Oh deer.

The Nanaimo deer are right cheeky little buggers.

Okay, so they were here first, I'll grant them that. And they do politely stand by the side of the road for cars to stop and let them across .. well, until they get tired of waiting and then just walk anyway.

Today I got home from the mall (the wrong mall, but more on that lower), and drove into the driveway to see a female (or first year male) nibbling on Mum's heather. I got out of the car, she twitched an ear in my general direction but that was about it. I was probably about twenty feet away.

"Oi, there!" I say and start walking towards her to shoo her away. "If you were nibbling on the cedars I'd let it go - they're pretty ugly. But as Scottish born, I have to defend my nation's plant." Well, probably the thistle is our plant, but shh, what does a deer know?

By this point I'm pretty darn close. I could probably reach out and with a quick lunge, grab an ear. The deer finally looks up at me warily. I say "Well?" She shakes her head and bounces away. Now, most would think this is typical deer antics, but as a bunny slave in waiting, I know better. I recognize that gleeful headshake and binky bounce when I see it. I KNOW the saucy herbivore is laughing at me!  I call after her "I could like venison, you know!"

She just flicked her tail in my general direction, not slowing down as she hit the sidewalk, skipping away. Cheeky bugger.

Ignore the stained shirt. :D Today was laundry day and that's one of the ones fished out of my dryer post-fire.

The quest today was to do some shopping for necessities to hopefully recover the data from the hard drives that survived the fire. (Survived being a loose term.) I also wanted to pick up some other odds and sods. I thought London Drugs was in one mall and everything else at the other. I tossed a coin and decided I'd data fetch and do the rest another day. So off I go, to discover I had been wrong - London Drugs was at the OTHER mall, along with Sears and Zellers and.. Oh buggar.

So I did what any bunny slave in waiting would do at a mall 30 minutes before closing. I bought a bunny hat and a Tim Horton's coffee.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year bunny friends!

I'm out staying with my parents on Vancouver Island again. My first trip, I came over and stayed for five days so my brother could have his home to himself for a while. It was weird, every time I walked into the main room in the basement I looked to Sage's corner to see if she was okay. Of course, there was no Sage for me to see. My Mum was on "Operation save the plushies." I'd pulled a few plush toys from the house which she'd managed to rescue from stench and stains, so I'd gone back and retrieved several more. One of this was Miss Plushie Bunny, Sage's friend and nemesis. I plonked her down in Sage's corner and I no more looked for the live bunny each trip in and out. 

 

My Mum thought Miss Plushie Bunny looked awfully lonesome in the corner, so as the other plushes were rescued from their spa treatments (15 rounds through the washer) she started plunking them down. Miss Plushie Bunny is now surrounded by sheepies, and bears, and a dog and.. :)

 

This trip it's my brother and I. He's staying for a couple days before heading back to the mainland. (As the islanders call the Vancouver area and beyond ;) I'll be staying here through most of January before (OMG, HOPEFULLY!) getting my own place once more. Yup, Insurance Adjuster is still dragging his feet. On the plus side, housing (apartments) in Chilliwack may potentially be within my financial reach, in the very area I wanted to live in previously. So there is a bright spot in the clouds. Lets hope it sticks around for long enough.

Three years ago I participated in a secret Santa exchange and my secret Santa sent me ornaments of Scout and Sage. Last Christmas I dropped the Scout ornament and it shattered. I cried my eyes out, it hadn't been *that long* since Scout had hopped off to the bridge and it was on top of a whole bunch of other "everything is falling apart" events. I posted to the PB list to whinge, and my secret Santa from the year before sent me a new Scout ornament along with a Fric ornament. (My Foster). I cried again, this time at the heart and caring of PB people. To many it would have been "just a stupid ornament" but the new one was not only a remembrance of my beloved little heart bunny, but of the wondrousness of bunny people.

After the fire, my secret Santa (Nancy, shhh ) sent me a new Scout and Sage ornaments. She said she didn't know if the "old" ones had survived the fire or not, but even if they had, she felt they'd make me smile. My brother said it was the longest and biggest smile he'd seen on my face since the fire. Those two ornaments, along side the others on my parents tree now, sum up the wonder that is both bunnies and the people who love them.

And I'm honoured and overjoyed to know you all. I hope you all have happiness and love in 2011!

Still Here!

I'm still here!

