Monday, June 30, 2008

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Allow mixture to Set

What does one do in a week? I mean, productive kind of things? Does "being productive" have any meaning? Why does the word "productive" come into play at all? Maybe because I am a citizen of the mid-west and around here, being productive means surviving through the next year. Canning, picking up wind fall apples, laying up firewood, putting snow tires on layaway. Artists and grasshoppers are treated with suspicion around here.

Here is my usual day. Read it and weep. Didn't I say I was kept?

I knit in the morning for two or three cups of coffee then tend to alI of the bunnies, tend to Sweetie and make up his lunch. See him off and then have a nap or at the very least, a rest on the couch. Sudoku time.

The rest of the day is mine until midnight. Sometimes I get shit done; some other times, not so much. Grocery shopping is my big trip each week. There is not usually another reason to make the Big Drive into Corydon, except maybe tax paying or evicting tenants. The barn bunnies get tended to again in the evening, between 8 and 11 pm.

If I'm still awake, I'll wait up for Sweetie. Usually, I'm drowsed out by 11.

My life wears me out.

Is it bedtime?

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Right Turn Only

The voices in my head have been quiet since Sunday night, when I had a full eight hours of angry dreams. Sweetie came home that night and touched me in my sleep - he almost got a roundhouse to the jaw before I realized who it was.

The 14 year cicadas have been making a hellava racket around these parts. Almost deafening in places. I wonder sometimes just how long it took, evolution-wise, to figure out that such an odd life cycle made survival sense.

My neighbor Nancy said she saw a huge owl on the Methodist church steeple last night. (The Methodist church that sits in what should be our back yard.) With a 6 foot wingspan, she said. Me thinks she exaggerates, but still, last night there was an owl nearby that was big enough to nab two bunnies. All I found this morning were two little black bunny tails, lots of small pieces of fur, and a pile of fresh innards. I figured a raptor or an owl, and neighbor Nancy confirmed my suspicion. I guess I feel better that an avian species caught and ate them than knowing a dog had merely killed them for sport. I like owls. I like hawks. And baby owls and baby hawks gotta eat.

Big Harry (Harriet) died over the weekend from a delivery gone horribly wrong. Her chest and belly were plucked bare of fur, so she'd obviously had a litter. But her female parts were horribly distended and swollen. Found her limp on Monday evening and when she didn't die overnight, I began life support. She ate and drank, but remained paralyzed and she died Saturday night. Poor baby.

So, last night I captured Baby Harry/Harriet and brought him/her inside the house to live. S/he displays the beautiful lion head mane; and s/he is the only suchlike survivor that harkens back to Stubby. I wish I could keep them all safe.

The female bunny life of unrelenting childbirth and nursing and all the inherent dangers remembers me of the life led by myriad women over the millennia. Let us not take birth control for granted. If being evolved means only one thing to humans, it has to be being able to limit and/or time pregnancies.

Other bunny predators are the white trash kids that are part and parcel of the Evil Neighbor Jerry and his kin; they have been kidnapping any bunny they can catch. I have had to run several of the nasty little ankle biters out of my yard. Their mom/aunt urges them on as she wants to make money breeding them. She particularly wants Winehouse because of her singular eyes, but Amy stays very close to the back of the house. And she bites. I have the scar to prove it.

The Days of Our Bunnies. The Bold and the Bunniful. Bunny Hospital.

Knitting is happening. Or rather, crocheting, as I am nearing the finish line of the purple cashmere shawl. I spent days designing the perfect border, and several hours trying to execute same. Feh. So I am crocheting the bind off. Pictures as soon as possible. I am ready to be shet of this project.

Lastly, found a big ol' spider on the porch tonight, about three inches across. Cool, huh?

Monday, June 16, 2008

Fresh Squeezed

Yes. Hello? Are you there? I's me, back from Evil Land of No Computers!

