Pink Rabbit Abroad

Maurice and Astrid in China

2011-12-24T20:58:00.000-08:00

Hey, bunnyboy, what are we doing in this airport?

We're going on a trip! It'll be fun!

Yeah. Says the rabbit.

Is this it?

I guess. Let's find out.

Hey look! We're in China!

Well whaddya know.

Not only are we in China, but here in this park we're part of the zodiac statuary.

That's cool. Does that mean they won't try to put us on the chop suey and eat us for dinner?

They would never eat us for dinner. We're honored guests.

Lunchtime! Thank goodness, I'm starving.

What's in there?

Ummm, I'm not sure. I think it's pork. Or chicken. Or beef. Or something like that.

All of those are Chinese zodiac animals! Are you sure this honored guest thing is going to work?

Sure it is. We're polyester. Wok us and we'll melt.

Well, that's reassuring.

Sam here is our guide, and he's going to take us up the world's longest cable car to the keyhole mountain.

How far is it?

8 kilometers.

I can't see the town any more. It's lost in the smog!

Here we are at the Special Fantabulous Keyhole Mountain. Only 990 steps to the top.

Are you sure we have to go all the way up?

Of course we have to go up.

Why? What's up there?

The top. You can't come all this way, a third of the way around the world, up the longest ever cable car, and then not go to the top.

I can.

No, you can't.

We made it! I am a Zen Bun.

All Eyes

2011-11-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well, guys, it's that time of year again!

Did you bring us candy?

Sacks and sacksfull?

Candy!!!!

No candy. I brought you these fine pumpkins to carve for Halloween.

No candy?

No matter! We are armed and ready to go!

I get to do the eyes!

No, I get to!

I called it first!

That's a lotta guts, Maurice. You wouldn't think so many guts would fit into such a modestly sized pumpkin.

Let's get to work.

Nice eyes you've carved there, Astrid.

Oh, and here's another one. Good job, Britta.

And there's another on the far side.

Did anybody carve anything but eyes?

Looks great, rats; let's take it outside.

This Jack-o-lantern will see 'em coming from all sides.

Hey, guys! What about this one?

we could maybe give it a mouth and some scary teeth...

1001 uses

2011-10-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

Why so glum, Maurice ? You’re not looking so pink today.

*Sigh* Well, Laars, this paper has come back rejected again. Nobody likes my results ! I admit, they are modest, and represent but a small incremental step in the march toward Understanding. But they’re solid results, succinctly put.

Hm. Many big words. Any pictures in there ?

Yes, of course ! Look at this beautiful histogram of flowgram values !

Err, I was thinking more cartoons. It is a nice little paper, though.

I think so too, but alas, the Reviewer and the Editor did not.
The boss’s orders are to add some « pep » to it and send it out again, quick.

Ah, Pep.

...

Um, what does that mean ?
Is there some secret neato-keen data we can add to it ?

No.

Is there some astonishing new conclusion to be drawn ?

No.

Does it go faster than light ?
Can you work the Higgs boson in there somehow ?

Ummm...

How about this ?

Hey ! That’s just the ticket !

This has gotta work.

A rabbit goes to Stockholm

2011-09-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

The train! The train to Stockholm! Here it is!

This is my buddy Luis. He and Mev live in Lund, but we went to Stockholm last week, just to see it.

Because it's there.

I met lots of fun characters in Stockholm. They were everywhere!

This fox-lady sitting by one of the canals was very nice.

Didn't even try to eat me.

Swedish pastries are excellent! I like to taste the pastry wherever we go. I could just live on pastry.

The coffee was alright.

hey? feeling okay?

Mmmm! raspberry crumble and beer for lunch!

This vacation thing is a deal!

Really, the hot sandwiches were on their way, and not all the beer was mine...

Another interesting character. Strong, silent type.

I don't know what this guy was speechifying about, but he did have a crowd.

After that it was time to go home.

Blackberry adventure

2011-08-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hey, Astrid, let's go blackberry picking with Marie-Laure and her mom!

Yeah! Let's go!

Ow ow. The berries are nice, but the plants are really mean!

Ouch! I'm stuck in the brambles.

