Weekend Over: Day 4 of Cherry Experiment

Like most people with rheumatoid arthritis, I am still on the quest to discover how to live most days completely unconscious of the place where my bones meet.   So....in frustration with my new tweeking of meds (no more methotrexate, as my lungs are unhappy), I have decided to try something out of an old book I had laying around for years, "Foods That Heal" by Dr. Bernard Jensen.

Since cherries are more delicious to me than goat's whey, I am trying cherries at the rate of 20 a day.  Yum!  I started on Friday.  I spent the weekend with a nonfunctioning right hand, so I felt I hadn't given the cherries the fair start they deserved.  I feel pretty good today, just a little sore, so we'll see how it goes.  At least I get a scrumptious snack out of it.  That's more than I can say for my traditional meds.   

Art Lessons with Mr. Miyagi

My first art lesson assignment was to draw white objects so I can see the values.  Bring them back to him for inspection.  He did not "give a shit" what I had done before.  Well, yes, sir.  I have begun drawing a couple of pics (one each day).  I wonder if he will find them acceptable.  I see messes on each.

Crumpled Napkin on Dashboard

My favorite Salt and Pepper Shakers

Today I am attempting a coffee mug and saucer.  We'll see how it goes.  I wish I had more time to do this because I really enjoy it.  My problem is that I really enjoy many things and can't seem to pare down anything.  What will it be today?...drawing, knitting, bunnies, programming, reading.  The list goes on and on.....and, oh yes, there's the house stuff.

New Year Resolutions

Image by hinnamsaisuy

English Angora Lady has not called back, which is probably for the best. Cane Day has set me back, but I was thankful that it gave me a chance to work on my New Year resolutions. Here they are:


1. Love and accept. I will love and accept those in my life for whom they are, not whom I wish them to be.  Lord, help me with this one.  


2. Write regularly. Write everyday is what I would like to do, but writing Monday through Friday is more realistic.


3. Spin some wool. I love the feel of yarn. Thank you, Mr. Biggles.


4. Be a shepherdess. Care for my flock.


5. Paint, paint, paint. Get those ideas out of my idea book and onto canvas. I started lessons with a man that owns a tattoo parlor in town. He is a regular Mr. Miyagi.


6. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. This is the best book I've ever read.  Hands down (Thanks, Katbird).  Everyone I know will get it as a gift.  Why don't I hear more about it?  I just don't get it. 


Six is cool for now. This list may be amended. :)

Cane Day

As I wait for English Angora Lady (as I dubbed her on my phone) to call me back, I look for other things to do. My knee has other ideas for me today...stupid RA....and has deemed today a "cane" day. That's cool. I just have to be creative. Mostly, though, I find that it just stresses everyone out around me and they just yell at me to "Sit down and rest!"--- lovingly of course. I patiently sit propped up on the couch recliner and wait for everyone else to walk out the door, getting on with their day. That buys me three hours of time to get stuff done as the house goes to crap on these kinds of days.  Really, it buys me time to sit and groom Mr. Biggles for a bit before my Hubby comes home and says,"Isn't that Elizabeth's rabbit? Shouldn't she be doing that?"

Image by renjith krishnan

"Hi, this is Maureen...."

Image by Ambro

Well, well, well. During all this bunny hunting, I made a lot of phone calls. I was desperate to snag the perfect little English Angora bunny present for E to find right under the Christmas tree. The rabbits were not cooperating. Most people I contacted did not have a single baby nor adult available. There were several litters about to be born right before Christmas. But those babies would require at least 6 weeks with Mom. Also, color identification with these little guys apparently can be tricky when first born. Elizabeth had her heart set on a blue bunny, before Mr. Biggles came around. So, leaving no base uncovered, I put my name and number out there for all of them. And in come the phone calls. Rats. This is terrible news for me as I want all of them. Elizabeth's blue bunny that started all this will be weaned next month. I'm thinking, would one more make that much of a difference? The phone rings. It's Maureen. Her bunnies are now weaned...

Enter Mr. Biggles: I Did Not Want A Rabbit

I have never been a big fan of rabbits. They seem like such helpless little creatures that cannot be spooked, tusselled, or stressed without croaking. Nor do they fair very well with my Darwinian style of pet ownership, like forgetting to feed the cat until she is attacking my leg out of frustration. Not really a good pet choice for me...and I've got that. But, my daughter loves bunnies and has been begging for one. She's only ten and if you've been a parent for at least 10 minutes you'll know that that means I will be ultimately responsible for said rabbit. I was good at resisting her attempts at bunny ownership. No amount of rabbit care google searches, batting eyes, cute bunny utube videos, or checked-out rabbit library books was going to sway me. My husband, a steady force to me in many ways, had not built up the fortress necessary to withstand a wiley preteen girl. So it was he, who cracked. James announced at the dinner table that if Elizabeth wanted a bunny for Christmas that would be the only gift she would receive. She immediately bit at her chance. "Yes!" After much spousal deliberation, I relented...under one condition. She had to pick a type of rabbit I liked.

So began two months of researching, note taking, and uTubing rabbits. One thing became evident. People can become obsessed with anything. I was no different.  I had become enamored with a particular type of bunny that was dual purpose - a pet and potential big ball of yarn.  As a knitter and an admirer of useful things, I fell into love with Angora rabbits.  The English Angoras were irresistible to me with their cute curly ears and fluffy bunny butts.   Elizabeth, being desperate to get any type of rabbit, fell in love too...or at least she pretended.  In spite of their high maintenance, I was willing to devote 10 years or so to these little fuzzy guys in exchange for access to a free supply of wool.

Enter Mr. Biggles.  I first spotted him on a bunny webcam (yes, there is such a thing).  He belonged to an Angora breeder in Arkansas and he was not for sale.  Elizabeth and I spent about a week watching him and his littermates bouncing around on top of each other.  I cannot imagine a cuter spectacle.  We were so smitten that we had to tell his owner how much we enjoyed his bunny cam and we had actually made up a "pretend" name for one of the bunnies he was keeping.  Well, I guess he took that to mean that we would like to buy that bunny because Mr. Bunny Webcam Operator was willing to part with "Mr. Biggles" if we were serious.  I summoned up the appropriate funds and (without telling my husband, as he got me into this pickle in the first place) I made arrangements to retrieve my, I mean, our bunny.  Elizabeth and I picked him up in Waxahatchie, TX on a Saturday in January.

Mr. Biggles is a broken tortoiseshell English Angora rabbit.  Take a look at him yourself.  He's adorable.