Moving forward

We would like to thank all our friends for your support and prayers. We still have no leads on the culprits that attacked our rabbits. However, we have decided that we need to move forward and begin our slow process at rebuilding our angora herd. We are estimating at least one year till we get back to our competitive edge once again.

We want to give special thanks to Central Texas Rabbit Club and San Antonio Rabbit Breeders Association for your generous donation to help us re-build.

Lord Bless,
P. Ricardo and Sons,
Road To Angora Rabbitry

SARBA Show in Seguin, Texas

We had a wonderful time at the SARBA show in Seguin, Texas. I will be posting pictures of the show soon.

Unfortunately, I do not have the time to post anything since we are leaving for a week-long vacation. Hence, I will not be able to update the blog until my return on 10/25/09. The next posting will be on Monday 10/26/09.

I'm going on a Cruise to the Mexican Riviera, where, unfortunately, Hurricane Rick is threatening to hit some time next week close or in Cabos San Lucas, Mexico. Although our cruise ship has assured us that we will avoid the bad weather we will need your prayers.

I'll post pictures of my trip, too.

P. Ricardo Gonzalez
Road To Angora Rabbitry

Roat To Angora's "Rigoberta Menchu"

This is cute Road To Angora's "Rigoberta Menchu". This is a previous picture I took of her in the night. She came out nice and is looking better day by day. She will be competing on Saturday at the SARBA show. We have high hopes for her.

SARBA show this coming Saturday.

A friendly reminder to all Texas breeders. We are having the San Antonio Rabbit Breeders Association Show in Seguin, Texas, this coming Saturday, October 17, 2009.

The weather is looking great, though a bit humid. However, this show will be a great one. Looking forward to seeing everyone compete or simply visit with friends.

One of the best parts of showing is not to just show and compete, but to get to know the familiar faces of fun-loving breeders that are eager to talk and share their experience with their rabbit breeds. We always enjoy seeing our friends and making new ones. I don't see the Shows being as special as it is if it weren't for the camaraderie from everyone that participates and visits the show grounds.

So come on and have a great time! Also, visit the Raffle Table and support our Club!

"Jack Rabbit Bay" Picture

A friend of ours, Joseph, sent me this picture of "Jack Rabbit Bay". I don't know where he got it from, but it is cute enough to share with everyone.

More rain

The weather in San Antonio, Texas, has been muggy and humid. We've received so much rain that the Water Utility Company has lifted part of the ban on watering due to the aquifer level rising.

I just love this weather, it is cool, breezy, and wet. However, what I do not like is the fact that people still drive so fast in this weather causing accidents.

Our rabbits, well, they are enjoying the cool weather, but I don't know about the humidity. They are still looking good and happy, but we keep a daily watch on them as much as we can to insure they are safe, happy, and dry.

The interesting thing on the weather is that it is forcasted that we will return to sunny days starting Friday. Let's see how that goes.

We do need good weather for the Saturday show in Seguin, Texas, sponsored by SARBA.

Happy Columbus Day

Today is a nice day. The weather is a bit muggy from the rain, but very cool from the cold front. Excellent weather to cuddle under a blanket and watch TV and simply, veg out. Too bad I had to work.

Defensive Drivnig Class

Today was a sad day for me. I had to take a Defensive Driving Class and will have to sit for 6 hours listening to an instructor about my mistake and how I could have avoided it. Well, that is the consequences I get for choosing to speed 3 months ago and then procrastinating to take the class!

Posting was not released early...I hope I don't have more problems with releasing postings. :)

Delilah had her babies

On Thursday, October 08, 2009, around 6:30am, Delilah gave birth to 5 healthy chubby babies! We were so excited, but I was a bit upset since Johnny let Delilah sleep on his bed and she gave birth there.

We will keep one puppy and give the others. We already have the rest spoken for, but then again, we will see what happens.

Cotton Knit Towel finally finished!

