Monday Bunday

It's been quite a while since a Monday Bunday has been posted on The Qi Papers what with one thing and another and NaNoWriMo too. Recently, Amelia discovered the joys of hay burrowing and tossing the other day. She is hoping for a green Christmas.

The hay in question is "Crazy Tasty Hay" from Bingaling Bunny Box.

Tagged by Crafty Green Poet

illustration from Assemblage

I was amazed and pleased when Crafty Green Poet asked me to take part in The Next Big Thing. 

It works like this: a writer answers ten questions about an upcoming publication and they tag five more writers. Each of these writers answers the ten questions by the following week and they recommend five more writers. It grows, week by week.


Crafty Green Poet has any number  of works of her own published and in progress. I would say that our main connection has been through rabbits, even though she lives in Scotland, the internet has made it possible to for us to be friends and have many mutual rabbity friends. A poet, as the name implies, her Haikus are achingly pungent, so you can imagine that I cannot wait to read her novel, Tidal. You can visit her blog by clicking HERE.

Which leads us on to my answers to the Next Big Thing questions about my works in progress. It is supposed to just be about one work, but I am terribly tempted to say something about the NaNoWriMo novel that I am tapping away at this very month; sometimes I feel like an idiot with a laptop, but I think that may be the whole point. Therefore there will be double entries for the questions. The first one is my completed "book".

What is the title of your new book (s)?

Assemblage

Living WIthout Mathematics  

Where did the idea come from for the book(s)?

Assemblage: I've been carrying the idea for parts of this book around for very a long time, you could say all my life and even before that. It is an intertwining of stories fact and primarily fiction about my family, digging as far back as great grandparents: one set of which are fictional and one factual with fictitious adventures. It is self described as an Autofictionography. Rather than the element of time holding the stories together there are underlying subtle themes, one of which is, of course, rabbits. It is illustrated with photos of rabbits and of my ancestors, as well as some illustrations by my own hand. 

Another from Assemblage

Living Without Mathematics: that's the working title. The basic idea came from being a very small part of a nearby group of environmentally concerned folk whose area is in danger of being Fracked. It's a sort of murder mystery, cop show and nature/environment book rolled into one. Truth be told I don't know really where these ideas come from. I think they will be one thing, but then sitting down and writing them out they turn into something else that is, luckily, more enticing for me to write than my original thought, wouldn't it be terribly dull to write what you had planned?

What genre does your book fall under?
Assemblage, as revealed in the paragraph above is an Autofictionogrpahy.

Living WIthout Mathematics,  would be crime, there are different sorts of crimes in it. 



What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Assemblage: could only be stop action animation or, in my dreams, animation from the great Hayao Miyazuki

Living Without Mathematics: The main characters are Al Randall, Rado Perez, and Fleur Waterford (not her given name) Al could only be played by Robert Downey Jr: Rado would be quite good with Antonio Banderas. Fleur might just flourish played by Audrey Tautou.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book(s)?
Assemblage: an interwoven collection of mostly fictional memories.

Living Without Mathematics: Two cops, a women who grew up thinking she was a dog, a dead body and a greedy oil company.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Self published, watch this blog! Assemblage will have a limited printed run available through my Etsy store and will also be downloadable as a Kindle through Amazon.com. I would imagine the same will be true for Living Without Mathematics but not for a year.


How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

A month each of the books were written, are being written, during November of last and htis year. 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Good question, I would hate to even begin to compare them with other writers, the brave will have to take an look and tell me.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The first one, Assemblage, was written during NaNoWriMo at the urgent insistence of another rabbit slave, Bunny Lady. The second, well, it just seemed natural to try again, besides it's annoying having words in one's head all the time.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

There are rabbits is both books, there is cooking and food, there are flawed characters with internal conflicts, and there's some dialog. If you were Alice, you might be somewhat entertained. 

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 

`and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?'

Tea? anyone?

The Writers I’m Tagging

The G-man

Brian Miller

Shakira

Bonnie Koenig

Fumiko Takatsu

Friday Flash 55 #14

Kitchen messy, clothes adorn the bedroom floor archipelago fashion. Verbal communication, tersely delivered. Chocolate consumption on the rise. “What’s for dinner mom?” “Dunno, what’s on the stove.” “Broccoli and hot dogs.” “GMO free hotdogs.” It can only be that time of the year NaNoWriMo. Behind on work count, 12,541, but not out of the running.