Hey guys! There are plenty over this way!

Aïe! This blackberry business really hurts!

OW OW OWWW

Time to go. Our basket isn't full yet, but the chicken in the oven is done, so it's time to head home for lunch.

Marie-Laure and her mom have gathered a good kilo or more.

This is our share.
That and a thousand blackberry stickers!

Oooh, that's going to be some good jam.

Bun Dublin

2011-07-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, folks, this is two, count them: TWO, posts in the very same week!

I got to play on some of the statuary.

This guy seemed nice, but he wasn't very talkative.

I like Dublin parks - no dogs to chase you, and nobody tries to use you as a football.

Now if they would only serve Guinness to Rabbits, it would be perfect.

And that was my trip to Ireland.

See you later this summer, once the rats think of something fun to do in the yard.

Bun in Ireland

2011-07-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

Hello hello!

Yes I know, I've been away far too long.

What can I say? I've been in Ireland.

I went to the Tall Ships Festival in Waterford, where there were tall ships in the water and strange creatures on the quay.

And I got to see old castles, and sit on the furniture from time to time.

This is me being King.

I got to ride a rocket.

It seemed to be broken, though.

The best part was hanging out with Darrell

and meeting new friends. These are hitchhikers from Dublin.

And of course, you can't go to Ireland without being surrounded by Green.

Here it is!

Apricots

2011-06-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

It's summertime, guys! The cherries are over, but the apricots should be just right.

Apricots?

We don't see any apricots.
Well, you have to have superhero vision this year. There are two up there.

Oh, yeah!

Yeah, whatta crop!

This ladder isn't quite tall enough to get up there.

Here, let me stand on your head.

Now you, Britta, climb up on top of us.
Still not tall enough. You know what that means...

(oh, look, Blogger is having fun deciding which way the photos go, again.)

Sigh. The phonebook trick isn't working.
Hey, smarty, why don't you just use your superflying cape, whizz up there, and get them on the flyby?

ooff!

uh. The cape seems to be having technical difficulties. Can you think of anything else?

Sure! We're rats! Just climb.

Easy peasy!

Hey, no fair! All that effort, and they're not quite ripe yet.
We'll have to do this all again in three or four days.

All of it?

Well, perhaps we can skip the falling on the ground part.

On the bright side, all that messing around did manage to dislodge the one ripe apricot on the other side of the tree.

Let's eat!

Watering

2011-05-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hey, Superboy, whatcha doin'?

I'm taking this pot of water to the garden. The tomatos are thirsty.

Why don't you just use the hose, like normal people do?

We're having a drought, in case you haven't noticed, and this is grey water collected from the kitchen.

Yep, that's grey all right!

What's in it?

Bjorn is in it! Yech!

Nothing bad. Just water from washing the dishes and from washing hands, and rinsing the coffee pot. No sense in putting all that water down the drain when the basil will be very happy to have it.

Now how about if you guys give me a hand getting it over there.

Ow!

Hey, this water is heavy.

How did we get shanghai'd into this?

Thanks, rats! Now I'm going to water the corn patch so it'll grow tall and make lots of corn so we can have a huge cornfest this summer.

Ooof!

HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa

Superboy: he may be strong, he may be able to fly,

but he's still a klutz.

I am not! I slipped on this dandelion...

But he does his part for the planet.

Yes. We must give proper credit for that.

Flat Stanley, part 2

2011-04-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

So here we are in downtown Clermont-Ferrand. One thing typical of European towns is a big empty space smack in the center. Often this used to be the original market place, with people coming with carts or tents of things to sell rather than fixed stores. Today in Clermont-Ferrand this square is used for political and social demonstrations, seasonal events, gatherings, and when our team is in a big game, like the ASM winning the national rugby championship, or when the French team won the World Cup, they put up a gigantic TV and everybody gathers to watch right here, together.

This is the statue honoring one of the local heros, Vercingetorix. 2000-odd years ago this local chief managed to get enough warriors together (and more importantly, got them organized and disciplined!), and threw Ceasar out of the region. Victory didn't last, though, and the Romans were back not long after.

