Giving Myself a Month Off

It's the end of September. October 1st is tomorrow, and I have decided to give myself the entire month of October off from blogging.

My detective friend Ash just got into town, and wow is it great to see him! Rabbit is staying with Kumo and I. Kumo... well, I doubt Kumo is ever going anywhere. Miranda has taken over my basement. School starts Tuesday. Things here are crowded, and busy, and wonderful. But I think for a month I'm going to just live my life and not blog about it.

If there's a Halloween party for stuffed animals, it won't be at my house. I'm just not up for holding a party (though I'd attend one, if someone else wanted to host one). Sorry.

While I'm gone, I'll be letting friends and family do guest blog entries, so this blog won't just sit blank for a whole month. Ash has offered to do a couple entries about lost stuffies he's found, and things he's done. Kumo has offered to do a couple entries. Even Rabbit might do a blog entry. So we'll see. It just won't be ME doing a blog entry until November 1st.

Have a great October! See you in November!

Day At The Park With Ivy

Kumo told me that Ivy had a "Teacher In-Service" day, so she was out of school all day Friday. Her Mom, instead of getting the day off, asked Kumo if she could baby sit all day, and of course she said "Yeah!"

Ivy came over about 8:30 a.m. and we started discussing all the things we could do with her day out of school. Ideas thrown out were the zoo, the museum, butterfly pavilion, all kinds of things. And the two of them discussed, and discussed and discussed.

It got to be lunchtime, so I wandered out and got some fast food for everyone. When I came back, they were still discussing.

At about 2:30 they were still discussing all the things we could do, and I pointed out that Ivy's mom would be there to pick her up in about three hours, thus limiting what we could do by a lot. Kumo was out of ideas. Ivy was bored. I suggested the park. I keep driving by and I think it's really pretty, though I've never visited, so that was where we ended up going.

The scenery was BEAUTIFUL!

Day of the Dog Trainer

So I've been thinking that once the puppies are gone, I should really invest some and get Voltaire professionally trained. My friend Mandi told me that she knew a GREAT dog trainer named Shirley and I should give her a call. I did, and she came by today to talk about training.

She brought two of her star pupils with her - Max and Suzy. Both beautiful black labs.

She said that Max and Suzy would illustrate what dog training can do and started putting them through their paces right away.

Max illustrated sit and stay -

Roll over -

Play dead -

And then she made him back up, and kneel beside her. It was really impressive.

Suzy did all those things too, but she also pointed -

And "waved hi" as Shirley called it -

And then backed up and knelt beside Max.

VERY impressive stuff. It only took one word commands from Shirley and the dogs completely hopped to it!

Voltaire, however, seemed unimpressed.

So we'll have to see.

I've decided to let Kumo keep her puppy, so we're going to have to do SOMETHING because two, wild, untrained dogs running around the house, while it is better than six (which is what I have right now) but still too many.

Rabbit in the Crowded House

She's HERE!!!

Rabbit got here about mid-morning. It's been so great to see her. We hung out up in the office for a while, just chatting and catching up (in what would later become "Heaven"). When she felt a bit more brave, we wandered down into the library so she could meet Kumo and be completely mobbed by puppies.

The school bus should pull up with little Ivy any minute now, which will make the house a bit more packed, though I know she's going to love Rabbit.

So it's all very cozy here.

Kumo is being on her very best behavior. She even cleaned out most of her stuff from the bedroom, changed the sheets and comforters on the bed for Rabbit, and all without being asked. Why you might ask?

Kumo wants to keep one of the puppies.

We've discussed that Musashi cannot stay living here (he's just too big) but she's asked me if she could keep one of the more Voltaire sized ones. One of the little boys that she's become rather attached to (apparently he sleeps right snuggled up under one of her ears, and it's breaking her heart to think that she might never have a dog sleep under her ear again.... um... okay).

We'll see. She's being really, really good. She and Rabbit seem to be getting along very well (Kumo even offered her a ride on her motorcycle, since it's such a beautiful day). And it was really nice of Kumo to fix up the bedroom for Rabbit... well, we'll see. Two dogs... hmmm.

Weirdness at the Writers' Group

Apparently weirdness is just a theme to my life at the moment.

I finally managed to get to the writer's group, which was great. I missed everyone. Cat (who is now a homeless wanderer. At least SHE doesn't want to live with me.) was there, and Antigone came. I finally got to meet Ultraviolent Bloodhorn, which was very cool. And (no longer surprising), Miranda was there too.

It was really strange, because I was reading on Wendy's laptop, and suddenly turned and there she was.

With an armchair.

I didn't even ask.

What does it say about my recent life that THAT wasn't even the weird part.