Friday Flash 55 stems from da G-man

Bhutan (front) and his buddy Earle Grey are part of THIS Rabbit Haven rescue.

Friday Flash 55 #13

Friday Flash 55 is exponentially expanded by National Novel Writing Month wherein I must write 50,000 words. Somehow I managed this last year with only a teeny bit of “cheating”. This year I am trying for a proper plot as opposed to an assemblage of stories. To keep the theme shall I aim for 55,555?

Big shout out to the G-Man

Friday Flash 55 #12

Not impressed by young people who had had their lives changed by taking Ayawaska with shamans in the the Amazon. He suspected it was part of an arranged tour. Everything was arranged and planned, be it by the little guy or big Pharma. Everything except the moment of now and the breath, in and out.

Friday Flash 55 comes to The Qi Papers via the G-man.

Friday Flash 55 #11

She was an enticing mystery; possibly a scurrilous past. She shied away from him,  a policeman. He unfairly ticketed her car hoping she would protest. She paid on-line. He had to meet her face to face. A body from the morgue in her driveway did the trick. “Yes, ma’am someone will be right over.”

Flash 55 is the brainchild of G-man

Friday Flash 55 #10

The Old Master had come from the Age of Miracles, monks flew, fairies came to tea. Everyone wanted to see magic. 

The crowd gasped when the dragon snatched the girl from it midst. 

Trampling all, they chased its glittering trail 
until they dropped dead, exhausted. 

The Old Master just said “They got what they wanted.”

Water Dragon Moku Hanga print is at my Etsy Shop

Flash 55 format is the brainchild of the G-man.

Treats

Rabbits help the world by consuming food that is edible but is not necessarily appealing to humans. For instance I scored A LOT of organic carrot greens at the Farmer's Market. Concerned they would go bad before the rabbits got to finish them, I put them in the dehydrator. Voila` carrot top hay. It is a very popular item on the menu. It all part of the cycle since the litter box contents goes into the garden or is given away to other gardeners. 

It  may be they like dried carrot tops even better than fresh ones, maybe it's the CRUNCH.

Friday Flash 55 #9

Handing them a flier, the Park Ranger told them all dogs had to be on a leash. 

Later: 

“ Why did he give us this? We don’t have a dog.”

“Maybe he thought the kiddo was a dog.”

I’d been mistaken for a boy before, but a dog?
This was exciting. 
My career as shapeshifter began.

Gypsy (Tibetan Mastiff) with Corn Lilies
photo by Nick Moll

Friday Flash 55 was started by G-man HERE

Friday Flash 55 #8

Kitagawa Utamaro
A Flirt, Edo period 1791-1792
(re-print from re-cut blocks)

A present to the man from Japanese colleagues, the nipple consigned her to a drawer in the family home. Decades passed tucked up with old tax returns. By chance she was found by aged children, her mica sparkle, subtle coloring and elegantly embossed printing admired. Framed and hung, she is home after half a century. 

Flash 55 is part of the G-man's plan for world domination.

Blog Abduction

Alarm was sounded via Facebook today that our friends at Houseful of Rabbits had been abducted. It was conjectured as well they entered a witness protection program or had been shut down for sending coded messages to aliens. However, none of it was true. Firstly, RG and BL and all the Bunns are just fine, the absence of their blog was due some sort of Google error. You can check out whether they are back or not by clicking this link http://houseofrabbits.blogspot.com/  We wish them a swift return to blogosphere.

Getting ready for take off.

Flash Friday 55 #7

The rabbits outside were too fast and shy to paint. Foraging afield, the baker’s boy found a baby one. Hand fed, it lived in the artist’s studio. The hare thrived and they trusted each other. Sleeping in the sun the rabbit lost himself in dream while the artist found him with his brush on paper. 

Oh, yeah and Flash 55 Friday has it's command post 

at the GMan's blog.