Most days he wields just a sword, but this year it's the flag of the ASM.

Being a volcanic area, monuments and statues in the Auvergne region are often made of this wonderful black lava. The grain of the stone is very fine, and it's exceptionally hard and resistant to weathering. This particular monument to Pope Urban the 2nd is quite new, but the details on the 15th-16th century cathedral are almost as sharp.

There's Urban, preaching the First Crusade. He was based in Clermont (just "Clermont". At the time, Clermont was a town centered on religion and government, while Montferrand, on the next hill over, was a town based on commerce. The two towns merged later.), which for a while was the seat of the papacy. The different popes moved all over the place during the midieval period, and sometimes there was more than one at a time.

While church attendance is dwindling continuously and many fabulous old cathedrals and churches are now historical monuments supported by the state, a different weekly gathering of the masses is growing. No game today, though.
Whew, all that walking around town made me hungry for another French thing: pastry!

Flat Stanley, part 1

2011-04-18T09:26:00.001-07:00

What's this, Britta?

Hmmm, "Flat Stanley". A stagiaire of some sort, Maurice.

Okay; let's show him around.

Look, Astrid: it's Flat Stanley!

Quiet chap, isn't he?

And why's he all plain? A nudist?

Maybe it's a superhero!

Yeah - the Flat Ghost.

If it's a superhero, let's give it the Super Strength Test. erfff! It's making noise!
But it's not moving the brick. What kind of superhero can't get out from under a brick?

There are many sorts of super powers. Not all of them involve moving bricks. I, for example, can fly.
pfff!
>snerk< yes, Maurice, we've seen you "fly"...
But look, he's completely unscathed. Not a dent.
Ahaaaa.... Total brick resistance! Held down, but not harmed in any way.
Let's give him the setting on fire test!
Yeah!!! No, come on guys, it's just a regular Flat Stanley. With a rugby uniform on, that's a lot better.
Yellow and Blue for the ASM!
Rugby is a team sport appreciated all over Western Europe and in the Commonwealth. It's the precursor of American football, and is classically played 15 players on each side, for two halves of 40 minutes each.
Play is pretty much continuous, stopping only for serious injuries, penalties, and after a score. Touching the ball down across the goal line is called a "try" and is worth 5 points. The team scoring a try gets to kick the ball between the uprights for an additional 2 points. At any time during play, a player can attempt a kick through the uprights: this is called a "drop" and is worth 3 points. Penalty kicks are also worth 3 points.
Rugby is a very fast-moving and physical game. Only the player with the ball may be tackled, and thus when he's about to be tackled, he often makes a lateral pass to a teammate. This passing prowess led our local rugby team, the ASM, to the national championship last year.
There are several international tournaments. Every year the 6-Nations tournament is held between France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Italy. England, Scotland and Wales are all now part of the same country, the United Kingdom, but in rugby they have their own national teams and play their own national anthems and fly their own flags. Ireland is now divided into two countries, the Republic of Ireland, and six counties in Northern Ireland belonging to the United Kingdom. The Ireland team, however, is composed of Irish citizens from all parts of Ireland. This year's tournament was won by England.
Every four years there is a World Cup Rugby tournament. This is a tournament year, and it is being hosted by one of the greatest rugby nations: New Zealand. Alrighthen, let's play a little rugby: you rats Laars, Ingmar, Bjorn and Britta; against me, Stan, Astrid, and the chicken. Scrum!!!

Ingmar is breaking away with the ball!

Get him, Stan!

Oof.

And Stan scores!

Hooray for Flat Stanley!

Rabbit in Deauville

2011-04-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

It sure feels nice to get out of the house after a long winter and go for a hike in the countryside.

Hmmm! A secret stairway.

Check it out! There's a whole concrete room here. Not very big, just about the size of the bathroom. There's a terrific view of the English Channel from the window. I wonder why it's so scrunched. My ears don't fit.

Ah, the beach! I love the beach in the off-season. It's so calm. So serene.

Yep. very calm, very serene.

...

There's England on the other side.

Where? I don't see it.

It's too far to see from here. But it's over there.

What good is England?

