Happy Belated Birthday, Cinnamon!

Cinnamon, a.k.a. Princess Bun

Yes, I have been a very negligent blogger these last few months. The Hoppy Vegan has been focusing on becoming a Hoppy Yogi in pursuit of perfecting her yoga practice and getting fit, all the while still finding time to spoil rotten my beloved fur kids, Benjamin and his beloved gal Cinnamon, who turned 9 years old this past May.  She has lost weight since the beginning of the year, but she needed to, and except for the periodic tummy ache (one of which she just had last night), she has been doing very well for an elder bun. She can still hit some solid speed when she comes dashing out from the bedroom hall. And of course she takes great pleasure in nipping Ben in the butt when she thinks he needs it.  She grows a LITTLE more tolerant of my holding her as she gets older, but overall, she is still quite a stingy gal when it comes to doling out nose bonks of affection. Still, she is my precious girl, who I have had the joy of knowing since she was only 2 months old. May she live several more years making me and her boy Benjamin happy as can be.

My preferred boon--or rather, bun--companions



Benjamin and Cinnamon

Today is one of those days in which I feel such deep gratitude for having rabbits as my companions and such despair for the human race. Unlike many people in this world, rabbits are not petty or selfish or spiteful or revengeful. They do not lie and are never hostile.  They do not try to make others miserable, indeed they bring joy and love to their human friends and expect nothing in return, unlike human relationships, where there always seems to be an expected quid pro quo, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves that we truly love the other person more than we love ourselves.  I so much prefer the company of rabbits to that of quite a few people I have encountered during my time on earth in this life.

As a species, we have a long way to go to be worthy of the other creatures on this planet and the planet itself. We are deeply flawed and can learn so much
from the animals we treasure in our lives, as long as we pay attention.  To ignore all that they teach, we do so at our own peril.

Harmony With Yoga and Rabbits

In my neverending quest to find inner peace, I've returned to the hatha yoga practice I abandoned--God knows why--twelve years ago. Last night I rediscovered the challenges of doing yoga practice with two eager bunnies who wish to investigate the strange postures their mama is twisting herself into every night. Benjamin in particular has a serious foot fetish;  he does not care whether I do downward facing dog or bridge pose, as long as he has total access to my toes, which he inexplicably loves to lick (best to my knowledge, there is no carrot juice in my nail polish).  Cinnamon was very concerned as I lay stretched out in corpse pose (more pleasantly known as savasana) at the end of last night's session.  She leapt onto my belly and sniffed at my face, as if to make sure I was still breathing. Ah what a journey my rabbits and I have embarked on! Namaste, bunnies and readers.

Rest in peace, my beloved boy



Ghirardelli, my "George Clooney"

 We met at a local shelter in 2005.  He kept tugging on my sleeve (and therefore, my heart).  A week later he was in our home, despite our vows to keep our rabbit family limited to four.  My ex-husband (still husband at the time) built him a cube cage because we knew eventually we would find him a mate.

Ghirardelli was a bunny who never learned the meaning of the word crepuscular. He loved to play at midnight and keep us up late, which only expedited our search for a mate to keep him occupied.  His first bunwife was a bunny from Jersey named Polly, a hardheaded but softhearted lop who came from a rescue situation in which she had to defend herself against 30 or so other rabbits. With assistance from Susan Wong at Friends of Rabbits, Ghiri and Polly eventually bonded and became a wonderful loving bunny couple. When Polly died in 2008, we knew we had to find him another mate soon. Willow, our one-eyed, one-eared lop, became bunwife number 2. They lived a happy life together, and I missed them terribly after my husband and I separated and eventually divorced.  I could not bear to remove them from the home they knew (they lived in huge cube cage we nicknamed Thump Tower). Today a selfish part of me wishes so much that I had brought them with me, along with Cinnamon. But I knew, since I had to find a new mate for my widowed bunny Cinnamon, that four rabbits was beyond what I could afford or have room for in my new condo.

At the time of his death, Ghirardelli was living in Florida with my ex and his mate, Willow.  He had stopped eating, apparently, and they found him gone one day when they came home. Binky free, my sweet handsome boy, or as I used to call you, my George Clooney. You are with Polly now, and I have no doubt you are raising hell at the Bridge as you were both wont to do in life.  I will carry you in my heart forever. Love, your forever bunny mom, Paulette.

Absent Bunnies

My beloved Ghirardelli and Willow---this was taken 3 years ago, a lifetime it seems. They are no longer with me--they live with my ex-husband in another state, and I will never see them again. The Hoppy Vegan is missing them so very much this St. Patrick's Day. I raise my glass to make a toast. Here's to absent rabbits.

The following is a link to a video set to the lovely song "Absent Friends" by the Irish band Lunasa. Enjoy!

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=lunasa+absent+friends&mid=B48FFB586C91F34AEB5EB48FFB586C91F34AEB5E&view=detail&FORM=VIRE3

Pizza Pizza - Where is the pizza?

Okay, my vegan bitch today is the following:

What the heck happened to vegan pizza? Where is it? My local Whole Paycheck--er, Foods--doesn't sell any brand of it. Plenty of gluten free pizza, Annie's brand pizza, but not a vegan one to be found.  Tofurkey Pizza, the brand I usually get,  has been gone for months--even Mom's Organic Market doesn't carry it anymore. And I just learned Daiya Cheese is putting out its own pizza line. Where can a serious vegan pizza lover get her pizza fix?

Sure, I could take the time to make my own pizza, but I am not quite that ambitious enough to do that after a twelve hour work and commuting day.

Okay, enough bitching. Did y'all catch SNL with Justin Timberlake and the great Veganville sketch?? Funny! Catch it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLPUWyanRR8


The Hoppy Vegan

Bad to the Bun