Spooktacular

A year ago today, Spook came into our lives. It was a totally unexpected development for me to have a rabbit, although I'd wanted one for a long time. He was so tense and afraid in those early months, and through the last semester of my undergrad, I was so busy that we didn't get a whole lot of quality time together. That, combined with the hectic nature of my household at the time, meant that his demeanor didn't get a whole lot more relaxed while I was living in New Orleans.

However, then we put him in the big orange truck with us and brought him to Chicago, and everything changed. In the three-ish months since we've gotten here, Spook and I have bonded to a degree that I could only have dreamed of, before. We have a morning routine where we hang out while the coffee's brewing, and we frequently cuddle with him lying on my stomach. Moving here helped so much, because he's near us all day, every day, and we interact with him constantly. I'm so thankful that he is a part of our little family, and I can't imagine our home without him.

(He had been sleeping, and opened his eyes because he heard me taking the picture. He sprawls out like this to sleep all the time, and I love it so much.)


So, Happy Birthday, little man. I can't wait to see what the next year will bring.

Day One

Well, today was my first day at Caribou! It was a lot of fun! There's so much new information to take in, but I think I'll have it under my belt soon. My manager and coworkers are really, really nice, and there's really nothing about this job that I don't like, so far. I have more training next weekend, but nothing tomorrow, so I'm going to be spending some quality time with Esperanza while I get a little much-needed R&R! I'm so glad I managed to get a job in coffee. Also, one of my closest friends, who was my inspiration to work in coffee, may be returning to her true calling soon! All of this is very good news, people. Very good news, indeed. Today was an entirely fabulous day. Spook fell asleep in my arms tonight, relaxed and clearly content. His heart rate was slow and steady, his paws and ears were relaxed, and his eyes closed. This is a huge step for us. He also gave me lots of kisses when he woke up--another recent bit of progress. Things are just getting better and better. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, Thanksgiving is suddenly here. I'm not sure when that happened. But, I'm certainly glad it's here. I'm getting some free time, which is so nice. I will be using a good bit of the break to finish up my grad school applications and get started on a couple of papers, but for today I am taking a well-deserved break. I got to work on my Holden a little yesterday, but I'm expecting to hit it really hard today.

In other news, Ben and I received a lovely holiday surprise yesterday. I was at my house, knitting on Holden and waiting for Ben to pick me up, when I got a phone call from him. He told me that on the way over, he narrowly avoided hitting a bunny who darted across the road in front of his truck. He was in the empty lot that the bunny had run into, and asked me to come over and see if I could get him to come to me. So, I drove over with a baggie of baby carrots in my pocket. When I got there, one of the neighbors told us that the bunny had been wandering around in the neighborhood for at least a month, and that they had been leaving food outside of their house for him. They said they had tried to catch him, but he was too fast, and they wished us luck.

So, I sat down in the lot near the bunny, and eventually he came close and ate some of the carrots, but he would run away if I touched him. After a while, I ran out of carrots, and he still hadn't warmed up to me much. So, Ben and I sort of gently stalked him around the lot, talking to him, keeping him calm. After rescuing him out of the street several times, and pursuing him for almost an hour, we were getting pretty discouraged. But then, I managed to move very quickly, and I scooped him up! Then, we brought him home and set him up with some cedar shavings and food.



Meet Spook!

He's still a little nervous (hence the name) but I think he'll warm up to us soon when he realizes he's home and safe. I've always wanted a bunny, but I haven't bought one for various reasons. But, I guess the cosmos decided the if I couldn't be brought to the bunny, that the bunny would be brought to me! This is going to be an adventure.

I hope everyone is having a lovely, relaxing holiday. I'm off to work on Holden, drink some wine, and eat some turkey!