Bailey the Puppy.

Vann Christmas this year was highlighted by two events:
1. The most snow Winston-Salem has ever seen for a white Christmas
2. The arrival of Bailey the puppy

Bailey is my brother's (Herb) new golden retriever pup. She's a cutie and I loved playing with her.


Bailey playing in the snow.



Here is my nephew (Harriss) and Bailey.




And me with Bailey... I still love Skip to death, don't worry. Though, I think if I could have a puppy and a rabbit coexisting in my home I'd try to pull it off. But let's be realistic, Skip would die of a heart attack if a puppy moved in. He's even afraid of the twinkle lights, for goodness sake.

Thanks to Herb, Mary Beth, Harriss, Charles, and little Jake for letting Aunt Ruth have some puppy time!

(Lapine) Kindred Spirits.

So, today I was in Petsmart buying Skip some new rabbit litter when an older gentlemen walked through the sliding doors.

I knew he was a rabbit owner the minute I laid eyes on him. He had that lapine way about him. I ended up in line behind him at the check out register.

"Do you have a rabbit, sir?"
"Why yes! I have 4 house rabbits, in fact."
Note: This explains the large cartload of hay, pellets, and litter.
"What kind?"
"Three Holland lops (not the mini kind but the full sized ones) and a Fuzzy lop."
Note: I've never heard of a "fuzzy lop" but I didn't ask.
He went on... "They're couples... the four of them, I mean."
Note: I wanted to ask if they were fixed but that was obvious. Otherwise he would have reported owning 20 rabbits.
I say "I have just one. His name is Skip and he's a Netherland Dwarf."
"You must have spent some time with him to make him a good house rabbit. That breed tends to get pretty skittish" he says.
"Yes. We've been working on that." I'm wondering what to say next... not because I'm at a loss of questions but because there is so much to say and chat about. And now he's finished his purchase... and now he's leaving... oh no! Do I ask for his phone number? That's weird. He's married and might think I'm trying to pick up an old man! He turns and says, "Have a Merry Christmas with Skip!" I wish him the same. He leaves. oh well.

Rabbit owners are hard to come by, at least house rabbit owners. I am sure that if circumstances had been different, we could have talked for hours. Lapine lovers are rare and special.

Mean Reds.

A little bit of some mean reds (not blues) have descended on me. Mournful and not sure what I'm mourning. Reading Jane Eyre and feeling sorry for her (and me?). Silliness. There's a battle in my mind and I hope I'm winning.

A meal of shapes is in order. Dinosaur chicken nuggets. Rabbit mac n cheese.

Pride before the fall... my life may serve as a warning to others

Some people can hide their pride fairly well. This has never been possible for me. Reality always lets me know that I'm not the person I've puffed myself up to be.

Examples:
1. In college I go on my first skiing trip and decide I'm too cool for the bunny slope. The result? 1.5 hours of skiing, falling, getting, up, skiing etc. and an incident involving a descent down into the forest going backwards.

2. Two years ago I decide that I'm really hard core and show off by climbing up a rock that I promptly fall off of and score an ACL severing, meniscus tear, and $6,000 in medical expenses. Awesome.

3. Today I listen to the radio detailing the school delays and say out loud, "School delay? Wimps. There's nothing dangerous about these roads." Within seconds Gus (my Jetta) decides to ice skate across the street and into someone's yard. All is well. But, lesson learned... for now.

Pride is not just ugly. It's dangerous. Humility is safety.