A Busy Mom's Guide to Weight Loss

!. Drink lots of water... non-sugared flavored water works if you don't like the taste of tap water

2. Wii Fit is a wonderful thing... definitely useful for getting back in shape while the kids are around

3. Exercise while the youngest kids are napping or make a contest out of it with older kids

4. You don't have to give up the foods you love, just decrease the portions

5. food addiction is very real, but don't confuse it with eating out of boredom, a busy person will generally eat less often

6. remember that milk is a food, not a drink, nursing moms should try to include some in the diet for it's multitude of benefits

7. remember that this list is made by a mom, not a dietitian, nutritionist, or doctor so when in doubt, ask a professional

Rabbit Roll Call!

Still in the barn:

Holland Lops:
Cinderella - BSD, tort
Cherokee - SSD, tort
Dynomite - SSB, tort
Tatyana - BSD, blue tort
Rena - SSD, black
Halo - SJB, sable point
Chauncey - SJB, tort
Nina - SJD, tort

Mini-rex:
Evan - chin SB
Evan II - chin SB
Palmer - chin SB
Copper - caster VC JB
River - blue SB
Marc - chin JB
Quicksilver - chin JB
Bianca - BEW JD
Eve - BEW SD
Earline - BEW SD
Destiny - castor VM SD
Watership - blue DS
Baby Blue - blue SD
Chinseraphim - chin JD
Smoke - chin SD
Que Sera - squirrel JD
Daytona - chin JD
Try me - broken chin SD
Try out - chin JD
Bart - black otter JD
Giselle - black SD
Shadow - black SD
Mary - broken black otter SD
Miranda - blue otter SD

English Spot:
Mercury - gold SB
Honey - chocolate SD
Venus - chocolate JD
Cull buck - black solid

Mini-lop:
Jasper - BSB, chin
Jackie - BSB, chestnut
Landslide - BSD, black
Starlight - SSD, chestnut
Katie - BSD, black steel

Havana:
Phoenix - broken black
Jewel - black
Mimi - black
Thunderstorm - broken blue
Imagine - white

AFL:
Pie - BSD, black
Kellogg - SSB, black
Eclipse - SSD, black
Reba - BSD, tort
Mambo - SJD, tort
Cameron - SSB, tort

Jersey Wooly:
Lulu - REW

Belgian Hare:
Papi - JB

Other:
Tina
Tessa
Doe 1
Doe 2
Doe 3
Cull B1
Cull B2
Cull B3

Best Holiday Gifts

This year's best gifts by far... Wii Fit balance board for David. The whole family loves it! Heat pack made by myself for David. Again the whole family loves it. We keep it draped over an oil heater and it heats up quickly and drapes around the neck nicely. Jessi got a Nintendo DS, which Ari has been coveting and has decided to buy one for herself at her birthday next week. Aydi got a very nice wooden kitchen plus wooden play food and steel pots/pans. My mother pitched in and made her a very nice apron set to go with it. She and her sisters have played with it every day since the holiday! Definitely a hit. Ari received a stunt bike, but the cold prevents her from getting full use of it as of yet. Though this spring I'm sure she'll have great fun.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Ever wanted to try this? I've done it twice now and can tell you it's great! You can use things you have to hand or get fancy. I just want a plain mayo, so here's what I do:

4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 to 1/4 tsp salt (I measure in my palm)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2/3 C canola oil with 1/4 olive oil

Mix everything but the oil in a tall container, turn on stick blender and add oil to mix slowly at first, then pour in as mixture thickens.

Black pepper can be used if you don't mind black flecks in your mayo. I like the mix of the vinegar and lemon juice, but if you like your mayo to taste more like salad dressing, then sub out the lemon juice with an extra tbsp of the vinegar. Also, I like to mix the oils because that's what I have to hand, but you can use all canola, olive, or even sunflower oil.

One last caveat, yes it is made with raw eggs. I use fresh ones to be safe and don't make a lot of mayo only to let it sit around. I tried to make some with the whole egg (some websites swear by it), but could not get it to thicken correctly. I may try again some other time, but for now I figure why mess with something I know works by using only the yolks. I save the whites for other uses.

Tonight's Holiday Memory

Tonight Jessi & Ari wanted to wrap some packages. So I got out some gifts for extended family and a couple other gifts, a roll of wrapping paper, and the bag of wrapping supplies (tape, pen, scissors, labels, etc). I was helping Ari with her packages by taking off pieces of tape and handing them to her. Well apparently, the adhesive on this particular roll of tape was more sticky than usual. I had a small piece on my finger, maybe half an inch long, and since Ari was finished with her package I was offering it to Jessi. Jessi tried to snatch the tape off my finger, I felt the pull and thought she had it, she then tried to affix it to her package only to realize that the tape was still stuck to my finger!! She tried to grab it again, looked at her own hand and saw the tape was STILL on my finger! It took a third try for her to get it off, but this time I'm rolling with laughter at the tape that just did NOT want to go on the package.

Aydi's ER Visit

We got back from the ER about an hour ago. Only 2 hours, I thought they did fairly well. Aydian was trying to brush her teeth with Jessi, but rather than go and get the stool to stand on, she tried to stand on top of the diaper pail. It went out from under her and she came down (I think) cracking her jaw on the sink. Aydi started screaming and Jessi yelled that she was bleeding. I thrust Korben at Ari and went to the other girls and held Aydi to me. I briefly peeked at her lip and saw blood and a wound. Then there was more and more blood, so when Jessi brought a fresh wad of tissue paper to change it out I got a better look... at a very large gash on the inside of her bottom lip. I looked over at David briefly and said I thought she might need a stitch. Then I lifted her to my lap and took the tissue off again... and noticed that the hole went clear through her lip.

When David saw that he jumped up immediately and I wrapped Aydi in a blanket. We jumped in the van and went off to the hospital. She was a VERY good girl, stopped crying as soon as she was strapped into her carseat in the car (David drove, I sat in back with her with a wet cloth on her mouth). The ER doc looked at her lip and said yes it would need stitches... then he handed her about 6 stickers and me a pad soaked with numbing fluid to hold on her lip. She was having fun putting the stickers all over herself, David , and I til the doc and 2 nurses came in with a large blanket. They swaddled her to hold her arms down, then 1 held her jaw/head, 1 held her body, David held her legs, and I stood at her head coaxing her to look up at me.

The doc put in 3 stitches around the wound (it was bigger than I thought, but was a puncture, the lip itself wasn't torn through thank goodness) and was done in about 15 or so minutes. The inside of the lip looked bad too, but he said that would heal in just a few days, it's the outside that will take longer. David said later that she didn't really even struggle at all, and she barely cried the whole time. My big brave girl! I think I had it harder just having to stand there and watch... though it was very interesting.

The Tree that Almost Wasn't

Our tree is a small 4 footer that I got several years ago. I've always had trouble putting it up and taking it down, the base just never wanted to come apart without a lot of trouble. I even tried greasing it this year to make things easier. Well, earlier today Aydi had grabbed at a bell and (luckily I was standing right there) the whole thing began to topple to the side. I couldn't get it to stay up, but I shifted one of its 3 legs and it stayed up. Earlier this evening I warned everyone that it was especially fragile this year and to really make an effort to not touch it.

Not 2 hours ago my husband, David, and Ari were yelling at the top of their lungs for me to come (I and Jess were having a 'chat' about attitudes... go into that later though), when I went in the whole tree was leaning precariously sideways. David was sitting in the chair and said it just came over on top of him. He managed to catch it though. I looked and sure enough, that one leg was completely off. I had the girls take off all the glass ornaments, then I laid it on it's side on the table. When I looked at the base I realized there was no saving it. The place where the leg slides in had completely sheared off.

We don't have the funds to replace the tree, so I was becoming very disappointed (and so were the girls). Then I happened to mention to David that I still had the iron base my mother had given us ages ago that we normally use when we get live trees. I even knew where it was too. I was thinking about maybe trying to get a small live tree. Then David had an epiphany and he took all the legs off the old tree's base, then said, "will this fit in the iron base do you think?"

It looked like it might, so I got the iron base just awhile ago and dusted off the cobwebs and oiled the screws and tightened it down on the old base. And surprise, it works!! So the kids will have a tree this year after all. Yay!!

Jessi's Lie

So yesterday I instructed Ari to clean the elder girls' room because I wanted to clean everything up so we could begin decorating for the holidays. She later brought me a piece of folded paper and said, "looks like Jessi has been passing notes." I glanced at the paper and put it aside to be addressed later. When Jess came home, I asked her, "have you been passing notes during class?" To which she replied with an emphatic "no." I asked her twice more with the same result. Then I got the note, hid it behind my back and told her that I would give her one last chance to tell me the truth, because I already knew what her answer was supposed to be. She then said that she was allowed to talk to people before class.

I finally pulled the note from behind me and read it more carefully myself. I told her I could recognize her handwriting (which I could) for one of the parts. There was an insult to the teachers choice of professional attire written by another person. Jess and I went back and forth a few times and finally I told her that I would repeat back what she was telling me and she could say whether it made any sense to her. She said they were allowed to talk before class until the bell rang. She said that her friend was sitting all the way across the room. She said that the note was not passed via several people, that her friend brought it over to her, yet they weren't supposed to be walking around the room willy nilly before class. So I then asked her if she would believe it if that was told to her.

I told her that I flat out did not believe her when she said she was not passing notes during the class. I told her that if she were caught doing it there was a chance she could receive in-school suspension (detention) and that the insult written would likely hurt her teacher's feelings, that the teacher is a person too, and if the insult was found in Jessi's hands, that it could color the teacher's opinion of Jessi. I told her that she was old enough and mature enough to make the right decision herself, that I would not police her in any way, and that I would not make her tell her friends to stop passing the notes. However, if she were to be caught and receive detention for doing it, that her punishment for it would be severe.

