Fluffy bunnies...

I got a bunny!!

When I voiced that I had to go to the pet shop to pick up some hamster bedding on Saturday morning, Simon decided that it was unfair to go to a pet shop and not buy a pet - his words 'We could buy a bunny!' I have been asking for a bunny for a while, but had given up due to his constant negative answers. I wasn't letting go of this though - he'd brought it up, and it was his idea... So, we went to the pet shop for hamster bedding and walked away with a bunny and his cage and what-not. We spent a small fortune, but I got a beautiful baby boy out of it!!



Meet Loki; the God of Mischief, and my new baby bunny!! And he really is a baby, his microchip details have him at just over 6 weeks old!!

He's part dwarf and has little ears to show for it, so he shouldn't get too big, and he has the most adorable little front paws. His facial markings are almost a perfect reflection and the markings on his bum look like he got caught by the paint brush as he ran past!








Since his arrival home, he has settled into his indoor cage brilliantly and seems to be getting along with the day to day noises and movement of the house. He is very playful and loves the toys that we picked out for him, having already developed a pattern of leaving one of his balls in the water dish for me for when I get home from work - it was cute until the bamboo one soaked up all the water and went all soggy! Mischief suits him already!!

 After a few days to settle in I started to bond with him, sitting by his cage and talking to him, letting him take food from me in the cage and working up to some gentle stroking. He let me pick him up and we had our first cuddle, which my smile says everything for!! He's so cute and fluffy, so soft and seems to enjoy the cuddles once he's calmed down from being picked up.

Now nearly a week on, he seems comfortable once out of the cage, if not still a little skittish about actually being picked up in the first place - I'm still having to coax him out with offerings of food! He even took to laying down on me last night, so he feels safe enough after a quick exploration of his surroundings and a taste test of my onesie!!

I bought a book to read about training him to be a house rabbit, so I have some bed time reading to do before working on his education, but so far, everything seems to be running smoothly with his introduction to our little family :)

Bizarrely though, against all stereotypes  - he doesn't seem at all interested in carrots, though liked the broccoli that Simon brought home for him yesterday! So, I will leave you with a picture of him crunching away on that!

Tarot Reading

I recently took up Tarot Card Reading as a hobby, something I have always found fascinating, but have never gotten involved in. I haven't had my cards read by anyone as I am extremely sceptical about people in this line of work as there are so many out there that take advantage of people when they are vulnerable; I've never really dared trust anyone.

However, after a little research when I was writing one of my books led me to start thinking about it some more, I did a little independent digging about Tarot and went out and bought myself a deck of cards and a book. Obviously I was going to start with a book! I brought the cards home and resisted the temptation to open them straight up and investigate. I did the right thing and read the book first, wanting to truly understand the cards and how they worked.

Once I had the basics down, I opened the deck and started studying the cards, the minor arcana suits and the major arcana cards. It took me a while to get to grips with what these meant, and I still have issues without referring back tot he book for basic guidance, but I learned that it was all about interpretation.

Once I had a grasp on the basics, I had a go at a reading using the spread that the pack suggested as a basic one. I kept my question simple and open, and I let myself feel the cards and their meanings. Although still a little sceptical, I have to admit that I could make a lot of sense out of their interpretations. I kept a note of the reading and what the cards had said to refer back to at a later date, wondering if the future part of the cards was something that might happen...

I have used the Tarot cards since, however have been struggling with layouts and when to use which one. What types of questions are best suited to which spreads and so on. Anyone out there reading this that has any wisdom they'd like to impart, it would be greatly appreciated!!

Until then, I will keep moving slowly forward and see how I get on!

First day in the new job...

First of October - a brand new start... literally. I did my first day at Waterstones Orchard Square today, including sending my first emails as Events Manager :) Exciting times...

This was my tired face this morning at being up and off to work so long before I was actually due to start my shift, but the sun was shining and I had chocolate milk, so all was not that bad!















After much deliberation and lots of conversations and Googling to work out what the best options were, I decided that public transport was going to be my friend! Taking the car into the city centre was going to cause too many issues, one of them being the parking costs to have my car in town for nearly nine hours. The other was the thought of driving in and out of town at peak times! Not a pleasant thought - so the decision was made to take the tram from the park and ride at Halfway. It's new to me, but I have gained a forty minute travel time each way that is obviously prime reading time!! I got over a third of a book read today! Now that is seriously going to impact how many I can get through in a month...








I had an amazing day - I got a lovely welcome from the staff, a hug from Aly having not seen her since we got back from Buxton in the summer... I got a guided tour of the shop, which is a massive help when moving from a small shop to one that has so many subsections I thought my head was going to explode with all the information.

After lunch, I got to send my first emails in preparation for planning my first event. Michelle Obama's book, Becoming is due for release on the 13th November and we are making plans!! It felt awesome to write my name at the bottom of the email as Vanessa; Events Manager. Now I have to wait to get replies before I can do much more, but there are already more events on the to do list once I have found my feet. I can't wait! :D

On the way out I had to get the obligatory photo of me in front of the shop - I have one of these for all the stores I have worked in - which is now all six of them in the cluster!!

Keep your eyes peeled for more information about upcoming events - I'd really love to see some familiar faces at them!

Till next time x