Ginny's major malfunction

Sometimes an animal in a shelter or sanctuary will treat you one way when you interact with them at the shelter, and then be totally different the second you get them home.

I remember this happening with every cat we had when I was growing up.  The cat we picked out at the Humane Society was never the same cat who came home with us.  The second their paws hit the floor in our house their true colors came out.

Ginny is the most extreme example of this phenomenon I've ever encountered.  And the weird thing is she continued to dupe us for a while before she decided to get real.

I'll admit, I brought her home from River's Wish based purely on her cute, cute, cute looks.  She is absolutely pint-size and has the snowiest white fur with calico markings.  Freaking adorable.

She was one of the only unpaired rabbits at RW, so I thought she'd be a good third wheel to the brothers.  They worry me sometimes because they are SO joined at the hip it seems likely that when one of them passes, the other will be so heartbroken he'll soon follow.  

(I have such a good life I can afford to worry about stupid shit like that.  Also I'm using "worry" in the loosest sense of the word.) 

At River's Wish, she cuddled right up under my chin and fell asleep.  And this behavior, which is basically my dream behavior of any animal because it satisfies some need in me that I am not at all proud of, continued for about six weeks.

 She took real naps with me.  It was crazy.

And then all of a sudden she just wasn't that into us.

She's become the frostiest most curmudgeonly tiny white rabbit you'd ever care to meet.  

She's like an adorable child star who knows how to trade on her good looks but is an utter brat.

And damn if I don't love her all the more for her aloofness.  It is so incongruous with her schmoopy exterior it's hilarious.

Also we thought she was still a baby when we got her but she never grew any bigger.

My little Ebeneezer Thumbelina.

Love, J

Independence Day

The hubs has always and will always have to work the 4th of July.  So I have always and will always go to the Indians' game with my dad's family.  

Fair food

+

Entertainment

(20% watching the game, 80% visiting with Aunt Vikki)

+ 

Fireworks

- 

Having to wait around forever for the fireworks to start

=

A pretty darn good holiday

&

A great first baseball game for the Kid

Love, J

Homegirl meets the animals

I hadn't seen homegirl since she was actually homeinfant.  Nowadays she's living up to her name.  Her sweet mama came back from Sin City to run with her high school crew (and okay, her family too) for a little while and we hit River's Wish so E could meet the animals.

Kelly likes the goats and the goats like Kelly.

Gah - I haven't posted about RW since they took in Precious the sheep and her buddies.  Precious is the most aptly named animal in the world.  She was abused pretty horrifically before being rescued and is the most loveysquishybabydoll in all the world. 

I could show you a picture of us just like this from 15 years ago.  But it's in a scrapbook in some box in the basement, and I'm comfortable on the couch.  Another time. 

 S

Kit's in the throes of auction prep right now.  I'm taking a break from it this year and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad.  I do get itchy to pitch in when I see the work going on, but that's not any way to cure burnout.  So this year I'll attend as a guest and I will eat and drink and bid my bank account dry.  It's gonna be good.

Love, J

Edible zucchini

Normally zucchini is not great.  But if you lay it in flour and fry it in a pan, then mmmmm.

I cannot explain why this photo is sideways.  But you get the gist.

Love, J

Alice in my lap

I am first and foremost a weird rabbit lady.  But this little chicken has captured my heart.  I think if things had gone a little differently, I could have wound up a weird bird lady just as easy.  I think I'm just susceptible to weird (fill-in-your-animal-of-choice) lady-ness.

And then we tried to take a selfie, but neither of us are very good at it.

 Love, J

Washington, DC

I travel a little for work and have been sent to WA, DC a few times.  The hubs had never been (which is an abomination, since he used to teach history to high schoolers), so he tagged along went I went last fall.  And it. was. amazing.  I saw the same sites as I've seen on my own, but it was a million times more fun with him.

Actually, renting bikes from a kiosk and riding around to see the monuments in the middle of the night was a new experience for me.  And it was the most fun part of a really fun trip.  Everything is more majestic all lit up at night.

Love, J

Veggie quinoa

Despite a lot of take-out and stove avoidance in the heat, we really are eating a lot from the garden.  Most of it I eat raw - kale, beans, carrots.  Peas and strawberries earlier in the spring.

And if I want to cook, I just do it at 5 am while the kitchen's cool.  Here's my made-up recipe for veggie quinoa:

1. 1 cup quinoa, 2+ cups water in the rice cooker.  Put the rice cooker on the back porch and plug it in with an extension cord, so it won't heat up the kitchen.  Cook for ~18 minutes.

2.  Grate beet and sautee in a little bit of coconut oil.  After a few minutes add sliced carrot and cook til soft.

3.  Transfer beet/carrot mix to large mixing bowl.  Add sliced zucchini and chopped parsley.

4.  Boil sliced beans until barely tender (Al dente?  Or does that word apply only to pasta?) Drain when done and then add the beans to the beet bowl.

5.  When the quinoa's done cooking, stir it into the veggies.

I like to eat it cold.

Love, J

He drives

And it's as much fun as I thought it would be.  He drove us up around Belle Terre and then to the store for snacks.

Love, J

The garden in July

This guy right here deserves a lot of garden credit.  He built the beds; paths; greenhouse; fence; compost bays.  And now he's doing a chicken coop for Alice.  He's the best sport ever for bringing my ideas to life.  We're a good team - I just need to work on pacing myself so he doesn't end up working on too many projects at the same time. 

Last year was the first time I ever planted flowers - snapdragons and marigolds.  The snapdragons reseeded themselves and just sprung up as is, which was convenient.  The marigolds I started in the greenhouse using seeds I saved from last year's plants. 

I got one beet last year.  One.  This year the whole patch took off.  I did nothing different.  And last year the parsley was phenomenal while this year only 4 or 5 seeds even sprouted.  I can't figure stuff like that out.  I figure it keeps us from having the same exact garden every year and makes things exciting.

When seeds won't germinate or the marmots take out my starts and I've got a hole to fill, I just stick a zucchini there. 

 Canteloupe in the foreground.  I've never grown these before and had no idea is was so easy.  I started these from seed in the greenhouse and they are some of the happiest plants in the garden.  There are already 6-8 fruit forming.

My fancy new 3-bay compost facility is in the background here. 

Squash; pumpkins. 

I will not water the grass.  We haven't had to mow since May. 

The hubs built this pallet fence last fall, to give us a little privacy from the road.  Our lot is beautiful but it's weird not to have more of a real backyard. 

 Paul graduates from acupuncture to a chiropractor next week.  It's only his right hind leg that's not working now.  He still scoots around with commendable pluck.

The little white rabbit is Ginny.  She is the cutest bunny to ever live with us.  She's also a real jerk.  I'll formally introduce you another day. 

All that food growing outside our door and still we've been doing take out for at least half of our dinners because it is too damn hot to cook.  Also I'm tired from working in the garden.Love, J