Okay, I had previously posted on this "Bull Dog Face" Towel. It turns out that the huge towel was the Bull Dog Face AND body. I think that the dog looks more like a Boxer, but then again, I have to check it out.


It took me a while to finish it as you can see how large it is. The color is awesome, but the figure doesn't "pop out" like I'd like it to. However, once you see it live it is better than the pictures. I don't know if I will give it to my friend, Belle, or keep it. Would I knit another like this? I don't know as it was tough working on it!

On the picture above, you can see the large size of the towel.

If you look carefully at the picture above, you can see the ripples which detail the bull dog's face and neck and upper body and tail.

Here, you can see the leg outline a bit better.

Upcoming ARBA Convention

We are not going to be able to attend Convention this year, but we feel the need to remind people about the upcoming event. Unfortunately, many issues surfaced that we could not make the trip this year. However, several people we know are going and we are excited for them.

We wish all our friends and everyone that participates the best luck with their rabbits!

click on the picture for the link to the Convention.

SARBA Double Show on October 17, 2009

San Antonio RBA will be hosting a Double Show (California, French/English Lope Specialties) on October 17, 2009, in Seguin, Texas.

Contact Kim Walsh-Doiron openacreasrabbitry@yahoo.com for details.

You can also visit the SARBA Website for directions to the show.

We should be there with bells on! This time, no illness will stop us. :) We missed the Cleburne Show and we can't miss this one. We are eager to see our friends there!

Delilah

Here is Delilah. She is our little bitch and is pregnant! She is so huge and can barely walk so she should be delivering soon. She is such a wonderful girl and we hope to have nice babies. After that, well, she'll be spayed.

New Silk Roving

Started to spin some Silk. I got this black silk some time ago, but many things happened that I couldn't work on it. Now, I just begun to spin a lace type yarn to make a scarf for a friend5

Cotton Towel Knit

I've been knitting this huge cotton towel for quite some time now. It is supposed to show off a "bull dog" face/body. The towel is coming out great; however, the colorful pattern does not show off the silhouette of the dog fully.

Either way, it is looking great. I wanted to donate it to a great friend of mine, but I might keep it since it has given me quite some tough time to finish.

Today is a good day. I woke up feeling a lot better and more relaxed. I am hoping I finally shed the congestion I've been plagued with.

Finally, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel

I am finally feeling a bit better. I never fully got the flu, but did get the symptoms. It was horrible. I'm finally over it and the congestion is leaving my body, too. Everything is still a blurr from the past few days. I need to get better y tomorrow and clean up the house and rabbit shed.

Though I've been ill, I have not forgotten my babies. They are all doing great, including the boys. lol

What one does when feeling ill

yes, feeling ill gets me mischievous. I took self pictures and well, they came out horrible! I felt even worse when I saw my "double chin"! LOL I saw this and remembered a good friend of mine's words, "I used to be beautiful"! Yes, that was Allison when she underwent so much stress at work. Now, this is me. LOL
I keep thinking about exercising, but feeling ill I cannot do much but sit around moping and trying to recoup my energy.

Two wonderful rabbits

This is Jack. I took the picture at night when he was having problems breathing. I tried to get a picture closeup of the clogged nostrils, but was unable to. He came out good, despite having problems breathing. He is doing good now.

This is Road To Angora's "Rigoberta Menchu". Okay, I finally came up with her name and I like it. She is looking great, too, and cannot wait to show her in October since we missed this past show due to illness.

Been neglecting the blog

These past few days have been hectic. I began a new job and have been working with many kids so it has been a great experience. The only setback is that I got a bit ill. I recently took the flu shot and that has helped me tremendously. However, I managed to pick up some strep from the schools. I've been attending ARDs and other meetings with the children as an advocate, but I just never thought I'd get ill like this.

I started feeling ill on Wednesday and by Thursday, well, the body aches were so bad. Good thing is I had some Amoxicillin I had bought in Mexico during a recent trip. This has helped my immune system, but I still am a bit weak. Needless to say, I didn't have much time to write and post on the blog.