She reached the age that she needs to start choosing the right path for herself. She needs to make her own decisions. I can only hope that I've raised her to choose the mature and responsible way. If not then she will be choosing to accept the consequences of her actions. After all, for every action, there will be a reaction. Perhaps not always immediate, but it will come.

Empty

An idle thought I had a little while ago...

Once you've reached the pinnacle of success, where else is there to go?

It can be applied to anything, but I was thinking specifically about rabbit breeding and showing. I've been in the hobby a long time. Not as long as some, true, but much longer than many. My rabbit herds have fluctuated, changed, evolved. I look around now at some of the breeders I knew back when I was new and I wonder what has become of them. Some have gotten out of rabbits, some have changed their breeds, and a few have simply disappeared. A couple I know were top breeders on a national scale, but now their animals are only mediocre. So what happened to their drive to succeed? Did it begin to wan when they would win every show they would attend? What meaning do the awards have when you know you will win them every time? What meaning do GC legs have when your 'average' rabbit has 25 or more? Do you lose your edge when you've got nothing left to strive for?!

Perhaps the song is right:
"There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
always gonna be an uphill battle
and sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
it ain't about how fast I get there
it ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb."

Last of my Wisdom

That phrase just has an odd ring to it. However, as of this evening I no longer have wisdom teeth bothering me. However, the extraction was of the kind that you hope you never have to worry over. Sometimes I hate having sensitive intuition, because it started screaming at me the moment the kid walked into the room. He had an overly friendly, Golden Retriever quality about him. You know, overeager to please, but not exactly sure how best to do it. Fortunately an older man came in behind him, I could read 'experience' all over his face, so I did relax somewhat. Not for long however.

My last extraction was a breeze by comparison, that doctor used a surface numbing gel on the inner and outer side of the gums, then left for about 10 minutes before he even bothered to touch my teeth. I literally felt nothing but the pressure he warned me about. This kid only put the gel on the outside, claiming it did nothing on the inside (he's wrong incidentally). So he starts with the Novocain on the outside and it was a small prick, but otherwise fine. When he moved to the inside of the gums however, the pain of injection was more substantial, especially since I'd had no surface numbing (thanks a bunch) and since he kept pulling out then back in. He stabbed me several times and each time I'd jump, he'd then tell me to settle down. I'm not sure what exactly he thought I was going to do.

He stood for maybe 30 seconds, then started poking around the tooth. It was fine right up until he started pushing in on it and I cried out slightly in pain. "oh, not quite numb?!" Gee, what gave it away I wonder. So back in he went with the needle, spilling more in my mouth I think than he got in the gum. By the way, that stuff tastes NASTY. Then he tries again, and again I cry out in pain. About this time the mentor (professor?) came back to see what was taking so long. The youngster told his mentor that I was still hurting, so the old guy took the needle, opened my mouth and jabbed a previously as yet unknown nerve. "That's the one," he claimed as I jumped, yet again.

Starting to see a pattern here yet?!

So then the youngster took back over and wrestled my mostly disintegrated wisdom tooth from it's previously secure bed. He packed gauze on the extraction site and I sat up. He looked me over and exclaimed, "do you want to sit for a minute, you look really pale." Well duh!! I was shaking like a leaf in a full hurricane gale! I finally did get up and accepted the extra gauze and instruction sheet from the front desk lady.

"Did they give you any prescription the last time you were here?" The youngster asked me, I shook my head no and tolk him I just used ibuprofen for the pain. He nodded and I stepped out the door. Then I went out of the building and promptly collapsed upon the wooden bench that was out there. No way was I going to get in my car and try to drive while in such a shaken state. After several minutes I did go to my car and drove home. The shakes subsided, I concentrated carefully on my driving.

The end result: one removed wisdom molar, a dull aching pain at the extraction site... in spite of the Novocain they practically drenched me in, and a very numb face, from the eyebrow on that side to my chin, including the nostril and part of the ear. It's very disturbing to have a slightly numb eye I must say. At least it is now done. I truly hope I never require another tooth extraction.

Tis the Season

This is my favorite time of the year. While I'm not exactly religious and don't really follow a specific denomination, I do enjoy the sights, smells, and sounds around this time of the year. For me, the biggest focus is on my family. I don't do a lot of gift giving outside my immediate family, after all, with 6 members in our immediate family alone, it can be quite a substantial holiday. Add into that the 6 nieces and nephews shared between my husband and myself, plus both our sets of parents and their spouses (yes, we both have divorced parents, both mine have remarried and one of his has remarried). So as you can imagine, our modern family is rather robust. My favorite part of the holiday, out of all the favorites, is the time and effort I put into selecting and/or creating the offerings to my family.

A few years ago I began my crafting hobby. I knit, crochet, sew, paint, make from-scratch soap and a few other odd crafts. I love to create something from raw materials. I admit my favorite is the yarn arts. It never ceases to amaze me how a single thread can become fabric, toys, and so many other beautiful things. However, with this tendency comes one difficulty: finding the time to design or locate patterns and to create the items I wish to give away. The funny thing is that I tend to give away or sell everything I make. I don't even own a single item that I've created over the years. I just have more fun making for others.

So far for this coming holiday I have made a crochet soap saver bag for my mother. I'll be making a batch or two of special soap that will be split around to various people. I'm cutting out several pairs of fleece pants for my son. For him I'll also be making a fleece 'stuffie' which is just a very simple stuffed toy, and a taggie ball. I might use a similar pattern for a fleece ball for my youngest daughter. I have plans for a bean bag tic-tac-toe game for the elder children. Then there may be some crochet play food to go with my youngest children's main holiday gift (a wooden kitchen play set). Each niece or nephew, other than the two oldest, will be receiving a crochet toy.

I have fun doing all of it, though it does keep me quite busy. Speaking of which, I have fabric to cut out. Ta ta!

"A poor orphan girl named Maria
was walking to market one day
and stopping, she knelt by the roadside
where a bird with a broken wing lay.

A few moments passed til she saw it,
for it's feathers were covered with sand.
But soon cleaned and wrapped it was traveling
in the warmth of Maria's small hand.

She happily gave her last peso
on a cage made of rushes and twine.
She fed it loose corn from the market
and watched it grow stronger with time.

Now the gift-giving service was coming,
and the church shone with tinsel and lights,
and all of the townsfolk brought presents,
to lay by the manger that night.

There were diamonds, and incense, and perfumes
in packages fit for a king.
But for one ragged bird in a small cage,
Maria had nothing to bring.

She waited til just before midnight,
so no one would see her go in.
And crying, she knelt by the manger,
for her gift was unworthy of him.

Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness,
"Maria, what brings you to me?
If the bird in the cage is your offering,
open the door, let me see."

Though she trembled, she did as he asked her,
and out of the cage the bird flew.
Soaring up into the rafters,
on a wing that was healed, good as new.

Just then the midnight bells rang out,
and the little bird started to sing.
A song that no words could recapture,
for it's beauty was fit for a king.

Now Maria felt blessed just to listen
to that cascade of notes sweet and long.
As her offering was lifted to heaven
by the very first Nightingale's song."

A beautiful poem, even for one that does not accept the overall intention and meaning. Happy holidays.

Little Hamsters

Today I removed the young hamsters from the main colony. My particular colony consists of 2 adult females and 1 adult male. The females are a black and a silvered black, the male is a blue fawn. The first litters were just normals, nothing fancy. However with the next set of litters I got a litter of blue fawns from the black female and a litter with an opal and 2 normals from the silvered female. I chose the best of the blue fawn female babies... nice calm demeanor, clear color, robust size... to keep to replace one of the older girls in the colony. I really would have liked to keep the one opal baby except for 2 problems, first it's a male, and second it's a runt that is slightly off in overall type. So no replacing daddy for him. I'll hold out and see if there are any better opals in subsequent litters. At least I know the dilute genes are there!

Aydi's Little Talent

Aydi is 2 years old. Her vocabulary and verbal skills are really quite impressive for a child her age. She isn't shy about talking either for the most part. This evening, while talking on the phone out front of the house, she decided to join me... in her nightgown mind you. She proceeded to push her small car (an old walking toy give to her when she was very little) out onto the walkway in front of the house. She climbed atop the car, stood feet together, lifted her hands straight up and proceeded to belt out a completely nonsensical song at the top of her lungs. She then grinned over at me and leapt off the car into the grass.

"I'm going to run away!"

This told to me today by my 2nd daughter, Ari, because she was angry with me. So I replied, "okay, why don't you go ahead and pack." in a calm and reasonable tone. She then went into her bedroom and proceeded to stuff clothing haphazardly into her backpack, her laptop tote, one of my cloth bags, and another tote. She also packed some toiletries into a shoebox and half a jar of peanut butter and a few slices of bread into a couple of paper bags. She took and stuffed a throw blanket into another bag. When she was all prepared, she headed out the door. I told her, "don't go on any busy streets" as she went out the door.

I watched her surreptitiously from the door as she walked down the road, laden with her bags and encumbrances. When she turned a corner, I decided to follow in the car, to be sure she was alright. I took my 3rd daughter, Aydi with me. We drove to the turn and I didn't see her. So around the block to her friend's house, where I spoke to his father, "Ari has decided to run away, if she tries to come by here, would you please send her along home?" He assured me that he would and I continued along the road, slightly concerned now that I didn't know where she'd gone. That was, until I caught a flash of her things in some bushes along the road to home.

