Originally written September 2012
At one point, the House on the Hill had its own little guinea pig cast:
Ziva
Shun
Lexie
Flick
and Trick.
And somehow, one day, each of them ended up in the arms of a different Maria. 
That was how this little photo collection became The Five Marias.
Looking back at it now, what makes me smile is how ordinary this all seemed at the time. Visitors came over, guinea pigs were scooped up for cuddles, photos were taken, and nobody thought there was anything unusual about having five little personalities wandering through our lives.
Ziva had her own place in my heart.
Ebony, Lexie, Flick and Trick had theirs too.
They were different colours, different temperaments and undoubtedly different levels of enthusiasm about being passed around for photographs.
But together they were part of the little guinea pig world we had created at the House on the Hill.
A house full of visitors.
A garden full of little homes.
And, apparently, enough Marias to produce an entire themed photo shoot.
Stories Along the Way 