On Tuesday last week, an under the house bunny, (I guess Ramsey,) chewed through the only phone line that runs beneath the house. The one line that goes to the main phone and computer. (Can't be mad, merely inconvenienced. It's the price one pays for allowing bunnies to live all over.)

Sweetie had it fixed by Saturday afternoon, so that when I arrived home on Sunday from my weekend retreat/class at Shakertown in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, I was finally able to read email, etc.

A retreat slash class, you ask? Yeah, I was bad and didn't talk it up in this blog. The blog I couldn't access from home the week prior.

I will be judicious and not name names. The following commentary is my opinion only. I paid for my class way back in February because Teacher was Big Time and had taught a workshop for the guild three or four years ago, which I missed because I had to tend to my Store. She was highly recommended by all and this was to be her maybe final out-of-state teaching gig, but I should have known better to commit to TWO seven hour classes. I can't sit, and pay attention, for that long anymore. Especially in a hot room sitting on an uncomfortable chair. When one's hands sweat so much that the wool sticks to the flesh and refuses to move.

Prepared properly she wasn't. She mostly sat on the floor with the 20 member class arranged around her at tables and chairs. An overhead projector could have been used to great advantage instead of us trying to see her little sketches from fifteen feet back. Or having to walk over to the middle of the room to get the closer view. Too many of the students had no idea what she was talking about, and a few monopolized her time to the detriment of the advanced students.

There should have been handouts, (she said Too Costly,) which would have saved many minutes of our drawing squares, triangles, parallelograms, etc. Also the folding and tearing of paper. My back ached after the first day like it hadn't in years. Crappy chairs. The Temperpedic mattress on the bed was welcomed.

She kept apologizing about her poor prep. Excuse me. Don't apologize. Either be prepared or refund our money.

(I would rather have attended a 2 or 3 hour seminar/lecture with her. Her ideas could have been quite effectively presented there. I believe I would have enjoyed that.)

Day 2 was less hot by a smidgen. Day 2 brought more apologies from teacher about lack of preparedness and so on. The room was only a bit less humidifacus.

After the Second Over-Priced Brown Bag Lunch provided by Shakertown's kitchen, and an hour of increasing unhappiness, I decided to pack up my Fiber and Needles, classroom supplies, the small suitcase and leave. One of the great things about growing older is that I Don't Have to Give a Fuck about Proprieties anymore. I did not have to stay. (The leaving was discreet, I hope.)

I was not happy and I was uncomfortable, with an achy back from sitting on crappy chairs too long. I left. I took my toys and drove home. Imagine the happiness and freedom I felt whilst driving away from Hateful Class and towards HOME.



Here is Claudia's surviving baby, as yet unnamed. Stewart, a small black angora, was the daddy foisted upon her. Her other kit did not thrive and died at about 10 days. He's sitting on Crazy Josh's shoulder.

Today, I baked three loaves of bread. Alert the media! Here they are cooling on the clever rack contained in our Hoosier cabinet.


Knead for Eight Minutes

Yeah, He's Still Allergic to Me
Guy: How were things with your ex last night?
Girl: You know... He threw up and started crying, so I gave him a hug. He got an erection, threw up two more times and passed out.
Guy: So, same old same old.

--E 51st, b/w 1st & 2nd
via Overheard in New York, Jun 15, 2008

Monday, June 09, 2008

Do Not Pass Go

In the cold light of morning, I decided to delete yesterday's post. It was mean-spirited and all I can say is that I got myself worked up into a state - hence, the rant.

I do wish the best for my prior husband and I'm glad he's able to do the work he loves.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

KEEP This Copy

dog
see more dog pictures

No Deposit - No Return

Despite my best efforts, (really!) (no, seriously!) Karma has gone back to live with Sweetie's workmate. I had hoped that more of the Blue Heeler would show through, but she is really just a Lab with grey markings.

This afternoon Buster, Heizen, Reese's, Milly, and all of the outside bunnies are again at ease. Me, too. I love my quiet life. I need my quiet life. My nerve ends are regenerating even as I type.

