A word or two about the bike

First of all, it is a nice bike and I am really grateful for it. The place I got it let me get it at wholesale price (actually, lower than that - it was on sale) because he had to meet an order minimum. Second, I am "earning" it based on the miles I put on it (saving gas, wear and tear on the car, etc). Here is my graph. Each time I go to work and back (20 miles), I fill in one square. When the whole thing is filled, my bike will be paid off. (The red squares represent what I got from selling my old bike.) Alex thinks this is silly, but it makes me feel better about getting it.

Third, I have noticed since getting my bike that Illinois is much windier than I ever imagined previously. Fourth, I noticed that even though wind is annoying when it is in your face, at least it keeps the gnats from getting caught in your teeth.That is all about my bike.

A word or two about something else: I have a dear friend getting married this Friday. For her wedding I made her some quilted place mats. I am not worried about her seeing pictures of it on the blog before I give them to her because a) she is way too busy right now to check my blog, b) she probably doesn't check my blog anyway, and c) only four people check my blog and two of them live with me.

One side has a little appliqued bird.

The other side has some cool fabric.

Six total. 

Spring means rabbits

So, spring is well under way here in Illinois. The weather in March was amazingly warm (hot) and I was able to get my garden started about a month earlier than last year. We have radishes, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, peas, and chard all going strong in our little garden, and little apples, pears, peaches, plums, and apricots growing on our fruit trees. Katie even made two strawberry rhubarb crisps earlier this week using the rhubarb from our garden . Nevertheless, the best crop of the year so far has been our rabbits. We had a litter of 8 back in January (the last four of those were put in our freezer on Thursday). We had a litter of four about 6 weeks ago that have another month or so to go before they join their older sisters. About two weeks ago we were blessed with another litter of 3-6.  To add to this, it appears that one of our does is again pregnant. This is evidenced by the 3 foot long burrow that she built under our shed, and the fact that when provided with straw she compulsively began stuffing it into said burrow (watch the video). We are very pleased by the success of our 'free-range' rabbit experiment. If anyone has some good rabbit recipes, feel free to send them our way!

Daddy bunny (pretty sure...they all look the same) with three of the four (approximately) six-week-old adolescents, all nibbling on a piece of honeysuckle vine.

One of our ~2-week-olds. They're pretty cute when they first start venturing out of the burrow.

The burrow that now exists under the concrete floor of our shed. I swear she dug this overnight. Any guess how long it will take before they start showing up in our neighbor's yard?

Juno (or is that Jadwiga?) collecting straw for her nest under the shed.

Later the same afternoon. If you hadn't see the burrow, you'd never know it was there. Sneaky little rabbits!

These are our chickens. They still lay blue and tan eggs (not from the same chickens). We have a lot of eggs right now. Do you want some?

Little Pears

Lots of little peaches.

Apricots

Plums. (Does anyone know how to keep the squirrels from stealing all my fruit?)

Heirloom oxheart tomatoes seedlings started from seeds given to me by Kathy in my lab. 

Hoping it warms up this week so I can put these in the ground...

We spent Easter weekend at my brother and his wife's place in St. Louis. They just had their fourth child, Cypress, and my parents, two sisters, one brother-in-law, and two of my other nieces were all in town for his baby blessing on Easter Sunday. It was a great weekend.

A bunny of a different type visited while we were there...

This is their dog Boomhauer. He's awesome.

Before church. Aren't families great?

In other news, Katie got a new road bike. Are you jealous?

LaPierre Audacio 400L

This bike is possibly worth more than my car...of course, that's not really saying much.

Flats, pits, and vomits

This morning it looked like a great day to ride my bike for the first time this year. I had to do treatments at the animal clinic and *finally* it wasn't too cold or windy to do the 20 mile (round trip) bike ride and I would have plenty of time to make it to church at noon. The trip out was beautiful and invigorating, but then not 20 yards from the clinic headed home I realized somehow my rear tire was completely flat. Alex was between church meetings and came and picked me up but that put me 40 minutes behind schedule. At home I rushed around like crazy trying to get ready and finally there I stood, nearly ready to go with my toothbrush in my mouth when all of a sudden the dogs put up a terrible ruckus in the front room barking at whatever was outside. Barking is not unusual at our house but they were carrying on so mercilessly I knew that they must see something beyond the typical neighborhood child they usually bark at. Sure enough, standing just outside the window staring back at them was a full grown, fully loaded (un-neutered) male pit bull. No collar. Unsure of what to do, I went outside and introduced myself to the dog. He was not unfriendly, but I couldn't convince him to stay still long enough for me to figure out what to do with him and off he headed towards the neighbor's house. Figuring I could at least call animal control before leaving, I had the phone book in my hand when I turned and noticed the morning's second large chunky pool of Lola vomit on the throw rug. My toothbrush was still in my mouth. Did I mention that I hate being late and that was stressing me out? So I did what any responsible adult would do: I threw the phone book on the floor out of frustration, left the vomit where it was and headed to church. I left my toothbrush at home. Poor Lola slunk off and hid in her bed all morning. I think I have made up with her by now. So that is the story of this morning's temper tantrum.

