what i'm thinking about these days

life goes on, the same as always but different: i keep trying to build my profile as a doula and i think i am succeeding in creating an online presence, people do sometimes refer to me with questions about babies and children, but it isn't translating into work.

i've written a couple more blog posts for a parenting magazine, one about vaccination and one about....well, about waiting i suppose. i'm happy to do it and i've had nice feedback and heaven knows i like nice feedback but it doesnt put crowns on teeth, shoes on feet or food on the table.

my husband isnt working at the moment and is contracted not to discuss that situation so i guess i wont, except to say it has all been a bit of an adjustment. we are living on savings and my question is, for a normally conservative person, how much more conservative do i need to get? or do i just go on my normal way and work on the theory of abundance?

i continue to shop at sydney's major fruit & veg market most fridays and i enjoy that; if i was a bit less reserved i would ask some of the stall holders if i could take their photos. each and every one of them is larger than life, my absolute favourite is a guy who wears a hat made from apple cartons, i laugh every time i see it but now that autumn has arrived i wont be seeing it until next summer.

i've managed to lose some weight, not sure  how much because i dont really know what i started at but it is at least 3kg which is great. if weight loss was linear i would be on track to lose 10kg this year but of course, weight loss is not usually linear so we will see what we will see. i have become a lot more aware of what i put in  my mouth and that is a good thing. i'm considering it all to be a win.

the family has expanded by a factor of two rabbits. honey and django are sisters, 9 weeks old, rather adorable, permanently hungry and razor sharp of claw. the name honey is up for review. rabbits are a delight, even when they make ribbons of one's skin.

my visits to the immigration detention centre are at a temporary standstill due to a ham fisted and ill advised attempt to supply contraband. i did know at some level that alcohol was not tolerated in that place but i didnt really think about it. my six week exclusion will end just in time for my birthday. it's all a bit silly considering that my identity was not even verified at the time, it could have been one of my many enemies setting me up. it's all tragically funny or funnily tragic. or something.

i'm having a bad run with my back at the moment, i've probably been to the chiro five times already this year and i have a wicked stiff neck again now. i want a personal chiropractor and i keep suggesting it as a possible career path for my kids but they just roll their eyes and talk of music, science and cake making.

aside from all of that, what i think, feel and experience is all the normal stuff: what will i make for dinner? why are we out of milk? is there fresh bread for tomorrow's sandwiches? why are there four used tea towels in the kitchen? why doesnt anyone but me notice when the bins need emptying? all the big questions, you know.......

bella the white rabbit

this is bella. we wandered in to the pet shop in passing yesterday, as is traditional and among the wee bunnies for sale at prices of $70 and up was bella. free. at 18 weeks she and her two brothers were too old to sell.
i hadn't anticipated getting another rabbit but well, she was free and she needed a home and we know rabbits. bella is a sweet sweet thing and i'm glad to welcome her here but there is something very, very wrong with this picture.
at 18 weeks she is still very young and very cute and it appalls me that she could become essentially worthless so soon. how long would she have been kept in the shop before she was offloaded to someone who didnt care in the slightest......or worse?
why is there such an oversupply that a rabbit like bella can't be sold and do the breeders have any concern for the future of their animals?
will the people who pay top dollar for a younger animal tire of it by the time it reaches 18 weeks?
the whole thing is so unsavoury.

Less Wascaly

I've introduced Taffy and that ratbag Anzac, finally you get to meet Jet. There are no stories about Jet, he's just a quiet, cautious, well behaved gentleman. I would trust Jet, if there was a reason to trust a rabbit, he's reliable. When Jet was about one his family needed to move and couldn't take him with them, so when he was advertised we got him to keep Anzac company. He was a bit fatter then. The vet I took Anzac to that funny day told me that bunnies can get health problems if their diet is too rich, they should only eat lucerne hay and fresh foods, rabbit mixes with the seeds and all that stuff can be a bit much for them. I'm sure the bunnies are less than impressed....they love sunflower seeds and now they aint gettin em. Anyway Jet has lost his big double chin on Utopian rations.

He looks slightly demonic in this picture, it was hard to get a good one because Anzac thought he should be in front and Kylie was getting too flustered to think straight and remove him.

Wascaly Wabbits

Some years ago now a colleague of my husband's had a white rabbit, a doe. She liked to go a wandering and in her travels she must have met a wild (read feral) rabbit because next thing she produced a litter of little grey bunnies. We adopted one of these little guys and unsure of whether it was he or she we named it Sam (Samuel or Samantha).

Sam was eventually proven to be a boy and we kept him for about 18 months. Like his Mum before him, he had the wanderlust. One day he went for a walk and didn't come back. Sam was the original and he was wonderful and I could tell you much, much more but we're here for Anzac.

I wanted to replace Sam pretty quickly, the kids were just little and missed him dreadfully. I took no.1 son with me to have a squizz at some rabbits advertised in the local paper and he picked Anzac. Zakky, as he is known, was an adorable 6 week old bundle of fluff.

He has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment (in the nicest possible way). After a few months we thought it would be nice for him to have some company and got Jet. Jet will groom Anzac for hours but when it's Anzac's turn.....well, a couple of licks will do. He doesn't want to be cuddled anymore and I had to have him neutered because he loved to spray.

When he goes for a walk he will lie on the grass oh so casually and I think an eagle could swoop and carry him off before he knew what was happening. Lucky for him suburban Sydney is a bit short of eagles.

One time he was lying very, very still and for quite a long time. Concerned that he might be sick and with a long weekend approaching I was worried enough to take him to the vet. He proved me silly because I walked in with a very exhausted and lethargic rabbit who immediately came to life. We eventually decided that a bout of manic hole digging had tired him out and he just needed a little trip in the car to make him feel better.

The things we do, eh?