Sunday, January 28, 2007

Okay. So last week I brought Frau Ruby in the house because we had to give her a bath. We still have to give her the second dose of the Ivermectin in a couple of days. She is doing much, much better. Last night we gave Eliose, Henry and George a dose of it too.

I've been looking for a gray and or black bunny to round out the herd. Chris sent me an email. She needs to reduce the number of buns in her herd, and she just happened to have a gray buck.

Meet Nigel (formerly known as Mojo because I must use human names for the rabbits)


It's hard to tell with the light in this photo, but he really is gray with a brown face. He is about 3 years old. He is a German, French, Satin mix. He is also in the house now. He's very, very calm and mellow. He wasn't spooked by the dog or cats trying to smell his backend. He remained quiet while I made dinner and ran the dishwasher afterwards.

Today we must bring Ryan back up to college. On the way home, we plan on stopping to look at propane heaters. Once we have heat installed, the buns can go back to the shed. We'll keep it cool, just to 40 or 50 degrees, but it will be warm enough so their water and food doesn't freeze.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Steve seems to be getting somewhat better. He had to have a few tests at the Pulmonary Specialist's office yesterday. They oxygen level in his blood has increased and he can walk longer and farther without getting out of breath. We're hoping that this is a good sign that the disease has done all the damage it was going to do. He won't heal and be rid of the damage, but we're praying it's not progessing and that he will get worse.

Frau Ruby looks better too. We gave her the Ivomectin and Rianne and Steve gave her a bath in the kitchen sink. Rianne gave her a blow dry hairdo and she is nice and fluffy again. I bought another cage to keep her inside until she dries. The temperature in the bunny barn was 6 degrees F on Saturday morning.

It's supposed to be down around 0 degrees F at the end of the week. Last night on my way home from work, I was freezing. I was so cold that I felt very guilty about the buns out in the barn. I stopped at the feed store, bought a second folding cage. We set that one up, the one with Ruby and I brought the boys and Eloise in the house. They are all on the floor in the room formerly known as the dinning room.

We live in a very small Cape style house, it's only about 1200 sq ft. Imagine living in his house-2 adults, 1- 19 year old son, 1 Cocker Spaniel, 7 Cats and now, 4 bunnies.

I know how Dr. Doolittle must feel.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

I've been very achy this weekend. The bursitis in my shoulder has been acting up. I aggravated more yesterday spending a few hours outside in the cold and wind scrubbing the bunny cages and doing bunny related chores. I had a shot of cortisone in it about 6 or 7 years ago. Back then it was so bad that I couldn't raise my arm to brush my hair. It might be time for another shot. My hands and arms are also sore and but I think most of that pain is caused from the excessive amount of typing I have had to do this past week at work. I took 3 Aleve when I went to bed last night (at 7:00PM!) to ease up the pain. Yes, I know the dosage is supposed to be only 1 pill, but I had taken Naproxen for years for my migraines before it went over the counter. I feel a little better today, but I don't think I'll spend so much time outside or in the bunny barn.

Rianne, Ryan and I went to the feed store yesterday to get more Timothy hay and to get a cage for Ruby. Frau Ruby is currently residing in the downstairs bathroom next to the washer and dryer. She is a mess.
Chris, told me to gave her a dose of Ivermectin to kill the mites and any other buggies she may have. Her fur has been wet from all the licking, it has turned an ugly yellowish shade. And she stinks. Really, really stinks. I thought the bad small was from her hutch, but it still smelled in the bunny barn after I had scrubbed them all out. She stinks. When we got her back in May, she had scabs on her back then. We thought it was just do to a large fur mat that she had been biting. I think she has had these mites all along. So at the feed store we bought a cage to bring her in the house. Her fur is finally drying out but it still smells. I am contemplating giving her a bath today. She seems to feel better and has stopped the licking. If I bathe her, she can stay inside for a few days or a week until she is thoroughly dry. Bailey, Cocker Spaniel is quite concerned about her. The cats are mildly curious. There's nothing worse than stinky buns.

I STILL have to do my CT Sales tax sheets. I know, I know. Why did I wait till the last minute? I must get the info together today. Next weekend is another trip up to NH to bring Ryan back to school so I will lose at least one day there.

And finally...

