You better watch out...

...Santa Mick is comin' to town. 

(and cryin' and poutin' are nothin' compared to what you'll do

 if there's no hay cookies waiting for him under your tree)

Thanks ever so much to everyone and everybun for the birthday wishes--they were so very much appreciated. I had a lovely 50th birthday...at least until the end of the night, when it turned out that hubby had one last gift for me: his cold. Fortunately, I only had one week of misery, while hubby had almost three. We're both fine now except for the occasional coughing bout, but it did put me even further behind in my projects than before (after all, the last thing I need to do is include a dose of the plague in with my cards and blankets).

I was planning to do a humongous calendar giveaway for Christmas this year similar to what I did last year, because Mr. Mick is not only appearing twice in the Bunspace calendar for 2013, but he is also in the House Rabbit Connection calendar for 2013. All I can say is that there is a slight change in plans, but I will say that if you would like one of Mick's holiday cards (and I don't already have your mailing address), please email me at jade@jademyst.com and let me know ASAP. First come, first served and all that. 

As for His Majesty, he has been trying (and failing) to stay off of Santa Paws' naughty list as usual. He gave himself quite the scare last night while attempting to help himself to his container of hay cookies on my computer desk. I was sitting at the computer typing up an invoice, while Mick was perched on his footstool next to my chair. Suddenly, there was a scrambling, wriggling ball of orange fur half in my lap and half on my keyboard! Mick had jumped up from the footstool and semi-landed in my lap somehow (quite a feat for a middle-aged bun of excessive...fluff) and was simultaneously freaking out over his accidental accomplishment and trying to escape back to his footstool, while I was trying to scoop him up and get him secured against my chest so he would neither fall to the ground nor accidentally hurt himself with all his flinging himself around. Finally, I got him against my shoulder (thank gawd my chair had a high back, I think he would have leaped off my shoulder in his panic) and got him calmed down. He was wide-eyed and breathing hard, but otherwise fine, so I began stroking his nose and giving him a massage until he was settled down and toothpurring. Once I was sure he was calm again, I gave him a cookie and set him back down again and he went bopping off as if nothing had happened, but I'm sure he's not going to try that stunt again. Foo' wabbit. 

I call this "Out of Hay Cookies". 

I must sign off now--if by some chance I do not get around to posting again before the 25th, I want to wish everyone and everybun a joyous holiday season: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus, and Happy Holidays from me and Mr. Mick!

Wanted: Publicist

...because this one's just not doing her job.

Hey all, Mickey here.

Honestly, for a human who spends so much time on the computer, you'd think Mum would be able to take a few minutes to update this thing--but no, I'm stuck having to sit here and type it all myself. Mum's new touchscreen computer doesn't make it any easier, either--do you know how hard it is to slap a screen and hit the right letter when you have fuzzy bunny paws?

It has been one rough couple of weeks, let me tell you. First off, I had to put up with The Boy being home last week. Fortunately, he wasn't as much trouble as he usually is; Mum kept him too busy installing the new computer for him to bother me, and he did manage to pet me a few times, but he's still a pain in the butt. I tried to help him with the computer (since he's a foo' human and doesn't know about these things), but he just kept shooing me away. I should have pooped in his shoes, but he hid them on me. Good thing he didn't stay very long. Mum says he's going to be back next month for something called "winter break", though, and that he'll be around a while longer. I'm going to have to make some plans...

There were a bunch of Mum's family here for that Thanksgiving thing you humans do--not that they paid much attention to me, they were way too busy eating and making noise. Mum did give me a nice fat baby carrot as a holiday treat, though. I would have liked to have more, but she said I couldn't because of my digestion issues. I said the only digestion issue I have is not getting more good stuff to digest.

To top all this off, Mum went and rearranged my lounge area. She said she had to clear the dining room out because of the company coming (she insists on calling it "the dining room" for some reason), but that is no excuse for moving my stuff around! She's even rearranged my footstools under the computer desk so I can only use one of them, and insists on using the other one herself! The nerve. I thumped at her repeatedly, but she refused to listen. Honestly, you just can't find good slaves these days.

I will credit Mum for one thing, though; she does make sure to keep plenty of hay cookies in stock for me. She made a batch late the other night so I would have something to nibble on. She even lets me lick the spoon once she's made them:




Tomorrow is her birthday, so I have graciously allowed her the day off to go shopping and buy herself some nice things (as long as she makes it back home in time to feed me, that is). I figure if I do something nice for her, she'll have to do something nice for me, like maybe give me another baby carrot or something.

