Oh So Pinteresting Wednesday - some beaded pins

Week 3 now - moving right along!

This week, I'm talking about 2 pins I've beaded together.  One was from a Pinterest post, the other is one I put together myself.

The inspired piece was this one.  The original pin was just a jpg online, no website or etsy shop or blog or anything that I can give credit too.  The best I can find is a photobucket album, with only the one picture in it.  So, to whomever first made this piece, I liked it enough to make my own version, and I wish I could credit you.

It's an interesting variation on a necklace, just paired pins joined with chains and beads.  Something different to a necklace, but still dresses up an outfit.  I've worn it as a sweater chain as well, attached to the two fronts of a cardigan.  I like that how the drape of the chains can be adjusted by repositioning the pins, too.  The little things, you know?

 

While I was picking up supplies for the above piece, I had to go to JoAnn's for a few pieces - the pins, really.  I had all the chains and beads in my own stash.  But I did need the pins with the loops for attachments, so off to the craft store I went.  And of course, being a craft store trip, I found a few other goodies as well.  I was especially excited to find this locket, with a bunny embossed on the front.  It called out to be a pin!

 

So, using one of the other brooch pins from the package, I draped some silver chain and some linked pearl beads, and there you go:  a simple little shawl pin - with a bunny! 

Pre-race fun!

We're here in Long Beach!  Race weekend all ready!

(The logo above is from the goody bag we received with our shirts and numbers and all. I really like that more races are going to the reusable drawstring backpacks for their swag bags.  More earth-friendly, and I certainly do use them!)

Of course, any good race expo means fun racing stuff!  And with expo sales too :)  I found a SPI Belt like I'd been looking for.  None of my running shorts have pockets, and if I'm going on a shorter run, it's nice to have someplace to stick the phone, keys, iPod, etc.  It's amazing how much the pocket stretches to hold!

The fun find of the day, though, was a Sock Guy sock sale!  They have some of the cutest socks!  As you can see, I found several pairs that were very "me."  The penguin pair says "Cold Feet  Warm Heart" on the bottom, and the bunny ones say "Chubby Bunny."  The watermelon socks don't say anything on the bottom, but are the pinkest socks I've ever seen!  In case you hadn't realized, bunnies and penguins are my running mascots ("quick like a bunny!") and two of my favorite critters, so I nearly squealed out loud in the expo.  And for watermelon, well, I have been known to try and eat my weight in it during summertime...  These 3 socks were just "me" and too much fun to resist :)

The expo and start/finish line areas were all at the Long Beach Convention Center and the adjacent Rainbow Lagoon City Park.

As you can see in these pictures, it was perfect running weather!!  The temperatures hung out in the 60s, with plenty of clouds and just a bit of mist or fog.  For a long run, that's AWESOME weather - couldn't have asked for better!  And just being closer to the water made for easier breathing too.  Heck, just being out of the desert helped with that!  Looking forward to the race!!  Bring it on, Long Beach!

International Rabbit Day!

I know I lost my Joey back in April, but that doesn't mean I can't still celebrate International Rabbit Day! This is celebrated each year in September to raise awareness about rabbits as pets. So many people think they are like gerbils or goldfish or something, a relatively 'disposable' pet. They don't realize that rabbits will live 6-10 years, have tons of personality, and are really more like dogs or cats as pets go. I can't even count the number of times I've heard the eating rabbits joke from relatively well-meaning but crass and/or uneducated people talking about my pet. I don't make jokes about poodle stew when you talk about your dog; why do you think it's clever to talk about my rabbit that way? Rabbits require care and attention and investment in time and "bunny-proofing" as far as houses go. But with that time and care, they make lovely pets!

So, take today as a day to learn a little more about a wonderful and more unusual pet that can bring some smiles (and lots of poop!) to your daily life :)

(steps off soapbox now)

A lot of rabbit rescue organizations have fundraisers and special events at about this same time. Check out the House Rabbit Society page for more events celebrating Rabbit Day.

