Time & Money

L to R: Time, black tort,  Money, & 2 blues

Hubby and I have a breakfast date every Friday morning.  I love our time together because we get to talk about all kinds of things without either of us being distracted by homework, cooking, laundry, rabbit chores, house chores, or dogs.  

This week's topic was about our new litter of rabbits for the 2013 show season.  We have 5 pretty kits from Cimmerian and Princess Grace.  Last year, we decided that we would divide our rabbits into two lines: a shaded gene line and a line of REWs, torts, and self.  This all started because my hubby felt that since he helped finance my rabbits, he should get naming rights.  So, in the spirit of compromise, hubby names the shaded rabbits and I name the others.  

The kits are so far (I think) are 2 blues, 1 black tort, 1 pearl of some sort, and a smoke pearl.  I mentioned that hubby should start thinking about names for his two shaded rabbits.  Without hesitation, he said, "I've already picked out names.  One will be called User of Time.  The other will be called Lots of Money."  
Ugh.  I think he got me.  

These Are A Few of My Favorite (Rabbit) Things...

This is probably not what Maria in The Sound of Music had in mind, but here are a few of my favorite things over the course of this year. 

Rabbitech cages:  I LOVE my Rabbitech cages! If I never live to see another drop pan, I'll be OK.  I just need another set of cages for Kiki's Satin Angoras. 

Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Feed: This feed is the best rabbit nutrition around IMO.  I can't wait for it to come in 50# bags. Yes, it's expensive if you have a larger herd, but my herd is small so it works for me. I choose to feed it because nutrition makes the most difference...for all of us, including rabbits. If you see me at the shows, ask about this feed.  I'll be happy to talk to you about it...and give you a small sample bag.  I'm not a representative, just a happy customer. 


Wools & Tools:  My favorite yarn shop in town where I hone my skills at knitting, crocheting and spinning yarn.  Plus, they're the only other folks in town that go ga-ga over fiber. 

Wee-Wee Puppy Pads:  I used to put pine pellets in the bottom of my carrier trays, but now I prefer 1/2 sheet of a Wee-Wee Pad  in my trays when traveling.  The post-show cleanup is so much easier. I also use the puppy pads to line  nestboxes. Wee-Wee Pads have a frequent purchase program.  Collect 10 UPC codes from your packages and mail them in to get $10 in savings back. I buy mine at Tractor Supply Stores where they're $5 for a bag of 30.

Texas Thrift Stores:  I have snagged whole packages of adult Depends (for kits in the nestbox..I know, I know), crocks, litterboxes and a ton of polyester grooming shirts that make me look like I belong on the set of That 70's show. Note: make sure to sanitize any pet supplies you get at secondhand stores...just in case.  

Rabbit/Fiber Friends: Can't complete a list of my favorite things without adding my rabbit and fiber friends (both new and old). I've learned a lot from everyone and I sooo appreciate it.  Thanks for everything :)

Google + Rabbit Communities

I spend a lot of time on Facebook...however, not so much to keep up with family and friends anymore.  I am usually on the Facebook rabbit groups.  While these groups can be super dramatic, they can also be an interactive resource of information if used properly.  I've really learned a lot from discussions on these groups.  

Facebook groups are great, but Facebook isn't the only way to communicate with rabbit people.  The new Google + Community pages (released December 6th) also does all the great things Facebook does, but it allows topics to be searchable...which Facebook does not.

I know that the last thing some folks need is yet another social network to keep track of, but it's really not bad if the Google+ application is downloaded to your phone or computer. You can get (or turn off) notifications just like Facebook.  Most rabbit social media folks are on Facebook, but I think the Google+ communities will provide an additional way for rabbit people to communicate with the added bonus of indexed content...no more scrolling through a zillion old posts to find that one post about nestbox management. 

Above is a video about Google communities and below are a couple of links to rabbit communities. Enjoy!

Google+ Rabbit Breeders Community
Google+ Angora Rabbits Community 
  

Johnson County RBA Show WrapUp

Kelfla's Bruce Lee

Judge Ken & writer @ Show B

Just my daughter and I went up for the Cleburne show this past weekend.  We had a great time visiting with our rabbit friends.  Last time we were in Cleburne, we came to the Friday show as well, but this time we could only squeeze in the Saturday show. 


My daughter brought her new Satin Angora she got from Amanda LaDue and got a lot of great comments (Thanks, Amanda!).  

Both of the judges were so complementary and really took the time to talk to Kiki about her rabbit.  I can't say enough how much a kind judge will impact a youth exhibitor.  Kiki was completely pumped after the show.  It was so nice to see her so excited.  








Here are the show results:

Show B (Judge Ken McCracken)

English Angoras BOB: Ricardo Gonzalez (blue tort doe)

English Angoras BOS: Kelly Flading (black buck)

Satin Angoras BOB: Kiki (REW doe)

Show C (Judge Conall Addison)

English Angoras BOB: Ricardo Gonzalez (blue tort doe)

English Angoras BOS: Ricardo Gonzalez (REW buck)

Satin Angoras BOB: Kiki (REW doe)

Ricardo grooming one of his beautiful REWs

Kiki & LaDue's Marshmallow

Catching Up

There has been a lot going on lately.  So much that I have been neglecting my blog...nothing bad, just enjoying my rabbits and rabbit hobby. I've been learning so much.  Since I haven't been around, I thought I'd share a bit of what I've been up to.

• Lots of Christmas knitting at my favorite yarn shop. So far, I've completed the shawl, three pairs of mittens and have begun work on an octopus.  I belong the the local fiber guild and I've made a lot of new friends and have even learned to spin. Yay!
• Rearranging the rabbit room.  We've completely moved everything around to better organize the space we have. I love that we brought back in the pens DH had made for me.  The Rabbitech cages are great, but my hubby's handmade cages are very special to me, plus they make great nursery pens.  
• We also enstalled a camera system inside the rabbit room.  I can watch "bunny TV" from the comfort of my own living room couch. It's great!
•   Club work. My secretarial duties have definitely kept me busy with the Southern Angora Rabbit Club.  We're working on our ARBA affiliation and setting our 2013 webinar schedule. We were so lucky to end our 2012 webinar season with a great presentation by Linda Cassella. It was so informative. Everyone asked such amazing questions.  I'm very thankful to Linda for to taking the time to answer everyone's questions. 
• Add to that all the holiday hoopla, Kiki's volleyball schedule and Brian's fall semester class load...well, things have been busy. 

Hopefully, I've gotten a grip on things around here and can catch up again.  And now, if you'll excuse me...I've got some Christmas decorations to get up :)