Picking A Winner

Oh, Mick?

"Yes, Mum?"

It's time for you to pick our giveaway winner.

"Do I have to? I'm pretty busy here."

Busy doing what?

"I'm fluffing up my towel for my mid-morning nap."

Your nap can wait for a minute, I just need you to pick a winner.

"But that's one minute of naptime gone. You know I need my beauty sleep."

I think you can manage, Mick. Besides, there's a treat in it for you.

"Only one treat? Honestly, is that the best you can do? I'm sacrificing sleep for this."

Fine, two treats, but that's it.

"Deal. Now let's get this over with."

"Hmmmmmph...that's a lot of papers there. I dunno if two treats are proper compensation..."

Don't push your luck, Mister.

"Fine, fine, fine..."

*grabs paper, flings it*

"Now where's my treats?"

The perils of disturbing a grumpy bunny on a Monday morning, folks.

Anyway, we have a winner, and the lovely scarf is going out to:

Donna of Lavender Rabbit Hoppenings!

Congratulations, Donna. I already have your address, so your prize will be getting out to you as soon as I can dogsled my way to the post office. We're getting another foot of snow starting sometime tomorrow, according to the weather people. That is NOT how I want to start my February.

Eskimo Jade and Nanook Mick of the North(east) signing off.

And now, a word from Mr. Mick

Hello, Mickey here.

I know you're used to seeing Mum's words in this space, but since she's gone and fallen asleep and left her laptop within my reach, I thought I would take the opportunity to commandeer it and do my own blogging. (I guess you can call it a LOPtop now. Bunny humor = comedy gold.)

As she's probably told you, she's gone and changed my diet--without my permission, mind you--and practically eliminated my treat supply. She's even gone and gotten rid of my favorite pellet mix because she says they've started putting too many treats into it. (Need I mention that is WHY it's my favorite pellet mix? They clearly know what we rabbits like!) Now, I ask you--how is a rabbit supposed to get through his day without a few dozen treats to keep him amused and entertained? Do I take away her sweets without asking? (If I could get into that pantry of hers, I'd certainly give it a try--all's fair in love and treats, I say. )

It's been a long and drawn-out battle. I can't go into details (don't want to give out all my secrets) but let's just say a good snubbing and some flat-out sulk had to come into play. I was also forced to abandon some dignity in the process, display an excess amount of cute and *sigh* beg, but I will say it was well worth the effort. Mum has finally agreed to allow one or two small treats at mealtime, and to add a pinch of whole oats to my new Oxbow pellets. She says that as long as it doesn't cause me any tummy issues and I don't get fat, she's fine with it, and so far it hasn't (and I am NOT fat! )

Hmmmm, I can see why Mum likes this blogging stuff. I suppose I should add some new pictures as well:

This is me getting ready to chin that boy's shoes. He HATES it when I do that--which is precisely why I do it. Let me tell you, boys are nothing but trouble sometimes. I don't know why Mum has to have him around; he makes a mess, he's lazy, and he doesn't pet me nearly as much as he should. He only thinks he's the one in charge.

Mum did some of her fancy computer stuff on these next two:

She said the originals looked a little blurry, but they looked like artwork when she fixed the color on them. I say I look good no matter what, so she didn't need to do all that much, but they did come out nice.

Anyways, all this typing has tired me out, so I think I'm gonna take a nap. If you want to hear from me more often, feel free to send me one of those email thingys; my email address is mrmick@jademyst.com . Mum says that she'll let me post once in a while if I get enough emails.

Also, don't forget to enter Mum's giveaway . The drawing is January 31st; it's a pretty thing she made (although she wouldn't let me chew it) and if I know her, she'll probably send you a nice picture of me to go with it. How can you pass that up?

Shhhh, now let me sleep...

Treats for Jade!

I know, I've been a posting fiend lately, but since I'm snowed in yet again there isn't much else to do. Besides, I've been dying to show off the lovely goodies I've gotten lately.

First off, these lovely bundles from d. moll and 4buns' The Qi Papers Etsy store arrived on Monday:

Inside those lovely bundles were these *squee*:

and these *SQUEE*:

Lovely, lovely notecards that I will have such a hard time parting with, although I do plan to keep one of each for myself.

