Lost In Splendor

This is not the entry I intended to write. I really wanted to come on and tell you all about how shiny and fabulous my new MacBook is and how grateful I am to KC for getting it for me. While it is both shiny and fabulous (to me) something else happened this past week that I haven’t really know how to talk about.

My first pet ever was a dog. I got her when she was an itty bitty puppy back in May 2000. She was born on March 1 of that year. She was a black lab and I was instantly in love. I named her Willow. She lives with my parents and by proxy currently she lives with me also.

I bring her up to say that my first pet is now 9 years old. My second dog is now 5 years old. I have never had to deal with the loss of a pet before. This is new territory for me and I am really not forward to going through it ever again. Willow better win an award for the oldest living dog in history.

Back to Tula. For the last two months Tula has been going to the bathroom a lot. Seriously a lot. So I have been cleaning her litter box a lot more often. Like every other day instead of the usual once a week. This is important because since I was changing it so often it was very clear when Tula stopped going to the bathroom.

I changed her litter on May 18th. She had been going so much lately that the fact that it wasn’t overflowing like usual seemed like a good thing.  The night of the 19th I came home from work and noticed that Tula hadn’t eaten any hay since the last night. (Sometimes they don’t eat much hay overnight so it’s not abnormal for their hay basket to be full in the morning. It is very abnormal for it to be full for a full night and day.) I also immediately noticed that she hadn’t pooped. She hadn’t pooped at all in a night and a day. If you know anything about rabbits then you know this is seriously bad.

KC and I deliberated and we decided not to wait and get her to a vet immediately. We took her into a local vet that could squeeze us in. We took her out and she seemed a little…I don’t know lethargic? She was nicer. Our Tula is a little crazy. She growls and bats at us with her feet when we feed her and clean her cage. A docile Tula? This didn’t seem good.

We got her there and the vet was able to take us in pretty quickly. He poked around her abdomen and said he felt an obstruction. He said it was pretty clear she had GI Stasis. He said the only way to cure it at the level he was detecting would be surgery, but that would be costly and the survival rate was very low. He said the best option was to put her down. In what world could that possibly be a best option? Just days before she seemed perfectly fine!

He said he would leave us alone to talk things over. I began to think of our moody Tula and I worried that perhaps this started a long time ago. Perhaps this is why she is often cranky with us. Has she been in pain for a while?

It was hard to clear my head and figure out what to do. Certainly Tula has been a handful, but I love her. We love her. I have so many fond memories of her and we were going to begin bonding her with Penelope. We had also just redone her cage and we jus had so many plans for her.

In all our future plans, she was there. For the next 5-10 years I looked forward to getting to know her more. I still didn’t feel like I really got to know her. I was desperate to find a flow with her that suited her. I really wanted us to get to a place where she was content and happy. Where she was no longer timid and afraid. I wanted that so badly.

I was thinking all these thoughts and KC and I were looking at each other and then down at Tula. Our Tula.

The vet came in and we still weren’t sure. I asked him what he thought we should do. Was it really only surgery or euthanizing her? Those were our only two options? He said that we could take her home and try home remedies, but he said since our diet is already very high in fiber the problem was likely more serious and caused by ingesting fabric, rubber or something else she came in contact with.

He said putting her down was our best option.

With a very heavy heart KC and I has Tula put down on May 19, 2009. A little over a year since we first brought her home with us.

We went home without her.

It was close to 6:00pm at this point and KC had to leave for work.

She left and Penelope and I were alone for the first time since February of 2008. I looked at Tula’s empty cage and it just seemed so unnatural, sad and heartbreaking. I immediately started cleaning it out. I cleaned her toys and blankets and her bed. Her litter box…still clean from the day before. Her unopened toys were put in a bag to be returned.

Our room has been rearranged a bit so I don’t have to look at a big empty space where Tula should be.

Today on iMovie I made a movie of the last video we took of Tula. KC and I adore making videos of our rabbits and I can’t think of a better final Tula video then the one of her boxing us.

My internet connection sucks today, but when I finally get it up on iTunes I will link it here. One last video of my beautiful little Tula.

Hopefully this is a pain I won’t have to feel again soon. We’re hugging Penelope a little tighter around here.

Dear Penelope,

I can not believe it has been a year since you came into my life. You were a tiny gray puffball and I just couldn’t leave you in the pet store with those other bunnies that seemed to be picking on you. You were sweet when I held you in the store and something just clicked.

They told me you were a mini-lop, which was perfect because I always wanted a lop-eared bunny. How cute!

You were very shy at first, but friendly. You were inquisitive and intelligent using your litter box right away.

