Securing Christmas and Hopping into 2019

Hi ya!

Thanks so much to everybunny who left a comment about me blogging again. I must say, I'm really happy to be back. I am truly looking forward to some fun times ahead!

So, how was your Christmas? Sabrina decided this was the best place to wait for Santa.

David and I started a tradition five years ago. We have a lovely Christmas Eve dinner and then go to the movies and eat a big bucket of popcorn on Christmas day. hee,hee,hee. It's fabulous! We went to see Aquaman. It was just ok in my opinion. I would rather have seen Mary Poppins, but David isn't keen on musicals.

I decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving and while I have loved having my cottage decorated for the season, I decided today, as my friend Captain would say, to "Secure Christmas," which means put everything away.

Ever since Hurricane Florence, I feel like my little Bayfield Cottage has been in a state of "dirty." Now, local friends will say I'm nuts because I'm a clean freak, but you know how it is when it's your own home. The windows need cleaning, the baseboards need dusting, the cupboards and closets need to be cleaned out and everything needs to be tided.

Plus, David is off work for 12 days and is painting "Bunnyville" for me!!! I guess I'm just excited to have a fresh studio and I want everything to be ship shape before January 1st.

Speaking of January 1st, my "Within and Inch of Your Life" project/challenge will kick off then. If you have been following me on Instagram and Facebook, you will have seen my daily 1" hexies that I have been stitching every day since my 50th birthday on March 27.

I have had so many friends interested in doing their own piece, that I have decided to start a Facebook group "The Raspberry Rabbits - Within and Inch Club." Here I will share some inspiration and fun ideas on what you can stitch and how to put them together in unique ways. It will also be a place for friends to share what they are stitching, encourage each other and to stay motivated. We are going to have such a fun adventure together!

The club is FREE to join on Facebook and I still have some supplies available if you need them. Hop on over to my SHOP. 

Henry and Hannah continue to do very well. However, I still cannot put them together unsupervised in the same condo yet as Henry is like a toddler. I'm constantly telling him to "get out of there, put that down, stop pulling on the pen, don't dig the carpet, you can't chew that, stop pestering Hannah" and so on.

In addition to things like "Henry.... why did you put your toy in your water bowl?

"Ummmmm... it wasn't me."

Hee, hee,hee. The little bugger just cracks me up! Anyway, until he can calm down a bit, I don't want him pestering Hannah. My old girl likes her stuff they way it is and especially likes her own potty. ;)

See ya back here next week and looking forward to hopping into 2019!

Hoppy New Year,
Michelle, the Bunnies and Sabrina Kitty too

Blogging and Henry the VIII

Well hellooooooooo my friends! Did you think I ran away? Well, I kinda did. I was exhausted from all the goings on in November and traveling to Houston and well, life in general. I needed some time to sit and just "be." Sometimes, as a creative person with a creative business that has to wear many hats and keep up with everything, I simply need to take a break.

I must say that the break did me some good. My world has become so go, go, go with all this social media stuff. It can be exhausting. I have found that I miss the old days of blogging. It was so much fun to hop in and visit with friends, peer into their worlds, read their stories and share their adventures. It was one of my most favorite hobbies.

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest... they have all become a flash of information overload. I feel like everything is just coming at me at once and it's overwhelming trying to keep up. Now, while I enjoy visiting with friends there, and I enjoy being able to share things instantly on my pages, I find that I miss the slowness, calmness and peacefulness of blogging. So, starting today, I am going to return to posting on this little old blog every Wednesday. If you would like to follow along, you can sign up (on the right sidebar) to receive my posts in your inbox.

Ok now that I have said that, I want to share something really exciting with you! I would like to introduce my newest family member here at Bayfield Cottage, Henry the VIII.

I named him this as he is my 8th adopted rescue rabbit.


"Henry the VII? Does this mean I'm royalty?"

For a while now I have been thinking about getting another bunny so that Hannah bunny would have company when I travel with teaching. David is wonderful about taking care of her and Sabrina, but they are my babies and he doesn't dote on them like I do. Plus, it has been 3 1/2 years since I lost Harrington and while I will always miss him and could never replace him, my heart was ready to love and give a forever home to a bunny in need.

"Mama, I'm lonely when you go away for work."

Here's Henry's story:

During hurricane Florence in September, Henry was found running lose in a neighborhood. A lady found him and kept him for a while trying to find his owner. After several weeks and no luck finding his owner, she took him to the animal shelter. Here he sat and again nobody came to claim him.

My local rabbit rescue, The New Hanover County Rabbit Rescue, went to the shelter to get him as they didn't want him to be euthanized. Henry was a mess. His legs and belly had urine scald from him being kept in a small nasty cage. I feel like he was probably kept in a wire bottomed hutch in someones back yard and was left there during the hurricane. Poor little lass.

There was just something about him that made me fall in love with him instantly. Maybe it was his wonky ear, which reminded me of my beloved Harrington, or maybe it was his story after thinking about him outside during that horrific hurricane. I just knew I had to contact my rescue and inquire about him.

Well, he was neutered two weeks ago and last Wednesday I brought him home. I was going to just "foster" him for a while to see how he did with Hannah. The rescue said they thought he was around 6 years old and I thought that would be good with my 9 to 11 year old gal. Well, he's totally not even close to being 6. He runs around and gets into everything like a toddler! LOL!!! He makes me laugh so hard. I honestly think he was a typical Easter bunny child gift that got tossed out in a pen in the back yard when the child got bored with him. Grrrrrr..... Anyway, I think he definitely not more than 3 years old and maybe younger. Vets can never really tell with bunnies who are between a year and six years old.

One loaf of bun.

Needless to say, by Saturday, three days after I thought I would foster him, I knew I would never let him go and I officially adopted him. Yep, I'm a sucker for super cute, fuzziness!

"What's that you say? I'm super cute and I get to stay? Yaaaaaay!"

He and Hannah are both the sweetest bunnies and there has been no fighting or stomping. They will eventually share the same playpen, but for now, it is supervised play dates as he still has some "testosterone" in him and I don't want him jumping on Hannah's back and hurting her.

"Tell him to stop with the humping already! Geesh!"

This is a painting that my friend Val painted and gave to me three years ago. It's called "Sir Henry in the Garden." I think it is rather perfect hanging here in the forever home of Henry the VIII.

I'm looking forward to sharing more stories about the bunnies, Sabrina kitty, Bayfield Cottage and lots of creative adventures here in my little place in the crazy social media world. A place where we can all just visit for a bit and really connect with one another like we use to do.

We'll see ya back here next Wednesday. Until then, have a peaceful and Very Hoppy Christmas!

"That's right Henry. You got it. This is called the 'mush your face to the floor and look super cute look.' Mama can't resist it. She will stop everything to pet us and give us a treat."

Hugs and friends,
Michelle and the fuzzy ones