Yep, my daughter ran away from home... to some bushes less than 100 yards from home! LOL I drove back home and Aydi and I walked back down to the bushes. I poked Ari, who was lying on the ground with a pair of pants over her face. She sat up and I realized she had tied the pants around her neck. When I asked her why she had done so she said the sun was hot. Aydi, having picked up a few sticks along the way, presented them to Ari. Ari began setting them up against the bush and then I helped her fold her blanket and she placed it on the sticks. Aydi then began going around collecting more sticks for Ari, who was encouraging her. I reminded Ari that she had school in the morning, to which she replied, "school?!" and I said, "yes, and dance on Tuesday." [hee hee] She then said she would bring Aydi along home in a bit if I wanted to head home, I agreed and went along. My eldest daughter, Jess was being quite nosy and laughing to herself about Ari's shenanigans, saying she wouldn't be giving her room back to Ari (yeah right).

Jess & I were sitting on the back of the van, I was talking to Jess and keeping an eye on the place where the other girls were. Then Ari started walking Aydi back home and Jess wanted to see where Ari would be 'staying' so we all walked back to the bushes. Jess was criticizing Ari's choice of locale a bit and suggested a better place. So I casually mentioned maybe I could take some of her things back to the house to store. She finally agreed and I kept suggesting things to 'store' back at the house... in case it rained. Finally I mentioned that we were going to go out shopping... would she like to come along perhaps. That's when she said, "I think I'll come on home now." and I helped her carry all her things home.

She said, "this was fun, I think I'll do it again someday. I hope Dad didn't think I was actually serious." To which I replied, "I think he did, but he'll get over it." I had known that she wasn't serious, it had been a rash statement on her part. She continued to follow through, not out of anger, but out of stubbornness because she had said she would and was determined to follow through, no matter what. I told her that next time perhaps she should wait for a warmer time of year, and maybe try doing it on a Friday or Saturday, rather than Sunday... because of school.

Rabbitry Update

In the rabbitry there are:

3 HL bucks (hmm, need to sell one... or two)
5 HL does
3 AFL bucks (need to sell one of these too)
4 AFL does
2 ML bucks (one of these will probably go)
3 ML does (one of these will probably go)
2 ES bucks (1 will go)
2 ES does
2 Rex does (both will go)
1 JW doe
3 HV bucks (up for sale)
2 HV does (up for sale)
5 MR bucks (will sell at least 1 or 2 of these)
17 (or so) MR does (a few will go)
1 BH buck
2 adult mix does (1 will go)
3 jr mix rabbits (all will go)

I think that's about it... lots needing to be culled back for the winter hold-over.

Slight addendum

Apparently, the dentist... in his attempts to extricate my tooth from it's firm foundation... damaged the corner of my mouth. I remember feeling a pinch, but didn't say anything. How was I to know that because of the numbing, that 'little pinch' turned out to have been slight damage. Nothing major, I've done worse yawning while having a cold! Still hurts though.

And lest anyone think I'm a wimp, I have delivered 3 children without anesthesia. I'm no stranger to pain. I do, however, feel I should be able to mention and/or comment on it from time to time. That doesn't make me a wimp, just an observer.

Pulling Teeth

Never listen to people that tell you that having teeth taken out is a breeze. HAH! More like a gale. They had to come out though, I've known it for many years. When my top wisdom teeth erupted to the side, I knew they'd be trouble, then when they started to fall apart I realized time was running out. Then one of them poisoned a molar next to it. So I finally broke down and made an extraction appointment.

I was terrified going in, I didn't know how it was going to go. It had been a couple decades since I'd been to see any kind of dentist. However, this one was young and understanding... a volunteer, but still knowledgeable. He listened to me tell about the 3 bad teeth that I needed taken out. He said he didn't think he could get them all at once, so which would I choose if he could only get one. I chose the molar, it was causing the most pain. After checking them for himself, he confirmed that that pair (molar and wisdom) needed to come out, and he'd try to get both that evening. He numbed up the area, then went in with some strange tool. I realized I just couldn't watch him work, I kept visualizing the worst possible scenarios, which was not helping keep me calm. The wisdom came out quite easily, I suppose it was pretty well rotten. The molar though was very difficult. He prodded, he yanked side to side. With a sickening CRUNCH it finally came free... though part of the root broke off. He went back to get that small piece then stuffed my mouth with gauze. It was done in about 30 minutes. I even took a quick look at both of them, the tiny bit that was the wisdom tooth and the massive molar, which was missing a rather large chunk.

I was sent home with instructions on care and a note on how to make an appointment for the other wisdom and to get a couple other molars repaired, as they have small cavities. I thanked them and left. In retrospect, I should have had help getting home. Not from the numbing, it was just a local, but from the adrenaline drop. I was shaking and it took a while to come down from it. I was so worn from the ordeal I went to bed early.

It hurts now though. Once the numbing wore off, it began to hurt. It still hurts. Plus I cannot chew on that side. I'm trying to be so careful, but it's strange. I feel like there's a HUGE hole, even though I know it was actually just the molar I'm missing, because the wisdom teeth never really were any use, just a nuisance from the day they came out.

The job that wasn't

I was hired after almost 3 weeks of interviews and waiting by what I consider to be a smaller company... measured, by me, by the number of associates working within the immediate area. I was the third. The immediate area was a range from West Virginia to North Carolina and many venues in between both north and east. I began work November 2nd and I worked hard at a job where the pay was reasonable, the hours and excessive toil, were not. Not for someone as old or as experienced as I. And after two and a half weeks of hell, I was released for "not meeting expectations."

Floored didn't even begin to cover my surprise. How is it to be going along, barely begun in a position, led to believe I was doing well, only to discover the opposite was true. Honestly, I felt lied to by the company, the manager, and the initial interviewer. However, there is nothing to be done. I truly don't feel much antagonism toward the company, I barely knew them. Though I had heard rumors that were not exactly complimentary.

Ah well, it was a drop in the bucket of time and won't even mar the pristine appearance of my resume. Back to the searching grind... which truth to tell, I never left.

End of Imagination

Did you ever wonder at what age imagination dies? Think back to when you were young, what age did you stop playing with toys because you could no longer picture their fantastical surroundings? For me, it was around puberty, the cusp of adulthood... around 14 or 15.

The only reason I consider this is because one person mentioned how their 17 year old child was playing with their much-younger sibling games that tend to require a great deal of imagination. I have to wonder if the older child is really playing or simply playing along. Food for thought.

Projects

I have... five going simultaneously at the moment. Four are toys, a crochet otter, crochet bowling set (still on the first pin), and a Clown fish that needs eyes, plus a 'stuffie' that will ultimately go to a nephew since it's not coming out as I had hoped (was originally meant for my own son). Plus I have baby pants in the works. Then several projects that are still only in my head, but which need to be begun soon.

Did I mention that it's only 2 months until the winter holidays?!

Kids & Chores

My eldest came up with this brilliant plan to exchange chores for occasional sleepover nights, which traditionally were forbidden during the school year. Anyhow, it's based on a point system where points are earned for chores completed. It ranges from half a point for each basket of their clothes they put away to 3 points for vacuuming the house. They can earn up to 25 points in any week and must have 100 points to earn a sleepover night. The idea being they wouldn't be able to earn more than one per month (if that).

However, they have taken it to new heights! My second child has become some manic cleaner and is constantly on me for things to do that are not on the chore chart. Then she badgers me to add her points after she completed each chore. I won't discourage her, she is getting her share of the work done without my having to fuss or her getting upset for a change, it's just that she gets a little excessive in her efforts. There are more than enough chores for them both to earn their points each week, but they are designed that they cannot wait until the end of the week and still be able to earn them all.

I think they'll get there this week, but I have a feeling both of them are going to flex back just a bit afterward. It's a Halloween sleepover they are working so hard to achieve, after that they are just ordinary sleepovers.

A strange dream

Early this morning I experienced the oddest dream in which my mother, my aunt, and my youngest children featured. It was completely odd. I cannot recall how it began exactly, though I remember being in my grandmother's house (as it was many years ago... clear, with white carpets), and I remarked to my mother how I really needed juice for the youngest children. So my mother and I were discussing it and my aunt chimed in and said she would take me out to get some. So we got in her car and I remember asking where we were going since she was not on any route that would take us to a store. Instead she said, "I know where we can get juice." and took me to a building that was in some stage of construction... meaning there was no real landscaping and there were some large equipment (I didn't dwell on those). There were no other buildings around. By this time is was twilight. We went into the building and she told me to follow her and we went to a room where all sorts of bottled drinks were stored. My aunt glanced around and remarked that there didn't seem to be any juice bottles there (was thinking about purple grape juice), then she said maybe so-and-so would have some as she was one that was commonly taking it all. So we went to this persons office and we grabbed a couple bottles of juice. Then we went out to the car, by this time is was quite dark and magically I now had a car too, separate from my aunt (hey it's a dream world! The car I had was dark green, my aunt's was tan... both were some kind of luxury vehicle). Then suddenly these 'officials' were surrounding us at the trunk to my car. The looked at my aunt and told her, "you know better than to bring strangers into the building and you also know not to take the juice out of the building." She looked chagrined, but as she was not the one carrying the actual juice, they let her go with just a warning. She looked over at me briefly, sympathetically, then got in her car and drove off. The officials looked at me and told me they would go ahead and let me take the juice this time, but not to come back anymore. I said okay and got in the car. At this point I awoke.

The whole thing was exotically peculiar. Everything from the house to the 'building' to the weird juice sequel was just completely off the wall! But then, what are dreams for if not to give our subconcious an opportunity to delve into the bizarre.

Winter Holidays

I have a pine scented candle burning, it's cold and wet outside, I'm in the mood for the winter holidays! It's too bad when we actually get up to the time where I'll need to start digging out decorations and wrapping gifts, that this feeling of energy and excitement will probably have dissipated. Ah well, I still love that candle. Come to that, I really need to see about getting one or two more of them, they really are awesome.

Or I guess I could plan for a pine scented soap. I have some pine essential oil, just for that purpose.