Daikon Outside

Daikon got to go out in the Blueberry Bunny Park today. It is a bit smaller than in the past because some of the bushes are still else where being  protected from the birds. Despite the diminished size all the bunnies still consider it plenty of fun. Daikon needed no coaxing or explicit directions to make his way outside. Although outdoor hazards for bunnies are to be considered-myxomatosis, roundworm, aerial predators, ground predators-these are minimized or non-existant in the Blueberry Park. During the day in the sun there are no mosquitos to carry myxomatosis, additionally the weather has not been right for hatching. Myxomatosis is also carried by fleas, but these, again are not in evidence. Roundworm which can be on the bottom of raccoon's feet does not survive in warm, dry areas. Since I am in and out of the house, and I can see him from the kitchen window, he is well supervised, and there is plenty of options for cover. 

"You lookin' at me? then I'm gonna look at YOU!"

"Amelia is right! gardening is fun for a bun."

"Watch me bink! oops you blinked."

Flash Friday 55 #6

“Let’s go to Paris for three weeks.”

“I have work in two weeks.”

“Not worth it to go for less, this summer then.”

“Are we going? it’s the summer.”

“I don’t trust anyone to water the garden, maybe in the fall.”

“Teaching starts up....”

“Are you really leaving me?”

“We will always have Paris, not.”

Flash Friday 55 comes from G-Man

Thinking

Flash Friday 55 #5

After passing the physical, the kid handed Sarge a written test with a perfect score. Sarge had a letter from a shrink the kid had seen, something about feeling unloved, no big deal, but nobody got a perfect score. Nobody. He wrote IV-F next the kid’s name: registrant not qualified for any military service.

Friday Flash 55 stems from G Man

Vintage Bandit

I found some photo proofs from 1998 of baby Bandit, 

my first official, though illegal, house rabbit.

Baby Bandit compared to my martial arts shoe, she got much bigger.

She loved the vacuum, it was her BFF

Ruling the roost from day one.

An innovator in the use of rocks.

Eat more kale.

Friday Flash 55 #4

A close call. My patient brought her 6 year old son. She needed time alone with the acupuncture needles.  I lured him out with books. After reading one about fish the next was The Velveteen Rabbit. I started tearing up around the time the rabbit got real...luckily it was time to check on mom.

This is Hermes he was my foster rabbit for much of last year. He is a Rex rabbit.
Rex's have no undercoat resulting is fur like velvet(een).
He did find his forever home and you can read about it HERE.
You can find out more about rescue rabbits and the Rabbit Haven HERE

Friday Flash 55 is the brain child of the Gman HERE

Amelia

Testing

Choosing

Procuring

Enjoying

The End

Flash Friday 55 #4

She wore her pants tight enough to feel like a country western song and prayed out loud until the gas pump accepted her soon to be X husband’s credit card. With a tankful and a full can she drove by the house one last time, burning bridges was bad, burning his stupid car was exhilarating. 

Flash Friday 55 is par tof GMan's master plan, his blog is HERE.

Two Harriets

excerpt from A Rabbit's Middle Way

Two Harriets
obviously different
 yet the same bun

 opposites 

       are 

           the same

                    only

                            the middle

                                  is 

                             different

                           from 

                                 either 

                                         extreme

                                                       jump in!

Friday Flash 55 Number Three

“I hate to cook, I’ve cooked for over fifty years.”

“I could cook you some food and 

put it in the freezer to heat and eat later.”

“ I don’t need or want help, I just don’t want to cook.”

And so, even when we offered to bring the food,

 the holiday family dinners were forever cancelled. 

Flash 55 comes from the G Man OVER HERE

Good Morning

Sydney Spot

Sydney is fine, but she is up for "Most Likely to Be Taken To The Vet" award. I had heard somebun cough the day before, that coupled with a morning episode of phlegmy hacking and more coughing later was enough to send me to the phone. Though it seemed probable that the morning episode was the result of a pellet being snarfled before chewing properly. By the time the afternoon rolled around she seemed fine, eating, grooming, checking out the playroom (DS bedroom). Tyler unvoluntarily accompanied her, just for fun, on my part not his. Everything was fine, teeth, lungs,  ears, eyes, tummy. We agreed that it was just a pellet incident. There is a tremendous amount of excitement around pellets. Sydney was weighed at the vet and she weighed exactly the same as she did about a year ago. It has been about nine months since we transitioned to Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Food M/S. In some circles it is controversial that they put some alfalfa in their adult rabbit formula, it is thought that will make rabbits fat as it is too rich. Sydney says otherwise, she maintains that it is a balanced formula and even has improved the quality of her fur.