There was a  beautiful origami crane as well, which I plan to string with fishing line and use as an ornament.

As if that weren't enough to brighten my snow-filled week, with yesterday's mail came my giveaway prize from Donna at Lavender Rabbit Hoppenings, which arrived all sweetly wrapped for me:

Christmas in January! YAY! And inside *gleeful shriek*:

Aren't they GORGEOUS? I am so wearing these out to dinner tonight.

Donna was even nice enough to include something for Mr. Mick as well:

A willow ring and some dried pineapple for His Majesty, who was hoping that he would get the entire envelope-ful for a treat, but is currently on a treat-free diet because of some minor digestive issues  (mainly that he's been eating too many treats).

Thanks much to both d.moll and Donna (and their respective warrens) for making this week a lot brighter.

(Of course, if it would JUST STOP SNOWING, that would help...)

Speaking of giveaways, don't forget to go HERE and leave a comment so you can be entered in my giveaway--and feel free to pass the word along to everyone else so they can enter as well.

It's Only January...

...and I've had enough of winter already.

We're on our third snowstorm so far, and this one's loaded with all the sleet, ice and ick that I absolutely HATE. Plans for the day have been cancelled yet again, which is probably what I hate most about winter in the first place. In order to cheer myself up and take my mind off of the white junk overloading my yard, it's time to post some bunny pics.

Mr. Mick's meditation room has found a new home, thanks to post-Christmas redecorating. He was not exactly thrilled at first with the fact that I folded in the flaps to make things look neater, but is undecided as to whether or not he should do a little bunconstruction to improve matters.

Taking a short break for a hay snack after tossing his tins around. Mickey cannot stand to see a stack of anything go unflung. The tins tend to suffer much of his wrath, possibly because they do make such a soothing clanking sound when banged on the floor. People who say rabbits do not make a sound have obviously never been in our house.

A regal pose for the masses from His Majesty, who is willing to tolerate the assault of the paparazzi on occasion because he knows it will please his faithful worshippers.

You know that you are truly crazy bunny people when you not only outfit your bunny statue in a hat and scarf for the winter, but you actually dig him out of a three-foot drift because you don't want him to be buried. (The latter was my husband's doing, actually--he was clearing snow away from around the house to protect the foundation and insisted on digging out Milo as well.)

For those who may not recall, Milo was a gift from my husband and is named for my late grandfather because Milo's outfit and his wheelbarrow remind me of him. My husband is not normally a bunny person, but he gets a huge kick out of Milo and says it's the best gift he's ever given me, so we both tend to treat it a little differently. Yes, I actually made that scarf and hat for him, and I must say he looks darn cute in it.

Speaking of scarves, don't forget to go here and post a comment so you can be entered in my giveaway. Deadline is January 31st--and followers get an extra entry as well, so make sure you click on the "follow" button while you're at it.

Somebunny is jingling his toy keys, which means it's time to end this and go tend to His Majesty. Have a great day, people--and stay warm!

Time for a Giveaway!

Posting again, Jade?! So SOON?!

Why yes, amazing, isn't it?

But why?

Because I have something that I just can't wait to show off--and give away!

I have been toying with the idea of crocheting some beaded scarves/sashes to sell on Etsy for a while now. Those of you who follow The Raspberry Rabbits may have seen the scarf/sash I made for Michelle, and if you click on the link at the right of the page for my crochet project pics on Facebook, you can see another one that I made (the recipient of which will be unnamed because it is a gift not yet given). The response was so positive that I decided to give it a shot, so I went out and found some lovely yarn and beads and set to work on one as a prototype.

Here is the result:

(sorry, bunny not included)

(closeup of detail)

Color: white w/silver-lined glass beads (inspired by Michelle May, who loves her white :) )

Yarn: Baby Bunny (what else?) by Plymouth Yarn--60% Pima Cotton, 30% Modal, 10% Angora

Beads: 0/6 seed beads, clear w/silver lining

Care: Hand wash, dry flat

Length: approx. 40"

Width: approx. 3"

This is a very versatile item; it can be worn straight, knotted or wrapped as a scarf, or tied around the waist as a sash or belt.

