Bunnies and other issues.

1 bag of sweet timothy hay: $4.50
1 bag of rabbit pellets: $8.00
30 feet of vinyl tubing to bunny proof our electrical cords $12.00

A rabbit that has the run of the house: priceless

We aren't there yet. He is still a very naughty adolescent bunny, but we are gearing him up for house rabbit status. So far he is using his litter box successfully. I had one major mishap with him this morning while I was working. I wasn't paying attention til I heard a big thump. When I looked up, I saw that Theo had eaten half the spine of a very expensive book. (1st edition of 'The Silence of Heaven...' OUCH. Clearly I have to find a new home for my books!)

But we are really enjoying the little guy. He is sweet.


In other news: My parents came from Newfoundland to spend a month in RI. They are renting a beach house about a 1/2 hour away. I am looking forward to hanging out with them there. They have a new dog, so it wouldn't have worked if they stayed with us. Plus, frankly, it drives them crazy to be in the midst of our household. And it drives me crazy that even when they are staying with us, we never see them because they always have so much scheduled. This arrangement will probably work much better.

I get depressed every time they come down, though. I always feel like we just suck at long distance relationships. None of us are the type to chat on the phone much. And we haven't figured out how to manage the time we are together very well. When they are here or we are there, the distance between us becomes so much more real. Last summer, we went to visit them and by the end of the week I was pretty freaked out. Being a guest in someone's house is really hard... especially with a couple of little kids. And the realization that that is basically the only option started to sink in. I got really sad that they live so far away. Getting stranded in the airport in St. Johns didn't help matters much. We got fogged in and had to spend half a night in a motel and then get up at 3 am in order to make the next plane out. I couldn't reach my husband, who was in Vietnam. I couldn't reach my parents. My phone card didn't seem to be working. And my cell phone doesn't have service in NL.

I don't know how people do this business of living a gazillion miles from their families. If you have a clue... let me know.