Dumb Bunny

I am blessed to have a partner in life who indulges my inner child. At least, he indulges the inner child who is charming and fun. I am not sure he is quite as enchanted with the whiny one who missed her nap.

This year, as in past Easter seasons, Max hides one of my family of small bunnies in our living or dining rooms. I would clarify that they are fake bunnies, but I don’t want to hurt their feelings. This activity, a spin-off of our Elf on the Shelf revelry, is not exactly a Lenten devotional. However, given the intensity of this Lent for me, the bunnies do provide a certain comic relief. There are three sizes of bunnies- Archibald and Arabella are the parental bunnies and are each about the size of a small mandarin orange. Winken/Blinken (these two are literally joined at the hip), Nod, and Tumble are slightly smaller. They are still in diapers, however. Eenie, Meenie, Miney, and Mo are the tiniest of tiny. These little pink babies are each about the size of a sugar cube.

Those rabbits get up to no good. They are very sneaky little lagomorphs. They hide places that I cannot easily mine. One day, after several pointed hints, I found Nod sleeping on one of the Plantation shutter slats. This would not have been so remarkable except I had LOOKED THERE multiple times. The thing is, Nod is white, except for his sweet little purple diaper. The Plantation shutters are also white. The way he was sitting on the shutter, the diaper was not visible. A small white rabbit sitting on a white shutter slat has found a darn good hiding place!

My record in past years for finding bunnies and, for that matter, for finding the Elf on the Shelf, has been pretty good. Max has become a talented bunny hider, gaining expertise and nuance every year. This Easter season, the bunnies are winning. Either the bunnies are getting smarter, or my bunny-hunting skills are in serious decline. When I read articles about aging, they never mention that the bunny-hunting skills are the first to go.

You’ve heard the phrase “dumb bunny?” I think, in my scenario, I am the dumb bunny, not the rabbits!

What Easter traditions do you keep? Please share your perspective by leaving a comment. In the alternative, you can email me at terriretirement@gmail.com.  Happy Easter!

Terri/Dorry 😊

The Bunnies Are Running 2022

A few weeks ago, I published a post about Lent and my spiritual goals for this time of repentance and preparation for the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection. I am happy to report that my Lenten work is coming along well. In addition to the goals I set for myself, Max and I have been reading and praying along with a program of devotionals that one of my church friends shared. I was, weirdly, looking forward to Lent this year and God is taking me in good places.

Now… for the lighter side of Lent.

You have all heard of Elf on the Shelf. You probably also know that Max and I play Elf on the Shelf each December. He hides my elf, Kringle, each morning and I hunt for him. Some of you may remember last year’s natural extension of this game- Bun on the Run. I have TEN bunnies running loose in my house because bunnies are prolific creatures, and I am unable to restrain myself at Hobby Lobby. The biggest bunnies, Arabella and Archibald are the mommy and daddy bunnies. They are each about the size of an extra-large egg. There are four itsy bitsy babies- Eenie, Meenie, Miney, and Mo. These critters are each about the size of a shooter marble. Their slightly older siblings- Wynken, Blynken, Nod, and Tumble- are somewhere in between in size. Each morning in Lent, a bunny goes running and it is up to me to find it. Because Max is a very methodical guy, he rotates the order in which he hides the bunnies. Archibald and Arabella are relatively easy to find because of their size. The four newborns are extremely challenging. Max gives me hints when I get stuck.  Eventually, given enough clues, I am bound to stumble upon a stealth bunny.

For the first time EVER since the elfing and the bunnying has begun, Max stumped me this season. Miney, one of the newborns, seems to be particularly wily in getting himself into mischievous positions. The last time Miney hid, he hid so well that I finally had to give up. I am sharing three pictures here so you can see if you can find Miney.

Tink doll front on view
Tink side view
close up of Tink and Miney, the stealth bunny

Give up? Miney is hiding in Tinker Bell’s wings. Yowza. I am sure I would still be hunting if I had not cried uncle. Max was quite pleased with himself… and Miney’s hiding prowess.

Someday, someone is going to take away my adult card.

What crazy, child-like (or childish) things do you do that might jeopardize your adult card? Please share your perspective by leaving a comment. In the alternative, you can email me at terriretirement@gmail.com.

Terri/Dorry 😊

The Bunnies Are Running!

Everybody’s heard of the Elf on the Shelf.  Some people also have the privilege of having a “Bun on the Run.”  I’m special that way. 

