Cadbury

Cadbury crossed the bridge today.

He was well and happy up until Monday. He ate his breakfast with the usual gusto, but when I came home for lunch he showed no interest in the strawberry tops I offered him. He had quit eating.

The last time this happened, I took him to the vet right away and he was better by morning. Hoping for the same outcome, I packed him off to the vet, but although there was no blockage, the vet thought he saw a shadow on Cadbury's liver. Blood was drawn and sent to the lab. I took Cadbury home with meds and a recommendation to bring him in Tuesday to spend the day under observation.

On Tuesday, he seemed a little better. He wasn't eating, but when I picked him up from the vet he was perkier and taking his Critical Care. The lab results showed very high liver enzymes, though. Since Cadbury seemed to be improving, we decided to go with a second day of observation and see if maybe he had an infection that the meds would clear. On Thursday we would decide if further tests were needed to rule out liver cancer.

He didn't make it that long. He seemed worse this morning when I dropped him off at the vet. I rubbed his nose and wished him well. According to the clinic, his condition deteriorated in the afternoon, and he had a small seizure. I was on the phone with the vet tech when he had another seizure and died.

Although I'm saddened, I guess you could say I've gotten used to how suddenly a rabbit can go. They aren't designed to linger with an illness, the way a dog, cat or human can. Also, Cadbury was getting old, and even before he became ill, I knew there might not be much time left. I had hoped he would be around another year or two, but he was at least 7 and possibly 8. Although domestic rabbits can live to be 10 or even 12 years old, 8 is considered the natural lifespan of a rabbit. Cadbury did all right.

I apologize for stopping the pictures a few years ago, but Cadbury wasn't much into it, and seemed happier being allowed to just do his own thing, unmolested by paparazzi. I don't plan on getting another rabbit for awhile. They are a lot of work and I need a little break. I'll miss having someone to share my strawberries with, though.

Monday Bunday: Playful

Monday Bunday: Adoratail

Not too many critters out there have cuter tails than bunnies!

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Monday Bunday: Pondering

Monday Bunday: Friends

Monday Bunday: Lap Rabbit

Cadbury is a very bad boy, always finding ways to go where he's not supposed to, like inside the box spring. But even so, he still gets his cuddle time.

Monday Bunday: Waiting

The biped says she ordered me a an x-pen. She calls it my play-pen, and she says when it gets here I'll be able to watch movies in the living room with her and Dad. Supposedly it will be here tomorrow, but she said that last week, too.

So I'm stuck waiting...

Caught in the Act

Look who I surprised this morning!

Happy Hoppy Easter, everyone!

Monday Bunday: Amelia Edition

Guess who showed up in the mail a couple weeks ago? I couldn't post right away because I wanted to first get a frame that would enhance her natural beauty, but now, here she is...

...Amelia!

I apologize for the picture being a little crooked. It was hard to get an angle where there would be minimal glare. Amalia will be taking up residence in my office, where she will be enjoyed by many.

Amelia brought with her some friends (note the black bunny clips at the bottom)...

And of course, Diana at Qi Papers couldn't resist decorating the mailer so Amelia and her buddies would arrive in style...

Thank you, Diana! And thank you, Amelia, for being such a fine model!

Happy Bunday, everyone!

Monday Bunday: Hearts

Cadbury: My human got a big surprise at work today - her husband ordered a barbershop quartet to serenade her. No one serenaded me, but that's okay, I guess.

Oh, Cadbury. It isn't like Dan and I love you less for not hiring our friend Rick and his friends to dress up in their tuxedos and sing to you. Have another blackberry and some dandelion greens.

Cadbury: Don't mind if I do. Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful, bunderful Valentine's Day!

Monday Bunday: Please?

This is a small spotted rabbit begging for treats.

Last week, I got what looked at first like a treat but turned out to be a trick.

Yes, I got a paid day off from work due to the ice on Friday, but it also meant I couldn't do my Friday night errands, and the threat of overnight re-freeze meant no early morning long run. With other things scheduled for the weekend, the question of when to find a five-hour block of time for a 23 or 24 mile training run was problematic. It didn't help matters that my old hip injury has been giving me trouble again. I could've moved my last 20+ mile run to next weekend, but Dan and I are committed that entire weekend. The weekend after that is the weekend before Surfside - taper week.

So with reluctance, I switched to the half. I may not even do it at all. Dan and I have an opportunity that same weekend that we couldn't have anticipated when I signed up for Surfside, and we've been debating what to do about it ever since we found out.

There's still time, though. No decisions have been made. And in the meantime, this hip issue which I thought I had put behind me, is back. So frustrating.

Nothing is ever too bad when you've got a cute bunny to entertain you, though. Have a good week, everybun!

Monday Bunday: Bunny Butt

Isn't Cadbury's tail cute? So perky!

My training for the Surfside Beach Marathon is going pretty well, but I'm starting to get annoyed at the weather. It seems my longer (20+ miles) training runs always fall on the cold weekends and my shorter runs on the warm weekends. I'm a cold weather wimp and I hate having to run in freezing or near-freezing temps, especially when I have to start in the dark. What helps, though, is Grabber Hand Warmers. It's pretty miserable when your hands get so cold that you can no longer open doors, and these really help with that.