Appearance can be deceiving

I'm a little of an anomaly to many, hard to stereotype or pigeonhole. I've always been this way, probably owing to my somewhat eclectic living style when I was young. A neighbor came by one day and I was dancing in my living room with my children. The radio was going quite loud to the local popular music station. The neighbor commented, "I had you pegged as one that would listen to country, not hip-hop."

I love to knit and crochet. Awhile back my husband was observing me doing so one evening while I had a movie going for 'background noise' and he commented, "I never would have thought you'd go in for something so... feminine." Now I think my father would have something to say about that comment, seeing as long ago it was quite common for men to knit their own socks. Come to that, I'm really not sure how the idea that knitting is a female chore came to be. Truly, anyone can knit, but these days it seems everyone is surprised if anyone under the age of 70 can do it.

So let me sum myself up for you: I like modern music, but I'm open to just about anything. I love to craft and consider myself to be somewhat of an artisan, but I'm no artist (yes, I believe there is a difference... and artist splashes some paint around and it turns out beautiful, I splash paint around and it turns into a mess. LOL). I love animals of all species and phyla without equivocation. I'm quite knowledgeable on many subjects, but I will be the first to say "I don't know" to many many things, because I don't. I like to make soap, I love to read romance novels and watch comic movies. I don't like horror films and can't stand any kind of 'mealy' bean, no matter how it's dressed up. I love my kids, my husband, my city, my state, and my country, in that order. I'm very much into the 'green' movement, as it's now called, but have been doing things different since before it was popular. I believe in grass roots and sustainability. I have my own way of thinking and will NOT be told by anyone what to think, say, or do. I am very firm in my beliefs, but open to being educated on someone else's. I'm accepting of all walks of life regardless of any minority factor. And I have a southern hill accent that was developed as an early adult.

There now, can people please stop acting so surprised when I don't fit their image of me?

Coffee Soap

I made a batch of coffee soap today. It smelled so wonderful and looked awesome! The temperature is getting colder, so I thought I would try an oven method for forcing gel (gel is the natural chemistry in the production of soap generally indicated by heat production and a darkening of color). My mistake was in using my 1 lb plastic molds instead of heat resistant silicone or a wooden mold. Can you see where this is going?

I had the oven on it's lowest temperature setting of 150* and I put the molds on a towel in a shallow baking pan. Apparently even the low temperature was just too much combined with the heat produced from the reaction itself. Both molds warped and one of them cracked around the middle bottom. Fortunately the soap was far enough along in the reaction that it was more of a gel, so it sort of oozed out the crack and left a blob on the outside. I'm still hoping the soap is salvageable, that was the last of my vanilla fragrance oil! If I wish to repeat this experiment, I will need to acquire more of that oil before I can continue.

*sigh* it seems as though every time I get something I like, something goes wrong. I made over a dozen batches of soap by now, how many more things can go wrong before I finally get what I'm aiming for when I start?!

Toes!

My youngest child... and only boy... discovered his feet earlier today. It really surprised me since none of my other children really did that. He actually reached out to grab them and seemed quite fascinated by the little pink wiggly things stuck to his foot. He didn't really try to chew on them, just studied them for awhile. It was very amusing.

I hate to say it, because it makes me sound biased, but I feel like with each subsequent child, their intellectual capacity has increased. My eldest is smart and ambitious, a good combination. My second is so intelligent sometimes it's frightening. My third has a quick wit to her (even though she's not quite 3) and catches on to things very rapidly. My 4th has stumped me with how quickly he's learning. At just over 4 months he's starting to mimic. Earlier I was reaching to get him from his carseat, and he actually bowed his back so that I could get him more easily. One day my husband was holding him and jerking his own stomach muscles to make his belly jump. The baby began to imitate him! He's already beginning to test the world around him, he explores people's faces (something my other children didn't attempt until they were much older), he practices grasping the teething ring I got for him, among other things.

It's very fascinating.

Looking Back

I was driving down a dark road earlier tonight. It was dark, but it had been awhile since I'd been down that road. When I came to the spot, the memories came rushing back. It'd funny how some things latch into your mind, and it's strange the details the mind deems necessary to recall. In that spot on that road almost 10 years ago I was in the worst accident I've ever had. My 2nd daughter was in the back seat, safely buckled into her car seat (thank goodness). My car had a driver's side airbag and I was wearing my seatbelt. We walked away from the crash whole. But the scars on the mind can sometimes be greater than those that may be visible.

I remember that I was heading up to work at my husband's land, I wanted to cut a few select trees down to make room. I had goats up there at the time. My mother in law was bringing my eldest daughter there after having her overnight. I had a small gas can in the trunk, along with a chain saw and various other paraphernalia. The girl I hit was coming towards me and tried to make a left turn... directly in front of me. There was absolutely nowhere I could have gone, nothing I could have done to avoid the accident. Even the police officer said the only way I might have avoided it would have been to stay home. I drove a Ford Beretta at the time, in retrospect a great car with high safety ratings. I hit the girl's truck just behind her passenger door. The front of my car was completely crushed from the impact. My hands were thrown away from the steering wheel by the airbag. My left hand hit the windshield and cracked the glass, my left arm hit the window column between the drivers window and the windshield. My car limped/rolled into a ditch at the side of the road... about 10 feet from a fire hydrant. I didn't pass out, the car was still running (I was shocked) so I turned the engine off. I thought it was smoke I was seeing, but later found out that the airbag has a powder in it to make sure it will deploy.

As soon as I got a few wits about me I got out of the car (it couldn't have been more than a moment), I pushed the drivers seat forward and unbuckled my baby, who wasn't but about a year of age or less. I remember I walked around behind the car, clutching my daughter, shaking and telling DD that it was "okay" as I literally crumpled to the ground. My legs could not hold me up. It was as though I had the strength to get her out of the car, but then everything just failed. The other driver hovered around me apologizing like crazy. I remember that my arms hurt, I was holding the baby with my arms, not my hands. When the paramedics arrived they tried to take the baby to check her over and I did not want to let her go. I remember that everyone was making herculean efforts to keep me calm, I think they knew that I was so much on the edge of hysteria and genuinely tried to keep me calm. It was my first, and last, major automobile accident. I truly hope it stays that way.

We had a lot of trouble getting DD2 into a car seat for several weeks after the accident. She was, fortunately, completely unharmed. The other driver pleaded guilty to her charge of failure to yield. I was 21 years old at the time, she was 17, definitely too young to inadvertently cause the death of a young mother and child. I'm grateful everyday that everything was 'right' and that accident yielded nothing more than a few bone contusions on my arms and a totaled vehicle.

The End of Havanas?

Will this be the end of a long and illustrious breeding program?

Havanas came to our farm and family in the fall of 2002 (I think). They were the main, and only, breed of my second daughter. Over the years I've gone to a lot of trouble and some expense helping her achieve all the goals she set for herself and her rabbits. She has a (very large) BIS trophy and a couple RIS trophies because of them. She was one of the first breeders in the region to have brokens. Her original broken came from the Boyce's, who were responsible for getting the variety recognized by the ARBA.

Overall I found it to be a rather unremarkable breed. Their main attraction being their pelt. A very lustrous coat with deep, penetrating color and luxurious feel. It's no wonder, seeing as this is the breed most commonly used to make rabbit fur coats for people. Their biggest limitation being the low number of available varieties, being recognized only in black, blue, chocolate, and brokens of those three. Surprisingly Lilac is not and has never been recognized, nor does anyone, to my knowledge, hold a CoD or have plans to attempt to make it recognized in the near future. Lilac being a very common result of crossing blue to chocolate it makes little sense to not have it recognized. And it would account for the almost anal way most Havana breeders keep the chocolate variety completely separated from the other varieties (excepting for broken chocolate, of course).

At any rate, earlier today I had a discussion with DD2 about her extreme reactions to my requests for her assistance in feeding. Since the girls have rabbits they own in the barn, I expect them to rotate helping to feed and occasionally to feed without my assistance. DD2 apparently feels the 30 minutes she is required to spend in the barn helping with the rabbits is 30 minutes wasted when she could be doing other things. Our discussion circled around reasons and consequences. If she doesn't wish to take responsibility for her rabbits, then her rabbits will not be available to her for anything else. The real catch is she would still be required to occasionally help in the barn, chores still rotate among the family, after all. She would also not be permitted to show at shows, though she would still have to attend with the rest of the family. Essentially she would lose all the benefits of having rabbits without actually relieving herself of any of the responsibility.

Where I hesitate is in actually selling the rabbits she has. Those are literally 100% her lines. They go all the way back to her very first rabbit. While I would hate to let that go, only to discover that she wants to get back in later, I also don't know if I can have rabbits sitting in the barn, staring at one another, completely useless. I have no desire to show them.

I gave her some time to think it over. She can have that for now.

Facebook Fun

So I've discovered the fun that can be had on Facebook. Farm Pals and Farmville are very fun. Though a bit tedious as one must wait and starting out there isn't much to be done really. Still, I am having fun with it. It's also interesting seeing who I recognize through the various pages. I don't always extend or accept 'friend' invitations, but only because I am still a little hesitant to do so. Thus far it seems quite fun and interesting.

Facebook

Okay, so I'm not really a big fan of Facebook, in fact I really just don't 'get' it at all. What real purpose does it serve? It doesn't really do anything at all, so I just DON'T get it! However, in spite of that, I figured I'd go ahead and sign up for it anyway, maybe I could figure out all the hullabaloo concerning this odd and seemingly purposeless website. I put down my name, e-mail, a password, and my age. That was all it asked for to register. Then the next page came up to an 'add friends' section and listed several people. I became truly freaked out at this point because it was listing people I actually know from online or real life! I went to one of my forums and mentioned my concern over it. Everyone said things like, "you put in your location, it will suggest people that are close to you from that." which I then shot down because 1. I hadn't put in my location and 2. some of the people I recognized live in other states, one is clear across the country! Someone mentioned that it probably got it from my e-mail, which I'm more apt to believe, but I certainly do not want some computer program thumbing through the e-mail contacts on my computer! The more I think on the list of 'suggested friends' the more I am suspecting that is exactly what that program did.

