessness and disease amongst the livestock, until the nights were filled with their frenzied cries...

I have had tragedy and annoyance from my hamsters this week, and more than enough to last for the rest of their lifespans. It all started when I discovered an odd tumour on the underside of Ratchet. He was acting very poorly as well, to the point where I was willing his death on him to put him out of his suffering; he looked so helpless and miserable.

Nonetheless, I couldn't spare him too much sympathy. He and Clank sometimes scrap a little, but it's mainly play-fighting. Feeling ill clearly made him vicious, as they were suddenly at war with each other, screeching and scrabbling around until... Blood everywhere. I'm not too sure of what my initial reaction was, but I remember prising them apart with a pencil, and I remember muttering to myself "Oh, sweet Jesus..." as I saw what had happened.

Ratchet had bitten Clank's tail clean off. Needless to say, I have separated them now. This morning I awoke to find a lot of blood on Ratchet's bedding and the tumour gone. Looks like both of my pets are going to live to fight another day. Or not, as the case may be.

Yours tiredly,

Emma