Me and You and a Bun Named Boo

Say hello to the newest member of my little family. Boo was brought home on 6 November 2011 as a new companion to my widowed mini-rex, Cinnamon. It was love at first sight for both of us.


Who can explain it, who can tell you why?
Fools give you reasons, wise men never try...
Some Enchanted Evening, by Rodgers and Hammerstein

The Meeting of the Buns

As of today, I am happy to announce that I am in the beginning stages of bonding my widow bunny Cinnamon to Boo, a beautiul white Holland mini-lop, we adopted through BunnyLu Adoptions. Besides being quite the handsome bun (snow white fur, bright blue eyes), Boo has a rather sad background. His original human companion passed away, and sadly her surviving family members (husband, daughter) were not interested in caring for him. He was being fed but that was about it. He has been starving for affection and when you meet him, you can see how sweet he is. But he has also never been with another rabbit before, so when Cinnamon, my mini-Rex with the princess attitude, came along, needless to say, he was, shall we say, EAGER? To my amazement, Cinnamon did not seem to mind the mounting at all, though I am very nervous he will hurt her.

Tonight when I brought them home, I put them in small square pens side by side, with the intention of putting them together each night for 15 minute sessions, increasing each session as their relationship strengthens. Tonight Boo kept mounting Cinnamon again and again, then he would sit quietly, and she would kiss his neck. At the fifteen minute mark, he got startled somehow--it happened too fast for me to see if she had nipped at him--and when he lunged at her, I broke it up. Now I have them in the carry cage next to me, trying to keep them together in one small space as frequently as I can. But I wonder now, am I progressing too slow? Are they already advanced in love, as a friend has just suggested, that I can give them the same small space? I certainly can't allow that when I am at work all day.

I hope I don't do this wrong! I want more than anything for both these rabbits to be happy. They need each other, they have both been so lonely but they are rabbits after all, and dominance issues and the territorial issues must be worked out first. I will be blogging often about their progress so I can keep a written history of a bonding, with the hope of learning better techniques and learning from mistakes (which I hope I don't make!) I certainly hope I don't bore you! Also, I welcome any and all suggestions as I go along documenting the love story of Cinnamon and Boo. Feel free to chime in at any time. (Photos to come soon.)

The Hoppy Vegan

Living (truly) in a Meat-Free Zone

I have been in my condo now a little less than a month, and among all the other emotional rides I have been experiencing the last few weeks with this situation, it struck me the other day as I was staring at my Meat-Free Zone magnet on my fridge that I am now truly living in a meat-free zone.

I have had that meat-free magnet for years on the fridge at the townhouse that my soon-to-be-ex husband now owns. I had stuck it on the freezer door even though it really wasn't a meat-free zone at the time. So many times I had to reach over cellophane-wrapped fish corpses to get to my Gardein chicken scallopini. Or worse, freezer-bagged sausages a.k.a. pig body parts, set aside for my husband's favorite dishes. I shudder just to recall those moments.

Perhaps I am just desparately seeking a bright side to this dark, painful process of marital separation and divorce, but it does give me some pleasure to see in my freezer only veggies, Gardein beefless tips, Candle Cafe entrees, leftover veggie chili...not a single animal part or entrail to be found. I wish that fleeting pleasure was enough to lift me from the sadness that permeates my soul every day as I look around and see how alone I am. The constant ache of aloneness can hardly be eradicated by the vegan inventory of my fridge (and my cabinets for that matter.) But it is something, I suppose, and the rebuilding of a life, and the search for happiness must start somewhere, even with trivial matters such as the contents of my pantry.

So Glad I'm Not an Oscar Mayer Weiner

"This year I'm going trick or treating as a VEGGIE dog."

Hoppy Halloween everyone!

The Hoppy Vegan

Cinnamon Vs. Tarantula

I think this would be a great idea for a 21st century B-movie. Knowing my princess bun Cinnamon, I believe she would kick the spider's a$$.

Rabbits in a Broken Home

We all know how traumatized young children can be when their parents get divorced. But what happens when your kids are rabbits?

This week I moved into my condo, though husband and I have legally been separated since June. I brought with me my widow bunny Cinnamon. Woodstock, who we had to euthanize this summer, had been her long time mate. It was very hard leaving my beloved Ruby, Cocoa, Ghirardelli and Willow, but space concerns--and consideration for Willow and Ghiri's ultimate happiness--precluded me from taking any of the others with me. But I worry that my Cinnamon is unhappy, even more so than when she watched her beloved boy slip away.

She is, thank God, eating and pooping just fine, so my initial fears of her going into G.I. stasis were alleviated. But she seems much more nervous, and though she has never been an overtly affectionate rabbit, she has been very stingy with her nose honks of late. I feel guilty that thanks to the chaos of moving and restarting my life, I haven't been able to work toward finding her a new partner, which I think will help her considerably--assuming she wants one, naturally. I am also well aware that sensitive creatures that rabbits are, she is picking up on my deep sadness and heartache. I am trying to keep a stiff upper lip for her, but it is hard when you're lonely and feel utterly rejected by people who used to be your family. To be alone after twenty years of marriage is hard--very hard--to adjust to. And dealing with my own feelings is hard enough--worrying about Cinnamon has only intensified my feelings of sorrow. How can I help her when I feel so vulnerable and empty myself? Any and all suggestions welcome.

Dunkin Donuts Just Doesn't Get It

Why won't the folks at Dunkin Donuts listen? Today they issued a tweet claiming they can make our coffee over 15,000 ways and asked if anyone had any new ways to add to this list. I couldn't resist responding with a comment that said, in effect, instead of that waste of time, why don't you work on creating a vegan doughnut so that you can attract the countless souls who love your coffee but can't enjoy it because you offer nothing for them to eat??And I mean, nothing! They sell cappuccino, breakfast sandwiches, muffins, etc. but not ONE SINGLE ITEM is vegan. They don't even offer soymilk. Get with it, people! I miss my Dunkins coffee. I grew up in Massachusetts, where you can't spit without hitting a Dunkin Donuts. Way back then, I drank my coffee "regular" , meaning milk and two sugars and usually had a cruller or sugar-glazed donut. Yummmmmmmy! I miss that experience but now I must have the coffee black. Not that I go to Dunkins much. I'm a Starbucks gal now. They're progressive and they recognize a vegan clientele. If only Dunkins Donuts would do the same.