4H

J decided to join 4H this year, in their Rabbit Club.  I have been thoroughly frustrated with this club for the past 8 months, because it has been extremely disorganized.  I also felt like we had to learn on our own how to take care of her rabbit, as well as how to show it.

We moved the bunny out of the Chick-bit house back in June because it was getting so hot in there, and rabbits don't do so well in the heat.  He has been living on our front deck, where it is always nice and shady, and gets great breezes.  J also aims his personal electric fan on him when it is super hot out.  He is living large, let me tell you.  Despite our care, his coat started turning orange-ish once we moved him outside.

At first we thought his second-hand cage was rusty, so we wire-brushed it and painted it.  Then we thought he was getting urine stains on his coat, so we tried multiple things to clean it.  Nothing worked.

According to the judge at the Rabbit Show at the County Fair this afternoon, he is "sunburnt".  This apparently can occur even if he is not in direct sunlight, simply from the heat.  The judge was very helpful, and suggested several things to try to keep him cooler, but although he commented that J's rabbit had a "very nice structure", he did not win 1st because of his coat.

J's red ribbon is hanging above her, and
Chaz is in his cage, though he's hard
to see.

 

A separate part of showing your rabbit in 4H is Showmanship.  This is where the 4H-er does a head to tail assessment of their rabbit in front of another judge.  J and I (and Chaz, the rabbit, of course) practiced Showmanship over and over and over for the past 6 weeks.  J placed 2nd in this, right behind her buddy, V, who has been showing rabbits in 4H for 4 years.

Here J is doing Showmanship with Chaz -
she appears to be examining his hind legs
at the moment.

 

I am so very proud of J for trying something new, sticking with it, and pulling off a great show.  You rock J Bird!

Completely Unexpected

I woke up this morning, anticipating a lazy, laid back kind of day.  We didn't have any concrete plans, except to perhaps watch a movie.

When I went in the kitchen to make my daily pot of coffee, there was a puddle of water coming out from under the refrigerator.  Great.  We had issues with the water for the ice maker/water dispenser leaking which cause flooding about 3 months ago!

Last time (luckily) the water drained through the floor and right into the girls' bathtub, which is directly below.  The paint above and around the shower surround bubbled up and peeled off, and I had intended to paint that bathroom this winter.  I even finally chose a paint color!

This time, the water again ran into the tub, staining and peeling more paint in the process.  It also travelled into the girls' room next door, and made a hole in the ceiling! 

Long story about the refrigerator, (which I actually blogged about back in 2009), The space for the refrigerator was too small, we couldn't open the doors, so our builder revised the plans and we consequently lost the door to our pantry.  Also, all of our appliances were from the Sears Scratch & Dent outfit near here, and almost every single one had problems that were more serious than scratches or dents.  When we tried to remove the fridge from the kitchen to be repaired or replaced back then, it wouldn't fit back out once the countertops were installed!  Back then, JP and 3 other men actually lifted it over the island to get it out.  Today, JP and I removed all the knobs from the base cabinets and slid it under.

We initially planned to order a new refrigerator, and had either Sears or Lowes had the right thing in stock, we may have a new refrigerator now.  They did not, and we do not.  The fridge is, however, the first thing you see when you walk in the door.  We discussed the issue, and we might just switch this one (since it still actually works) with the extra fridge, which is a bit smaller.  It's definitely the cheaper option.

While the fridge was empty, I decided to thoroughly clean it out, as it was fairly disgusting inside.  JP wondered why I did that since at that point in time, we intended to get a new one.  I told him that I didn't want the movers to think I was a slob!  Since we are likely keeping it, I'm glad it's clean!

During this whole clean up and moving process, J got a phone call from her buddy who lives up the road, to say that they were offered a bunny with a fancy pedigree, along with cage, feeder and water bottle for $20, would she be interested?

Ultimately, our friends brought the bunny by to see if we wanted it, and he now resides in the Chickbit house, along with our 14 hens.  He is a cute little thing, soft as velvet.  J and Granddad are formulating the perfect high-falutin' pedigree rabbit name, so for now he's just "Bunny."

Downstairs is still a mess, with the ceiling tiles out in the bathroom, plaster all over the floor in the girls' bedroom, and fans running both places.  I'm trying to avoid going down there, as it makes me feel sick to my stomach.

JP has run to town for rabbit supplies, and to pick up some dinner...we haven't eaten since breakfast!

I should really go downstairs and clean up a little bit.  I really should...