Jobo Designs

This past weekend, Marky and I decided to get all domestic and creative and go apple picking.... and then make our own Apple Crumble Pies to freeze like my Dad does every year.  Near our new house there is a small organic orchard (Beamish's Orchard in Warren Grove, P.E.I.) that we drive by regularly, so we decided to go and check it out for ourselves!  They were making homemade fresh-pressed apple cider that afternoon - which is delicious by the way! - so we got to see how that works too :)

Though it was a grey day, it wasn't overly chilly or wet, so ideal I guess for apple picking in the end.  The orchard has around 3 acres of goodies, with various types of apples.  We chose to buy some cooking apples... I think they were "Freedom" or "Liberty" or something like that.

 

Just because the apples were organic doesn't mean they were any less beautiful or perfect than the covered-in-pesticide variety... Of course there were a few wormy bits and spots here and there, but very delicious!

I had agreed to make 2-3 pies... but somehow the best laid plans got out of hand... and we ended up buying quite a lot of apples.  More than I had originally intended for sure.

We also brought home a few liters of the delicious pressed cider.  I can't believe how much better cider is than regular apple juice... there is just NO comparison on that one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we got home... the *supervisor* inspected the apples we picked... just to make sure they were *edible*.

Getting ready to bake my little tushie off...

Marky and JonJon took care of the peeling and chopping... and I took care of the crusts and crumble.  The pies went into the over 2 at a time... and the house smelled like an apple pie factory.  The kitchen was demolished (ugh, 8 pies worth of mess is a lot of mess) but the final result was worth it:

After baking... cooling :)

What's that you say?  where's the 8th pie?  Why silly, it's over on the other counter... half eaten!  Seriously... did you think I could convince 2 fellas to help me in the kitchen for that many hours and NOT feed them some?  I'd have been tossed to the curb for sure!

mmmmm pie!

Of course, we had to let *the boss* try some of the spoils as well... and since he isn't really a fan of crumble, he settled for munching away on a plain apple.  He has a thing for the apple skins... and was in Heaven!  Snuggling on daddy's lap with a whole apple?  Seriously.  Happy. Bunny.  (he ate the skin off about 1/3 of the apple... in case anyone is upset by my lack of portion control)

All in all... a successful baking day :)  Happy Thanksgiving All!

 

The little Bun Bun was playing out on the deck last week... running and playing and jumping around... He looks pretty cute!  Someone pointed out though how his wave bangs looked like the 80s "Flock of Seagulls" look.  I was born in 1981, so I wasn't really up on all of the hot hairstyles of the 80s (I do however remember side ponytails, neon bike shorts, and many of the other delightful trends, lol)  so I decided I would look it up just for a laugh.  Bazinga!  It's a little uncanny... Hillarious!

Before I had a Rabbit as a pet... I often thought that a caged pet would be boring and do nothing but poop and eat and stay inside a cage most of the time.  Well, I'm sure if you left a rabbit in it's cage all the time, this could be the absolute truth.  In our family's case though, having Ruttiger come out and hang out with the rest of the gang has been a staggering success.

Before we got him (he was 4 months old on Sept 10, in case you were following)  I read a whole lot of forums and articles about "house rabbits" to try and get a feel for what I should do with the little guy when he arrived home.  I remember one article that suggested just getting down to the rabbits' level and just do what you normally do, and their curiosity will win out and the rabbit will come and see what you're up to.  The article suggested that if you normally come home and open the mail... just do exactly that.  Come home, open the cage, sit on the floor and open the mail - chances are the Bun Bun will come and see what you are doing.

I've tried to incorporate this philosophy into my Rabbit Care regime.  As a bonding activity, I make sure to take 15 minutes around feeding time morning and evening to sit right on the floor with Ruttiger, and feed him the first handful of his pellets while sitting on my knee and nibbling the kibbles out of the palm of my hand.  In the beginning I would have to coax him over... Now, he's on top of me before I have both buttcheeks firmly planted on the floor.  He curls right up and relaxes with me for the first handful or so, and then eats the rest happily from his bowl inside his cage.  For me, this activity has been a very rewarding and connecting one - My one-on-one time with my Furry little Bun-Child.

The bonding process seems to be going well... now the little guy follows me wherever I go.  If I'm gathering laundry in the bedroom, he's right there sniffing around and running under the bed.  If I'm cooking supper, he is flopped at my feet vegging out.  If I sit down, he comes over and walks all over me and checks me out thoroughly.  he will gladly hop into my lap, and doesn't run away when I try and pick him up as often.  I think he believes me now that I'm not going to Eat him!  though I might hug him and tease him a bunch!

Here he is following Momma into his favorite room... if he is out playing and suddenly disappears you can bed he's flopped on the cool tile floor.  We had a friend visit the other day.... who asked if he could use our other bathroom... since this one was "occupied" already lol ;)