Through out this "daze", we almost lost Jack, our cute Angora to issues with possibly snuffles. I had not had the energy to blow the coats or be with the rabbits, so Johnny helped me out. He said the rabbits were all doing great, but on Saturday, he noticed that Jack was not moving much and he is very rambunctious. Well, I finally got off my couch and went to check on the rabbits. I saw Jack not moving much and with droopy eyes. Before anything, I took him out and used a stethoscope to hear his heart beat and respiratory system. Well, he had this horrible wheezing sound when breathing. I was not sure what to think and it was late to take him to the Vet. I checked him more carefully and saw that his nose was almost clogged up with some hair and mucus. Poor baby was not breathing and was suffocating. I quickly used some saline solution and a warm moist towelette and cleaned his nose. It was a bit tough as the mucus and hair was really stuck. I had to use some small scissors and i managed to clip off the "clog" and then utilized more saline solution to clean the nostrils. He quickly stopped wheezing and his heart beat got back to a normal rhythm.

I kept going back during the night to check up on him and he was doing well. Today, he was bouncing up a bit, eating well and drinking lots of fluids. I cleaned his nostrils again, but he did not have discharge like last night. right now, I checked on him and he is looking great. However, we still will take him to the Exotics Vet on Wednesday for his check-up as we do not want to take any chances.

So many things happen when one gets ill!

Being Lazy

Okay, I've been feeling lazy lately. I have not had time to knit or spin since I've been taking some time for personal rejuvenation. I changed jobs, well, am working on my own private practice again so it is taking a bit of my time and I've just been plain ol' lazy to take pictures to add to the blog.

On a good note, we've been having really good rainfall! Yes, we used to have lots of hot weather, but now, it is nice cool and moist! Thus far, the rabbits coats are growing and looking good. Though I have to admit, the regular grooming is a must due to the moist from the rain.

I'll be taking pictures tomorrow of some items I've been knitting and maybe of our rabbits, as they continue being prepared for the upcoming show this weekend. I am having second thoughts, though about going to the show as driving 4 hours does not sound too appealing. We will see.

Upcoming Show 9/25-26/09 in Cleburne, Texas

The Johnson County RC (Gaye Sparks fbbarn@our-town.com ) and SW RBA (Debbie Hill dwarfh@verizon.net ), are hosting a Triple Open and Youth Show on Friday, September 25, 2009 and Saturday, September 26, 2009, in CLEBURNE, TX.

You can download the JCRC/SWRBA show Flyer by visiting Bunnyrabbit.com, the local vendors.

We are planning on attending this show, though it is a 4 hours drive. We will be leaving early on Friday to show our rabbits. I almost decided not to go, but I feel we need to go and have fun. Also, we want to register 3 rabbits and visit with all our Show friends.

Swine Flu Paranoia

I got this picture from our friend, Janet, and I just had to post it. It is so funny!

It is cake time!

I baked a nice moist yellow cake for dessert. I let the boys pick the icing and since they chose chocolate, again, I decided to add a twist to the chocolate. I spread some strawberry marmalade and mixed it with the chocolate icing and the taste was totally awesome! The taste was a refreshing with a nice punch of sweet/sour. Needless to say, the cake was eaten in less than one hour!

Finally, my traditional Mexican Dish

Okay, the boys and I wanted to eat a traditional Mexican plate, "Arroz con Mole".

Here you can see the traditional Mexican rice. Notice Mexican rice is not mushy or sticky. The spices give it all the flavor it needs. Only regret in this dish is that I did not use the chicken broth to cook it, pity, it would've given the rice an extra punch with the taste of the chicken.

Mole, yum! Some people believe that Mole paste is "dried animal blood". No, it isn't. It is a paste made with chile and other ingredients. The paste is dissolved in the chicken broth when it is very hot. Then, one adds the chicken to the Mole and voila!

I don't like to add the full chicken bones and meat. I like to let the chicken cook long enough that the meat falls off easily. The boys like it this way, too, as it is easier to eat and less messy.