Speaking of gifts, I got a really nice Christmas card from my pal Speedy and his mum. Thanks, guys! Mum will be sending out my Christmas cards soon, too--along with a few gifts as well...

Ok, my paws are getting tired and I am way overdue for my pre-lunch nap. Hopefully Mum will see this and get the hint, so you'll see some more posts soon. Later!

Picking up the slack...

Hey all, Mickey here.

Time for me to save Mum's slacker butt again--honestly, is it all that hard to keep people informed as to what I'm doing? I swear, if it wasn't for the fact that she's been helping other rabbits find homes, I'd find myself a new slave in a heartbeat. 

Let's see, what's been going on here? Well, a couple of weeks ago, Mum and The Big Guy left me with the Alternate Slave while they went to visit The Boy off at college. Of course, I had to put Alternate Slave through her paces right off the bat--I snuck into Mum's room when AS left the door open and hid where she couldn't find me. She was smart, though; she got out the oats and we negotiated a truce. After that, we were just fine.

Fortunately, Mum didn't bring The Boy home with her when she came back, although she says he'll be coming home in three weeks for the Thanksgiving weekend (and for this I'm supposed to be "giving thanks"? Feh, I'll poop in his travel bag.). 

Otherwise, it's been quiet...well, quiet for me, anyway. Mum's been running around like a bunneh doing the 500--always chasing her tail. I don't mind as long as she feeds me on time. 

While Mum's been distracted, I've been busy visiting my pal Speedy and having fun. You can read about some of our adventures on my furry godmother Lorna's blog. I miss having adventures with my old friend Weasley since he crossed the Bridge, but Speedy's a great pal and I know I'll see Weasley again someday. Knowing Weasley, he's already recruited Ginny, Hef, Bella and all the other Bridge buns for wild and crazy adventures. 

Speaking of Speedy, he was nice enough to nominate me for some Super Sweet Blogging Award--personally, I'm guessing it's some kind of prank, as there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING "super sweet" about me (I can hear you laughing, Mum--stop it!), but I will be a good sport and play the game. 

Let's see...I'm supposed to answer some questions first:

1: Cookies or cake? Mum says both. I say both, too--banana hay cookies and banana hay cupcakes.
2: Chocolate or Vanilla? Mum says chocolate, I say banana. 
3:Favourite sweet treat? Need you ask? Banana-flavored anything. 
4: When do you crave sweet things? When DON'T I crave sweet things?
5: If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be? I don't have a sweet nickname because I'M NOT SWEET, but Mum calls me Mr. Mick, Foo' Wabbit and His Majesty.

Now I'm supposed to nominate somebunny as well. Okay, here goes:

My furry godmother, Lorna, at Fuzzy Creatures

My beloved Auntie Shell (and cousins Harrington and Hannah) at The Raspberry Rabbits

The Lavender Rabbits (and their mum) at Lavender Rabbit Hoppenings

4Buns +1 (and their mum) at The Qi Papers

Weasley's mum at Rabbits Eat Quilts

and Wesley and his mum and all the hares at The Leveret's Nest 

Again, I am NOT a "super sweet" bun--I am a cunning and wily rabbit who only pretends to be cute and cuddly so he can achieve his goal of world domination!

Honestly, does this look like a "super sweet" rabbit to you?!

Oops, wait--wrong picture. How about this one?

Dangit, not that one, either...

*sigh* Never mind, just take my word for it--okay?

Oh, one last thing; there's supposed to be a stupid hurricane headed this way. Mum has made sure that I have plenty of food, hay and water just in case, so don't worry about me. She made sure that The Boy is going to be safe and sound at school, too (he's going to get the storm before we do, so I suppose there's some comfort in that). Mum and I will be thinking good thoughts for my fellow rabbits and their humans who will be dealing with this as well. Hopefully, everyone and everybun will get through this safe and sound.

Words to live by, people. See you later!

Still Here...

Putting up a quick post so I can say I posted in September...

Mr. Mick and I are both doing well, although Mick has had some issues with one of his eyes, so I've spent the week putting eye ointment in both eyes. He's been surprisingly good about this, although at this point we're both sick of it. Two more doses and we're done, though. There's just not enough time to write about the general craziness that's been my days lately--good crazy, but too crazy for me to find words for. The brain hasn't even been able to find the words to post comments to the bunny blogs of my friends; I have been lurking and enjoying (and "liking" on Facebook as much as I can), but words just haven't been able to find their way from brain to fingers.