Of course, if I had fur like Cadbury, I'd probably be toasty no matter what the weather.

Happy Monday!

Monday Bunday: Sigh

I don't know why I never get to blog anymore. Was I doing it wrong? Sometimes I don't understand my human.

Apocalypse Soon?

Hey, everyone! For those of you who followed my vacation blog in 2009, do you remember when I got this on a street corner in Santa Fe?

Well, check out this story. It's a real worldwide movement!

Apocalypse Soon

I hope everybun is ready!

Monday Bunday: Roadbunner Visit!

Guess what, everyone? On Sunday I got to meet the Roadbunner! She was in the area to run a local marathon on New Year's Day, and on Sunday, Dan and I met her, her boyfriend, and a friend for breakfast, followed by a walk at Memorial Park. It was a lot of fun talking bunnies and marathons, and Mario even sent along a gift for Cadbury.

The Gift:

I have to open it myself?

What yummy-looking treats!

I think the biscuits are my favorite.

Thanks, Mario! You're a great pal.

Yes, Mario, thank you. And thank you Roadbunner, for your visit. I hope we can do it again sometime.

Have a great week, everybun!

Why I Love My UPS Driver

Earlier this week, a strange thing happened. I was working in my office, minding my own business, when a co-worker brought me a UPS envelope. The "ship to" had only my name, and the return address was garbled. How it got to me was a mystery, but its origins were anything but. Inside were some important documents I had entrusted a co-worker to ship out but she had somehow mangled the matter. Since there isn't anything one can do about the past, I took her the envelope, told her to fix it and get it back out before the day was over, and I left it at that. She was sufficiently embarrassed that I doubt she'll make that error again.

Today when I had something that needed to go out, I decided I had better do it myself. Since we were out of labels and envelopes, I figured I'd get what I needed at the drop box, but there were none there. Next I went to the Copy Center, which is also a UPS pickup spot. There at the Copy Center was my UPS guy, Ross. He delivers to the university and to my house and while the kid at the counter started making my labels, Ross told me he had left a package on my front porch (yay!) and then he said, "I found a very strange package for you in the drop box a few days ago."

As it turns out, he was the one who got that mislabeled package back to me. He didn't know what to do with it, but he knew me by name because he delivers to my house and used to deliver to me in one of my previous campus jobs. He didn't know where I currently office, but he asked around and finally figured it out.

I was so grateful that I was on the point of asking Ross to marry me when the kid working on my labels informed me that if we were going to bill a campus department for my current package, it would be twice as much as just using an ordinary label. Unfortunately he had no labels, and Ross had none in his truck.

Ross had another solution, though. The college on whose behalf I was sending the package was across the street. "That's my next stop," he said. He gave me a room number and told me to ask for Lupita. "She has labels and supplies. I'll meet you over there."

So I found Lupita, got my labels, and was just sealing the envelope when Ross showed up. He took my package and I know it's in safe hands now.

The only issue remaining at this point is...what should I get Ross for Christmas?

Bunny, It's Cold Outside!

With news of colder weather on its way, Cadbury headed out to his autumn garden to check on the last of his lettuce plantings.



There were a few red-leaf lettuce sprouts, but not much else, due to the biped's inconsistent watering scheme.

Nevertheless, Cadbury harvested what he could.

It's so hard to find good help.

Have a great week, everybun, and stay warm!

Monday Bunday: Funny Pose

I wish I knew why Cadbury likes to pose this way.  It doesn't look very comfortable.

Cadbury had a lovely Thanksgiving, although he probably would've liked more treats.  On work days I let him out when I come home for lunch and he gets a treat such as a grape or banana chip as a reward for going back in his cage without a fuss.  No sweet treats over the holiday for this little bunny!

I got plenty of treats, though.  I made a pumpkin cheesecake the weekend before Thanksgiving, and then we bought a regular pie for Thursday, since the cheesecake didn't last long.  (Ahem.)  I ran sixteen miles on Saturday, though, and three on Sunday after a 45-minute spin.  I can have the occasional treat.  Also, my boot camp starts this week.  I don't know what possessed me to sign up to be tortured three days a week at 5:30 am, but if I ever get such a crazy notion again, I hope someone slaps some sense into me before I get out my credit card.  *sigh*


Have a great week, everyone!

Product Endorsement: Mario Badescu

Friends, you know I'm not one to use my blog for shilling products, but today I'm too impressed to do otherwise.  The product in question is Control Cream by Mario Badescu.

I've been dealing with Rosacea off and on since turning 40, and this is the first stuff I've found that eliminates the red, scaly patches.  I rubbed some of this on my face Friday night, and here it is Sunday and I don't need Visene or green concealer anymore.  Mario Badescu's Control Cream gave me my face back and I couldn't be more grateful.

If you know anyone suffering from Rosacea, please recommend this to them.  If it doesn't work, I'll gladly buy their unused portion.  I have that much faith in the product.

Abundance!

Yesterday we gave thanks for abundance: abundance of food, abundance of opportunities, and most of all, abundance of friends.

Happy Thanksgiving, to those who celebrated, and good wishes for the holiday season!