I've been staying with my brother in Langley. He's been remarkably long suffering about his little sister living in his dining room and infecting his bathrooms with GIRL STUFF.

The insurance company was very cooperative and communicative up until last week and then my messages stopped being answered. Very frustrating. I got my "preliminary" cheque from the, which took nine days to reach me (apparently it's harder to get a cheque 35 km/s than it is from Vancouver, BC to Denmark. That only took four days.) and of course, my bank has a hold on it. (Can't really blame them on that one.)  I haven't decided if I'll be buying or renting. Both have a lot of attraction, but if I buy an apartment I'll probably be back to living hand to mouth.. but I'll also have an investment.

It's amazing how much life a little dutch diva brings to a home. When my brother's out at work I start feeling awfully hollow and lonely. No life around me. I end up going out to the stores to window shop and just have humanity around me. I do have a winter jacket and boots now.

I've gotten to meet an internet met friend twice now. Sas who runs rabbitsonline.net was part of a Flemish bunny rescue. For those not in the know, Flemmies are very big bunnies. A small Flemmie is about 17lbs. So you can imagine my heaven at getting to meet 21 very friendly, very happy, puppy-bunnies. Most of these rabbits were kept in tiny cages as meat bunnies and had zero socializing. Yet, they were happy to get head pets and follow you around and let you nuzzle them. Not to mention I got to pet my very first Rex - oh that velvet fur!! I think I am partial to the silky, soft, fur (satin) that Sage had on her neck. (Her white fur was satin, her silver normal) but I may be a tad biased! Two visits to bunny nirvana.. And Sas is every bit as wonderful as her buns.

It's amazing the floatsam than piled up in my car because I was too lazy to move things into the house. Seventy-five percentage of my wool, some of my knitting needles, my old jean jacket that my Mum had sewn patches on. (And by old, I mean high school!) The pacific ocean sea water that I'd collected for a friend but have become attached to. The Rose Alarm (a friend's band) concert poster.

The clothes I'd 'rescued' were a write-off. My Mum tried to save some of my plush toys (Unfortunately, half the cast of my webcomic were lost) but they're still very smokey scenting even after a good dry cleaning. Crossing my fingers that they can air out on the patio, where they've been exiled to. (It's covered, so they won't be rained on.)

Everyone keeps offering me rabbits. ("Oh, let me buy you a new rabbit" "Have you got a new rabbit yet? I have this rescue..") And I'm just not ready for a new pet. The next pet may even be a cat - something completely different. I appreciate the sentiments but wish that people would just leave off it.

On a yet another tangent.. I got to meet a Gus clone and pet his nose for a good ten minutes. He was almost as good at disapproving looks as our beloved Gus!

I haven't decided what I'll be doing with the blog.. Maybe posting old Scout and/or Sage stories that went to the petbunny list. But I'm sure I'll be around in some form or another. :)

Stay safe!

Thank you.

Thank you everyone. It HAS been a bit of a rough ride, and I miss Sage terribly. I have a place to stay (my brother's), I have got some clothes (the advantage of staying in Greater Vancouver is the rediculously good quality of clothes in the 2nd hand stores), I have food. My basic needs are taken care of and I have insurance that will take care of other stuff down the road. I want to appreciate every single offer of help - especially considering how the economy is and so many people are just getting by themselves.

But - bunny people being bunny people.. They want to help. They want to do SOMETHING. So, if you would.. Please make a donation to your local shelter. Whether that donation is time or money, it'd be appreciated.

Sage came from the Chilliwack SPCA, and they have very limited resources for rabbits. Its my dream that every humane society, SPCA, etc, can get educated about rabbits and how they are house pets, not livestock. Maybe come up with a basic breed guide in poster form. Something, anything. But this dream requires people, time, and money. If you have money you can spare, please donate. If you have some time, that's even more needed - teach the people who are helping house and rehome abandoned buns what they're saving.

So, if you can help.. Please do, there's a certain silver and white Dutch who lived 5 years longer than she would have thanks to the SPCA.

Sage ATB.

I don't have a lot of words at the moment.

I can only cut/paste what I posted to Petbunny.

I'm halfway between numb and crying at the mo. I'm sure nervous breakdown is around the corner somewhere.