Steve is having some serious medical issues at the moment and it's not good. He went to the Pulmonary specialist this past week and he has learned that in addition to the emphysema, he has pulmonary fibrosis. It's not good. The doctor showed him the chest x-rays. He has black spots all on his lungs. The doctor also told him that depending on if the disease is still progressing, he will just stop breathing one day. He has to go this week for a ton of tests and then meet with the doctor again the following week. And the doctor told him to bring me along. I don't like the sound of that. He gave the doctor his cigarettes and he has not had one since Monday. He also has not committed any homicides. He seems to have more energy and he actually looks better now that he isn't smoking. He's not coughing as much and we have both noticed that his breaths are deeper. He's also not as cold now that his blood has more oxygen in it. He (we are) is very scared about this. We don't know what or how long the future will be. Please send us some prayers and positive thoughts.

....Steve just went upstairs and he is not out of breath! That's good news.

I really need to keep busy now so I don't worry about Steve. Unfortunately, by hands are not cooperating and I cannot knit or spin. I guess I have no excuse now so I can get that tax paperwork done.

Monday, January 15, 2007

My heart is breaking! For those of you that have placed orders with us, you know that I wrap the items in cute sheepie tissue paper. I attempted to order more of that yesterday. It's no longer available with the distributor! I have sent them an email in the hope that they may have a box or two out in their warehouse that I can purchase. If not, I have to find a different design. The ones that I looked at yesterday do not relate to spinning or fiber or anything. I still have some of the tissue paper left, but not too much. My other problem is that I have several boxes of ribbon that is color coordinated with the sheep paper. I have to find something that will match the ribbon I have on hand.

Someone had asked me about my spinning. The antique wheel that I just purchased is actually the 4th wheel that I have owned. I have a Lendrum DT that I purchased about 4 years ago when I started spinning. I purchased it before we became Louet distributors. I use that one most often. I had another Lendrum ST that I sold at the CT Sheep Show in the Spring. I have a Louet S-17 that a local person has on loan from me at the moment. For the money, it's a good starter wheel. And now I have Prudence, the antique Shaker wheel. I'm using Prudence now to spin some lovely tan alpaca. Her bobbin small though so I will need to spin many more skeins to have enough for my project. If you want to read my profile, it's over on our regular website under "About Us".

It's a nasty, cold and rainy day so far this morning. Still mostly dark and gloomy outside. The temperature is supposed to drop significantly and everything will ice up. I only have to venture out on the roads this morning for a trip to the dentist. After that, I'm going to hide in the house, do some chores and watch the weather. We haven't had snow yet this season. Very strange..






Sunday, January 14, 2007

I had to drive up to New Hampshire to pick up Ryan and his roommate D from college. They both are in the band and had spent the week recording their music. It was a long drive as the town is on the border of Maine. Rianne made the trip with me to keep me company. She was very chatty and she entertained me with the stories of what she has been doing lately. She and Ryan are getting along a better. It seems that they have turned a corner in their relationship. She has to get used to the fact that he is not going to always be available for her. She must find her own friends and make her own joy. When I was her age, I clung too much to my boyfriend (GK who eventually became Ryan's father) and because of it, I look back now and realize that there were many missed opportunities in my life. I should have finished college. I should have attempted living on my own, I should have traveled, I should have made friends outside of work. Back then I had hobbies but my life revolved around GK and work. I didn't pursue any creativity alone. I spent nearly every non-working, non-sleeping moment with him. I should have pursued my interests, but I was very insecure and afraid of making my own way in life.

Anyway, it was a long day in the car. Three+ hour drive each way, a few pit stops and a hour food stop on the way home. D's father drove to our house to pick him up. They live in the southwestern part of the state, nearly to New York. His dad was thankful that I had made the trip up to get the boys.

I still have not done the business paperwork! I had planned on doing it on Friday, but I had to go to the doctor and get my hair done. I hadn't had my hair colored or cut since October! I had some very big gray roots! If I were to let my hair grow out, I would look like Lilly Munster.

Currently I'm working on a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. It's a worthy cause, but I just can't seem to stay motivated on it. I'll finish before the end of next week as I really need to get it in the mail. The other ladies in the spinning group are working on them. I want to get a photo of all our completed scarves before we need to pop them in the mail. I'm also spinning and I'll probably start knitting soon another scarf. This one is tan alpaca and it was requested by Darlene at work. In a rather tipsy moment at a party at her house, she wanted to know why I had never made her a scarf as I had been to her house three times. I promised her I would make her one and she chose the fiber out of some I had here in the stash.