Do you really want just any old program looking through your e-mail contacts? Isn't there another name for programs that do this? Yep, it's called a VIRUS.

Yeah, I'm a little bit frazzled by it, that much is certain.

Massive Disappointment

I swear, sometimes it's barely worth getting up in the morning. I received a call today. "Thank you for your interest, however we will not be extending a job offer at this time." Well it would have been nice to have said something along those lines or at least not to lead me on and make me jump through ten hoops only to whisk the rug out at the last moment. I was so happy to have found employment that would permit me to be home with my children. I was figuring ways to make it work out and considering long-term solutions for the various associated challenges. Only to have one single judgmental error ruin everything. Ah well, by now I suppose I ought to be used to this, however I am not. I do not like being led on with lies and platitudes. But I will soldier on and find a way to make things work for me. Keep going because any other alternative just doesn't make sense to me.

Dwarf Hamsters

These little cuties are Campbell's Russian Dwarf hamsters, about 2 weeks old. Most don't understand why I raise these, but look into those tiny faces and ask again. Even adults retain their adorable features. Many, though not all, are very friendly. Plus they come in a wide array of colors for even the most discriminating of tastes.

Incidentally, this is not their home. Merely a holding pen while their cage is being cleaned. They seem to enjoy sniffing around.

Why I raise rabbits

'Nuff said. ;o)

New item

Tonight I designed a new item. The idea actually came from my mother as she watched me make a teddy bear. I had put the head of the bear on the body, but hadn't yet added limbs. A mini-bowling set! This first one will be a set of 3 pins and a weighted ball. I'm still refining how I want the pins to look, hence the small number of them. That and it has taken the better part of an hour and a half for a single pin! Multiply that out by 10 and add another hour for a ball. If I were to work only on this set, it would take me half a day. I'd likely only be able to charge about $20, or maybe $25 for a full set. Not worth it.

Most people just do not get the work involved with hand-crafted goods. Each stitch of every toy I make is done by me, not some machine. And every animal crafted must have every detail made independently and then sewn together. I put a great deal of care and attention to detail in every piece. So when I charge $25 for a large hand-made 'Real' rabbit, it's not just yarn and stuffing, it's 2 to 3 days of my life spent creating and putting it together!

Every piece I create is unique, I never use the same pattern in the exact way twice. I'm always tweaking and fine-tuning so as to improve every creation and give it a unique look. I have the talent and ability to make almost anything you can name (within reason... I doubt I could do an Eiffel Tower reproduction just yet *giggle*). And I am unique as there are not many artisans that will attempt some of the things I have. And yes, I refer to myself as an artisan. I have the expertise and knowledge of stitches to make them look the way I want them to look when I am finished. This was brought home to me recently when I created an item from a photo and then tonight when I created an item from nothing more than a picture in my head.

New Website

It's time I suppose. I've decided to go forward with the re-building of a new website. I will probably maintain my old color charts, perhaps see if I can improve them in layout. However, the rest of the site will be re-made in entirety. New photos of everything, a new layout, a new host. Yes, a fresh start will be good I think. Now if only there would come a clear, sunny day where I could attempt to get new photos of the rabbits.

Rabbits & Photos

It's official, as of October 28 I will no longer has a functioning website. It's rather disappointing really since I have so much more than just simple photos there. I have 3 color charts, one of which is utterly unique. So now I must make a decision whether to simply let my website go, or go to the trouble of creating a new one, finding a place to host it, etc. This would also require a lot of new photos of the rabbits, not my favorite past-time in recent years. It's easy to criticize others for sub-standard photos, but so difficult to get better yourself. I will though, as I really do need to try and get back to offering rabbits for sale.

Complicated

Well my life just got a whole lot more complicated than I'd like. I thought I had another month, but that time literally just vanished. So I've been feverishly working to make things better, different, changed, whatever phrase strikes you best. I will be getting my shop up and operational soon I hope, I'm running out of time and I need to try and make as many sales as I can. So please feel free to visit my shop and check out my hand-crafted soaps and children's toys, just in time for the coming winter holiday season!

A little politics

I was talking to my SO the other day and I pointed out that there have been a lot of great men throughout history that also promised their people 'change' and a better life. They were Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Castro, Mao... Do we really want our country following this particular avenue for 'change'?!

Pleased

I'm very pleased with myself. I managed to create a crochet toy item from a picture. I designed it, planned it out, and created it while writing down the pattern as I went. I feel that it marks an important stage for me. It means I know enough about my craft to be able to visualize the stitch type and quantity I would need to use to accomplish the desired effect. I made a toy water bottle, for anyone that was interested to know. I think it turned out rather well and I may add the item to a set I'm planning to offer in my shop. This particular 'prototype' already has a purpose and home.

Awhile

Wow, it's been a little while since I've written.

Yesterday we went to a 'poultry swap' and it was certainly interesting. It was a beautiful day for it. I took my handmade soaps and toys and some other miscellaneous items. I took 24 rabbits to sell. I sold 7 and gave 1 rabbit away and sold several items as well. Overall I considered the event to be a success. I may even try to do some others in the future.

The best part is that I did not come home with anything additional, though I was tempted by some chickens, quail, pheasants, and pigeons!

Rendering

Today I'm rendering tallow (beef fat) for the first time. I purchased roughly 10 lbs of beef fat scraps and had the butcher grind it up for me. What I seem to have now is maybe 4 or 5 lbs of actual tallow and 4 or 5 lbs of hamburger. Now, my instructions say to throw away the 'solids' but I really can't understand why. It's cooked hamburger, just like any other would be. So we might try to do something with it.

I will say that so far, the half-finished tallow looks really nice and smells great! Imagine the scent of cooking hamburger, that's the scent of the tallow at this point. I'm only at the second cook (out of 3), so still a little way to go before it'll be ready to use. Still, it's not as bad as I had been told, at least it isn't thus far.

Another Mini-lop Litter

I fed the rabbits very late this evening. Part and parcel of having 2 youngsters under the age of 3 in the house and no one to assist... I had to wait until they were asleep. Though I can generally accomplish chores even with #3 underfoot and #4 tucked into a front carrier. Anyway, when I have to feed in the dark, I use an old-fashioned oil lamp, the metal kind where the flame is completely enclosed. It doesn't light very well, but well enough to get feed in the bowls and water in the crocks. So I had an opportunity to quietly observe Landslide, the broken black ML doe birthing her litter tonight. I didn't get to see how many she had or even what varieties, though my guess would be the same as she had the last litter. Here's hoping this litter is overall healthier, though I won't hold out my hopes. On the other hand, there shouldn't be any more lengthy periods of time where I am not caring for the rabbits myself. The old adage, 'no one can do it better than I can do it myself' definitely holds true here.

Anyway, I'm hoping to have a peep at them tomorrow. There's another, different breed, doe due tomorrow and another a few days after that, then a couple week break, a few more, then a much longer break during the heat of summer. When the only rabbits that will be breeding will be meat rabbits.

Soapmaking Tribulations

I've been reading about soap-making (the old-fashioned way) for several weeks now, and I am enthralled. However, I've been getting equipment together, locating supplies, and trying to figure out what recipe to try out first. What I really need to find is a good forum of helpful people. However, this seems to be somewhat lacking. One forum I found is all but defunct on the admin side, I've been waiting a week to be approved for posting. Another is actually only a small section within a larger forum and not well visited by experts. I have questions, concerns, worries, ideas, and no one with whom I can really discourse about them.

It's how it was with rabbits all those years ago. And I won't deny that I made a lot of mistakes that could have probably been avoided had I had others to assist, suggest, and mentor. With the internet these days, one wouldn't expect it to be this hard to find recent information and knowledgeable people, but in this one area it appears to be just that.

The frustrating part is that most of the recipes I have (from books) yield a LOT of soap per batch and require rather hefty amounts of ingredients, some of which are a tiny bit on the pricey side of things. Knowing my family and my ability to market, I need recipes to yield smaller amounts of finished product. I suppose I could go browsing through the internet, however that is just so tedious and time-consuming. So I'll resort to that measure only at the utmost end of need.

Diaper Frustrations

I prefer to use cloth diapers on my youngest kids. Well my favorite type are from a manufacturer called Swaddlebees. I've always loved their fitted (all fabric, not waterproof) the best. However, this type of diaper has been getting increasingly rare. Finally the company appears to be eliminating the line altogether and was clearancing the remaining few for half the original cost. The ones I have for DD3 are wearing out after a couple years constant hard use and I doubt they'll be usable by DS. So I wanted to get the last of the dipes. When I started, there were 10 available, within hours it was down to just 7, so I bought them. This morning I received an e-mail saying there were only 5 left available and they would refund the other 2. So I ended up with only half what I originally wanted from them.

I suppose I'll have to look around at retailers and see if anyone else is planning to clearance these diapers. I'm sad though that I won't be able to purchase them anymore.

Earwigs

These nasty little bugs are terribly prolific this year. I hate them however because they seem to always be able to get into everything! DH claims it's due to the unusual amount of rain we've had so far this year. I can certainly believe that, but I still don't like it. Yesterday as I was driving, the littlest suddenly cried out. When I pulled over to check him, there was one of those horrible insects on him!! I got it off as quickly as possible, threw it on the ground and smeared it across the pavement. When I checked over DS, the bug had bitten him on the leg! I swear I am going to figure out some way of keeping those things out of the house and car.

Incidentally, these bugs are also known as pincer beetles.