Ummm.... well... they serve french fries with vinegar, though I'm not sure that's a good thing. And they have this dessert called 'trifle' that's quite fun. And bookstores! The books are usually in English! Always a plus. What else... It must be admitted their rugby team is pretty good. That's all I can think of.

That's kind of thin. Oh, and they have Doctor Who!

Now you're talking.

Doctor Who keeps happening in Cardiff, though. In that case he might be Welsh. But that's ok. Wales is over there too. And they also have a pretty good rugby team. And if you go farther north, there's Scotland.

But the rugby there is not quite so good. Better than Belgium, but not so good as Wales. And they eat haggis. I would think twice about going too far north.

Just as well it's so far away, then.

March outing

2011-03-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

Hey Laars, let's take this train.

Yeah, it's a good one. I want this front seat here.

Um, I'm not sure you're allowed. I think we have to sit inside the train.
Awww.

Look! The castle in Montluçon is guarded by gargoyles.

They're pretty cool.

Hey! It's got me! Lemme go!

This traveling by dino-taxi looks fun.
Yes, but it isn't very fast. I told it to take us to the nearest pizza, and we're still here.
Maybe there isn't any pizza in Gannat.
There's always pizza. Trust me. I know pizza.

Ohhhh, that's why. It's only a model.

The sign says No Bathing, hmm? Right. I don't think anybody will be bathing here any time soon. Not until they put some water in.

Had enough adventure yet?

Never! But I am coming over all peckish. Let's go get some dinner.

Yeah, let's go.

The fresh air

2011-03-13T03:09:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are, Laars.

Yep. Here we are.

What are we doing here, again?

We're enjoying the fresh air of the countryside.

Ah. Yes. Here we are.

That's a manure-spreader coming our way, isn't it?

6-Nations, week 3

2011-03-01T03:51:00.000-08:00

Here we are, all set for a Stunning Saturday of Rugby! I'm rooting for Italy still. They have the best food.
Italy, Schmitaly. They don't ever win at this game.
They beat Canada.

Luxembourg could beat the Canada at rugby.

They beat, who was it, Romania!

U-huh. Like Romania really plays rugby either.

Look! Look! They're winning! They got a goal vs Wales!

Wha?
What?

Oh.
Well, they got the one goal. That was fun.

And then they were thrown to the ground.

And outrun.

And outtackled.

And thrown to the ground some more.Let's put this debacle behind us and watch France vs England. Now there's rugby!

Oh no! England scores again.
Doh.
Rougerie fumbles in the end zone!

Awwwww.
That's it. We lost.
Let's watch something better.

Yeah! That's more like it.
You do realise this is not a French, or even Italian show...
Who cares? It's Doctor Who!
.

England vs Italy

2011-02-14T03:40:00.000-08:00

Here we are, ready for the match.

England vs Italy in the 6-Nations tournament. Let's root for Italy.
Why?
They've got better food.
Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Hey, there's that English guy hurling himself at the end zone. Again.

That's what, the third time?

When does Italy get to do that?

Well that was the first half.
Are you sure we're rooting for the right team?
Of course we are! You wouldn't cheer for guys who eat Marmite, would you?

Er...

And mushy peas!
Er, well, mushy peas are a definite argument against. But...

Let's wait for the second half. Now that Italy knows all of England's tricks, they'll come out and win the game. I'm sure of it.

I thought Italy was going to come out and win.
There's that English guy crossing the goal line again!

Why are you wearing a paper clip on your nose, Laars?
It hurts. It helps me understand Italy.
Is one paper clip enough?

That's more like it.

Spaghetti, Lasagne!

Cannoli, Gelato!

Cappucino!
Go Italy!!!

Ow.
Yikes.

It hurts!
Make them stop!

That's it. Game over.
Thank goodness.
I'm rooting for England next time; they have, um, what do they have...
A good rugby team.
.

Exams

2011-02-02T03:02:00.000-08:00

Once I get these exams graded, we can go out for ice cream.

Quick! Quick!

Hmm. "A single patient (n = 1)." True enough.
"dinigulation" Er, I don't know that one. Dinigulation, anyone?

It means get on with it, we want ice cream!