Here's a clip of Mick that I posted to YouTube last night; somebunny managed to find his way into my computer chair in the short time that it took for me to make my way from the kitchen to the dining room/office. Getting down from the chair, however, was a different matter:




You can see the greasiness of the eye ointment around his eyes and on his cheeks. His Majesty does not approve of his diminished appearance whatsoever, so once we're done with his treatment, I have to figure out how to clean all that off of him.

Hubby and I will be going to visit the boy down in Maryland for Parents' Weekend in a couple of weeks. Even though we've been more or less in constant contact through text, email and phone, it'll be nice to actually see him in person. Hopefully, I'll have time to post again before then.

A Hare Raising Tail

Catching up seems to have become my normal mode here, I swear...

Three weeks ago, Mr. Mick and I received the bestest package of goodies from our friends Annette and Wesley of The Leveret's Nest (and if you have never visited Annette's blog or her Etsy store, you should. Now.) :


Note: Blogger is giving me fits about uploading pics, so I had to load them to my personal webspace. If they don't show, please let me know.




This is part of what was under all the lovely wrapping: I had ordered a baby hare ornament from Annette, and she snuck in a few extras!

This package contained some of Annette's homemade hay cookies for Mr. Mick (how Wesley let you part with any of those, Annette, I don't know)




This is the oh-so-*squee* baby hare ornament I ordered and the card that came with him. (To see a larger version of this pic and read the story, go here.)




This is Baby Hare Kinglet, who decided to come along for the ride. Like all of Annette's hares, she comes with her own personal "tail", which you can read by clicking here: Kinglet's "Tail"



Annette also sent an assortment of the lovely cards she makes (which will probably never get sent to anyone because I cannot bear to part with them).



On top of all this wonderfulness? A new throne for His Majesty, handmade by Annette! Of course, I had to let the baby hares have a chance to play in it before Mick got his paws on it, because he never shares.


"Hmmmmm, what do we have here? Soft? Check. Nice comfy sides for resting my head? Check. Oh, yes, this is quite nice..."



"Now why can't YOU make something like this? Hmph...and what's all this about homemade cookies?!"



"Om nom nom...oh, yummmmmm,,,make sure you get the recipe from Annette for these, Mum...better yet, just tell her to keep 'em coming...oh man, that Wesley is a lucky bun..."

 Seriously, he gobbled those cookies down in nanoseconds--he probably would have eaten them all in one sitting if I had let him. Thank you so much, Annette and Wesley! Mick and I are working on repaying the kindness, but it's taking some time. Hopefully it'll be worth the wait...

The Story of Peter the Purple Rabbit

Every year on the first Saturday in August, the church in Mt. Washington, MA holds an annual fair to raise funds--it's a sweet and simple affair, a combination white elephant (aka tag sale)/baked goods/used clothing/crafts sale with games for the kids, all kinds of wonderful homemade refreshments, and a variety of raffles to close it out, with the big draw being the annual handmade quilt that gets raffled off each year. The quilts are absolute masterpieces, and I wish I had thought to take a picture of this year's quilt because it was spectacular (I did a Google search and found a picture of the 2010 quilt, though).

My mom and I go to this fair pretty much every year to check out what's for sale, see friends and family, eat some of the best blueberry pie ever and hope to win at least one of the raffles. As I am already far too close to being a candidate for the "Hoarders" TV show, I try not to buy too many things unless I either really need them or I just cannot resist them, but this dapper fellow was indeed irresistible:

He stands about a foot high; a purple-flocked piggy bank in the shape of a rabbit, decorated with a sweet bowtie. Even though I collect bunnies AND piggy banks, I might have been able to resist the purchase were it not for the notes attached to him. First, there's the large note around his belly:

In case you cannot read it from the picture, it reads as follows:
Peter the Purple Rabbit
This very special purple rabbit
tripped over a rock in the forest
and needed stitches around his ear.
He can still hold all your pennies and such
through a slot on his back.
But he would appreciate 
your not squeezing his ears--
especially his right one.
He does love soft kisses on his nose.
He knows whoever wants him 
will take very good care of him.


Looped around his right ear is this:

HOW do you not fall in love with that?!


Seriously, I about died. 


Here is a pic of the damage on the ear: 

Basically, the only way you'd know that it was broken in any way is by the faint glue stains, and they are hardly noticeable enough to warrant even mentioning--after all, it's just a $3 piggy bank. The little notes are really what transformed it into something precious. Now that's what I call salesmanship!

