Hello, Thursday.

I have a lot to write about. I do.

I have made art lately.

I have been playing my ukulele like crazy.

I have accompanied Miss Blueberry to Her Exceptional Storytime, where She became a Star!

I have made Limoncello. Well, I am still making it. It is steeping.

I have petted A LOT of Rabbits. Well, two. And a LOAD of cats! Well, four.

We, here at the Lilypad, also had a house guest over the weekend: Lisa, formerly of Nerdy Renegade News was here to stay for a few days, and that was wonderful and fun!

All these things have happened, and I have not written much about them at all.

I will, though. I promise! And, soon!

For today though, here's what you are getting:

This is a small version of me (circa 1975) on the toilet.

OMG!!!!

I KNOW, RIGHT??

SHOCKING!!!!

So, stay tuned for Friday.  There will be a movie.  And, then, hopefully next week, there will be a bit more effort on the part of these Rabbits to write something substantial!   So long until Friday!

Miss Zoe Presents: Flip Friday

This week was Blueberry's Library Storytime. SHE WAS A HIT!!!!

We are still waiting for pictures of the event.

While you wait, please enjoy this movie of Elizabeth starting a Love Revolution.

Oh, and have a Great Weekend!!

Awesome Birthday Present

So, at some point last week, I think I said I was going to tell you about my Super Exciting Birthday Gift.

I think I have mentioned before that we have an Invisible Rabbit named Mr. Rumi who selects our gifts.  I have told you that, right?

In case you missed that story, Mr Rumi was the name of a Wonderful Rabbit who we brought home from the local German Heritage Festival many years ago.  We loved Mr. Rumi.  He was so soft and sweet.

Then, we took Mr. Rumi to the veterinarian, and, welllllll........  we got a surprise.

I've told you this story, right?

Mr. Rumi = Miss Zoe.  Well, you see, they told us She was a He when we got Her at the German Fest!  What were we supposed to do?

To make a long story even longer, we couldn't give up Mr. Rumi.  Instead, we made up a lovely story about an Invisible Bunny who lives in a drawer in the Rabbit Room, and who buys presents for the Residents of the Lilypad, and that became... MR. RUMI!

So, now we are finally getting to the crux of the matter.  A few weeks ago, before my Birthday, I sent Mr Rumi an email to tell him something that I wanted for my Birthday.  It was something I had mentioned before, but hadn't really pursued.  This time, though, I made it a priority.

And so, Dear Readers, meet Mr Rumi's gift to me!!

Her name is Luna.  She is a Ukulele!!!

Miss Zoe Presents: Flip Friday

As it is Blueberry's Big Debut at story time next week, I thought we could warm Her up with a starring role in Her own movie.

I know, She has had Her own movie before. But She can be a little camera shy. It is something that we are working on.

Lucky for you we are working on it, because it means you get Blueberry movies!!!

So, are you ready for one? Prepare ye the way of Blueberry.

Blueberry, Blueberry, Blueberry from marcy hall on Vimeo.

A Word About Italian Things

It occurred to me yesterday as I was feeding the cats (who knows why I made this association) that I never actually finished telling about my trip to Italy.

Huh?

How did that happen?  I guess there were lots of interruptions.  

 One of the Interruptions

Also, Animals were going to Sparkle Pond, and though we try no to think of that as a sad thing, though we miss them sooooooo much, I think it put me a little more off track than I like to be.

Consequently, I did not finish writing about my Italian Excursion.

So, today, as a bit of an Italian Excursion, I thought I would tell you this:  I have begun a batch of my very own Limoncello.

YAY!!!

I brought some back with me from the Cinque Terra.  IT WAS DELICIOUS! 

Well, and I've always wanted to make Limoncello.  I'm not sure why.  But we were at the grocery store the other day, and I saw some Meyer Lemons, and so we got them.  And now, there is Limoncello brewing in a jar.

A bird's eye view-- see all the lemon zest in there?

It is finished with step one.  Soon, we will continue to step two (probably over the weekend).

Who wants to try some??

Hmmmmmm....maybe someone already did.....

Miss Zoe Presents: Herself

Last weekend would have been Zoe's birthday.  It was my birthday, too.  We shared the day.

Next week, I will write about the present I got, which was Very Exciting Indeed.  But for now, I would like to focus on a Certain Rabbit.

The point of focusing on a Certain Rabbit is to let you know that She is Still Watching You.  Lest you should forget.  Her Watchful Eye is Always Upon You.

Not in a scary Lord of the Rings way.

Well, maybe a little.

Not if you are behaving, though.  If you are behaving, Her Eye is on you in a Loving and Watchful way.

Otherwise......  Well...... Ahem.

Only you know for sure.  In any case,  Miss Zoe remains watchful, and that is the point of today's Movie.

Without further delay, then, I present, Miss Zoe:

Miss Zoe is Still Watching You from marcy hall on Vimeo.

Wednesday Baby Rabbit Update

Elizabeth has lived here for almost two months now.   I thought I should write a wee update about Her progress.