Antigone wandered over near Miranda's chair, at which point Miranda jumped off of her chair, raised her hand, and stared Antigone hard in the face. In a strange voice she said to her something along the lines of "Shadow and shade, lies and darkness, he doesn't know you... but I see you." Miranda then turned her back and walked away from her.

Just plain weird.

Who's Playing With Who?

I wonder if maybe this wasn't quite what Kumo had in mind when she was training the puppies to be "white hot balls of canine ninja fury".


(snicker)

Puppy Monsters and a Visiting Wild Rabbit

Finals are over. School is done for a whole week and a half, and I couldn't be happier. I could use a break. I aced everything, and now I'm halfway to being a massage therapist, which is pretty nifty.

In one more week and the puppies are out of here. This is GREAT news, because I'm not 100% sure they can get any bigger and still fit in my house.

They're pretty cute, but I'll be glad to see them go. I think Kumo will too, since they've taken to sleeping with her at night, mostly on her head.

Out of the blue, I got a letter from a dear friend of mine, that I haven't seen in over a year. Her name is Rabbit, and she's one of my favorite people in the universe. Rabbit's had a tough time of it, but her story isn't for me to tell. I'm just glad she's okay.

Anyway, she's coming to visit, and I am so excited! Hardly anyone got to meet her, she was kind of shy, and hopefully she'll get to meet people this time around.

Here's me and Rabbit nearly 2 years ago. Isn't she pretty?

I'm really excited that she's coming, though I have no idea where she'll sleep. But we'll figure it out when she gets here.

My house has suddenly gotten very crowded, but I don't mind so much. It'll be really great to see Rabbit. I've missed her a lot.

The Name for my Pain

I finally caught her name. That strange little girl who showed up at Spiritways on Saturday, the one that I saw at the yard sale. Her name is Miranda.

And she's living in my basement.

No, I'm not kidding. I wish I were kidding.

I've been hearing quiet piano music off and on for over a week. I figured it was just Kumo playing the radio or something. But this evening, when I got home from taking my physiology final, Kumo wasn't home, and I could still hear faint strains of piano. So I started looking around, thinking maybe she'd just left a radio on.

As I got closer to the basement, the piano music got louder. I wandered down and THIS is what I found.

(click the picture to make it bigger, you have got to see this)

She's got a whole apartment down there!!!

I said, in my calmest, most eloquent manner:

"WHAT ON EARTH IS ALL THIS STUFF IN MY BASEMENT?!?!?!?"

"My livingroom" she replied, with a smile.

About that time, I heard Kumo come home. So I wandered back upstairs, still a little shocked, looking for sympathy. But that was not what I got. Our conversation went like this:

Me - "You're not going to believe what's in our basement."

Kumo -"Oh, you mean Miranda? She's GREAT!"

Me - ...... (blinking) "You KNEW she was down there?"

Kumo - "Well YEAH, didn't you hear the piano music? She's been there all week. Isn't she GREAT! She plays the best Tori Amos stuff. Oh! And she knows Journey songs too! Don't you love Journey? You should ask her to play you something!"

Me - "You KNEW she was living in our basement?"

Kumo - "Yeah! It's really nice of you too. You're a pretty cool brother sometimes."

Me - "It wasn't really my idea."

Kumo - "You're cute not to take credit. She said she met you at that yard sale, and said she was homeless and you said you had a big house with lots of space. It'll be cool having a roommate, hu?"

Me - ......

So, apparently I've done this to myself, though I'm still not really sure how.

Good thing I like piano music, I guess. And she just started playing "Open Arms", just for me. That's lovely.

Spiritways' 10th Anniversary Party!!

Yesterday was a busy day. And I missed the writers group... again.

Wendy was playing harp at Spiritways for their 10th anniversary celebration. I love Spiritways, it's one of my very favorite metaphysical shops, so I went along.

While Wendy played, I wandered around and checked everything out.

Of course, I immediately homed in on the carrots.

And the cake.

They had a "decorate your own cookie" station which looked delicious.

Maybe I shouldn't have gone to this event while hungry? Ah well. Anyway...

They also had candles, and very high quality essential oils.

How come there are dog headed Gods, but not a bunny headed one?

Their selection of crystals is phenomenal.

They also have a lot of fairy stuff, and while I was checking THAT out...

I spotted HER!


"What are YOU doing here?" I asked

"It sounded like an interesting event. Your friend is playing harp." She replied.

If I were a more paranoid bunny, I would think she was following me, but I'm sure it's just a coincidence. (shrug)

She asked me what I thought of one of the "fairy houses" and I said I thought it was very nice. All she said was "Oh, good!" with a great big smile. Weird.

Anyway, she pulled up a chair, and we were audience for Wendy's harp performance (which was GREAT!)

