Our life for your amusement.
We’ve been trying to teach Derby to fetch a tennis ball. So far, he runs to ball, nudges it a bit, then runs back to us for a bit of banana chip.
Now, given his recent foray into the yard…
I realized that he has the potential to be the first ball bun at Wimbledon! With that new retractable roof, he would have protection from hawks. He could keep the lawn trimmed and fertilized, all while being cute and/or disapproving. (Come to think of it, he’d make a great umpire, too)
We thought that we were all set for today’s switch to Digital television. We bought a new digital flat-screen TV last winter, but I figured out just this week that we might not have the right antenna.
The DTV signals broadcast at higher frequencies; almost all of them are in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) range. The traditional Rabbit Ear aerials pick up the Very High Frequency signals (VHF), which means that they will be useless in our area. So I ordered a brand spanking new DTV, UHF “Donut” antenna; when it arrives we’ll hook it up and stick the Rabbit Ears in the closet for now.
Until then, we will just have to manage (such privation!).
Thanks to Government regulators, we can not just throw the old antenna away. A little-known requirement buried in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (S.652) mandates that all House Rabbit owners possess at least one set of “functional dipole Very High Frequency (VHF) antennae” (Rabbit Ears) at all times; even if they are not hooked up and even if the rabbit owner(s) has/have a subscription for cable television.
The rule is sometimes known as “The Thumper Amendment”.
No provision was made for enforcement, though, nor did the regulation make any mention of potential sanctions for violators.
Still, just to be safe, and for the sake of our bunny, we’ll keep the old one for now.
rnrnWe took a nice trip down to Mount Vernon. We’ve been many times, but it’s always nice to see the gardens. It’s amazing how many subtle changes there are each time we visit. I always think of places like Mount Vernon as fixed because they are historical, but there are new things all the time.rnrnThis bumble bee is one of the amazing things we saw in the gardens. We also saw some wild turkeys trying to sneak into the area set aside for a wine tasting event. It took us a minute to realize these were wild turkeys, because there are so many animals around the property.rnrn
rnrnWe saw a sheep being hand sheared down at the colonial farm section of Mount Vernon. We also saw two barn swallows in the barn.rn
rnrnIt’s funny with all the animals and exhibits that the curators carefully set up, the barn swallows were one of my favorite parts of the day. I’ve never been that close to these birds!rnrnAll the pictures were taken by Art and the description of the day by Carly. More on Flickr.
rnrnBlue Cornmeal pancakes made with homemade buttermilk; Chicken Apple Spice Sausage; and Broccoli Hache.rnrnInitially served with a sparkling Pinot Noir, but that did not work at all. I should have trusted my original instinct and had the Blue Dawg Wild Blue Blueberry Lager we had in the refrigerator.rnrnThe inspiration for the meal was the desire to use the buttermilk left over from Carly’s recent butter making experiment.rnrn[tags] cooking, pancakes, buttermilk, brinner[/tags]
Life at our house. Dinner with friends, a little vodka and suddenly wine cork art appears.
January 27th was Derby’s day on the CuteOverload.com calendar! We were all very excited. Well, Art and I were. Derby seems to be characteristically disapproving.
[tags]disapproving, derby, cinnamon, cute, cuteoverload[/tags]
Art and I made it down to the mall for the Inauguration of our 44th president today. Art has been in DC for 16 year and I’ve been here for 12 and this is the first inauguration either of us felt compelled to attend. We’ve attended various inaugural events in the past, but never seen the swearing in of a president in person before. We met up with my sister Amy and headed down to the mall for our chance to see President Barack Hussein Obama sworn into office.
It did turn out that much of the published information about how to get around was wrong. The parade route crossover at 12th street NW was never opened, so we had to trek down to 18th street.
I don’t think there will be another president in our lifetime that we feel the need to go to an inauguration, but you never know. It was cold and there was an insane amount of people, but it was worth it. I’ve never felt this good after an election, ever! Tomorrow it’s back to work, but today was an amazing celebration of our country.
[tags]1.20.2009, obama, inauguration, i was there, washington dc[/tags]
We lost Ms. Petunia. She had been doing well, even with the head tilt. She was active and eating. The picture below was taken just yesterday. She was fine all day and then late last night she took a sudden turn. She let me hold her on my lap for quite a while, and I’ve learned that’s how my bunnies say goodbye. I left her in the litterbox around midnight, with something clearly wrong, and we found her this morning.
Goodbye sweet Ms. Petunia. Thanks for sharing some of your time with us.
[tags]house rabbits, bunny, bunnies, farewell[/tags]
No pie for you if you vote McCain. Art’s already voted because he’s working at the polls on Tuesday. I’ve got my pencil sharpened and ready. Hey — Barack — how about a vote in Congress for your loyal DC voters? (knocking on wood…)
*contains no obamas
[tags]obama, election, apple pie, voting[/tags]