"The protein is significantly lower with higher stage." Check. "In addition, the protein level diminishes with higher stage, but not significantly." Um, didn't we just say stage was significant?
Ice cream! That's what's significant!
Highly significant.
Oh, dear. I don't think I'm going to finish these today.
Yea! Let's go have ice cream now!
.

Trip to Nancy

2011-01-23T01:47:00.000-08:00

Here we are in Nancy.

Nancy? I thought Nancy was a person.

It is, but it's also a city in eastern France. Look, they've got a statue made of hearts.

Gross!
It's kind of cool, actually.

And they've got swings!

oof. why does that always happen?

Derniere marche accessible. What does that mean?
It means the other steps are off limits. They're under water.

But that swan is accessing the next step. Hey! Get off of there!

It's a swan. It's feet are supposed to be wet.

Well, we're here in the main park. Sitting down for a hot chocolate. Where is everyone?

There's nobody.

Where's the waitress with our pastries?

They're closed.
...But...
It's January.

A good thing about Europe is you can always count on there being a lion statue somewhere near to pose with.

2011-01-12T09:30:00.000-08:00

Get it! Leap on it ferociously and we'll have steak for a week!
It's awfully far down, Marguerite...
It's nothing for a Horrible tyrannosaur like you! Get it!
What if I miss, and break a fang?
Don't be such a sissy.

I'm not a sissy!
It's just, well, with the one stunt double having that unfortunate accident,
and the other one on the lam, I'm doing my own stunts these days.
Not on the lam; they moved to Scotland.
Who "moves" to Scotland??? On the lam, I say!
*sigh*
How about a grilled cheese sandwich?
OK.
.

A friendly rubber, rat style

2011-01-09T02:36:00.000-08:00

Four spades.

Six spades.
Seven spades!

Eight spades!

You can't bid that!

Says who?

Says Lebel, that's who

I dunno no Lebel.

Double!

Sixteen spades it is, then.

How's he going to take 16 spades, with only 13 cards?

He's got extra aces up his sleeve.

Ah. Oh yes, that would do it.

Well done, Laars.

That'll be 16,320 points, please.

Take 'em; we're still winning with our 14 no-trump.

Say, how many aces are in this deck...?

pizza!

2010-12-24T01:44:00.000-08:00

Mmmm! this pizza looks good!

Bjorn, you get the plates and napkins; Ingmar, you get the beverages,

while I set up the DVD for a couple episodes of 24.

I'm hungry, Marguerite. There must be something to eat around here.
I wonder what's in this box. It sure smells good.

Jackpot!!!!!
!!!!!

!!!mmmrrrrr!!!
!!!arrrrrgghh!!!

You can do it, Harold, I know you can.

OOhff.
That was just the thing.
Let's go find some dessert.

Hey!
.

rabbit

2010-12-20T23:35:00.000-08:00

Chocolates

2010-12-19T02:36:00.000-08:00

Here it is again, Marguerite, the Mountain of Steak.
Let's get it! I'm so hungry, Harold!

Aughhhh! It's on me! I'm suffocating under the fluff!

I'll save you, Marguerite.
Ooof. It won't budge.

Whew. Thank goodness it was distracted by the activity in the kitchen.
Run away before it sits on us again!

.
**meanwhile**

Here's a nice plate of festive chocolates.
Let's go to the market for cheese and carrots, and we'll have a great feast this afternoon.
Can't we eat them now?

Yes, I think I need chocolate fortification before braving the thronging crowds of the market.

You rats just wait. You'll appreciate them even more later.
Awww.....

Look!

Dive in!

**20 minutes later**

uuuuuhhhh. I can barely move.

That was delicious, Harold. There's not a single one left.

....hey....
...yeah, "let's wait"...
..."we'll appreciate them so much more"...

.

Heros conference

2010-12-11T03:23:00.000-08:00

Men! Look at them. Always going on about how they saved the day.

How they rescued some kitten from a tree.

How indestructable they are.

Pfft!

We'll drop this 16-ton weight on them and see how they do!

bombs away!

Ow! Hey, cut it out!
Holy brickbats, Maurice, we're being attacked!