The ones I plan on making for sale will be slightly thinner, so I have decided to give this one away to one of my loyal readers/followers.

Giveaway details:

1. The drawing will be on January 31st.

2. If you want to be entered, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. If you are a follower of this blog, you will get an automatic second entry.

I'm so very happy with how this scarf turned out, so I really hope whoever wins it will be just as happy with it. Good luck to all! :)

A New Toy and a Question

One of Mickey's new toys that he got for Christmas was a BunnyIQ toy called Linnea (purchased through Bunspace.com ). This has become his favoritest toy ever, for reasons that will become clear when you see this:



Oh yes, anything involving treats is a big winner in the Mickster's book.

He picked up on it fairly quickly; according to the instructions, you show them the treat in the dishes without the covers, then once they've grasped the concept that treats are in the dishes, you then put the covers on and let them figure it out from there. The boy decided that he was going to teach Mickey how it works. This is the result:



Now, the moment I set the toy down, there's an orange blur and those wood covers go flying. He scared himself the other night--he flung a cover into his meditation room and the sound of it hitting the cardboard walls made him jump about a mile. Made me jump, too; it sounded like he'd run into something he shouldn't.

Now for the question:
I love getting comments from everyone who reads this blog, and I really appreciate hearing from each and every one of you. I'm just not sure as to the best way to respond to the comments we get; while some commenters leave an e-mail address that I can reply to, many do not, and I'm not sure if I should post reply comments since I don't know if people actually look to see if there is a reply posted or not.

So help me out here, fellow bloggers and commenters: how do you respond to the comments you get? Do you like to get a response to your comments? What works for you?

Okay, so maybe that's three questions...

Anyway, any input you can give will be greatly appreciated. I'm also thinking of doing an occasional feature called "Mr. Mick's Mailbag" so His Majesty can give his own point of view in here once in a while, so let me know what you think of that while you're at it. Thanks much! :)

The tooth and nothing but the tooth

Called the vet this morning and brought Mr. Mick in this afternoon to get his teeth checked and see what the heck is going on in his mouth. His regular vet, Dr. Shanahan, gave him a thorough exam as well. The patient was on his most charming and best behavior for her, tooth-purring with delight at all the attention he was getting.

Results:
His front teeth are fine, he may just need to get used to them being a little shorter than before. She showed me how they were lined up just right, with the lower set just touching the upper set in the back.

The substitute vet did file down what points were there on his molars, and they look good.

Mr. Mick got a clean bill of health as well.

The vet's analysis:
Mickey isn't used to the shorter teeth yet, but they will grow back and he'll adjust.

She was nice enough not to charge me for the visit, and she also said that a note would be put on the computer to do back teeth only and only do front teeth if necessary.

I brought Mickey home; upon being returned to his cage, he tore into a plate of dandelion greens like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

The bunny-mom's analysis:
Somebunny is a freaking prima donna who not only is way too fussy, but apparently has decided that he likes having his greens shredded for him far too much to go back to having to chew them up himself.

"Hmph...and what, may I ask, is wrong with

wanting a higher level of service around here?!"

Christmas Gifts and a Hoppy New Year

As I mentioned last post, I got some lovely Christmas gifts, perfect stuff for a crazy bunny lady:

This charming fellow was given to me by my younger stepdaughter. His lantern will hold an actual tealight candle, so he will be placed on or in front of our front step once the snow has cleared out, so that people visitng our home will get a proper welcome.

He will also have a companion:

This fellow was one of my husband's presents for me. He's made of metal, and as you can see, he also carries a tealight candle in his lantern, so I will have two greeters for my doorway once I've figured out how I want to arrange them.

At the moment, they are guarding my Christmas tree for me, and doing a fine job of it:

Last, but not least, there's this sweet bun, who was a belated Christmas gift from my sister:

She gave him to me last night at my cousin's, where we were celebrating New Year's. Isn't he sweet?

He's all soft and squishy and sparkly. I want to give him a name, but haven't come up with anything suitable yet.

Speaking of soft and squishy...

"Excuse me? I will not be referred to as 'squishy', thank you very much."

Mr. Mick and I would like to wish everyone and everybun a Hoppy New Year. May the Year of the Rabbit bring you all the best of everything. :)