Make Mine Chocolate is another great rabbit charity, which focuses their efforts at Easter time. Apparently there are parents who consider a live animal is a great pet for Easter baskets. Make Mine Chocolate works to get information out about rabbits as pets, so that people will only invest in a bunny as a pet if they truly want one. If they are looking for something cute and bunny-ish for an Easter basket, well, like the title says, Make Mine Chocolate!

J is for...

Joey's Influence.

It has now been one month since I lost my baby buns, but I still miss him terribly. After being so important to me for so long, I doubt the ache will pass quickly. His presence is still missed.

I know I have mentioned this before, but since Zach's allergies prevent us from having another bunny, there are lots of other ways bunnies have found their way into our house. Though, in all honesty, this started well before I lost Joey - you have a bunny, and they are such sweet and quirky little guys with such big personalities that they start spreading their influence rather quickly. Mugs, hot mitts, fabric... I see lots of little bunny things in our house. Bunny-ness is just a way of life!

And yes, this includes my knitting. These are just a few of the bunny-influenced knitting accessories currently in my stash. I also have a set of little silver rabbit beads, which will be Joey-specific stitch markers, accented with pastel and chocolate brown beads.

Aside from stitch markers and project holders and project bags and the like, there are lots of bunny patterns that I have found that have been on my queue just waiting for me to have time. And with my handsome boy being such a pretty chocolate brown, many of these patterns will have that color reflected somewhere. The Samhain Hare Tee has both bunnies and Celtic knot work, so it is definitely on the queue. Rabbits in the Grass and the Blue Rabbit Hat are both chances for me to practice my Fair Isle. The Happy Rabbit Carrot Hat is one that I will have to reverse-engineer, but I have Zach's full approval to make it for myself as a silly winter hat! The Pesky Rabbits Tea Cozy is also adorable, and I just need to find a good tea pot to use it with. It will remain on the queue until we find a teapot :) And 2008's Dishcloth KAL had a bunny dishcloth in March.

One pattern, not obviously bunny-related, is a memorial project I plan on making. Right before I lost Joey, I found a skein of yarn on Etsy dyed in a colorway named Chasing Bunnies. One of the colors in the project is a beautiful chocolate brown, just like my baby bun. It's a sock yarn, so a good amount for a little shawl-lette or triangular scarf. I have found one on Ravelry called the Moonlight Sonata Scarf. The lace pattern it's based on is called Sunspots. I look at it though, and can see bunny tails disappearing into the lace background. So, my scarf will be referred to as Adoratails, and I will think of little chocolate bunny tails disappearing into the garden at sunset (those are the colors in the yarn - see it below?). A good lace pattern for a yarn dubbed Chasing Bunnies. This will be my wrap when I need the comfort that Joey gave me for so many years.

I is for...

Inspection Committee!

I used to have a very thorough inspection process before I began projects. Joey insisted that he have approval and disapproval rights for yarn being used. As you know, bunnies are full of disapproval, so it was a very strict process indeed.

Honestly, though, it never was an intentional thing. I just find it very funny that the bunny was very curious about whatever yarn I had laid out. Because if he was out and about while I was sorting yarn, he would come over and investigate. In reality, I think he smelled the cedar sachets that I keep in the yarn tubs, but it's more fun to think that he was inspecting my choices. :)

Scruffy has his part in the inspection process as well, though he seems to be more interested once the yarn is no longer in skeins. He really doesn't pay attention to the yarn if it's not "on the loose" and thus a threat to the household. He is interested in the yarn once it is in projects, too. Of course, it's a running joke in the house that he cannot actually sit just on the floor, but has to sit ON something on the floor. My projects spread out as I take pictures are a perfect example of something to sit on.

More stitch markers!

Yeah, I'm just enjoying playing with the pretty shinies :) So, here are a few more example sets that I've worked on. I'm getting better at twisting the wire up at the top of the marker. I think that's the hardest part, pressing in the last tail end of the wire to keep it snag-free.

