Abit Of Time Outside

Jaks has finally started to eat on his own...phew!
SO...
This weekend we were able to take turns being outside. 
One of us was outside making sure Ella Luna and Roo got some fresh air and exercise
whiles the other was inside keeping Jaks company as he continues to heal.
Poor little guy just can't go out for another couple of weeks at least, which really sucks because
the rabbits just love the fall with it's crisp air, cozy winds and falling leaves.

I've been working on this new image and spent abit of time on it outside this weekend...

...The grey squirrels came by to offer some cuteness, to say hello and to collect some peanuts...

...and the flowers seemed extra lovely.

  The nights around here are getting quite cold and we know they won't last much longer now...

Today is technically a 'Back To Work' day,
last week was the official time for that but as you know Jaks got very sick. 
Now, I am having a hard time finding the groove of my studio routine. 
I find myself whirling about in circles and constantly drifting back to
Jaks who I am still worried about and to Ella Luna who is very crickety and quiet this morning.

I still have quite a few summer photos to share with you all.
Shots from a blues festival we went to.  Shots from an airshow.  Shots from a biking excursion.
Maybe today is a good day to edit some photos and get all of those queued up.
But I think I will also work with my coloured pencils and bounce between Jaks and Jins room
and Ella Luna and Roo's room as I work on 2 illustrations.

Hoping your all finding your September groove. 

XO A Bunny Tired Bijou XO

Bunny Brooch

I just wanted to hop in and show you all a little felt, stitched & beaded brooch I just finished up.

I've made 5 of these little cuties so far and am having a ball with them.

I'll let you know when it's available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Thanks oodles to everyone sending us and Jaks well wishes & healing energies...

it means so much and touches my heart warmly...hugs to you all. 

Jaks is abit better today...another positive update will follow soon hopefully.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and I hope you can hop in for a visit next week.

XO Mandy, Ella Luna, Roo, Jaks and Jinny

Update

As I sit in constant vigil over our Jaks, I take a few minutes here and there to work on this new coloured pencil...I think I must dive into something for the sake of sanity and for the sake of my forever creatively itchy fingers and soul.  Coloured pencils fit the bill at the moment since they are so mobile and easy to pick up and drop when attention is needed elsewhere.

I thought I'd hop in with an update.
He's still with us...
we THINK he's taking small steps of improvement...
This is the 6th scary & exhausting day of this ailment...
but late last night in the wee hours of a new dawning day he started to poop
and this morning he started to nibble on his own, just abit and not nearly enough but the interest in food is a good sign and brought tears to our eyes...
He doesn't look half as sick as he is (well the first couple of days he looked bad).
I don't think he knows what danger he is in...
but this is a good thing because he's very active despite the awful wounds from the awful infection.
He's playing with Jinny & being his silly self and probably we are looking more tired than he is!
Going on days 6 of him not eating or pooing like he needs to be is just not good...
but we are not giving up and we're so impressed by this little rabbits strength.

So it's been antibiotic doses ever 12 hours...

He does have an infection despite our diligent cleaning twice daily
(tonight he'll get a nice warm soothing bath)...

It's force feedings of small herbivore critical care ever 4 hours...
Motility Injections ever 8 hours (which thankfully he doesn't feel at all)...

and a veggie slurry with fresh squeezed pineapple juice of our own making every few hours as well.
The bromide in the pineapple & the enzymes in the greens are very important

to help enhance and motivate motility....

It's lots of gentle tummy massages which Jonathan learnt how to do last year...

It's exercise sessions in the wide open basement living room, since movement is very important...

We at least don't have to worry about him being dehydrated for he's taking in lots of water on his own.

It's been a very rough few days...but yes, he's still with us, our sweet little Jak-a-boo.

I just won't handle it if my boy dies because of this...a skin infection gone horribly wrong

(again I can't afford details, it's still too raw)...

I know we take really good care of the buns, I know this but it was obviously not enough.  

I am here and present with them almost 365 days a year...I can't help but blame myself.

I had him in my arms just the day before all this started...he looked & acted completely normal.

I didn't realize what was going on underneath a patch of fur.

I didn't have reason to suspect anything but still I should have checked somehow...

my intuition or whatever six sense I should have had failed me and I feel like I've failed him.

...

In between mixed moments of despair and hope

and in between moments of humbling clarity and dazed exhaustion,

I am grateful for:

Jonathan, who is so so strong and who is taking care of me whiles we take care of our babe...

For my honey's amazing boss, who is supportive of Jonathan working from home during all this...

For a pile of Artful Blogging magazines giving me some needed eye candy...

For the healing of my left hand, after skinning it pretty badly last week!...

For a threatening bladder infection staying at bay, so far!!!...

For a reprieve from a long strain of really bad migraines...