In happier news, a paper I worked on as a third year veterinary student came out in print recently. This past week I received the journal and reprints. I don't know that my career is headed in an academic direction, but it feels good to have something I worked so hard on come to fruition. 

I made that figure! Are you proud, Scott?

The front of the journal.

Happy 100th post! and what I've been up to

Hi. Katie here. I have been doing a lot of traveling lately while Ruben has been taking his cat naps.

I visited some beautiful mountain landscapes in Tahiti, South Africa, and Alaska

And a beach in the Maldives. There was a goat there 

All from the comfort of my fridge

Its what I like to call a "stay-cation" and it is really cheap and a good way to use up old calendars.

I have also been sewing curtains. This morning I got to play with power tools to put up the curtain rods. I am not sure the rods are completely level. But here they are: (colorful print in the bedroom and the other floral print in the office)

The view from our back window. I love the ornamental grasses in our backyard!

Wishing you all a warm last few winter weeks!

For the love of cheese

I came across something this week that made me giddy with happiness and very nearly depressed at the same time. This is what it was: goat cheese was half off at Aldi. The reason I was so happy is obvious. The reason I was depressed was that I knew that goat cheese was being discontinued for the year (or forever?!? Heaven forbid!) I didn't let myself ponder on that terrible possibility as I proceeded to buy as much as possible without looking absolutely ridiculous.

It is frozen now. I am currently brainstorming all the wonderful things I might do with it (besides eat it plain on crackers of course). Goat cheese ice cream? Goat cheese cheesecake, muffins, tart, cherry pistachio goat cheese balls? The possibilities are truly endless. Do any of you have some suggestions out there? Do any of you want to be invited over to share our goat cheese cache with us? Do any of you feel bad you don't live closer?

Also, does anyone out there know why we have been able to successively kill three indoor rosemary plants? If you have any ideas, send them our way. My husband has a green thumb, but this mystery is eluding him, and I haven't convinced him yet to call into Mid American Gardener on Thursday night at 7 pm.

Even Santa couldn't save the rosemary. Believe me, it is as dead as a doornail. 

Clouds and life philosophy

It is nearly 7 years now since I entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center) where I would learn Polish for 8 weeks before starting my mission in Poland. Those were days of great excitement and anticipation for me. I was full of the desire to serve and to teach and to love. I was blessed with a handful of dedicated missionaries to learn with in the MTC and with three wonderful language and gospel teachers, Brat (Brother in Polish) Cook, Brat Badylak, and Brat ... I can picture his face... dang it. Despite the fact that my memory fails me, our teachers were constant sources of inspiration and dedication. Can you imagine being in a room for multiple hours a day with a dozen 19- and 21-year-olds, trying to teach them a very difficult language in only 8 weeks, instruct them in gospel principles that they will then have to go teach in a foreign language, keep their attention when they really only want to be out on their mission NOW, and all the while being an unfailing example of patience and love? I am sure that many MTC teachers do it, but few better than mine did.

I think back to my 21-year-old self with a certain amount of respect for that unwavering energy and willingness to serve and work and make a difference in someone's life. Now, a few years later, mired in the sometimes monotony of "normal life", I rarely muster the kind of energy I had during my time in the MTC and on my mission. However, as eager and willing as my 21-year-old self was, I also recognize that I have since learned a few things about life that I didn't know back then (and that would have definitely helped me to be a better missionary.)