Help me with this other one, Astrid.

I don't think we can save him this time, Batman.
Ow! Me! I can be saved! A little help with this brick?

Poor Harold. I guess I kind of believed him after all.

Um, guys? The brick?...

Still snubbing

2010-11-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

So there are two converts to the new cat tree, but the old tree's number one fan is still pouting. How long until she notices it's in front of the radiator?

Another satisfied customer

2010-11-27T01:19:00.000-08:00

Already inhabited

2010-11-26T00:10:00.000-08:00

cat tree

2010-11-23T23:38:00.000-08:00

Look! A huge present!
What do you think it is?

These instructions are rather obscure, but I think we can get it put together.

Are you sure this is right.
What the heck is it?
It's got little dangly balls with bells in them - it must be a cat tree!

A fabulous cat tree, with padded seats and everything. All the cats can get on it at once.
Yeah, right! They don't go anywhere all at once except to the catfoodbowl.

There's one who's nostalgic for the old one already.

The indestructable tail incident

2010-11-13T06:53:00.000-08:00

Alright, rats, it's autumn, and it's time to work on the yard. This pile of branches pruned off the trees can be burned, too. We'll use the ashes for the vegetable garden.
You rake the leaves into a nice pile, while I put the laundry out to dry.

Hey! That Bjorn buried us in the leaves.
Cut it out, Bjorn!

NO fair throwing a heavy branch on us!
We'll get you, Bjorn.
Yeah, just catch me. I'm indestructable!

The pruning tool will get him.
Yeah! We'll snip his tail right off. Indestructible my buns.

Get him!

Hey, you guys aren't running with scissors there, are you?
Oh no.
No!
We would never run with scissors.
This is a gardening device.
Alright, then.

You're not getting away this time, Bjorn!
I'm nottafraida you guys.

Ow!

Gotcha!
Ow Ow! Lemme go!
Say please.
I'm not sayin' please. Lemme go!

*snip*
Ow ow Ow OW!
Did it work?
Er, it worked a little.
OW!!!!

It didn't cut all the way through, though.

You guys tried to cut my tail off!
You buried us in leaves, and crushed us with a log!
Well, I'm sorry about that.
We're sorry too. Let's go get some lunch.
Yeah.

Aren't you rats done raking the leaves up yet?
What's taking so long?
Bjorn had a little tail thing...
Oh, okay.

How's your tail, Bjorn? I heard you had a little accident.
Yes. Um. It's fine. I put a bandage on it.

It's wonderful how you rats all get along together so well. Always playing and having great fun.

Isn't it!

Pumpkin carving

2010-10-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys, let's carve a jack-o-lantern for Halloween!

With what?

With this nice pumpkin here, of course.
That's a pumpkin?

It's miniscule!

Aw, c'mon, it'll be great. We'll make it really scary.
It's microscopic.

How scared will people get if it's microscopic?

Ebola is microscopic.

Oh.

Yeah, okay, small can be scary.

First we cut a hole in the top and scoop out the guts.
Guts!

Yeah!

Let me try!
Give it some good fangs, there.
It's not easy. It's so teeny & all...
It looks like it's crying.
It's a threatening grimace!
It looks like it's crying for its mommy.
Maybe we could make it spikier.

How's that?
That's better!
Now it looks scowly.
Maybe it's about to throw up.
Well, that's scary.

Ta-daaa!
.

Hey! The bad spider hand is getting it!

Run away!
...

ABC...O

2010-10-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

If it's Wednesday, it's time for O.

O is for ornaments.

Cats do not necessarily care to be Ornamented.

O is also for Oatmeal.
Cats do not necessarily care for Oatmeal, either.
.
More Wednesdayers here!

Tree trimming

2010-10-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

It is time, my friends, to trim the trees.
Yea! Let's play with the big sharp toys!
I bet this thing could cut Bjorn's tail right off, snicker-snack!
I thought Bjorn was indestructable.
Never mind Bjorn's tail. Let's get to the trees.

Our first target today: the plum next to the house. It just makes way too much noise in the wind when the branches scrape against the window, or the metal shed.

Let's get it!

