Carrot Tops

As soon as the CSA folks heard we had a bun with a serious affinity for carrot tops, they were happy to indulge us (and Olive). Thanks, Binghamton Harvest and Binghamton Urban Farms!

I Hope You Don't Need Me for the Next Three Months

Come Monday, I'll be back at school. The following week, I'm off for Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah, then the shit gets real. My list of course materials is disconcertingly extensive; nothing compared to last spring's list, which also scared the shit out of me. Little did I know what was coming. Here it is (sans books for Holistic Health Practices, which haven't yet been published), both because maybe it's interesting but mostly because I like to make lists:

• American Sexual Histories
• City of Eros: New York City, Prostitution and the Commercialization of Sex, 1790-1920
• Major Problems in the History of American Sexuality
• Rape and Sexual Power in Early America
• Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America
• Collaborative Leadership
• Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending & the Battle Against World Poverty
• Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
• Country of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, & the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa
• Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction
• Social Justice: Welfare, Crime, & Society
• Taxi! Cabs & Capitalism in New York City

It's only twelve books for three classes.... OMG. Maybe Holistic Health Practices will have only one book. Or no books. That could happen, right? Right? Blerg.

image via Toothpaste for Dinner

We Grew These

We may have only a teeny yield, but these tomates are delicious! Also growing in and around the J and L house: jalapenos and green bell peppers. One squirrel stole a jalapeno but learned his lesson. Ha!

What Wanda Sykes Said

via Slog

Overheard in the J and L House: A Bunny Edition

Lisa to Jesse: Do you think Olive likes it here?

Jesse: Yes.

Lisa: How do you know?

Jesse: She told me.

Lisa: What did she say?

Jesse: That she likes it.

Lisa: Aargh!! What specifically did she tell you that she likes?

Jesse: We have good baseboards.

Social Justice

The required course materials for my fall Social Justice class include these six books:

• Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending & the Battle Against World Poverty
• Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
• Country of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, & the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa
• Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction
• Social Justice: Welfare, Crime, & Society
• Taxi! Cabs & Capitalism in New York City

There are so many!!

Re: Re: Ovariohysterectomy

Olive's staples have been removed. Hooray!!!!!

I Need To Keep This In Mind

and so do you.

I Used To Be

This morning, I'm thinking about some "things" I used to be that I am not anymore. Mostly, I wish I still was these "things," even if it's just a little bit. I'm no longer these "things" because of various circumstances, or lack of energy, or lack of inspiration, or lack of company, or lack of monies, or...

• a fair to middling funeral director and pretty damn good embalmer. I embalmed so many folks who had been autopsied, they called me the "Post Princess." That was before they hated me.
• an amateur photographer
• magnanimous
• crafty
• sociable
• good company

I'm in a rut.

Re: Ovariohysterectomy

It has been four days since Olive's surgery and, for the most part, she is doing fine. As awful as it was to take her and leave her for her procedure, I think the post-surgery care is even worse-for both of us! She's in a little bunny e-collar which she hates, of course. She keeps trying to groom herself despite the fact that she's accomplishing nothing through the collar. Since she is so short, the collar gets hung up on all sorts of things in her cage, though many things have been removed to give her a little extra room. Her belly is shaved and her 3 or so inch incision is stapled (my poor bun!), she is on cage rest until next Saturday when her staples are removed, and we're giving her pain meds orally every night.

I hate seeing her cramped and uncomfortable and struggling with her collar so much. I was really affected by it, seeing her made me so upset. Last night, while I cleaned her cage, we gave her some e-collar free time out of her cage, which made everyone happy. She played and lounged and groomed a lot in her cardboard tunnel-she probably felt safest and most out-of-our reach there. Although I was upset to relegate her to her cage again, I was so much happier after her recess time.

Today, while I was around to "supervise," Olive had some more collar-free time. We left her cage door open, but she stayed inside the whole time. Tomorrow, I'll do more supervising.

I am inclined to let her be sans collar for, well, the rest of the week. She doesn't seem particularly interested in her incision at all, and things would be so much better (right?) if she wasn't so... restrained. But it's only a few more days. I'll be so excited to bring her home after her staple-remover and let her go on her little bunny way.

p.s. Blogger should be less ridiculous and let me put my pics where I want them, where they belong.

p.s.s. Having Olive is one of the funner things I've ever done, I think.