Friday Flash 55 #3

The glass blower tossed bits and bobs from his craft into the river that lead to the sea. During low tides these scraps returned as tumbled fairy gems, washing onto the beach or burrowing up from the sands. Magical beach combing had brought them together until she realized it was only magic, not love.

Friday Flash 55 roots are HERE

What In The World

Amelia shows her pearly whites, good dental health is important for all animals

Years ago I had one of those stat counters on the side of my blog that tells you who is visiting and where they are from and what they had for breakfast. After a couple weeks I had to remove it because I felt too self conscious around it. With the newish blogger format there is an easily accessed stat counter, which I visit from time to time out of curiosity. Most of my visitors are from the US, in very close second for the last few months is.......can you guess? Do you know who you are? in very close second is RUSSIA. Will someone or two or three of you Russians PLEASE tell me what you are finding of interest? One of my Face Book friends suggested that there could be some sort of hacking going on through my blog. Could that be? I would much rather think there is an interest in house rabbits in Russia.....

Friday Flash 55 Number Two

Friday Flash 55 originates HERE

She gasped loudly, looking at her finger tip on the cutting board, considered ice, the ER, stitches, follow up doctor visits, expense. 
“Mom are you ok? when is dinner?” Her son called from his room. 
Grabbing a towel for the blood, she washed off the board and a bit of herself went down the drain.

Friday 55

To know more about Friday 55 go HERE
Here is my 55 word story.

Because I had previously straightened my money and was quite certain there was nothing else in my pocket, I knew that the card which fell, as if from those same dollars could not have come from ordinary reality. Cautiously, I bent and retrieved the card, it was an ace of hearts with Elvis Presley presiding.

Sometimes

SOMETIMES

BLACK

AND

WHITE

IS ALL YOU NEED

A Better Pellet

WARNING: there are lots of links in this post.

Daikon examines the Jade Plant for possible GMOs

I am very much against consuming GMO food products for myself and my loved ones, and naturally that includes the rabbits. If you have not thought about this issue or think that consuming GMO is ok I urge you to read this ARTICLE.  I have fed Oxbox pellets for over a decade, assuming that my vet and local rabbit rescue knew what was right and good, imagine my shock when I took the trouble to read the Oxbow Adult Rabbit label. These are the first 8 ingredients: Timothy Grass Meal, Soybean Hulls, Wheat Middlings, Soybean Meal, Cane Molasses, Sodium Bentonite, Soybean Oil. Soy hulls and wheat middlings sound like the floor sweepings from a processing plant. Oxbox claims that Soy protein is good for rabbits, but soy, unless it is organic is most likely genetically modified, now more than ever before. In the top eight ingredients almost half are GMOS. Many studies have shown a link to organ disruption, infertility, and offspring mortality for animals fed GMO products. Here's a nifty link to a Danish Pig farmer and his experience with GMO soy and non-GMO soy THE LINK You may be thinking that since you don't breed your rabbits, there being plenty of bunnies needing homes without making more, that it doesn't matter if your bun has some GMO soy; but it does. It matters for the general health of the rabbit and it matters for the health of the planet. GMOs effect pollinators, for example GE corn is treated with a pesticide that contains neonicotinoids, which is also in Roundup, and which may be responsible for Bee Colony Collapse.  I need not tell you how important bees are in respect to the growing of food. GMOs are currently killing the Monarch Butterfly through Roundup Ready GE Corn. Let us return briefly to the label. Cane molasses is byproduct of the sugar industry, though not as sweet as sugar, I'm not sure I want to feed it to my rabbit. Eighth in line is soybean oil, GMO and probably rancid. What to do? Google of course, investigation and  plenty of label reading lead me to Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Food. The label that I have that came with the product has alfalfa as the second ingredient, the label on the web has it as the first, that brings us the whole adult rabbits shouldn't get alfalfa hay unless they are wool producers rule. The party line around here has been that alfalfa is too rich and high in calcium for adult rabbits. These bunny urban myths are addressed by Sherwood HERE. The Sherwood pellets smell very fresh and look tasty. My rabbits are all quite enthusiastic about them, ok Amelia has jumped over the pen a couple times when she thought I was slow in serving. You can buy Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Food HERE.

The Spots grow their own blueberries to ensure purity