Shipping in Rabbits

An opportunity came up a few weeks ago to have some rabbits brought in from California. Now, everything happens very fast when it comes to cooperative shipments, especially with this particular group of people. It's understandable really, but it does make it awkward trying to make fast arrangements when the rabbits we'd want wouldn't be from the original seller offering to ship. However, somehow I managed to locate the first breeder from which we'd gotten Fuzzy lops for my eldest. That last time so many years ago, I made arrangements for a single doe to travel across the country via a mid-way convention. This time I arranged to buy a pair and she offered an additional young doe to make a trio. So I bought and paid for the rabbits within a week. The seller sent photos of the rabbits and my eldest selected from those a very nice SSB and a BSD.

Then came the fun of the actual transport. At first they were going to the originator of the shipment in NC, but then real costs for shipping came to light that would have eliminated efficacy for the shipment. The alternative was to change carrier and someone would have to go to GA or DC to get the rabbits. It was decided that DC would be it and the arrangements were carried out. The rabbits finally arrived safely across the country, but then my affliction hit me! So I had to put off retrieving them for a full week. Thank goodness for the person that picked the rabbits up from the airport. Finally, I was able to pick up the rabbits from her and the next person in the chain came to get the remainder of the rabbits from me. So that aspect was finally done.

Now we have 3 beautiful fluffy rabbits who are very slowly adjusting to our more humid weather. I thank everyone that had a hand in helping to get them here, and the list is substantial! So Christina, Katie, Lisa, Kristen, and Whitney... thanks!!

Endometritis

Sadly my education levels are such that I know exactly what this disorder is and in what the potential complications can result. For those that don't know, this is a uterine infection, or more specifically an infection of the lining of the uterus, and it was what I was diagnosed as having a mere 4 days after the birth of my son. Now, i've kept this bit of information close because I don't want people trying to say it was a result of him being born at home. The truth is it could have happened regardless of his birth venue. Here's how it played out:

Friday: birth
Sunday afternoon: passed a small piece of placental tissue which had obviously been retained
Monday afternoon: began running very high fever, temps hovered around 101 or 102, but peaked at 103.7 in the late evening
Tuesday morning: called my regular doctor and set appointment for late afternoon
Tuesday afternoon: went to see the doctor and was basically told they couldn't help me, that I needed to go to the ER
Tusday evening: called ER and talked to doctor who said he'd arrange for home-based care
Wednesday morning: called back to first doctor from previous night and was told that hone care couldn't be setup until Friday or Saturday, which would be too late. He insisted I go to the ER. I then called around and around and around... finally found my former OB and made an appointment
Wednesday afternoon: saw OB as emergency visit, ultrasound performed to check for any lingering tissue in utero, she finally insisted I had to go into the hospital for treatment, but that she could make arrangements so I wouldn't have to sit in the ER, I could bring my baby with me
Wednesday night: I went into the hospital for an expected 24-48 hours IV antibiotic treatment, was told it was against hospital policy to allow the baby to stay with me in hospital. I told them flat out if he goes, I go. After several failed attempts, they finally got in an IV and began antibiotic treatment. Hospital policy staff allowed him to stay for that night.
Wednesday morning: still there, no one complaining about the baby, they continue treatment
Wednesday afternoon: I finally get to talk to a dr who wants to keep me another night, but I talk her into letting me leave that evening (full 24 hours treatment) with a script for oral antibiotics to continue treatment
Wednesday evening: I get to go home
Thursday morning: get prescription for gigantic horse-pills and take them religiously according to orders

It was a true and genuine nightmare. People have died from this particular type of infection before and trying to get through 2 subsequent nights of high fevers was the scariest thing I'd ever done. By the time I made it home, my head was killing me and I was utterly exhausted because I had barely slept for 4 nights (who really sleeps in a hospital... honestly?!). The funniest part of the whole thing was the irony of how hard it was for the doctors to get me into the hospital in the first place and how quick the policy staff was to try and make me leave. I actually think the doctors leaned on them pretty hard because it wouldn't have taken much for me to walk out of that place (I despise hospitals).

I'm also living proof that people *can* be pincushions. I think the staff/nurses were trying to see just how many times they could stick a needle in me. The back of my left hand was where the first doctor took blood for testing. Then in the hospital, even though I warned them that I'm a hard stick, they first tried the back of my right hand (you can see a vein there), no blood at all. Then a different person tried the middle back of my left arm (it's still black a week later!). Then a different person came in and tried the back of my right hand again, thought she had it but managed to get some blood for testing and it stopped bleeding. So she tried then on the inside of my right wrist, also no-go there. Then they switched off again and a man tried the upper part of my inner left elbow, even though no vein was visible, he managed to hit it (yay!), so that's where my IV went. The bad part is the blood they drew from my hand coagulated, so someone else came in and took blood (again) from the inside of my right elbow. So basically I was stuck 7 times for them to get what they needed. It's a good thing I've gotten over my fear of needles!

I also made an interesting statement that is very true... other than the occasional life-threating infection, I'm basically a healthy person. Go figure!

BTW, I'm doing much better now, except for the lingering bruises from the needles, I feel fine.

Addition

So there's a new addition to the family. At 9 lbs 4 oz he lustily announced his arrival just 2 and a half weeks ago. At 21 and 3/4 inches, he's easily the biggest and longest baby I've ever had! Of course, it should be expected since he was 12 days late. LOL I was honestly starting to wonder if he would EVER decide to join the rest of the family. Born at home, he has been nothing but a joy. The first son, and likely the only son, plagued for life by 3 older sisters. He's my little man!

Incidentally, he nurses like a champ, sleeps mostly at night (only waking once or twice now), and a disposable diaper has never touched his skin. I'm very proud of him. Make no mistake though, I don't consider myself to be a 'hippie' merely because I want the best (and most economical) methods of child-rearing. Breastfeeding and cloth diapering are economical choices. Babywearing in public is a safety measure (it's more difficult to snatch an infant that is carried by its mother).

Life

Things have been very hectic of late. The rabbits are taking off like... well... rabbits! There are currently 10 potential meat youngsters, 3 of which have a chance of being selected to stay for the next generation. I've gotten a few not-so-pleasant surprises from the Mini-lops in the form of steels. My hollands are finally giving babies, we even have a litter of Fuzzy lop babies. And my one Spot doe is doing a fabulous impression of what a first-time mom should be by taking impeccable care of her 9 babies plus 1 fosterling. The new rabbitry is beginning to take shape. Several of the cage stacks have been cleaned and placed in the new rabbitry, three of the walls are in place, and the roof-tarp has been purchased. Even the stand-alone hutches are now correctly placed and all of them properly roofed. It's slowly coming together.

The garden has also been installed. I did actually manage to put in a large garden this year, as I'd wanted. Of course, it was a combined effort on the part of the kids, the neighbor's kids, and myself. I couldn't have done it as well without those youngsters! Now there are tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, watermelon, squash, beans, and cucumbers planted and hoping to come up. I even bought 2 new sprinklers to try and make everything as simple as possible. However, I'm finding that I'm going to need a coupler and another length of hose in order to not have to be constantly disconnecting and re-connecting the hoses every day (which is a real pain).

As for me, I'm in the very last stages of expectation. We've cleaned up and renovated one of the rooms in the house for the youngest so that everyone now has a little space of their own. At this point, I'm mostly just waiting. Not impatiently, I keep hoping he/she will wait at least until this next month before announcing arrival. I want more time without a tiny leech. Even though I love my kids, I also sometimes value time alone, and that will be extremely rare with both a toddler and a newborn to look after.

Troubles

Sometimes I really don't know why I'm still trying so hard with these rabbits. I cannot get Holland babies, no matter what I do it seems. I breed and breed and breed, and they keep missing. Now I know a lot of people are having that exact problem right now. However, I now have five BEW Mini-rex (3 does and 2 bucks) and NONE of them will breed!!! The does won't lift, one of the bucks has no interest at all in does. The other buck I just got is interested, but he was literally shoved off the table by a doe! I just don't know what else to do with those. I want BEW, but I may end up going crazy with them. And to top it off, there's a sick junior in the barn again. No symptoms other than listlessness. I'm doing everything I can, I have GOT to get them all OUT of that barn! I truly think that is the root cause, cause I never have a single problem with any rabbit housed outside, only those that are inside. There's something just not right in there.

I ran into a big problem though with the new rabbitry setup... namely, the fence that I need to take down. It's not old enough for the fence staples to come out easily, and these are the really BIG ones. I'll end up breaking the wire before I can get them out, and I'm trying to save the wire. But I can't move forward until the fence is down, and I can't get the fence down without something to get the staples out of the posts!! So I'm stuck. I can't move the rabbits out of the barn until I have somewhere to put them, I can't build a new place to put them until I get the new rabbitry walls and roof up (for protection), and I can't put those up until I get the fence down! You see where all this is going?! So I feel just totally lost at the moment.

I know I'm not the only person having trouble with rabbits lately, but sometimes it just wears down on me. I can't do everything I want to do... I'm running out of time, and my physical limitations are driving me crazy, plus I have been having terrible heartburn, which just adds more to my stress.

Power Washing

So a couple weeks ago I went out and purchased a decent power washer. The idea being that I could use it for cleaning rabbit cages, pans, walkways, and other areas around the house. However, we then settled in for non-stop rain. Today I finally managed to get it out of the box, since today has been somewhat clear and warm and tomorrow is supposed to be clear and warm. I cleaned two of the stacks that had been previously pulled from the barn and I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the performance of this little machine! Granted, one of the hutches is in only fair shape. I give it just a few years before the bottom wire will need to be replaced. I replaced several of the clips today since many of them had rusted completely and came off during washing. I'm planning on cleaning up several of the trays as well, even though I don't care for the larger trays. There's no sense in wasting equipment that I already have, especially if it's still in usable condition.

