Wendy

I lost a good friend today, one of the best I’ve had in years. Her name was Wendy, and she had cancer of the spleen. She was a funny bunny… she and her boy toy, Waldo, have been living in my bedroom for the last 3 years or so, and she has entertained me, snuggled with me, comforted me, and made me laugh big belly laughs. I couldn’t help but love Wendy, even after she nibbled on the woodwork, ate my Bunny Suicides collection, and ripped the paper cover from the sheetrock on the wall behind their pen.

Wendy has been going downhill since late last summer – I took her and Waldo in for their annual exam, and because something had just been off with her for a while. The vet palpated her belly and noted that her spleen was enlarged; she took x-rays and found that her abdomen was so full of fluid that there wasn’t much visible. The next step would have been ultrasound, but since there’s no good treatment for cancer in rabbits, we really didn’t see the point. I brought her home to live out the remainder of her life – 4 months – comfortably, snuggled next to her Waldo. She surprised me by being her usual bouncy self all the way up to this morning, when she could no longer move around the pen. She tried… oh, she tried, and it was the most pitiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I just couldn’t let her suffer. For a being so full of life and vivacity, it was simply heartbreaking to see that her body could no longer keep up with her will. Waldo and I took her to the clinic and said our goodbyes, and just like that she was gone.

It’s never easy, losing a companion animal. Rabbits are special to me – as prey animals, they aren’t very trusting, so when they put their trust in you… it’s just one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever experienced. Wendy came from a horrible place; she lived in a wire cage below another rabbit’s wire-bottomed cage, so you can imagine how filthy and nasty her hair was when we rescued her. She came a long way in the almost-5 years after rescue… I’m so happy I got to know her, and to share my home with her.

And now that my blog is officially maudlin, I’m posting the lyrics to Blackbird by The Beatles, because it oh-so-appropriately came on the radio on our way to the vet this morning. I know, I’m a sap.

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Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise, oh
You were only waiting for this moment to arise, oh
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Filed under blues, music, nablopomo, photos, rabbits | Comments (2)

Must listen, week 1

I found this book while shopping for presents for the family, and I couldn’t resist it. There’s even a website! Basically, the author identifies albums, and even specific recordings that everyone should hear, and even goes so far as to recommend similar “if you liked this, you’ll also like this” artists and albums. I’m excited to work my way through it – I’m starting at the beginning, and I figure I can get at least halfway through by the end of 2009. It looks like some of the recordings might not be available on iTunes, which means I may have to buy CDs, but I guess I’ll live.

This week I’ll be looking for/downloading these songs/albums:

1. ABBA, Gold. The book recommends several songs from the album, all of which I’ve heard, so I guess I’m kind of ahead of the game.
2. Dimi Mint Abba and Khalifa Ould Eide, Moorish Music from Mauritania. This one’s going to be hard to find, as it looks like it’s been discontinued in the US.
3. Muhal Richard Abrams, Blu Blu Blu. Another one that’s going to be hard to find. I’m not a big fan of jazz, so I won’t be too sad if I can’t find it.
4. The Abyssinian Baptist Choir, Shakin’ the Rafters. Gospel, eh? The author recommends a couple of tracks specifically, so I may start out with just those…
5. AC/DC, Back in Black. Of course I’ve heard the title track… who hasn’t? But there are a couple of recommended tracks I’m not familiar with, so I’ll have to check them out.
6. John Adams, Harmonium. I love classical music, and I’m hopeful that I’ll enjoy these.
7. John Adams, The Death of Klinghoffer. Only one of these songs can be found on the Harmonium CD, and the 10-CD retrospective is kind of costly, so I’ll have to look elsewhere…
8. Johnny Adams, Johnny Adams Sings Doc Pomus: The Real Me. I’m not a big fan of blues, either, but I’m willing to give it a try. I’ll start with the recommended songs first.
9. Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker. Now this is a recording I can get behind. I enjoy Ryan Adam’s music very much – his album entitled Gold is one of my favorites.
10. The Cannonball Adderley Quintet, At the Lighthouse. More jazz. We’ll see…

I’ll let you know what I think!

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Recommended

I love tools that give you recommendations for things you might like based on books you’ve read, or music you love, or things you’ve purchased. It’s like they somehow have insight into my brain! (Not really, I know). That’s one of the reasons I love to visit Amazon.com’s Recommended for You page… I’m constantly updating my preferences so my recommendations are up to date. What can I say… I’m a weirdo. Anyway, here are the top 10 recommendations for me as of today, 18-Nov:

1. For the Kids: Various Artists:
   
2. Toot and Puddle: Let It Snow, by Holly Hobbie:
   
3. Viva La Vida, by Coldplay:
   
4. Little Voice, by Sara Bareilles:
   
5. Toot and Puddle: I’ll Be Home For Christmas, by Holly Hobbie:
   
6. Toot and Puddle: Top of the World, by Holly Hobbie:
   
7. Toot and Puddle: The One and Only, by Holly Hobbie:
   
8. We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, by Jason Mraz:
   
9. I Was Told There’d Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley:
   
10. Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl’s Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me?, by Jen Lancaster:
    

Now, what does it say about me that Toot and Puddle feature so prominently in my recommendations? I like pigs, sure. I like children’s books. I love Holly Hobbie’s fantastic illustrations. Hmm. Maybe I really am just a big kid?

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