New Raggy Rat Website ...

I am pleased to announce a lovely new Raggy Rat Website, linking together my up to date activities with an archive of all the old raggy rat favourites ... It even feeds from this lovely blog!

It has been carefully created for me by Differo Web Design and you can find them FACEBOOK too!

Sketch book time!

Sometimes I have to stop and draw something in order to know how it will come together. As if my hand movements on the paper help me to see?

So these are sketches of the rat fursuit head I am working on, with a different shaped nose than the last time. Although the drawing below does admittedly look like a pair of pants! Oops!

This top view sketch shows what I'm aiming for, so I plan to cover thin sheet foam in fleece and add shading. This may match the rat's ears! 

Sometimes, I find out how much fun happens ...

"Since I got the rat bag I wear it every day and EVERYONE talks about it! I have had young men, old men, smart women, scruffy women, old and young, children, parents, hipsters, grannies, hip hop people, goths, punks, business men, bouncers at clubs, all come up and ask about it, pat it, beg me to tell them where I got it, I have never in my life been so famous through an item!

"I've given them your website but honestly you should go global!! Seems no one can get enough of the Ratbag! Thought you'd like to hear that!

"Lara x"

Plush Team Holiday nightmare Challenge!

This little Kitty went on holiday to Weymouth! Great! That's where I live!

But it wasn't a good start. She was very travel sick on the way over in the car. Well, luckily, outside of the car! She had to stop several times!

If you get car-sick you will know that you need some time to recover after. Kitten is enjoying the south coast sunshine - quite rare these days! We are not having a summer this year ...

Our little friend decided on a boat trip. Bad idea. She got very seasick.

The sea-life tower boasts awesome views both in land and out to sea. But kitty felt quite dizzy at such a great height and was glad to be back on the ground! Please don't make me do that again!

Now of course a roller coaster might not be good for our kitty, but a ride on a sweet carousel should be OK, right? Sadly kitty only felt another shade of green, and turned a whiter shade of pale again! OOPS!

So kitty recovered by strolling along the sea front until her legs had forgiven her and she felt much better. She became excited to find a lovely booth selling seaside treats and jumped up and down, demanding far too much candy-floss from the stall holder. Unfortunately, you can guess the rest!

I hand made kitty for a plushteam plush challenge, and you can find her in the plush team Etsy shop, just click HERE!

Jingling Johnny again!

While the sun shone, mike made some recycled discs from bottle tops collected from a Weymouth Pub ...

Tap tap, gently round, until each bottle top is flat!

Cat made comfy, grippy handles by carefully gluing on braid. The end of the braid is secured with a small tack first ...

One instrument is covered in scripture, and varnished, and the other stained with ebony stain. They have brackets fitted below the handles, and check out the musical topping on the black jingling johnny!

They make a good noise already!

Both are ready here for the application of some chest-expander springs! The size difference might be to do with our size differences, but might also be to do with playing sitting or standing!

And dog bowls? what? This is looking crazy and fun! More later!

A Very Welsh Saturday!

On Saturday Gordon's Bear and I Went to Wales with Michael driving the 460 odd miles ...

We made our way to ffald-y-brenin as since meeting Roy Goodwin and reading his book I have wanted to go ... There's a lovely walkway to the cross and it's paved with bark, and is a tunnel through the trees. On this path, it hit me, first a few tears until my face was screwed up and I stumbled and clung to mike, finally sobbing like a child, for a reason I knew not!

We reached the simple cross, humble and man-sized not totemic and towering, fluttering with tattered prayers, as the wind picked up. I sobbed and sobbed and mike said let it be good, and it was.

Not a soul we saw at the centre, until we met God here at the cross, Roy would be very happy to know this! The sun came out strong for a moment and my Crying stopped. Now I had to lie down and be still on the ground, for every where around ffald-y-brenin my body felt bowed under a weight which made it hard to walk. This was a joyous, honeyed heaviness. A strong loving hand. Just bigger than me ...

The Chapel was sweet. And filled with peace ... we rested here a while ...

Bear rested too ... i might even have nodded off on the cushions!

We were excited to make our way to Victory Church, Cwmbran, stopping for some food and getting drunk and silly in the foyer with Mike, Raphael and Raphael's Dad, Martin! No alcohol involved though!

Bear got silly and excited too. Well, it doesn't help when mike goes, 'Come and mess with us!', etc etc!

The atmosphere in this place was cooking! I nearly blew out of the door trying to get in! Fun!

Summer is finally HERE!

So we can go outside and play - all of us!

Spending time with our Chickens in the garden!

The girls actually begged me to be allowed to wash the car, so we filled and bucket and put the radio on ...

Matty is working hard to get a good shine, and looks like she is winning!

My Irises came out a little late, but beautiful as ever ...

These are my favourite cakes to bake, these are from the Delia Smith school of caking, Lemon cakes with home-made lemon curd! We took these on a picnic!

And we went out and had fun together ... that's not my car by the way! I do not drive a tardis!