Hurrah Maggie. Thanks for sharing. As you know, and thanks to your inspiration, we're on our own journey with rabbits as well. We picked up a breeding pair of NZ's on Easter (by coincidence). We're slowly processing our first litter born two weeks after Easter. Since then, we too have been experimenting with diet and valiantly searching for info - namely, a recipe for homemade pellets (wafers, whatever) to supplement with hay or dried grass. Our ideal is to rid ourselves from a dependence on feed stores, but still have healthy rabbits. We have lots of green stuff here in the Pac NW, but hay is a little trickier to make. It rains A LOT. We managed, but it was a real struggle to dry properly, and I'm not sure it is the best quality, even though its from pasture grass seed sewn this spring. They eat it though! Here's our report: Without a doubt, Mr. & Mrs. Bunny were raised on pellets. Since Mrs. Bunny was pregnant when we bought her (surprise!), we never moved her entirely from pellets, but slowly introduced greens, much to her delight. Mr. Bunny was far less receptive for a long while, but he's rather a cranky sort anyway (honest) and displays his various moods by accepting or rejecting food (and bowls) no matter what we feed him. So no real baseline sample with him! Our first litter was exposed to salad and pellets from day 1. They prefer salad to pellets and grass hay as a slightly distant third. We also treat them with toasted bread ends. I get these from a bakery I work at - no hormones, preservatives etc., just toasted whole-wheat bread. (Inspired, I experimented in the creation of a bread substance specifically for rabbits that could be more easily preserved, but later abandoned the idea). The results from our first litter were that the kits never reached a good weight until much later - even though they always had pellets available! Our biggest - now at twenty or so weeks is finally 5 lbs, though most are averaging 4.5 lbs. On the plus side, no one was ever sick or in poor health. It just took them lots longer - which cost us time, energy (and $$$ for extra housing!) When we brought this topic to the meat rabbit group on Yahoo, it was explained that our feeding program was prohibiting rapid meat development. Were surely not surprised really, but the alternative (for best results), would be a feeding more program which more resembles the "Cornish Cross Rock" practice. We're searching for a happy medium. We were fortunate enough to meet one of our state's most knowledgeable rabbit growers showing at the fair this year. She echoed the meat group and admitted that rabbits will suck down greens "like candy bars" when given the choice. (I'm not so sure this is a bad thing). She DID mention that we should ignore what others say about having to have high grade pellets. Her opinion is that the cheaper brands work just as well as the more expensive ones. As for home made foods, she recommended an old book that lists a recipe for meat production (author - Templton, we have a used copy on order). I'll share the recipe when I get the book. At least we'll know whatÂs IN those pellets - or should be according to Templeton! Mrs. Bunny just kindled 7 more kits last week, so we can make adjustments this time. The meat rabbit group often discusses diet so lots of good info there, thanks to someone here who recommended it. Again, when the book arrives I'll share the info. Thanks, Maggie for your post. How timely! LF RJ

Our house is a late 1970s ranch. It is 1675 sq ft and has 7 windows. One per room - except the family room that has a 6 ft slider instead. In the kitchen, which is right next to the family room, there was a cloth valance when we moved in. Last fall, as the days got shorter, I realized that the valence was blocking a lot of light that I needed. I went online and found a stained glass panel that was made with mostly uncolored, obscured glass. I put it at the top of the kitchen window where the valence had been. The obscured glass gives us privacy so that the house next door does not look into the kitchen so much, but lets the light into the room. I have de-cluttered a the request of the cleaning lady. She wanted to dust fewer things, so some things went down into the basement. I recently purchased a big leather couch from Craig's List. It replaced a chair and a love seat that were in the family room. The love seat was always covered with a slipcover. Between DH and the dogs, the slipcover was always askew, so it looked frumpy and cluttered. Now, the family room is neater with the couch and two chairs, instead of the love seat and three chairs. Everyone comments at how much more comfortable and neater it looks. Sometimes few big pieces of furniture make a small space work better than many smaller ones. When we moved the TV, CDs, tapes, and stereo components into a big 5 ft x 2 ft x 5 ft high cabinet, the loss of clutter made our tiny living room in our last house feel bigger. When I was shopping for furniture, I discovered a new pet peave - big rolled furniture arms that doubled the size of a chair. I don't know whose house they were made for, but those furniture sets with the huge arms made huge wasted space in a family room the size of mine. I settled on a couch with medium sized rolled arms, as I like the comfortable feel, but did not want to waste so much space.

Eyewitness accounts are notoriously unreliable, Froniga! Our minds are programmed to interpret what we see so that it fits in with what we already know to be true. On an everyday level, that is a necessary feature which prevents visual (and other) overload. When it comes to accurate perception of unusual phenomena or events, though, this feature becomes a problem. At the extreme end this occurs in encounters with UFOs, ghosts or angels. At the mundane end, it causes the police to take witness descriptions of an accident with a large pinch of salt!

hahaha mushcreek. I can relate as I used to do paper sculpture. I suppose I could do a scaled model of my house. Hmm, maybe I should? Nah! Lindsy, I did use my computer program (photoshop) to sketch up what I wanted at first. I didn't work with an architect which is probably why it took me so long. I worked with a draftsman. Big Mistake! If I had it to do over, I would have brought my ideas to an architect. This is the very first sketch I brought the draftsman. Notice I didn't really concern myself with actual sizes etc but only with an overall general feel of which rooms I wanted where. For example, I knew the garage had to be where it was and I was required to have the front door on the other street (it's a corner lot). I also knew I wanted a "courtyard feel to my back yard and I wanted my kitchen near my garage. I also knew I wanted the master, DH's study (labeled den) and the great room to open to the yard. The problem was as some here alluded to, was that he then got stuck on the idea of the stairway where I had it, etc. He couldn't visualize anything on his own. I have a design background, so wound up designing it completely by myself WITH the help of the folks and especially with the help of the architects on this forum. And this is what we wound up with: