Vaccination time

It's going to be another early start tomorrow, as I have booked Hugo and Miss Eve to see Dani, one of the vets, for their myxi vaccination. In fact, I am not sure if they're going to have the myxi or the VHD vaccination tomorrow, since both have never been given the latter at the shelters where they spent some time before coming here.
In addition, Hugo has been sneezing quite a lot recently, and Miss Eve's nose seems to be constantly humid, a bit like a dog, so... I am hoping that it is not pasteurella!

On the knitting front, I am making progress with the "Drops Jacket":



The back and the left front are done, and now I am halfway through the right front. Not long and I shall be casting on for the sleeves! The not so positive side is that I have not knitted on the shawl for my sister for a while... all those stitches are making it difficult to knit a row only, and my excuse is that I am not going soon to visit, so it doesn't matter if I put it aside for a bit, right?

Lush green grass and dandelions

Now I want a salad for dinner!

Bookcrossing

I went to the Bookcrossing meetup in Nottingham yesterday...I haven't been for ages, and thanks to my travels I could bring all these books...
Now, the plan was to come home without picking up any of the books offered, but then I saw Stephen Booth's "Blind To The Bones" and I couldn't have left it there...I've read the first two books in the series and they were very good (well, if you like well written mysteries, that's it!).
I was convinced to bring home also a copy of Tess Gerritsen's "Body Double", but only because Maureen wrote a great journal entry. I am a soft touch, oh yes!

Two other books I am reading at the same time with Sue Grafton's: "The Great Stink" by Clare Clark, a mystery playing in London around 1850, and the new investigation of the Jack the Ripper's case by Patricia Cornwell. After a slow start, I am loving Clare Clark's book and getting to know the protagonists better and better. The Ripper book is only at the very beginning...I am curious because it looks as if the majority of people I know that have read it didn't really enjoy it, preferring Cornwell's mysteries with Miss Scarpetta.

Another weekend indoors

Spring is somewhere, but certainly it hasn't properly reached Great Britain. Temperatures are still low (+10 C is not certainly what I'd call mild!) and the wind from the East is blowing cold, so no time in the garden for the bunnies.
They still have their out-time in the house, and they make the best of it:



In Hugo, the need for activity is more the need to clean is white coat...he is moulting like there's no tomorrow, and three to four times a day I can pluck two handfuls of white fluff... I wonder if it is any good for spinning??

Thank you to...

I don't seem to be able to find much time to update the blog, although I certainly don't lack the material...it's time that is a rare commodity these days.
Nevertheless, I now do have to make time to say thank you to some wonderful people, namely limegreenjelly aka freestylefibre for being my secret partner in the Ravelry UK Swap... see what I got:



limegreenjelly is a true fibre artist - have a look also at her website and her etsy shop.

Opening the box has been so much fun...see the bunny theme there?



these are the cutest stitch markers ever!

My very first skein of Noro Kureyon Sock - the colours are just me!



and some superyummy Hipknits Silk Aran



This yarn is so incredible... I received 400g of it and I am still debating what to do with it. I was thinking of something like Juliet, but I would need to redo all the calculations, because the gauge is completely different. Any suggestions?

And then, at the end of March, while I was working in Scotland for a few days, Mr. D called me to tell me that a small parcel from Germany had arrived, which left me puzzled no end. The mystery was solved upon my return home: a jiffy bag from Suessstoff contained this:



Isn't it the cutest notebook?? And it has Hugo's twin on the cover:



Thank you so much, girls! You made me very happy and make me feel very spoiled indeed :)

Knitting again

I have a few UFOs that I need to sort out, for example the Norah Gaughan shawl that is still disassembled in their components, but I wanted to knit something new, springlike:

this shawl knitted with Sirdar Tropicana answers my quest for spring - it is so green and soft, so nice...but I am knitting it on my Denise needles, since I have some extra long cords to use just for this type of work, but the plastic tips are struggling a bit with the yarn :(
I have ordered 4.5mm Addi turbo, and while I think that steel needles will be perfect for the job, I am not sure that a length of 100cm will be enough to accommodate the shawl. We shall see!