"TWO MONTHS??  REALLY??"

First let me say this:  She is Big.  Like, bigger than you would think when you hear the words "Baby Rabbit."  She is really the same size as Zoe was as a full grown Bunny.  And She is not even six months old yet.  Let me be the first to say:  EEK.

Second, She has a Super Long Tail.  Before I knew Rabbits personally, I always pictured Rabbit Tails as kind of short and small and cotton bally.  But Elizabeth's tail is long, as was Zoe's before Her.

A very loooooooong tail.

A long tail, indeed. 

Some other updates are as follows:

1.  She likes ALL SALAD FOODS now:

2.  She has figured out that She can squeeze through the Rabbit Gate to make Her way down the hall.

Who?  ME?

3.  She has pretty much decided that rolling is about the Best Thing Ever.  She rolls well and often.  I promise to get a video of this ASAP.  She rolls onto Her back, arms in the air, and just lays there.

4.  She loves cat toys!  Like, LOVES THEM.  Especially balls with bells in them.

And that, my friends, is the Wednesday Baby Rabbit Update.

Carry on with your day, and carry the knowledge of Elizabeth with you.

Making the World a Better Place

Painting by Heather Plett

On her blog, Sophia Leadership, our friend Heather Plett asks these questions: 

How can we change the World for Women, and How can Women Change the World?

These are Really Big Questions.

As I see it, the Simple Answer is this:  Rabbits.

Well, not specifically Rabbits.  But I think the answer to this question is something a Tiny Rabbit can teach us.  Or a Cat.  

The Answer that Rabbits and Cats and well,  pretty much all Religions and Philosophies (and I mean Eastern AND Western Religions) want us to know is that what changes the world is BIG LOVE. 

BIG LOVE!!!!

(and I am not referencing the TV show about Mormons.  Elizabeth and Blueberry wanted me to Clarify.  That is a different Big Love.  And it's not one that Rabbits are opposed to, but that's a story for another day, obviously.)

We tend to think of Compassion as The Thing.  Like, we can see when someone has had a hard time, right? We can rationalize behaviors, we can see where people are coming from, we can even Understand and Empathize.  As women, I think we tend to try to do that a lot, even if it's just superficially so we can avoid conflict.

But the HARDER thing to do, and I think something that Women have a bit of a corner on, is LOVING ANYWAY. 

Even if we don't Understand. 

Even if we can't Rationalize or Figure It Out. 

Having Compassion is Great.  Wonderful!  But, as Rabbits see it, Compassion is only a small part of LOVE itself.  The Greater Part of Love is just The Love Itself.  Not the Understanding.  Not the Empathy or the Sympathy or the Compassion, but the act of letting go of getting something for ourselves and giving into Just Giving. 

Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love.  I think that's what will Change the World for Women and How Women Can Change the World.

The Chick is also writing about this issue, and I think our posts compliment each other really well.  I guess that makes sense.  She has some great suggestions that are really concrete about how you can BIG LOVE other women.  But we need to remember that this BIG LOVE concept extends not only to other Women, but also to.... Men.  And... to Ourselves.

If we can't BIG LOVE everyone, then it's not going to work.  Changing the World is for Everyone.  We have to let go of expectations that others are trying to harm us or drag us down.  No one can drag you down except yourself.  Not really.

Well, a Rabbit can drag you down with a Simple Stare, but again, that's another story altogether.

Miss Zoe Presents: Flip Friday!

This week, we thought we would bring you a Double Rabbit Movie.  That does not mean Two Rabbit Movies, it means Two Rabbits in One Movie.

Are you down with that?  I'm not sure that one is more favorable than another.  They are both Awesome.

I have to explain a bit about the Current Situation in the Rabbit Room before this video airs.  You will see both Rabbits in this movie.  DUH!  I already said you would.  But, what you will also see in this movie is a Berlin Rabbit Wall.  The Great Wall of Rabbit.  Pink Rabbit's The Wall.

Whatever you want to call it.  It's a bit of a fence.

The girls don't exactly get along swimmingly.  Little Girl Rabbits need their space.  Who doesn't?  They are fine as long as they have something in between them.  You know the story of how fences make good neighbors?  Well, that is the story here.  As long as they each have their own territory, all is peaceful.

It's all like, "There's not enough room in the Rabbit Room for the both of us," in here. 

But, as long as they have a fence, it is all Ponies and Rainbows.

In the movie that follows, you will get a glimpse of The Wall, so that's why I thought explaining it was a good idea.

Here we go:

Double Rabbit Movie from marcy hall on Vimeo.

Big News For Blueberry

TA DA!!!

What is Blueberry's Big News? 

Well, no, she did not get a new Baby Rabbit.  One is quite enough for Her, thank you, She said.

Her Big News is that She will be starring in a Library Storytime on March 22 at 1PM!  For anyone who is in Erie, you may want to come and Behold the Rabbit Magic.

All others will have to wait for the Movie.  Or the Pictures.

BLUEBERRY IS A STAR!!!!