That's a good start. If it weren't beginning to rain, we could have a pile twice as big.
And then we can have a huge bonfire!
Yeah.
A huge bonfire at night, with dancing and merriment!

Isn't there some appropriate holiday coming up?
There just might be. We'll see if the weather cooperates and the wood is dry enough.

ABC...Nachos

2010-10-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

N is for Nachos!
If you're a long-term Fan of Maurice, you've seen this, but the Wednesdayers have not. So. Click on the photo!

M is for Mice

2010-10-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

This ABC Wednesday, M is for Mice!

toy mouse

2010-10-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

ABC Wednesday

2010-10-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

L may be for Laboratory,

but is it for Laboratory Rat,

or Laboratory Cat?

See ABC Wednesday here!

Fear not for Bjorn

2010-10-03T01:44:00.000-07:00

This is Bjorn.
Bjorn is indestructable.

Oh really, you say?

Ikea rats are all alike. How do we know that it's not a new Bjorn every time? Ikea rats are not all the same!
Their teeth are attached any which way. That's Laars on the right, with nice, even, well-behaved teeth. Britta's stick out in front. Bjorn has one of each. And his left arm is too short.

Bjorn is not defeated by Diabolical Sudoku puzzles.

Bjorn goes nose to nose with toothy tyrannosaurs.

Bjorn braves the black cat.

Bjorn is proof against extremes of temperature.

Jugged Rat

Just fine!

Bjorn under one brick.

Bjorn under two bricks.

Bjorn in a fist.
Bjorn resists!
Don't worry about him playing dead.
He's just hoping for a belly-rub.

Hunting

2010-09-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

Look, Harold! Gingersnaps!

We shall eat them all, Marguerite. A ginger feast.

Arrr! I can't get through!
Arrr! This plastic is too tough!

Never mind that. Gingersnaps are not for tyrannosaurs anyway.
Yeah. Ferocious carnivores like us need meat!

Aha! The mountain of steak!
It shall not escape us this time.

Let's get it!
It's looking at me.
It doesn't seem very worried yet.
Heh heh heh. Prepare to feast!

Did you hear something?
I think I feel hot, fetid breath on my back.
The mountain of steak is smirking.

Aaaauuuhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
Aaaauuuhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
Aaaauuuhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
Aaaauuuhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Run for it!!!!!

Oof, that was close.
I think there was some kibble left in the kitchen.
I hate kibble.
So starve.

....
Ah, finally. Now maybe a cat can get some sleep around here.

PoetryBusRats

2010-09-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there were three house rats, trying to hide from the ferocious beasts who wanted to eat them up.
The first sweet and juicy rat found a cat in the box, so he built a house out of pillows.

The strong and toothy tyrannosaur raised an awful ruckus,

and blew that house right over.

The second succulent, tender and tasty rat built his house out of comic books.

But the tyrannosaur roared and snuffed and snapped that rat right up.

The third plump exquisite rat found a laundry basket for a house.

and the big bad tyrannosaur huffed and puffed but couldn't get in.

But Daaaaaaad! We're huuuuungry!
Don't you worry about that. I've set a little trap...

The wormhole is here for other Poetry Bus rides this week!

cold rat

2010-09-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Liquid nitrogen tanks
Down you go, Bjorn.

That's one cold rat.
.

Cooper and his Friends

2010-09-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

For today' blogging silliness, we have guest author and photographer Ellie U, coming at you straight from the fourth grade.
.

Cooper and His Friends Hello. Today we will be doing.... Kitty rides

We LOVE kitty rides!
They were SO much fun! Now lets go inside.Lets play a board game.
I hope we don`t get bored! What to do next?
I know! We could have a domino building contest! We're team 1. We're team 2. Here`s team 1`s tower... and here`s team 2`s. And the winner is...team 1!

Me and Chuck are tired. You rats can play ball!

That`s a great idea! Oh no! I can`t find the ball! I got it! That`s all for today! Bye!