She vanished while Wendy was packing up her harp and we were getting ready to leave. I don't know where she went, but she took the little chair with her, and the fairy house she'd been looking at was also gone. I have no idea how she got them out of the store, she must've been there with someone. (shrug)

The evening was spent over at Blackjack and Gir's house, talking to them about setting up a bunny blog of their own, and the Halloween party and stuff. We're going horseback riding next weekend, which will be GREAT!

I don't know how I've managed to live a life where all my weekends are planned out a week in advance, but I guess it's okay. I think I just know a lot of great people, and I love getting to spend time with them.

Today is ALSO a super busy day, so I'd better get hopping. I'll take more pictures!

Lazy Day at Home

I have a paper to write for physiology (which is due tomorrow!), but that's about it in the homework department. I haven't felt much like going anywhere, and I haven't even been inspired to take any pictures. It's THAT lazy of a day.

Ivy came over about 3:30 and Kumo and I helped her out with her birdwatching project.

Her assignment was to watch a birdfeeder for half an hour and count how many birds came, and look up what kinds of birds they were. So we hung out on the kitchen counter and watched the house finches at the window feeder. The wind got really bad and it started to rain, so we gave up (and I don't think she saw nearly as many birds as she might have without a rainstorm coming on). As we were leaving, out the window I spotted a little white horse with black spots on it running around the garden, trying to keep from getting wet.

I've seen wild stuffie horses around here before, but not a white one, I don't think. It was like the one I saw Saturday, at Karen's house. Who knew they were so common?

Anyway, now we're back to kicking back around the house, doing not much. It's just a lazy day at home.

Filler Blog Entry

Sorry that this isn't a real blog entry. Between finals, and what's going on with some of my family members, I've been very busy lately.

Bleah.

So here are some pictures of my trip downtown last month. I was just there this morning to have brunch with my brother, Stan, but I didn't take pictures. It wasn't that kind of outing.

It's a pretty big city for a rabbit.

Anyway, real blog entry later. I have to tell you all about the dog trainer, and the puppies, and probably Stan. Thanks for understanding!

Horse Thief at the Yard Sale

I told Wendy's mom, Karen, that I'd come help at her yard sale today, so I missed the writers' group... again.

Wendy assurred me that nothing draws in crowds like a rabbit doing the hula.

But I'm pretty sure she was pulling my leg.

They had all kinds of stuff for sale. Books...


Old tools (I think they belonged to Wendy's Grandpa)...


All kinds of stuff. (Upon reading the back, I discovered that Buns of Steel, is in fact NOT a work out video to make you a stronger bunny. I'm glad I read the description before I bought it!)

Things were going pretty much exactly as you'd think a weekend yard sale would go, and then...

I spotted her walking up the driveway.

I said "Hi", and she said "Hi" but kept walking, right past me, straight to the box of stuffed animals, which she jumped up on and threw herself into.

I wandered over, and said: "Um, hi. Can I help you? What are you doing in the stuffed animal box?"

She smiled at me and said: "I'm sick of not having a home, so I'm throwing my fate to the winds, and selling myself at a yard sale. How much do I cost?"

"Excuse me?"

"The stuffed animal box. What's the price for things in this box, please?"

"Oh, they're twenty five cents."

"Excellent! I shall find a home for CERTAIN at that price! OH! Look at that!" and she was off digging in the box.

"Do you live here?" she asked me, while casually tearing the dress off another doll.

"No, I live a long way away from here. I'm just helping out today."

"Oh, what's your home like? Do you live with humans?"

"Well, I live in a huge house, with lots of wild plants and stuff all around. It's pretty quiet except for the occasional owl or coyote. And I live with two humans, but they're very nice."

"That sounds absolutely LOVELY!" she said, with a strangely enthusiastic tone to her voice.

Suddenly, she turned like she heard something behind her, tossed the dress to me, turned around and said "Oh, what have we here? Hello little fella!" And she started digging into the corner.

"Here now, you don't want to stay here, do you? Up we go!" I heard her muffled voice say to someone under a bunch of stuffed animals. And suddenly she appeared on the back of a white horse with black spots!

She rode over to me, and asked "My dress please?"

I handed it to her and the horse jumped out of the box.

"It was wonderful to meet you," she said riding away.

"It was wonderful to meet you too," I said. Then I realized, she hadn't really been sold. Nothing had changed for her! So, chasing after her, I asked "Hey, what about 'tossing your fate to the winds' and finding a new home?"

"I have," she said. "See ya!" and away she rode down the driveway.

Weird. Just plain weird.

Thankfully, we got rained out before any more weirdness could occur. We sold a bunch of stuff, and mostly had a good time.

Even if, since I let the stranger (I never did catch her name) ride away with the horse without paying, I ended up owing Karen twenty-five cents! D'oh!