I also started a Clapotis using this:

It's Binario Print by Lana Grossa... very yummy, but...how do I join in another skein without knots? For once, I feel like being a bit anarchic and going against the Knitting Police...hmmm... decisions, decisions...

Anya's meme of 5

Crafty Green Poet tagged Hugo back in February, and although I am very late I am back here to keep the promise...never let a tag slip unnoticed, especially when it regards bunnies! I am typing as Hugo is telling me his answers... So, here we go:

1. Favourite songs/music
1) the theme music of "Watership Down"...I bet all bunnies like it!
2) the sound of pumpkin seeds rattled in the tupperware
3) the bunny songs my mum sings to me (she only does it when no one is around!)
4) Ocean Rain by Echo and the Bunnymen - good thing Anya reminded me of them!
5) the song to a Honda ad for a clean engine car... plenty of white bunnies like me shooting arrows at the nasty polluting engines there >:x

2. Favourite toys
1) Owl! It's the only thing I groom - I never groom other bunnies or humans.
2) my large jingle ball
3) old pillows to lie under and sometimes chew
4) a willow ring
5) empty toilet paper rolls to chuck around

3. Favourite food
1) pumpkin seeds!
2) dandelions
3) banana
4) broccoli
5) celery leaves

4. Favourite activities
1) getting groomed from Miss Eve
2) getting head rubs and body massage from the humans
3) binkying down the stairs and along the living room
4) flopping next to my pillows
5) looking dignified

5. Bad habits
1) peeing next to the utility room door (I only do it when I am cross at mum, honest!)
2) digging in the corner of the living room (near the staircase)
3) not wanting to groom Miss Eve (but then she's a girl, so why should I?)
4) chewing everything cardboard (hardback books, and mum is not impressed...)
5) I too, just like Anya, am too adorable to have more than 4 bad habits... just ask mum!


Phew... and because Miss Eve wants her side of the story too, here's her take on the meme:

1. Favourite songs/music
1) the theme music of "Watership Down"...I like it too!
2) the sound of pellets being weighed in the kitchen (why she can't just fill the bowl I don't know)
3) the bunny songs my mum sings to us buns when she's giving head rubs and body massages
4) mum whistling calling for food being served
5) the sound of the paper bag rustling when hay is being served

2. Favourite toys
1) the large jingle ball - I love tossing it around and making noise!
2) Hugo's Owl... I give it a groom every now and then, after chinning it, because it's mine!
3) Hugo's old pillows to crawl under and chew
4) empty toilet paper rolls to chuck around
5) mum's jeans to pull and tug

3. Favourite food
1) pellets! gimme gimme gimme!
2) banana and more banana
3) carrots
4) broccoli
5) apple

4. Favourite activities
1) running around and binkying
2) getting head rubs and body massage from the humans
3) eating pellets
4) digging & chewing carpets and rugs
5) chewing books (see what I mean?)


5. Bad habits
1) chewing books
2) digging the carpet
3) chewing the carpet
4) chewing everything fabric (mum's jeans too!)
5) digging in the litter tray
PS: mum says I have more than 5 bad habits, but I am a Dutch and I am allowed to! >:x

Escaping bunnies' wrath

No, I couldn't just leave it like that... Miss Eve quizzed me as why she was not on my blog with her bunspace link? Well, what could I say... ash over my head, I sinned!



Miss Eve is so dynamic, it's a tough job to catch her standing still... unless of course she wants to get some head rubs, or she's having her nose in the bowl of pellets!
I was a bit worried that Hugo will come short of a dinner with her, the missy being so food obsessed, but he impressed me developing a faster pace when munching on pellets, and occasionally headbutting her (just like she does with him) to get better access to food. The same fight doesn't happen with the greens, but then again the greens bowl is much larger...



The two are really doing well together, but the "grooming" sessions seem to go one way only: Miss Eve grooms Hugo...



and more Miss Eve grooming Hugo. He's such a macho bun...will present his head to be groomed and ignore her attempt to be groomed. What can you do?