 

I generally go to my brother's place on Saturday's to watch "Hockey Night in Canada" (two Canadian teams (min) playing back to back) on his monsterous HD tv. It's an hour'ish drive. This afternoon it was an early start so instead of taking a nap after lunch like I normally do, I just made tea, planned a stop at Timmy's, packed up and left. I got gas at the gas station in the village and was halfway to Yarrow when my Dad called. I normally don't answer the phone when driving but Forrest had been texting me bunches so I figured it was him and pulled over. No, it was my Dad to say Edith from the Park called to say there's smoke coming from my trailer. She's worried about Sage. We won't discuss velocity in which I travelled back.

 

By the time I got back, it was beyond unsafe to enter. Smoke was wisping out of the strangest places, but we couldn't see flames.. but the windows were all black from soot and smoke. It was obvious nothing could have survived, but I wanted to check anyway. Lawrence (the male half of land management) said no way Jose. Which, of course, was the right decision. I think it was 20 minutes later when our volunteer fire fighters got on scene, followed by Chilliwack fire fighters a few minutes later. Once it was established no human life was inside, they started the tactics on how to handle it. They ended up breaking the front windows (at this point my gallow's humour thought 'My Mum's poor curtains, they survived rabbit teeth to go to haven by fire.') and smoke billowed out and then we could see flames.  As it wasn't risking any other structure, they were mostly happy to let it burn itself out - but apparently my trailer was just too well built to do that in any hurry.

 

So, then became the war to get in to said trailer. Let me tell you, I'd had more than one nightmare about living in a home with no "security door" ala apartment building. (And we all know how secure THOSE are!!) The firemen tried kicking. They tried axe. They tried *chainsaw* and in the end one came over and asked if I happened to have a key. Yeah, that's how they had to open the door.

 

They found Sage, miscommunication and for a moment I was told she was actually alive. No, she wasn't. The firefighters placed her in her carry cage and brought her out. She looked pretty darn peaceful, no whites in her eyes, not even pinned pupils.. so all things, considered I guess.. as peaceful as she could go in the given situation. And I know Scout is hopping around up there saying "Look Sage! I have a bacon tree!" (Okay, now I"m crying) My neighbours insisted on burying her for me so I wouldn't have to. Some of these people I'd never met, but they *ALL* offered me couch to sleep in.. spare bedroom.. one guy offered me the use of his motorhome. Insurance would have paid for a hotel room, Dad offered the same. (He happened to be working) But.. I stank of burnt stuff, my clothes and myself were covered in black crap.. I just wanted a shower and to wash clothes.. so I may as well abuse my brother's home.

 

My friends, my family, my brother's friends.. have all been incredible. Thank you.  

Hitting the High Points

Just a quick status update to say "Yup, we're still alive!"

We spent an extended Hallowe'en weekend at my parents' place on Vancouver Island and I have pictures to post. Unfortunately, the pictures are on the computer that is currently being debugged and devirused. (It's not connected to the net while I do so.)

Sage wants to pass on her thanks to Hef and his Mommy for letting him come to the Petbunny party. She's sorry if he had one too many carrotinis, but she isn't sorry she helped him dance the night away and sample five different types of hay. Not to mention the buffet, the dancing, the music, the food.. Hopfully he wasn't too tired the next day! Sage spent most of it stretched out napping.

I tried moving Sage's litterpan into the main bedroom since she spends most of her time there, but she would go into the ex-computer room and thump. "I want my litterpan HERE, thank you very much!"  The bunny is always right! Silly human, you'd think she'd learn this..

To wrap up - another "Conversations with Sage" moment :D

The master bedroom is at the end of the hall, just before you get to it, the master bathroom is on the right. I was walking down the hall to do what humans do in bathrooms, and Sage was meatloafed by the closet doors in the bedroom.

 I said "Good morning, Sunshine!" She didn't even twitch an ear in my general direction. "You're looking particularly radiant." I added, even though by this point, I was fairly convinced she was deeply asleep.  Nope, not an ear movement or a whisker twitch. "You know, you're getting better and better at ignoring humans." I tell her with admiration. She doesn't like us two foots approaching *her* .. she'll approach US when she wants, thankyouverymuch.

I'm pretty sure, if a) she was awake and b) she could speak, the reply would have been "Well, DUH." She's a very articulate rabbit, after all.

Buttons (Furniture, not rabbit)

Sage here - Blogger's not letting me put a picture up. *Thump*

There has been discussion lately about bunnies eating buttons. (Not to be confused with Buttons - one of the cutest buns to ever hop.)

If you want to get your bunny to stop chewing on your buttons - stop making them so tasty and fun to play with.