Our three Guinea Goddess are together again. First we lost Isis, then Mona earlier this year, and Mimi last month. I miss all three of them terribly.

Peter or I have fetched their fresh veggies every night since I first got Isis in January 2005. It still feels so weird to finish cleaning the kitchen after dinner and NOT reach for the fridge to grab lettuce, carrots, or red bell peppers. I have to keep reminding myself that our routine has just…ended.

Here are their three completed urns.

I used Egyptian imagery for Isis (of course):

Mona, born in November, got a Greek cornucopia, since she is named after Pomona, goddess of the harvest:

Mimi was named for Artemis, Roman goddess of the hunt, because the orange on her head looks like an arrowhead when viewed from above (I threatened to name her “Insert Food Here,” but Peter argued against it):

They’re probably together somewhere giving each other hell. Isis is running laps and bouncing around, Mimi has climbed head-first into a pile of hay, and Mona is popcorning so hard she flips herself over…repeatedly.

Our poor Mimi left us today. She was the last of our three Guinea Goddesses.

We knew it was coming, but it was still a surprise…it’s so weird how that happens. We had someone from Carolina Pet Services pick her up earlier. They did such a wonderful job with Mona in January that we’ll never consider using anyone else.

We’ll miss you, Meemers! :'( I’m sure Isis and Mona will be so happy to see you again.

We picked up Mona’s cremains yesterday from Steve at Carolina Pet Cremation. He did a beautiful job and included a lovely packet of condolence and memorial material.

This, however…this caught me by total surprise and left me sobbing for a while. I was truly moved.

I will be woodburning and painting a design on the top of her urn like I did for Isis. I’m thinking a cornucopia, since she was named after the goddess of abundance.

Mona has gone to join Isis at the Rainbow Bridge, leaving Mimi as our sole remaining Guinea Goddess.

She turned 6 years old in November, and her health had been in slow decline for the past year. I suppose her age was catching up to her a bit. In July we took her to Banfield because it seemed that her right eye was no longer functional; she had a noticeable head tilt, the eye itself was glazed and a bit sunken, and there was no blink reflex. She was diagnosed with an ear infection that had likely caused pressure or damage to her optic nerve, and we were told that she may or may not regain sight in that eye. She was perfectly ok with that, going about her happy guinea pig life much as she had been. She really perked up and even gained a little weight.

This is another of the first Pins I tried, because I love things that smell amazing. Basically, all you have to do is find a Downy Unstopables scent you like and sprinkle a small handful in an oil warmer. Pop in a lit tealight, and wait for the amazing smell to permeate your home.

I went with the pink “Shimmer” scent, since that’s what appealed to me the most in the laundry aisle at the supermarket. It has a nice sweet, heady floral scent that fills the air nicely when warmed.

The downside to this Pin, besides the fact that Downy apparently can’t spell “unstoppables,” is that you may experience some fallout from any sensitive pets you may have.

We have two guinea pigs that live on the ground floor, about 10 feet from where my oil warmer is stationed. Our little Mona did not do well when I was using this stuff every day — she stopped eating and became listless, which is crazy because she’s kind-of a spaz and normally eats like there’s no tomorrow.

Peter connected the dots and realized that she started not feeling well right about the same time I started doing this, and we agreed to put the kibosh on the Downy for a week and see if she bounced back. She did, so be aware that the critters you share your home with might not do so well with this Pin. I mean, it’s meant for the washing machine, not an oil warmer, so how good can it be for you or your pets to breathe in all the time, anyway?

My conclusion:

   Smells Good != Good For You