For the hot showers at the end of these recent days...

For favourite old shows like The Cosby Show and Ally MacBeal giving us a chuckle now and than...

For pot after pot of peppermint tea and honeyed green teas...

For my juicer and the healthful fresh squeezed apple, carrot, ginger drinks we get from it...

For the rainy, cold and gloomy days which seem to companionably echo our current days...

For Ella Luna and Roo's patience as we do spend almost 24 hours tending to 'the others'...

For the soothing tinkling of my fish tank which lulls me to sleep when we do manage an hour or two...

And

For the fact that even amongst all this panic and upset, I can still find oodles to be grateful for...

Keep sending us those positive well wishes and good energies,

I am passing each and every one of them along to Jaks.

XO Mandy and Jonathan and Jaks and Jinster XO

A VERY sick Jaks...

Well it's not looking like we'll be getting back to a new studio season quite yet.

We've had a very very sick bunny since Thursday morning...

one day Jaks was perfectly fine and the next something was drastically wrong...

In short (and sparing everyone details) what happened was that he was bitten by a bug & developed

the worst skin infection we've ever seen.

It seemed to develop and spread over night on his back & bum

It all started under a little matt of fur that we didn't even notice until it had all gone horribly bad...

but after a rough 48 hours, we're tentatively hopeful that we're taking steps toward healing...

though now we're also dealing with a very difficult case of g.i. stasis because of what happened.

After 3 days apart, Jinny is now allowed to be with him and she's really helping to keep

his spirits up & is giving him lots of kisses and snuggles...

(this was Jaks last month...most of his fur on the back end & legs has had to be shaved off :C)

He's still not out of the woods by any means, with the g.i. stasis still present and danger of infection in the wounds...so do please send our sweet boy some extra good vibes and positive thoughts & hope...

And maybe perhaps some good mojo for us too.

It's been so scary & unlike any rabbit ailment we've seen in 15 years of having buns.

Well this is about all I can manage to write this evening.

I'll hop in again as soon as I can, hopefully with some good news.

August Newsletter

The August Newsletter has just gone out...

If you would like to view it, just click right here.

or

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Thanks Everyone...have a superb evening.

XO A Peppermint Tea Sipping Bijou On A Rainy Evening XO

Today

It's the end of what has been a very stressful month...

Long story short:

there was a lump in my boob which lead to doctors visits and was followed by mammograms and tests

and call backs for more crappy mammograms, than ultrasounds and a biopsy

than the torturous waiting for results...

But I am just back from my doctors with happy news

that though I might have to have the lump removed

it's still nothing to worry about because it's not cancerous tissue...

Well I am just ready to start a fresh month...

Where hopefully Ella Lunas leg will be doing abit better...

where I'll dive into some yoga...

where I'll be able to breathe deeply..

and where I'll have long days all cozy like with my honey and bunnies...

...and long days with my work...

(These coloured pencils heads are for some mixed media piece I am working on lately)

Life can be scary can't it...

but boy oh boy these worries & blips along the way can put things into perspective quite rapidly!

And for that, I am feeling very grateful.

So although I do have  a sore head to tend to today (it started up with last nights downpour) 

Today's agenda is a simple one:  

First, a leisurely cup of coffee with a chapter of a book...

Than it's outside we go for an afternoon with bunnies & coloured pencils...

It'll be a great day...

and I am breathing...ahhhh....

Wishing you all a stress-free and lovely lovely day.

XO Mandy XO

p.s. My August newsletter goes out later today...if you would like to receive it just sign up here.

The Visitor

So you may be wondering why our Jinster is looking awfully grumpy & annoyed here...

 

Well, ha ha...it's because 'The Visitor' decided on an unannounced & unwelcome visit again this year...

 

This groundhog seems to be quite the docile sweetheart...

quite large actually, about the size of Roo...

He seems fearful of the rabbits but the bunnies just look at him with a look that sort of says
'Umm, What the hell are you doing in my yard...'
I think actually Jaks was saying something alittle more rude here, ha ha...

 

 

Of course we try to get him out of the bunny areas as quickly as possible...

but he does have the habit of just popping in announced.

(hence my thorough yard inspection every day before bunnies go out!).

 

Have a wonderful day.

 

XO Mandy

Beautiful and Generous Gifts

I can't let another day go by without showing you all some amazingly beautiful & generous gifts

I recieved in the mail over the past couple of months...

My lovely blogland pal & fellow rabbit lover Annette Tait, from Edinburgh

sent me this beautiful rabbit softie called "Elegance"

I won her in one of Annette's generous blog giveaway & now she sits on our bed looking lovely...

 It was before I had won the draw for Elegance, that we had decided to do a trade...

I was so excited to get these 2 ornaments.

I am wild about them & they now hang from my sewing table lamp...