Messin' with Martin

My sons and I have been moving things around so that we can steam clean the carpet. I bought a new carpet cleaner, which is really cool. While Martin was in the room, Johnny and I decided to play a trick on him.

After emptying the box Johnny got inside it ...



I closed the box and called Martin asking him to take the box outside next to the trash can...

Unsuspecting Martin picked up the box and it was quite heavy for an empty box! As he picked it up, Johnny got scared he was going to be dropped and tried to get out and yelled, "Surprise"!

Ha ha, we all had a great laugh at the prank we pulled on Martin.

Martin didn't want to let Johnny out of the box as he got duped.

And.....this is the way we have fun at home.

A deer running happy

As I looked out the window in my office I saw this cute little deer running across the front of the building. It is such a great sight. However, as luck will have it, the batteries in my camera went dead. I was able to get this awesome picture, but I was not able to get the other deer that kept starring at me while I was taking the picture.

Weather is better in San Antonio

The weather has been really nice, lately. We should continue to enjoy this wonderful weather for the rest of the week and, hopefully, month!

The rabbits are more relaxed and happier. I've not used the A/C as much as during the summer months, but the fans still work at their pace helping circulate the air in the Rabbit Shed.

We've also had lots of rain, which is wonderful! Let's see how the weather continues to change for the better.

Patrick Swayze, 1952-2009

It is so sad to hear that the actor, Patrick Swayze, died from pancreatic cancer. We love the movie Dirty Dancing and Ghost, which I believe are the most popular and awesome movies he starred on--well, not to leave out "The Outsiders".

Such a sad loss.

Party for the Twins

We had a wonderful time down the Valley visiting family. So many activities to partake, but one of the best was the birthday party for the Twins, Stephanie and Samantha. The only thing that bothered me was that the boys ended up skateboarding on the street with their cousins, so they missed the pictures.

Life's a beach!

Family visit during Labor Day weekend lead us to the beach!

On September 11, 2001, a horrible tragedy hit the USA. It was a scary ordeal from which ordinary people became heroes.

I still remember that day clearly when I awoke to the news of our Nation being under attack. The fear I felt was real and unmeasurable. Just the past weekend, 9/6-8/01, my sister and I, were in Chicago, IL, attending my nephews graduation from the Naval Academy. We visited several places in Chicago and had a great time. However, on the date of our flights, my sister and I, were scheduled on the same flight home. Unfortunately, due to chance or something else, we had to be separated from our destination to Houston, Texas, whereby we would each depart to Brownsville, Texas and El Paso, Texas.

My sister was allowed to go on the same flight, while I had to board a different American Airline flight.
I still remember feeling that something was wrong since my flight got cancelled 3 times and then I finally flew to El Paso in the wee hours of the morning on 9/9/01 through American Airlines.

I wondered the peculiarity of the flight cancellations, but thought nothing much of it. However, 2 days later I awoke to the frantic telephone call from my sister telling me to turn on the TV. My heart sank as I saw what was happening and the devastation it caused.

I quickly got dressed and went to work at the Child Guidance Counseling Center, in El Paso, Texas, and we were all in shock and awed as the news kept pouring. Some clients cancelled, others came in panic, it was a tough ordeal. However, in the midst of chaos this country banded together in solidarity and ordinary people became heroes. We lost so many lives of children, women, and men, but all through this our Nation prevailed.

Nothing, not even the disturbing attempts by ignorant and hateful individuals will ever kill the American Spirit!

Till this date, I still have problems watching at the twin towers collapsing and the other videos of the attack. I keep thinking of the people that died not knowing what happened and the despair of those that survived. Overall, I remain in awe and admiration for the ones that without fear or hesitation ran into buildings to save people, only to be received by the hand of death. Those fallen heroes and all that gave their lives deserve the best remembrance ever as their blood was not shed in vane. Their blood shed did not destroy, but instead, invigorated this nation of ours!

P. Ricardo G0nzalez & Sons