Damn It!

1) I like this house, certainly more than I liked North Street, but for the love of wild Alaskan salmon, why are there so many god damn flies here?????

2) Two nights ago, a bat got into our bedroom. Jesse was scared, so I had to get it out. I am brave! Then J reminded me that we had a bat in our apartment six years ago! I had to get that one out, too. I'm even braver than I thought.

But seriously! What the fuck with the various and disgusting pests?

Hank

For some reason, I stopped keeping such close tabs on Henry Rollins. I spent many formative years loving him, loving his books, loving every word that came out of his mouth. I'd see him as often as I could and long wistfully for him for weeks after seeing him. This was a serious thing I had going with him.

Then I got busy or I stopped reading altogether which means I stopped reading Hank. Or I thought I was post-Hank. Ye gods! Post-Hank?!

This morning, I came across Hank in a most unexpected place, and it all rushed back to me.

I used to fight the pain, but recently this became clear to me: pain is not my enemy; it is my call to greatness. - Henry Rollins, "Iron and the Soul"

p.s. I know that's a pretty weird image for me to choose. He definitely looks better elsewhere. But I wanted to talk about this: why is that what he's wearing?!?

image via Cville

Ovariohysterectomy

Today is Olive's surgery, and I'm scared. She's such a cute fluff bunny, and we've only recently begun to be friends. Well, some days we're friends. Some days she acts like it's the first day we've met and she's super scared and and so confused.

I hate having to try to get Olive into her carrier. She gets so scared and she wiggles her nose so much faster. I just hate it.

She has to stay at the vet overnight, too. The vet is great and her vet techs and staff are so nice, so that helps. And it's not like she's a cat or puppus who might come to me for comfort. I just.... I want her to be ok and still like me after, even if it's still the same teeny bit she likes me now. And now I'm crying.

She's gonna be ok, right?

Why I Love My Husby

Reason #563

J took a couple of hours out of his busy work day to come home and chauffeur Olive and me to Olive's vet appointment a few weeks ago. The heat was ridic and my Element has NO AIR! I was stressed and Olive was extra stressed and J swooped in like a knight in shining Nissan and saved the day! Hip-hip-HOORAY!

Reason #32

Without going into details, I just do. So I have agreed that we will have a Chocolate Lab (or whatever other color J prefers) as soon as it is sensible for us to do so.

Not Very Good Blogger

I'm so far behind with the news that I don't even know where to start and I kind of am too tired to even try. Keep yourself sated with some trip pics.

p.s. I love Tovah. Why can't we be together always?

An Open Letter

An open letter to all parties who will see me on my trip to IL, WI, and MI.

Dear everyone:

This time next week, I'll be on my way to Chicago to see Tovah and Andrew (wheeeeeeeeee!) before getting to WI and MI to see J's family. I'm leaving my little bun, Olive, in the capable hands of my mum and dad. That said, I'm totally going to be SNR about this. I'm told that she'll be fine; the House Rabbit Society says leaving little Olive with my fam is the best option for her health and safety and happiness. But I'm still going to be fraught with concern.

What if she doesn't remember that she likes her nose scratched? What if she's mad at me? What if she gets sick while we're gone? What if my dad is the Bunny Whisperer and she wants to stay there? I'm a momma who's never left her babe before, and you're probably going to hear about it.

Please be nice to me. I'm just worried.

Re: Summer 2010

Summer grades are in, and they're good! I'm including my actual grade this time because the letter grade doesn't tell you how awesome I was in my research class (the truth is, all classes are research classes @ BU).

• Social Science Research Methods: A (99%!)
• Psychology and Culture of Women's Bodies: A (93%)

Now I have two full months of vacay before my fall semester begins. It definitely looks like I'll graduate Spring 2011!

It's a Girl!

Little Olive had a mani/pedi today and the vet confirmed what we'd hoped. Olive is a girl! Break out the pink cigars.

Freedom To Marry

Lucky you. You can get married. Everyone else should be allowed to marry, too.

Take the pledge.

via Slog

"Overheard" on Facebook

Eric to Lisa: I think the origin of the word "bunny" came from "funny" with a bounce.