The bunnies are good, except Ruby. I had let her fur grown long to keep her warm. I had planned on trimming it last week but never got to do it. Well, this week I looked at her and she was wet. Then it got worse and she became more wet. Then she started to smell funny. Evidentially, she has fur mites and she has been licking up a storm. Thursday night I had to cut nearly all of her fur off. It was stinky and wet and in spots, a bit yellowed. I had to throw most of it away. I inadvertently nicked her back with the scissors so she also has a cut there. Her back has what looks like severe dandruff that resembles ground up oatmeal. At the advice of
Chris, I have ordered some medication for the mites from a farm supply store in Alabama. I will try it and if it doesn't help, I'll take her to the vet. I need to learn how to care of the buns on my own without running the vet all of the time. That just gets way too expensive. I have some topical ointment from the vet that I had to use when Eloise had an infection. I've been putting it on the scissor cut to help it heal. I always feel just awful when I cut them! She is still perky and eating well though so I'm not too worried. She just looks bad.

Today we are going out to lunch with my father-in-law, LP. He is taking Steve, myself, Ryan and Rianne to a restaurant with a regular Sunday brunch type buffet. It's his Christmas gift for all of us. This is the first chance we have had to go since the holidays. It should be a nice relaxing time, and I don't have to cook or clean up!

Next week I hope to put together an order for Louet. I know my inventory is low and I am out of a few items. I just haven't had the time or means right now to concentrate and order what we need. First, I must get a jump on the paperwork. Tax time is just around the corner.

Nearly time to get Ryan out of bed and force him to take a shower before we go out to lunch. He stinks after living a week in a basement music room with 4 other young men.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Very strange weather patterns this year. Record warm recorded at the airport yesterday, 72 degrees F. We have moths flying around the porch light and numerous robins running about the yard. This is not good. I worry what the lack of the snow ground cover will do to the water table. I'm always worried about our well running dry. Animals that should be hibernating are awake. The insects are out. The trees here have not started to bud, but I'm sure they are thinking about it. This weird weather will affect the maple syrup collection too as that requires a certain amount of cold temperatures before the sap starts to run. We are having a January thaw before we had a good thorough freeze. The ponds have not frozen yet and I'm certain that the peeper frogs will awake too early.

Next weekend is a long one for us as our company now closes for Martin Luther King Day. I really need to jump into the paperwork for the business. State taxes are due at the end of the month. We haven't had many CT sales as we are strictly internet based, but I still need to report and pay them.

We still have to take down our Christmas tree today. That's only about a 15 minute job for us since we bought the artificial one about 6 years ago. I did all the other decorations down yesterday, well, except for the wreath on the front door. I never know what kind of winter decoration to put there after the holiday. We need something colorful what with the drab gray landscape of the season. I would put a small quilt there, but the western sun would mercilessly fade if in short order.

Today is St. Distaff's Day. It is the first day after the end of the Christmas season (yesterday was the Epiphany) and it was the day that women returned to their spinning. You can read about it here. Today I need to do the usual chores of grocery shopping, feed store shopping, laundry, bunny hutch cleaning, order processing and general house cleaning. In addition, I want to finish the mittens I am knitting for the woman in my department and in celebration of St Distaff, I want to spin more on Prudence.

I guess I had better get off of this computer and start to work. Happy day!

Monday, January 01, 2007




A cold and dreary start to the new year. It's still dark outside, but we had freezing rain over night that has now turned to all rain. It's very cold and damp out there. I'm glad we're inside. Once it gets light, I will go out and feed the bunnies. I don't want to make my way out there in the dark in case there is still ice on the stairs. Not much is happening here. We made a couple of large sales in the past few weeks that I have to order directly from Louet-the items were out of stock. I must get out bookkeeping caught up to do the sales tax and such this month. I finished most of what I wanted to make for Christmas gifts. Here are the photos of the finished items.

This scarf grew to gigantic proportions once I washed it. Yes, it is nearly 10' long. It's made from an angora yarn that I purchased from Chris at Woolybuns. I would put a link up to her blog if I could figure out how to do it. I really hate this blogger software.

We had a quiet New Year's Eve as usual. Steve and I managed to stay awake till nearly 9:30! We haven't seen the midnight celebration in years as we get up much too early in the morning. I hope everyone had a safe and happy time of it. For us, it's business as usual. Happy 2007.