I also bought this cute sandstone/resin piece as well:

(taken with flash so you can see the color)

(taken without flash so you can see the detail)

It was originally part of a 3-piece set, but I didn't want the other two pieces (and they could sell just as well as stand-alone pieces), so I just paid what they asked for the set ($2) for the one piece. Now I just have to figure out where I can display it; it's got an indentation on the back so it can be hung on a wall, but it's pretty solid and can just as easily be placed on a table or shelf. 

As for Peter the Purple Rabbit,  will be making his new home on my computer desk, where he will never again have to worry about ear damage. His notes will remain with him so everyone can read his story, and perhaps I will write one of my own to go with it. 

A Quick Post...

...because I'm all kinds of behind as always, but I don't want anyone thinking we've fallen off the face of the earth.

A couple of videos for your enjoyment: this is Mick playing "taste tester" for the newest hay from Bingaling Bunnybox, Wild Bunny Delight, which is an orchard grass/clover mix:

If His Majesty, Mickey the Picky, likes it, it must be good.

While I was trying to get that videoed (the BB people had asked if I would share a videotape of Mick's response to the hay), somebunny decided to be a super loveybun, so I had to get that recorded as well:

I guess somebunny liked the hay better than I thought. ;)

Ok, I need to get back to either catching up on or putting off stuff. Catch ya later!

A Word from Mr. Mick

Hey all, Mickey here.

First off, I would like to thank everyone and everybun for all the nice birthday wishes I got last month. They were very much appreciated. The birthday cookies were yummy indeed, although I would have preferred to have been allowed to eat them all at once. Thanks also for all the congrats for my fourth year as a Bunspace calendar model--I have put a lot of hard work into being as cute as I am and I'm happy to say that all that hard work is finally paying off.

Now, I've chosen to update the blog myself today because I have some good news--it looks like they've finally found a new home for The Boy. According to Mum, he is going to be going to Maryland next month to live in some place called Towson University, where there are apparently other Boys just like him (and a few Girls as well), so hopefully he will make some new friends and go on to live a happy, healthy life. He and Mum are leaving tomorrow for something called "orientation"--I guess that's where he will get to meet his new family and whatnot. My alternate slave (Mum's sister) will be coming by to make sure all my needs are met while Mum is gone, since although The Big Guy is also staying home, he is completely unqualified to properly care for a rabbit. As is, he seems to be under the impression that my slave is going to be taking care of him--as if, pal! Get your own personal slave.

I suppose I will miss The Boy when he is finally gone; he does pet me and give me treats from time to time, and he is a far better photographer than Mum when I need to make sure all my cuteness is properly displayed, but he is also a pain in the butt and refuses to recognize my superiority in the household, so it's time for him to leave. I've already had to poop in his flipflops twice this week to let him know who's in charge here, yet he still doesn't get it (Mum thought it was highly amusing, though).

Once he's gone, I'll probably move into his room--I could use the extra space. Perhaps now I can have that carrot juice bar I always wanted, and maybe some bigger thrones and...what's that, Mum?...What do you mean, "he's not going away forever"?...Oh, come onnnnn!...

Crap. Foiled again. I guess it's back to eBun...

Note from Jade: Yes, the Boy and I are off to Baltimore this weekend for his college orientation, so I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off all week--and I still have to pack! Will post more stuff once I get home. Hugs and much love to everyone and everybun!

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Hoppyness

Mr. Mick would like to wish everyone and everybun a safe and happy Fourth of July...

...that is, as soon as he wakes up from his nap. (Hey, a bun's got his priorities, y'know.)


Happy Independence Day to our fellow Americans--and to everyone else, Happy Fourth of July!

Four Years in a Row!

The results are in for this year's Bunspace calendar contest (for those who don't know, each year Bunspace puts out a calendar with pictures submitted and voted on by their members. A portion of the entry fees and sales of the calendar go to the House Rabbit Society. ) and this year, not only has Mr. Mick been voted in for the fourth year in a row, but he will have TWO pictures in the calendar!

These are the two pictures that were chosen:

and

Needless to say, a celebration was in order:

"Om nom nom...mmmmmm, willow..."

"You do realize that we are going to have to renegotiate

my contract; after all, I am a top-of-the-line superbunmodel now.

I'm going to need more treats per day, a proper masseuse, 

some new thrones for sure...perhaps some Perrier in my water dish..."

*sigh*  Some bunnehs are just impossible to deal with...

Anyway, keep an eye on this blog, because once the calendar is available, there will most likely be a giveaway involved. Now, I need to fix His Majesty his breakfast before he decides he wants his lettuce hand-picked and his pellets polished. See you later! 

Guess Who's 5 Today!

"Five? Somebunny is five today?"