I have a whole family of bunnies in different colors and sizes on my kitchen table.  I originally had two bunnies… but, you know, they are rabbits.  They multiplied, as rabbits are wont to do.  See my own personal Rabbit Hole:

Here is where Archibald, Arabella, Wynken, Blinken, Nod, Tumble, Eenie, Meenie, Miney, and Mo live from Ash Wednesday until Easter.  Most people give up chocolate for Lent.  I indulge in bunny hunting.  Every morning, Max hides a bunny somewhere in the front living area of our house and I stalk the missing “bun on the run.” 

My bunnies have an active life.  They have individual personalities.  They manage a series of complex, interconnected relationships.  At least they do in my own mind. 

Archibald and Arabella are the mommy and daddy bunnies.  Archibald always looks long-suffering.  He doesn’t have two carrots to rub together. Arabella, frankly, always looks exhausted.  She is afraid she is losing her girlish charm. Archibald and Arabella, being the largest, are the easiest to find.  This is a problem for them because all they really want is five minutes of peace and quiet away from those kids.

The diaper babies (Wynken, Blinken, Nod, and Tumble) are also easy to find.  They are each about the size of a ping pong ball. Wynken and Blinken are very close and never go anywhere without each other.  Nod tends to fall asleep as a defense mechanism against his chaotic childhood.  Tumble is a little behind his siblings developmentally and is always “falling” behind!

Those newborn siblings (Eenie, Meenie, Miney, and Mo) are the sneaky ones.  They are out of control.  You cannot blame Archibald and Arabella too much.  Just imagine if you gave birth to quadruplet babies while still having quadruplets in diapers at home.  Rabbits running rampant is the requisite result of riotous reproduction.   Kids, please do not try this at home. 

I often need several hints to find the hiding newborns.  They are each just a touch bigger than a cube of cheese… or the tip of a baby carrot.  Meenie and Miney are especially clever at the game.  They are the most competitive of all the kids and like to “get one over” on each other… and on me. 

The first time I almost gave up on the game of bunny hide and seek was when Miney decided to hide on a small support disk under the kitchen table.  This first picture shows what the scene looked like before I started rummaging about looking for Miney.  The second picture shows him perched on the table support.  Would you have found him?

The next time I almost surrendered, Meenie was hiding in the wireless television headphones.  Various creatures- both bunnies and elves- have sidled over to the headphones before, but this was the first time one actually climbed INSIDE the ear covers.  It was kind of gruesome… like the earwig scene in the Wrath of Kahn.  Happily, I found Meenie before some poor sap unknowingly donned the headphones and had a rabbit burrow through his or her brain. Again, here are pictures of what I saw before I found Meenie and what I saw once I spotted him.

I have a couple of weeks left of my bunny quests.  Both Max and I are enjoying them.  We live such a full and rewarding life!

Your turn?  Where would a bunny hide in your house?  Why would you WANT to hide a bunny in your house?  Please share your perspective by leaving a comment.  In the alternative, you can email me at terriretirement@gmail.com.

Happy Easter!

Terri/Dorry 😊

P.S. I know Easter is more than bunny running.  It is the most important day of the year to me.  As I write this, it is a beautiful spring day and I am just playing with y’all!

Hide And Seek

This week, I’ve run away from home. I’ve left behind my day-to-day routine and am bending my reality. I didn’t want you all to think I’d forgotten you, so I figured I’d stop in at the blogsite and say “tag…you’re it!”

Yes, I thought we’d play a game this week. Let’s see if you can figure out where I am. I’ll give you a couple of clues. I spy with my little eye….

A palace
A pillory
A part-Percheron

Where do you think I am wandering? Please take a guess! Everyone who gets it right will win a virtual “prize.” I use the quotation marks purposely. Don’t expect anything of any real value. Let’s not get carried away. This is for just for the fun part of “for fun and profit!”

Where oh where has Terri LaBonte gone? Please share your guess by leaving a comment. In the alternative, you can email me at terriretirement@gmail.com.

Have an playful day!  I’ll be back next week with news about how you can get in on the Changing My Mind: Reinventing Myself In Retirement  book launch celebration!

Terri/Dorry 🙂

 

I’m baaaaaack!  I saw:

Governor's palaceme in a pillorytwo percheron mix horses

 

Okay, I’ve been working on this for more time than I wanted to invest and have still not been able to get the pictures to stand up straight.  Heavy sigh.  Anyway, I saw the Governor’s Palace, a pillory, and a pair of Percheron mix horses in Colonial Williamsburg!!!!