I couldn’t get enough of you. It was only a few days when your ears suddenly popped up and they haven’t gone back down since. It turned out you aren’t a mini-lop at all, you’re a mini-rex! I guess you just needed to feel safe and loved before you could be yourself.

I love you Penelope. You bring me joy. I couldn’t possibly ask for a better pet than you.

Plus nothing makes a bad day better than watching a video of you playing with balloons.

Love,

Mom

I’m a little spent now. In 8 days I have been to Philadelphia, Atlantic City, New York City and then Philadelphia. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, but I think I need a little recoup time.

Kasey got her economic stimulus check in on Saturday and we thought, what better way to spend George Bush’s money but to use it to attend Philadelphia Pride day? So off to pride we went.

Kasey had never attended a pride parade and I hadn’t been to one since I was 16 so it was really fun to be able to attend this one together. We are even talking about going to New York Pride later this month, but that will be another post.

Before we went to the parade I needed to pick up some must have items from Duross & Langel*. They weren’t open yet so we stopped next door for a gelato at Capogiro Gelato Artisans. This place was recommended on Oprah or some shiz and I have always wanted to try it. It did not disappoint! It is well known to most people that the weirder a flavor is, the more I want it. After sampling a few flavors I got a small cup of Rosemary Honey and Goats Milk with Cioccolato Banana (chocolate and bananas). It was AMAZING. (If you like gelato, Kasey realized she doesn’t.) It’s pretty pricey too. It was almost $5 for what would be a children’s size at most places. Still the quality, to me, is worth it.

They also seem to update their flavors daily. If I was going in today I would get Cucumber and Rhubarb no doubt. It seems to be only available in Philadelphia though. If you’re in the area check it out and invite me!

After the gelatos Duross and Langel was open. They opened at 12, which was right when the parade was supposed to start. (Had we known it would be starting about 15 minutes late we would have relaxed and looked around more.) Since it was our first parade we didn’t want to be late so I went in a grabbed the items I had been wanting.

They make soaps so pretty they are almost art.

I got a big bar of Violet Baby Bar soap. It’s described as, “our gentlest base of olive oil, aloe and shea + soft notes of spring violets make this delicate bar perfect for mom’s and babies alike”. It has such a soft pretty smell, I love it. I mentioned in a previous post that I am switching from LUSH to Duross & Langel soaps. They just feel better and come in many more scents. This time I couldn’t really shop around. We didn’t have the time or the money, but I am very excited to go back and get more. I have also been hinting that I want to take a class there for my birthday. There is one the day after so hopefully that will happen. I know I would absolutely LOVE it. Fingers crossed! The other item I bought was Moroccan Cedar deodorant. Last time I bought Sandlewood Lavender, but quickly lost it and since then I have been using Kasey’s Peppermint, much to her dismay. Now I have a new one and I can leave hers alone. This deodorant has been working great for me. I adore it.

After that we rushed over to where the parade was and had the misfortune of having teenage lesbians (who honestly looked 12) make out in front of us. (One girl had the biggest nastiest looking hickey on her neck. Why do teenagers still do this to each other?) We soon found a better spot right by the street and waited for the parade to begin. It was super hot out! The weather said 99 degrees and by that time it felt every single bit of it.

Still we were in good spirits and the parade was enjoyable**.

After the parade we walked until we thought our feet were going to fall off from where the parade started all the way to Penn’s Landing. This is only about a 30 minute walk, but with bad shoes on in the sweltering heat it felt oh so much longer. My feet are now covered in various cuts and blisters from it.

The festival at Penn’s Landing was nice and we certainly got some nice free items, but ultimately with absolutely no shaded areas and the only places to sit being hot stone we didn’t stay very long. We saw all the vender’s and then left. We got out of there just in time too. As we were leaving the line to get in was crazy.

We grabbed a taxi and took it back to the Reading Terminal Market where we had lunch at our consistent favorite, Delilah’s. Kasey had fried chicken and I had fried whiting. We both had collard greens and macaroni and cheese.

Hers:

Mine:

Afterwards we rested a bit and decided to indulge in some Crepes before we left. Right across from Delilah’s in the Reading Terminal Market is Profi’s Creperie. I happen to think the woman who is usually working the register at Profti’s is rather rude and on the three occasions we have had crepes here they have been out of ice cream even though they are adjacent Bassett’s Ice Cream. If you can get past that this is the place to go for delicious crepes. They have every kind you can think or, but we like to go there for dessert.

Kasey got one with Nutella and Banana.

I got the Mixed Berries and Cheesecake with Honey.

Then we drove home and passed out in bed.