If we ever decide to get another canine, Sweetie and I are agreed that it should be an older mutt dog. I at least I know that Karma is back in a good home. I don't think I could have taken her to the pound, especially this county's so-called animal shelter. She's a good dog - just not for me.

Now, on the other hand, I heard a wonderful tale about one of Sheila's babies that I sold at Greencastle. I ran into L. at Old Bardstown and she said that "Caramel" has turned out to be a most wonderful pet! "He is more social than I thought a bunny would be!" she said. "Like last week - I was on the couch and he jumped up to smell my feet. He then ran up my body to my face, looked at me for awhile, ran back to my feet and then jumped down on the floor." (Shades of Sheila!)

She related that he does his business in his cage. "Sometimes, when he is in the living room with us, he will run at warp speed into the kitchen to his cage and pee. When he's done, Caramel returns to the living room."

I am so glad to hear this happy story. Sometimes I can only hope that new bunny-owners will tend to and love the babies like L. does.

Bunnies do make great house pets. They do not behave like cats or dogs. They are rabbits. They are curious and attentive. They are quiet, which is a big plus in my book. The poop doesn't smell, but the pee can. They are easily house trained. Again a plus.

What's not to love?

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

No Swimming

Not much to report, except that Karma has managed to get on every single nerve I have, and not just the last one. I reckon this is why I didn't have children - not that I had a choice - but I always assumed that I would have bene a terrible mother. At least to squalling infants. And overactive 2 year olds. And pre-schoolers. And tweens. And middle schoolers. And teenagers. I have a lot of patience up to a point, and once that point is surpassed, then there is no patience. (Quietly imagine nuclear meltdown.)

At the moment, Karma is actually asleep outside of her crate!

During a conversation once with my friends from Friendship Spinners, about kids with picky eating habits, I said that if I had a kid that wouldn't eat their beans, I'd lock them in a closet for a day or two. "Bet they'd be hungry and eat their damn beans then." Dara asked if I had been raised that way and I said no; I ate my damn beans or I went hungry. That's when I inwardly affirmed that I had terrible and poor parenting skillz. (This is not a sibling-wide phenomenon.) (Yay!)

Bunny news is that Claudia's two babies, from a planned mating with Stewart (a small black angora,) are thriving. (Claudia, however, is only now getting over being exceedingly pissed at me for forcing this upon her.) Both babies are grey, one light and one darker, with no markings. They are 8 days old.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Government Use Only

As if I don't have enough creatures to take care of, (and that includes my dear darling Sweetie,) here is the newest terror monster addition to our happy family. Her name is Karma. She is part Blue Heeler and part lab. There may be more parts. She is a double rescue. Sweetie's workmate's son and daughter-in-law adopted "Tippy" from the animal shelter, with the understanding that she was of Spitz ancestry. Ha ha, ho ho. The dil is now 8 months pregnant and cannot handle such a large and rambunctious animal. We are suckers for a hard luck story. On the other hand, said workmate has agreed to labor on our rental house as a thank you payment.



Buster is not amused. At All.



Add this to the Odd Dream department. Last night, both Sweetie and I entered our parallel universes and dreamt about what might have been if we had not met. Moi, I contacted my ex to see if we could get back together! In the end, I again said "See ya!" (The funny thing was, this dream incorporated some of my past dreams about apartments he and I shared, employment dreams, and of course, bunnies.)

Sweetie was transported back to the time when he was just out of the Air Force and unable to find employment in the civilian air industry. He ended up working as a cook and was so discouraged to receive a week's paycheck for a mere $122.

It was such a co-inky-dink that I thought it was worth remarking upon.

By the way, most of the creosote from the shop vac disaster has been washed off of flat surfaces and the ceiling and walls have been Swiffered. (Still to do are the tops of the fridgadaire and hoosier cabinet, and the entire bookcase.) I was grumpy the whole time doing it. It is sort of funny now and will make a good story later on.