I do have one slight problem with going forward with my new rabbitry plans. Apparently, the issue is with the fencing on the inner side of the old poultry pen. I cannot seem to find a way to remove the fence staples in such a way as to salvage the wire wherever possible. So the fence is still up on that side and I have no way of actually moving forward with my plans. I will continue to obtain the supplies I need, but I fear getting too far ahead in case I have to alter things at the last moment. Somehow, I have to find a way to take down the fencing.

Shows

We haven't had a lot of shows, especially in the last year. However, apparently that will be made up for in just a few short weeks. There are multiple shows until Easter, and since they are reasonably close, we'll be attending one each week. The purpose is to attempt to sell as much as possible, but also to visit with friends wherever I can. For all too soon I won't be going to any shows, and I'm sure it will get lonely. Though I'll still have my rabbits and my kids for company, it's just not quite the same as having like-minded adults around you with which to converse.

Giving up binky

This is apparently harder than I had expected. A binky is what we call a pacifier, and currently my youngest is in the process of giving them all up in favor of being 'big'. I had decided before she was born that I did not want to have to go through the nightmare of trying to break a thumb-sucker. So for her first 6 weeks of life, she wore socks on her hands. Then it was a trial teaching her to take the binky. We went through a slew of them as they would be lost or mangled (usually by dogs, though rarely ours). Now that it's been a couple of years, it's time for binky to go away and leave nothing in it's wake. It has been nearly a week without it and so far she is just beginning to accept that she will no longer have it for nap or bedtime. While some may think that she's had it too long already, when I think about how I didn't break my second until age 7 or my first until age 9 from the thumbsucking, I believe that 2 is a perfectly reasonable frame of time to wean from the bink. Besides, I may boil them and store the good ones for this next one. After all, binks don't grow on trees and are actually rather pricey, especially the orthodontic ones I prefer to use.

Schooling

The purpose of the different schooling levels:

Elementary school - gives you the basics of learning, building blocks
High school - builds on the foundations and prepares a person to begin their real education
Bachelor's degree - teaches a person how to learn
Master's degree - teaches a person how to question
Philosopher's degree - teaches a person how to think

And people wonder why our world is so off kilter... we don't have enough people that have been educated to the point of being able to think. Please note that when a person attains that level, most other people at lower levels will listen to what they have to say. There's a reason for that.

Complicated

At what point, exactly, did raising rabbits become so complex? The old saying "multiplying like rabbits" is a complete and utter misnomer, as anyone that has raised rabbits for show can attest. In spite of my dismal record for litters this season, I keep pushing through, hoping that eventually something will work in my favor for a change. However, it is beginning to appear that my herd is determined to make me see every single reason I came close to letting them all go not very long before. I've had deformities in litters, which actually is extremely rare. I've had does killing their babies, babies freezing to death from exposure, weanling enteritis, and now an orphaned litter. The only way I know to survive these hiccups is to maintain a tough exterior in dealing with the rabbits.

I've been raising these animals for many many years, and the one thing I can truly say I've learned is to not allow myself to become attached to any youngster less than 3-4 weeks of age. I don't name them, I don't tattoo them, I barely handle them. The reason is because very young rabbits tend to have a fairly high morbidity rate. Or as someone else once put it to me, "they love to die," which is not conducive to a close relationship with your adorable baby rabbits! Some tell me I'm cold-hearted. I dare them to keep in this hobby for as long as I have with as tender a heart as I once had, and not develop a tough exterior. It is extremely rare that I develop a true attachment for my charges. They are livestock first to me,and it is only the very rare and special charge that moves into the category of 'pet'. Anything else, for me, would eventually result in heartache.

In all these years, I can count just 4 show/breeding rabbits that have managed to attain the 'pet' distinction. Ebony, a black Holland Lop, who was my first; Bill, a blue Holland Lop; Pooky, a black GC Havana that won a BIS and produced offspring that placed very well at the national level; and Evan, a current resident, GC chinchilla Mini-rex buck, who is still leaving his mark on the herd.

Falling

Yesterday evening, coming back into the house I tripped over a baby toy with my right foot. The concrete was wet and slick, my left foot couldn't find a purchase to keep me upright. I went down hard, though not as hard as I might have since I grabbed the arm of the glider on the way down, though I think I broke it. I hit my right knee fairly hard (I've broken that one before). I was sitting on the wet concrete banging on the door trying to get the kids' attention (zombie kids watching TV). My eldest finally came out and ran to get DH, who was at the neighbor's house working on their TV.

DH & neighbor (former EMT) came racing over to check on me. After about 5 minutes I finally got them to get me up off the cold/wet concrete and into the house. I convinced them I didn't need the ER as I didn't think it was seriously damaged. I iced it up the rest of the evening. Today I woke up to a VERY sore knee of an interesting shade of purple. :lol: I also have a bruise on my right side (probably where I hit the glider). My back and neck have been sore all day almost like the aftereffects of a car crash. And while my stomach muscles are sore, I think it's still from the coughing and not the fall.

It's interesting what kind of damage women can do when they are trying to prevent damage to the belly.

When Mama's Sick, Nobody's Happy

I detest being ill. It's one of my greatest aversions. Particularly because my allergies tend to make me quite prone to 'catching' every bug that is coughed in my general direction. However, with my advanced expectancy, things become much more difficult to bear. As if reduced lung & stomach capacity, difficulty sleeping comfortably, and constant fatigue aren't enough. A hacking cough resulting in pulled stomach muscles (and terrible pain), complete inability to sleep due to coughing/breathing difficulty, extreme weariness, headache, fever, and all the other minor ailments that go with a major cold are now added. Not to mention that incontinence troubles mean that every single cough/sneeze/sinus clearing means that some waste water will be expelled, thus compelling me to wear something absorbent and change frequently. Believe me, I make a very unpleasant sick person in this condition.

The saddest part of all this, I caught this nasty bug from my well-intentioned and loving youngest offspring, who simply doesn't understand that she shouldn't wipe her runny nose on mama's shirt (eeew!). When I was expecting #3, I had some small resistance to bugs. Either I am not as well-protected with this one, or this particular bug is extremely strong. Judging by the severity of the symptoms, I'd be more inclined to believe the latter than the former. Still, I will be exceedingly happy when this passes and truly hope that certain people will be so kind as to keep their illnesses to themselves! It's already been proven that things go in a handbasket when Mama doesn't feel well.

Litter Issues

This is what I've had so far this year:
Litter 1: 1 live, 1 dead, 2 deformed
Litter 2: 2 live
Litter 3: 1 peanut, 1 live (died on day 3)
Litter 4: 3 live, 1 peanut
Litter 5: 6 live
Litter 6: 9 live (all killed by doe around day 4)
Litter 7: all DOA, unknown #
Litter 8: doe put litter on wire, unknown #, 1 peanut born 4 days late
Litter 9: 1 DOA born 4 days late
Litter 10: 5 born, all froze

Not quite how I'd envisioned my return to breeding. Still, I blame the weather for all the recent litter troubles, and doe age for some of the others. Regardless, this kind of record, while not uncommon, is a big reason why so many breeders suffer from mild depression this time of year. Especially when it took so long to get several of these does bred. I may go through and begin to cull (remove from the herd) does that cannot seem to bear/raise a live litter. Particularly the doe that kindled litter #9. She's an older doe than even some of the others and to my memory, has never raised a litter to weaning for me. She may be one that sees the door. Another on tenterhooks is the doe of litter #6, who was on a short leash to begin. Most of these does have been re-bred, so they'll have a chance to make up, but those that miss... beware.

Trying something new?

I love to try new things. I don't really know why, I just love to learn about things, and I'm a 'crafty' sort of person that enjoys making things. Plus, I tend to get bored with old skills and want to learn new ones. The most recent idea I had was to try quilting. However, the idea of making a full-size quilt is just so intimidating! I know I'd never finish anything like that. So when I saw others discussing postage-stamp quilts, it sounded like something I could actually try out and maybe even finish. Especially if I keep is reasonably sized, such as for a throw or baby quilt. It might be an idea for next winter's holiday gifts as well.

Does & Rabbitry

Yes I know I keep going on about these two things, but other than the garden, my job searching, and my tiny WAHM business, that's all I've got these days. The 2 does I'd expected to kindle this week went right on time. It's a nice change. We officially have our first Mini lop babies in the rabbitry. Though I know the first doe had 6 (I think), I'm not certain at all about the second. All I know is they are live and there are a bunch. It's too cold to get a really good look just yet, but maybe later on today. There are 3 more does due Monday, 1 of which is my eldest's old AFL doe. Fingers are firmly crossed because although the doe has had a litter before, the breed has been fickle for us and it's been a very long time. Plus that doe never raised a kit before, the first litter didn't make it. Should be some real beauties in the nest, if they make it, since both parents are multi-legged GCs.

I picked up a few more supplies for the new rabbitry yesterday. Enough stilts to put the rest of the hanging sets up and off the fence. I started with just 10 of the paving stones I want to use. I'll be getting those in increments. I also picked up a piece of poly roofing to try. It's lightweight and opaque, to help keep the sun off during summer. It wasn't as expensive as I had been fearing, though I still don't know if I could afford to use it in the whole rabbitry. That would mean 10 of the 12' lengths for each side. That would be close to $300 just for roofing! Again, it might be something I can get a piece at a time until I have all I'll need. The problem though is they'd have to be stored until I have all that I'd need. Hmm, if I use those, I'd probably have to build a more supportive roof as well... more beams in the roof than I had planned. Well, there's still plenty of time to work that out. I'm not even ready to take down the fencing yet!

It's also looking like I'm going to need to find another home for Frankie, the old gander. He's decided he's the boss gander. At this rate, I'll never have young Sebs as long as Frank and Shirley are determined to mate only one another. I don't know if I'll get anything this year anyway or not. The young guy, Templeton, just doesn't seem to have the confidence to even [i]try[/i] wooing Shirley. We'll see I suppose.