Yes, Mick--do you know who that somebunny is?

"Hmmmmm...let me think..."

"Nope, can't think of anybunny. Who's five today, Mum?"

Why don't you check out what the cookies say, Mick?

"..."

"Y'know, it would help if they were facing the right way..."

Oooops, sorry. Ok, I'll read them off for you: M-I-C-K-E-Y...

"Mickey? Mickey! Hey, that's me! I'm FIVE today! "

Yes, yes you are, Happy Birthday, Mick!

"Thanks, Mum! Hey, are these cookies? Mmmmm, cookies..."

Yes, those are Bunspace birthday cookies, and His Majesty has already eaten the "M" (which, as The Boy says, now makes him "ickey"...I hope not, a birthday butt-bath would not be cool.) He gets a letter a day so we don't end up with any tummy troubles.

Of course, somebunny had his own idea about what he should get for his birthday:

"Ooh, what's this? A whole container of oats for me?!"

"Empty?! Drats. No fair, Mum."

Yes, somebunny loves his oats, as evidenced by the mugging I suffer on a daily basis trying to put oats in his pellet dish:

In honor of Mick's birthday, we will be making a donation to the Berkshire Humane Society, which is where we adopted him. Happy Birthday, my baby bun!

A gift for Mr. Mick

Mr. Mick got a gift in the mail today; a lovely handknit scarf from his friend Speedy (the scarf was made by Speedy's mum).

Mick loved the scarf, and being the superbunmodel that he is, insisted on a photo session so he could show it off.

"Why yes, I am a dapper bun-about-town

and I can rock a scarf like nobody's business."

Unfortunately, his photographer (me) chose what Mr. Mick considered to be inferior material for the shot: 

"What the--?! What is THIS?! *digdigdig* A common SHEET?!

*digdigdig* Are you out of your mind?! I cannot be seen on THIS!

*digdigdig* WHERE IS MY THRONE?!"

His Majesty dug at the offending item until I convinced him that we only needed a couple more shots and that he would be compensated for his pain and suffering with some extra oats. That calmed him down somewhat.

"Hmph...fine...I suppose it will have to do...I am a professional, after all.

*grumbling* at least one of us is, anyway...a sheet, good gawd..."

"You are SO hearing from my agent about this."

*sigh* He is so difficult to work with sometimes...

By the way, if your bun would like a lovely scarf for him- or herself, Speedy and his mum are having a giveaway on his blog, and there are two scarves up for grabs, so go there and be sure to enter. 

Thanks very much for the awesome gift, Speedy and Rachel! 

All Caught Up

Okay, we've got one last bit of catching-up to do and then you'll be all caught up on what's been going on around here.

First off. check out this bit of adorableness:

It's a tissue box cover made to look like a couch--I had to laugh; my son saw it and said, "How's the rabbit supposed to fit on that?!"

Isn't it great? My friend Paula contacted me on Facebook about a friend of hers, Melinda (who is now my friend too), who was involved with a fundraiser for Junior Achievement selling these adorable covers in a variety of patterns. There were three that had rabbits on them; this is one of the other ones:

I immediately contacted Melinda and ordered one. You can order one, too--the fundraiser for JA is over, but Melinda has some covers left over and she is donating the proceeds from selling those to rabbit rescue. The covers cost $20 plus $5 shipping ($7 for international shipping), so if you are interested, please email me at jade@jademyst.com and I will give you Melinda's contact info.

In other news, this past Friday, I finished the second baby blanket I was making for my cousin's new daughter:

Here's a closeup of the pattern:

This and the other blanket I made will be given to my newest family member on Memorial Day. Next project on the list is a throw blanket for my niece and her new husband; they got married last month, so this will be their wedding gift. I'm just waiting for the yarn I ordered to get here so I can start.

And now, your moment of *squee*...

Wait, did I say *squee*? I'm sorry, I meant *SQUEE*!

A friend of mine sent me these pics: this is a nest of baby bunnehs found under the slide in the playground of one of the local preschools. The nest was not disturbed, and the children were allowed to peek, but NOT touch, and they are thriving quite well. The following pics were taken more recently:

Mr. Mick was gracious enough to allow me to post these pics instead of his own, although if you are looking for a Mick fix, feel free to click HERE--I asked The Boy if he would take some pictures of Mick for the annual Bunspace calendar contest--I wanted 10, he took over 200. These are the best of the bunch.

*whew* I thought I was never going to get caught up here. Yay!

To everyone and everybun--Mr. Mick and I wish you a Happy Memorial Day, and to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country, we say "Thank You and Bless You".