Not only did she send me these goodies but also so many greetings cards & even a rabbit wall decal.

I was just blown away by these amazing gifts from Annette.

Check out her blog here and her Etsy shop right here.

Than came another package.

This time from my speacil pal Shell...

Shell & I met through our blogs & were kindred spirits from the start.

To celebrate The Year of The Rabbit & in honour of some of her fav bunny peeps...

She sent the sweetest pillow ever, one of her creations & designs...

She didn't just send one....but TWO...

They now grace our little bedroom breakfast area & they make my heart smile everytime I pass them.

Check our Michelle May's blog here and her lovely shop right here.

Than....

I won another giveaway

this time from Donna Swan of Lavender Rabbit Studio...

The giveaway was this sweet & pretty necklace set...

I just love it & wear it often...

But not only did she send the necklace but she sent the bunnies some goodies too.

I've never had anyone, let alone a person I've never met before, send my babies treats, wow...

It touched my heart so so much.

Check out Donna's blog here and her shop right here.

All of these beauties mean so much & are now among my favourite things in our cozy little house.

They are even more beautiful and loved when I think of the kind & generous & unique woman who sent them my way....thanks lovely lovely ladies.

XO Bijou XO

The Piebird Goats

Remember I told you guys that I had some goat photos to show you all...
Well here they are....aren't they beauties...these are the Piebird Goats...
We get to visit and converse with them whenever we go to a Piebird concert
(Which we actually did again just this past Friday, a post will follow on that soon).

I've ALWAYS wanted goats of my own (and a donkey!)
Maybe someday...if we move out to the country for my rabbit sanctuary dream...
We'll see...the country has been calling to us lately, that's for sure.
In the meantime I'll bask in the funny sweetness of the Piebird goats....ahhhhh.

XO A Bijou whose off to a mid-afternoon matinee XO 

New Prints Now Available

Visit my Etsy Shop to purchase any or all of these new prints.

(Or visit just to have an eye-ful of colourful, positive, thoughtful, unique & inspirational work.)

Outside with Babies

So when most people are waking up, driving to work and spending their days

perhaps in an office type of setting with fellow co-workers...

I have a completely different schedule and routine...

I wake up and feed the 4 hungry mess makers right away and
soon after it's time to hop down into the yards to make sure all is safe for all to come out,

Then there's usually a stampede of little rabbity feet

4 little precious bunnies who are anxious to get out to munch grass, dig, dig, dig & sleep...

I drag my coloured pencils and such outside and spend the days outside with 4 rabbits... 

We know not to take this lovely routine for granted, we grab everyday outside that we can...

Some of you may be asking 'where are Jinny & Jaky'...well it's no secret that they strongly dislike Ella Luna and Roo and vice versa...so to keep everyone happy and nip & stress-free we have the two couples in separate parts of the yard....our yard has the priority of being 'bunny-friendly' zones, ha ha. 

Roo Boo gave us quite the scare last week though, whew!

He suddenly was holding his head severely to the right and

jerking it back spasmodically and refusing to eat his most favourite treats!

He was rushed to the doctors...

We were warned that it could be the beginning symptoms of a neuroglical disease (panic enters here!)...

but the symptoms disappeared 4 hours later as quickly as the started, soooo we're hoping really hard that it was just some kind of random ear/neck cramp...Poor Roo...but he's all good now.

It really kind of jarred me, not just because something was obviously wrong with my big boy

but I think that I've been soooo focused on Ella Luna for the last 2 years of dealing with that nasty nasty abscess and now the aftermath of surgeries leaving her legs weak...that I somehow forgot that things will and can go wrong with my other babes too...

I truly think a big part of me is in constant panic/worry mode!

Anyhoo...today, we'll all good...and we are all outside so we're extra good, ha ha.

Have a wonderful day everyone...even if your stuck indoors!

XO Mandy and her 4 grass munching buns XO

Leda

So back to some artwork, as promised...

I admit to not being super busy in the studio these last few weeks,

but than a gals gotta enjoy some summer holidays with her honey-pie too...

I thought you may all like to see my beautiful goddess

"Leda"

She is a woman in tune & in complete alignment with nature...it is she and she is it...



Here is how she came about...

I am still trying to figure out what kind of frames to put on them.  I am thinking ornate gold ones.

Prints of them will be available by the end of this week I believe.

Well, I spent a couple hours at the dentist this morning.

A couple hours at the movies with my mom in the afternoon.

Next on the agenda is quite abit of paperwork in the studio (yuck!)

But part of that paperwork is because I was the lucky recipient of an

Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance Grant,

which is so wonderful & helps me out alot to cover costs from my last solo exhibition, so YAAAYYY.

Than, hopefully I am looking at a good couple hours with my prismas...

Hope your week is off to a good start.

XO Mandy