That was all a lengthy and roundabout way to introduce one of those life lessons that my trainer taught me. Lindsay Green (now Hibbert) was my first companion in Poland in a city named Lodz (pronounced woodge). I was often hard on myself and probably hard on others in those first days of being a missionary in Poland (and, let's be honest, probably most of my time as a missionary). I wanted to work hard and be the perfect missionary and when I or others did not meet my expectations, my judgement (while I mostly tried to keep to myself) was harsh and fast. She probably recognized this about me, and in one of the notes she wrote me, she said something to this effect: "Make sure that your highs are as high as your lows are low." It didn't mean much to me then, but I have thought about it many times since and I think I have come to appreciate a little what she meant. My interpretation of that, adding some of my own philosophy, is that it is a part of life to experience lows (disappointment in ourselves, others, or our circumstances), but they can help us grow as long as we learn from the situation or our mistakes and don't let it define us. BUT we should also make sure that we enjoy and truly experience and celebrate the high points, which can be as simple as very small steps upward or the simple but wonderful beauties of life. I think Elder Uchtdorf put it best in his recent General Conference address:

God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths, but He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect, and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.

Dear sisters, many of you are endlessly compassionate and patient with the weaknesses of others. Please remember also to be compassionate and patient with yourself.

In the meantime, be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots, these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweetest experiences.

Sister Green also taught me to look upward. She is from Alaska (a beautiful state, I can only imagine), and even though Lodz is reported to be one of the ugliest cities in Poland, she was constantly taking pictures of ... clouds! They amazed her with their beauty. It gave me a new appreciation of one of the simplest beauties in life. Now, living in the flattest place on the planet short of the ocean and finding myself missing the mountains, I too am sometimes amazed at the pure and simple beauty of the sky and the clouds. It always makes me think of her when I catch myself admiring the clouds.

Annual Parent Newsletter

We have had a wonderful year filled with friends, family, work, school, major life milestones, good food, bad food, animals, animal products, weeds, dirt, piano tuners, and much more.

Ruben, aka Master Ruben, Rooby-doob, Buben, Rubers, Roob-doob. 

Still plotting to take over the world, one lap at a time. He turned 12 in November. We have had him for over 4 years now and he has always had a vomiting problem. At first I thought "I'm not a vet. I have no idea why he vomits all the time." Now I think "I'm a vet and I still have no idea why he vomits all the time." So he eats, he pukes, he purrs.

Lucy, aka Woocy, Lucybuns, Bunners. 

She has decided that her favorite flavor is chicken poop. She has asked for chicken poop flavored jelly beans for Christmas. Does anyone know where I might be able to get some of those?

Lola, aka Ears. 

Lola lives in a constant state of anticipating the next time she will get to go running. I once tried to take her running on roller blades and it was a disaster because I had no way of stopping. I have contemplated hooking her leash up to the back of the car and taking her running that way but I think I would lose my vet license.

Five hens: Henrietta, Wasabi, Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Frank Sinatra. Last year we also had two hens named Cluck and Clack. When they stopped laying, they got to retire at my co-worker's farm and peck around with 60 other chickens in a huge garden all day long. They loved it until one of them got eaten by a fox. Frankie and Johnny haven't started laying yet and I keep reminding them what happened to the last two chickens. Lucy likes the chickens because they make chicken poop.

Three+ bunnies: Jadwiga, Juno, and Yaroslaw. Our bunnies graduated from caged to free-range this year and they are loving it. We have two litters ready to pop out of their burrows and we're not entirely sure how many of them there are yet.

Katie, aka President

Me and my new kitchen

Me and my new house

My favorite foods are ice cream and dark chocolate. The best thing about this year was graduating from vet school. The thing I most regret about this year is that I still haven't gotten  my flu shot and I am also sad that my goat calendar is about to run out. I found my first real job this year working as a dog/cat veterinarian in a little town not too far away. I get to meet all kinds of nice people and pets, a few crazies, and a few pets that would be happier if I were dead. A beagle named Meatball bit all the way through my thumb nail and a Labrador retarded named Charlie flung its head onto my face and gave me a shiner that clients still remind me about. I like working for the most part but I have decided that when I retire, I don't want to work anymore.

Alex, aka Dr. A, Aley pants, Supreme Dictator.

Alex and his new girlfriend

Alex had the distinct honor of graduating with his PhD in chemistry and so now gets to be a full time student. He just finished his first semester of medical school. He enjoys gardening, running, eating, studying for finals, working on the house, and finishing to do lists that I write for him.

Our house: still in exactly the same place. Please come visit. We now have a 10 foot wide mud pit in our front yard from a water pipe that burst a few days ago.

We wish you all happiness and prosperity in the New Year! Please feel free to remind me of your blog addresses if you have one or drop us a note/email to let us know how you are doing!

With love,

Katie, Alex, Ruben, Lucy, Lola, Jadwiga, Yaroslaw, Juno, Unknown bunnies #1-?, Wasabi, Henrietta, Elvis, Johnny, and Frankie