And at Easter, M&Ms came in these cute little bunny boxes. So, now my markers are in a bunny boxes! Yes, silliness, but I like it. I've already told Zach that since I cannot have another living bunny because of his allergies, there will be many examples of other sorts of bunnies making their way into the house. This is just one example.

Farewell, my baby buns

This is absolutely heartbreaking for me to write, but last night I lost my little Joey buns.

He had been hiding a tumor on his stomach, a health problem that bunnies are unfortunately subject to. We hadn't caught it; he still binkied and grumped and explored and begged for treats and was much his usual self until this past weekend when he started going downhill. We took him into the emergency vet yesterday afternoon (nearly a 3 hr drive from the remote place we are stuck at now). I think it was worth the drive, because I could see the x-ray and see what was wrong and we were able to get some pain medicine in him, so his last few hours did not hurt.

I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye to him at the vets', so we brought him home, and he passed away while we were driving back (like I said, nearly a 3 hour drive). He died in my arms, so I know he was warm and loved until the end, and I hope that he could tell that too. He gave me a few kisses on the car ride home, a rarity (he never was a kissy bunny) and though he was fading noticeably over the drives down and back, he didn't leave me until I could honestly tell him that he didn't need to be brave any more, that if he had to go, he could go. It was shortly after that that he left me. I am not one of those people who reads TONS of meaning into my pets' activities, but this is one of those cases where I do think that he was looking out for me.

Joey was one of those special pets that comes along. I had him for nearly 5 years (would have been 5 in July) so I think he was about 6, as I adopted him from someone else. He was the first pet in my life that was "mine" not "the family's". And he was definitely "Mama's buns." My husband was... well, tolerated but Joey never really warmed to Zach the way he did to me. But then, for nearly 2 1/2 years, it was just Joey and me. Joey was with me through a very trying time in my life - being alone in that place at that time, I needed him badly. While I was in South Carolina dealing with the wonderful coworkers and clients at Horrible Job, Joey was the one constant bright spot in my days. Zach was elsewhere in the country for different trainings, and Mom and Anne were still back in VA, but Joey was there for me. I could come home and have him to play with and share my salad fixins with, and relax a bit. I honestly still feel that if I hadn't had him then, I wouldn't have made it through that point in my life nearly as well as I did.

I took Joey into Town today to have him cremated. My mother-in-law has already said that we can spread his ashes at their garden back home (her "garden" is almost an acre - they live on a farm). It is on a hill, so my little climber will have a good view up on a hill and plenty of veggies surrounding him. I think it will be a good place for him. I talked to him the whole way into Town today, telling him all about the garden and how much he would like it there, and about the Rainbow Bridge and the other sweet pets we know who will be his welcoming committee there.

I think this is extra heartbreaking for me because Joey will be my first and last bunny. Zach is very allergic to hay, but knew that Joey was important enough to me to not fight having him when we moved in together. Zach only came into my life about 2 months before Joey did, but Joey was actually with me the whole time, while Zach was stationed about. Zach knew that Joey was important, and it is something I have appreciated a lot these last few years . Zach did like him though - he went and picked some flowers for Joey this morning, a hard thing to do in the desert, even in spring. Even though Joey was a Mama's Buns, Zach will miss him too. He was a very special bunny.

I'm sorry if this post is incoherent or rambling; I am still crying a lot as I write this up. People may not understand how much personality and love you can have from "just a bunny" but most of our friends have had a special pet, and can understand the loss. When Harvey (Anne's cat) died recently, she found a quote by Leo Dworken. "No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch." That's such a good quote, and so true for many pets, not just cats.

Joey, you will always have a very special place in my heart. You will always be my baby bunny.

Joseph B. Buns. Mr. Inquisi-nose. My little grumpus. King of the Mountain. My sweet little absurdity.

My Joey.