More does due

Aruba (blue MR doe) finally kindled 4 babies... all blues! It was rather a surprise seeing as how the sire is a black (dominant). Only 1 baby was a peanut, and I removed that after a couple days. Now there are 2 more does due this week. One due tomorrow and the other the following day. Unfortunately, I've run out of space inside for them to kindle, so they have to bear it in the rabbitry. Fingers are crossed because while the temps have decided to climb during the days, it's still plummeting at night into the 20's. At those temps, and with windchills driving it even farther down, a new kit could very easily and quickly freeze to death.

On another not, I did finally get one of the hutches up on 'stilts' as planned. Except for the minor glitch of them sinking into the soft soil of the pen, and a wobbling problem I can't seem to mend, I like the new alteration. I have 5 'hanging' sets that will be going on stilts. I'm hoping to get them at a more comfortable height (this will put the cage tops at 48 inches from the ground) and stop the bending that has been slowly warping these cages into unusable messes. It's a slow process though, I have to find some inexpensive way of keeping them from sinking. Right now I'm using wood, but maybe bricks would be better. It's a plan-in-process and I'm accustomed to making fast design changes when I'm working on new ideas.

The New Rabbitry, in detail

My plan is to use a set of 20 X 20 panels that I've had for a long time, these will be the walls and will hopefully lend a measure of protection to the rabbits they have not had for some time. These will be wire lashed together and generally require little support as they are very rigid. If they do, I have t-posts available for just that purpose, if I can find them all. The roofing is the most complicated aspect of the whole rabbitry and will consist of a simple wooden frame set on special concrete blocks, to this frame I plan on securing an ordinary tarp. And yes, I realize that I'll need to replace the tarp periodically. Because I'm just not a big fan of mud, I plan on placing flat concrete stones down the aisles between the hutches. The stacks themselves will be placed on treated wooden runners to keep them from sinking. Overall it's a fairly simple plan, now if only it can be executed!

Incidentally, I do plan on keeping some of the large hanging cages currently in use, however I will be altering the method by which they are hung. There is simply too much weight on them due to the poor roofing arrangement and it is causing the wire to bend and the end cages to warp severely. My plan for these is to use u-posts as cage legs, though I haven't determined yet whether I will need 4 or 6 per cage. These posts aren't expensive, but I'm starting out small to test them. I'll need to devise a lighter roofing system as well, but haven't quite gotten to that part yet.

Incidentally, this new rabbitry will be mobile to a certain extent. Not in that it could be moved around continuously, but that if (or when) we finally move elsewhere, this particular rabbitry will be able to be moved with us, and quite easily. I'm also hoping it will solve the dilemma I have had in the past with cleaning. All these cages will have pans, the walls will have cheap roll-up/down sides to protect against weather extremes. Yes, I think this new design will definitely have advantages.

Tired again

It's been a very long day. I'm still waiting on the other doe to kindle her litter, but in the meanwhile the first litters have opened their eyes and are binkying all over their cage. It appears the two chinchilla babies are both bucks and the Angora baby is a doe. I wound up removing the Holland Lop peanut so there is just one baby remaining in that litter, a black tort. The mother has been acting strangely lately, so I hope she's alright.

I haven't palpated anyone else lately, I've just been a little busy. The rabbitry will be completely re-organized to a place outside of the barn. I'm still working out the details, but it will likely involve the partial removal of the poultry pen currently in place. However, everything must be done in it's time and according to available funds. At the moment, both are tight. Meanwhile I need to try and get those additional stacks completed so I can move rabbits out of the barn to begin cleaning them up and cleaning the barn out. I'll likely use the barn for storage rather than housing. It will be better for me and better for the rabbits I think.

Ready for Spring!

I am so ready, the past week has been gloriously warm and it really puts one in the mood to do something spring-ish. The indoor seedlings are sprouting, the garden is plotted, the rabbits are kindling. But now the weather forecast has it becoming cold again! So much for digging the garden this week. And the danger to young bunnies goes back up again.

Speaking of rabbits, this is truly turning into a go-around. One of the expectant moms kindled her litter on Valentine's day (yesterday), but there was only 1 viable kit and 1 peanut. It's my first Holland lop litter in years, and at least there was a good kit in the nest. However, with that small triumph came another disappointment. My seal Mini-rex doe, for whatever reason, aborted her 2.5 week litter. She's been re-bred, but still it concerns me as I don't know why she aborted. The other doe that was expecting still has yet to have kindled, though she's played in her nestbox plenty.

How much can one mama take?

I hurt. My stomach muscles are very sore. I think the reason is that I've been having a lot of allergy induced coughing, and I've strained my already overstretched stomach muscles. As a result, every cough results in excruciating spasms through my upper stomach. I really don't know how much more I can take. Well, yeah I probably do. I'll keep putting up with it because there's nothing that can be done about it. And to be frank, it's really not quite as painful as labor. I do worry about the potential impact on the little one inside, but he/she seems to be alright thus far. Still active and moving about.

Rabbits Bred / Evil Doe

After a show is the best time to breed does, because the slight stress tends to put them in a more receptive state. It's not so great for bucks though, something to do with scents I suppose. Anyway, I took advantage of this opportunity to get a lot of the does that were old enough to bear litters bred. The following were bred on Sunday:

White Rex to Jasper (terminal breeding)
Choc Rex to Jasper (terminal breeding)
Cal Rex to Jasper (terminal breeding)
...Jasper was a busy boy!

Baby Blue to Evan (Mini-rex breeding... colors are anyone's guess!)
Adam to Eve (BEW breeding)

I had picked up a new chin buck, Palmer, but want to let him settle in and bulk up a little before trying him with the ladies.

I also attempted to breed my eldest's doe to her buck. I didn't really believe how evil this doe was until now. The thing BIT me in the center of my right palm cutting a large hole. While it's not deep, it is painful. That rabbit has now earned itself a short leash. If she produces no babies or is not at least expecting by the next show, she will be going. I don't put up with that kind of nonsense from any rabbit.

On the other hand, there are 2 rabbits expecting litters this Friday. Wish them luck!

Making Changes

It's a slow process, as I knew it would be. I got the necessary cage parts to finish those cages I had mentioned previously. My intention was to alter these cages and keep them close to the house to better encourage my waning interest in the rabbits. However, there is one slight problem I hadn't foreseen. That is the level of my neighbor's nosiness. They mean well, we have good neighbors overall, but I'm slightly paranoid about people knowing what I do/don't have on this property. So I'll need to figure something out to keep my nosy neighbors slightly in the dark about what I'm doing here. Though I've honestly always felt that if everything is being fed and cared for, it's really no one's business what is kept. However, not everyone feels the same and I have had to defend myself in the past from people claiming I keep 'livestock' on this property, which is completely untrue. I keep poultry and rabbits, both of which are permitted according to the city ordinances.

Anyway, I did manage to convert 3 of the cages that were already stacked. These are housing my new BEW Mini-rex. I have another set of 3 waiting to be converted next to the others. My plans are still kind of loose, but they somewhat involve using cheap shower curtains to block the weather. It's still a loose design in my head, but it'll come together in the end.

The Show

The show on Saturday was a big state convention. I felt a little dwarfed as I stood beside my fellow breed giants. I've gone to this show many times over the years, watched as it escalated. It's a good show, though it used to be a double, and it used to be reasonably priced. There were a ton of beautiful rabbits there, lots of old friends to greet. I didn't do so well on the table, but I did pick up a trio of BEW Mini-rex and an additional pair of chinchilla Mini-rex to add to my already existing herd. As usual the kids did better than I, with my 2nd placing 3rd of 7 in an open class of Havanas and my eldest... well she doesn't know how she placed, but we know it wasn't last!

My second also picked up an addition to her herd, a chocolate Havana doe she's named Ginny. And we sold the Angora doe. Since she tanked this litter and since I was already on the fence with regards to keeping/selling them, I decided to just make the cut. I had hoped to sell the pair together, put a great price on them in the hopes of that. But apparently, it wasn't meant to be. A lady bought the doe, but wasn't interested in the buck. Too bad, since he's actually the better of the two. Still, I'll see about selling him at the next show... in six weeks.

Deformed Babies

It's a rare occurrence, but deformities happen in all species. It stands to reason that eventually, something would pop up in my herd. The Angora had her babies last Friday. At first I wasn't sure, because she was in her usual spot in front of the nest. But then she suddenly hopped out and I got a good look at a tragedy. There were 3 large and very dead babies in the front of the nest. At first I thought she had trampled them to death, but on a closer inspection I realized that 2 of them had severe deformities of the head. The third was excessively large, but still warm. It was probably a DOA. A little farther back in the nest was one single live baby. I scooped the baby out of the nest and into my portable warmer. I then removed the nest from the cage and took the live baby upstairs. It's only hope was the other doe delivering soon. I found a small bucket and carefully wrapped the baby in as many soft towels as I could find, hoping that would be enough to keep it alive. The other doe did not kindle before we left for the show that night.

My fingers were firmly crossed when we got back. Even though it was extremely late and I was worn out thoroughly, the first thing I did on return was to check the baby. If it was already gone, there was no point in checking the other doe. However, luck was with me. The little baby was alive and seemingly well, if a bit thin. I then ran down and checked the other doe. Sure enough, she had put 2 nice little babies in a thick handful of fur. I ran back upstairs and got the baby and added it to the other doe's nest. So far, the baby seems to be doing well, still thinner than it's pseudo-nest mates, but coming along nicely. It looks to be a lilac tort.

No Babies

Incidentally, those 2 does I've been waiting on since Monday evening are still making me wait. They've each pulled a little fur and are now quite comfortable sitting in the front of their nestboxes. Enjoying an occasional nibble of the straw from the nests, but otherwise not really showing any interest in giving up the babies I can feel.