…and now I am hungry since I made myself look at pictures of delicious food…except I am back in the Poconos where for those prices there is none. Boo. I can’t wait till our next adventure to Philadelphia.

Oh! And can someone please make sure I always have SPF 50 or above on my person whenever I go out into the sun? These burns have got to stop.

* Full post on Duross & Langel coming soon in a new Angela Recommends section.
** Set in it’s entirety can be found here on Flickr.

You could also say I torture you by making you listen to the sound of my voice when I talk to my bunnies.

I actually want to do a weekly bunny post just so I can talk about them for one day a week and show you new videos/pictures on them. Maybe this will be the first one of those. It could be Rabbit Wednesdays! I could be starting something new and here you are witnessing the very first event. It’s historical almost! No? Not quite? I should shut up and show you the darn video? Damn…I didn’t know you could ice me like that. Fine then, here it is:

What is that you say? You enjoyed the cuteness of my rabbits? You wish you could see more of Tula only without hearing me talk?

Well, my lovely reader I care about you and I listen to what you have to say. Here is a video of Tula narrated (mostly) by Kasey.

Okay so I gush in the background of that one too. Sorry!

I feel like you guys haven’t gotten to see much of Tula. I lost the camera charger pretty much right after we got her. I love making movies and Kasey and I made a few of the bunnies to share with you guys. I know some of you coughkylecough don’t enjoy this sort of thing, but these bunnies are pretty much my favorite thing in my life.

Here is Penelope begging us to give her treats and being the mean parents we are we do not give in! That is, we don’t until after we finish the movie.

Now for Tula! Here is one that I made:

Here is one of Tula that Kasey made:

Woo! I love videos! I hope you like them too.

Can I tell you guys a secret? I know that is a stupid question to ask the internet, bear with me here. So Kasey and I had an interesting day today. We went out a little shopping and got a bit to eat. Then we were at a pet store buying some food for Penelope. Someone was standing near us and once she saw us picking up bunny stuff she started talking to us. She said she got a bunny for her daughter for Easter (of course) and quickly found out her daughter is allergic. Then I guess the store wouldn’t take it back and she couldn’t find anyone else to take the bunny. Umm…okay. So she wanted to know if we wanted one because her next stop was the SPCA.

This rabbit is some sort of Peter’s Rabbits so it is supposed to be bred for friendliness and it is already spayed…well for two bunny people that is hard to say no to. We told her we needed to think about it, but told her not to go to the SPCA yet. We went to another part of the store to talk about it and decided that we would take her.

Yeah guys…I am trying to tell you that we got a new rabbit today. I just couldn’t bear the thought of this adorable bunny in a grungy cage being poked at by lord knows how many people or worse a hasty Easter present for another kid.

After much deliberation we decided to name her Tula Madeline. (Kasey and I LOVE the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. That is where we got the name from.) I guess you want to see her right? Okay. I have that covered.

Now the problem is bonding her and Penelope because apparently Penelope hates small adorable baby bunnies. I might have to take some time to work on this. In any case there is a new member of the family…oddly around Easter.

I am swiftly becoming one of those crazy animal people. I mean…I have had a lot of animals. I have owned: dogs, cats, chinchillas, tarantulas, fish, rats and mice. I have felt nothing towards any of them like I feel to this bunny. I mean I enjoy the presence of animals, but other than the dogs they all ended up being little more than extra work. I felt no real bond or companionship to them. The dogs also tend to be too much for me. They are now family dogs instead of my dogs and dogs in general overwhelm me. I can’t really handle them because I feel like they need too much from me. I worry I could never be good enough.

This totally is not the case with the bunny. I feel like I could have her out more. I worry about her veggie intake and I worry about how often her litter is cleaned. Other than that I feel content and at ease in my bunny care taking.

There is something about coming home to her that I love. I can relax and let go of work and she isn’t on top of me. She just waits patiently to be let out and then she hops happily around the room. She is just everything I would want in a pet.

She is also adorable! Don’t believe me? What about this video of her eating an apple?

Please excuse the voice I use when I talk to the bunny and my gushing. I can’t help it!

Still not cute enough? What about her getting all up in the camera’s face and then running around my room?

Please excuse my messy room and my giggling. She does that to me.

But wait! There’s more! (I know you are SO excited.)

Did I mention that Penelope has a Fairy Godmother? Well I need to have someone else share in my obsession so Loralee has been appointed official Fairy Godmother to Penelope. She’s awesome!

Okay. I’ll stop now.

Really. I will.

Oh you can deal with one more photo. This one features my butt!

Not naked though.

You should be grateful.

Title: “I’m Sticking With You” by: The Velvet Underground