The Raid

2010-09-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

Psst! Psst! Carter! The coast is clear. Let's go and get it. They will not stop us this time.Carefullll...
No worries; it's the new season of Desperate Housewives.
All the same. Could go to commercial at any time. I see it!
Yes!
Baaaa!
What?!A sheep!
A guardsheep!
Baaa!
You're not going to give us away, are you?
We'll moidilate you if you do!
Shave you limb from limb!
Roast your lambs to the seventh generation!
Baaaa.
Never mind. It's just a sheep.Let's get it!
Oof. So far so good. We did it!
The Nutella is ours!
1000 grams of chocolaty hazelnutty delight!
1000 grams of creamy heaven! Carlton! We've been robbed!
Gypped!
Taken for rubes!
It's empty!NOOOOO!!!!!!!

Just to reassure you

2010-09-13T23:44:00.000-07:00

Marianne the Chicken here would like it to be known that, should Maurice ever get lost or lose his stuffing or become unpink or suffer a terrible accident or something, that she is ready to take over.
Being a chicken, she can fly without the aid of a cape.

And land on her butt, not on her nose.
Qualification enough?
.

Batmen to the Rescue

2010-09-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

Hey, rats, let's go outside and pick some apples for a nice apple crumble tonight. I'll use my superhero cape to fly up and get them.

Where's my cape? I know I put it right here, next to my lab coat and my rucksack & hat. Are you sure one of you rats didn't "borrow" it to play with?
Oh, no, Boss!
We never would.
We're good rats.
Really.

I don't see it here in the ornament box.

Not in the linen drawer.

Wherever can it be?? We've looked everywhere!

Maybe it was stolen.

Yeah, maybe The Forces of Evil have nicked it.
Oh, my. That doesn't sound good. Not good at all.

Batman! I need your help! My flying Superhero cape has been stolen.
A Superhero cape stolen! Just think what dastardly deeds the Forces of Evil might do if they get their hands on it.
We must get it back.

Hey Batman, we need your help!

What can I do for you, my fellow denizens of the dark?
Maurice's Superhero cape is missing. He thinks we lost it, but we never did!

Nu-uh!
Never touched it!
Alright. I will help you find it, to clear your good names.

Hey! Who are you?
I'm Batman. That's obvious! Who are you?
I'm the one who's Batman!
You can't be Batman, you don't have a cape.
I am too Batman. I've got those neat gloves.

And I have feet big enough to stand on. What good is a cape if you keep falling over?
Damn these tiny feet!
Enough discord. We are on the same side, and we have a mission. You can be Robin.

I am not Robin! I'm Batman!
No, I'm Batman. See, I've got the Bat Ears.

Here's the scene of the crime. Any clues?
Come on down and find out, Robin.
I tell you, I'm not Robin.

***meanwhile***

Hehehe.
Once we figure out how this thing works, we can steal all the Nutella!
All the Nutella in the Universe!
It will all be Ours!

Now, Carter, you fly off this ledge and into the kitchen.

Carter! You must learn to land!
Yeah. Sure. Landing. Let's go try from the living room, where there's carpeting.

Batman! Look!
Evildoers!
That's Maurice's cape!
I can swoop down on them thanks to my nifty Batcape. Too bad you aren't similarly equipped, Batman.

Never mind that. I will join you on my trusty blue steed. Then we'll give them some Bif! POW!

Your turn, Carlton. Just leap from this cat tree, fly into the kitchen, and grab the Nutella.

Ow!
Behind you, Carlton!
It's me: Batman. Gotcha!

You too, Fatboy.
Wha! Batman! What tiny feet you have.

Never mind that. Surrender now, or I'll turn you over to the rats.

I have vanquished the enemy and recovered the cape, thanks largely to my ability to stand.

Here you are, Maurice, not a scratch on it.
Thank you so much, Batmen!
Think nothing of it. It's our pleasure and our duty to serve Good and conquer Evil.

What happened to the thieves?
We put them away in their box. They're not getting out for a long, long time.

Thanks again. It's time for me to go apple picking now.

Oops! Missed.

Agh! Missed again.

Oww! You really need to figure out how to land that thing.

Maybe Nancy will gather some apples for us.

Psst! Carter! The coast is clear!

spies in the house

2010-08-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

Psst! Carlton, I spy Nutella on high.
Yes Carter! I see it too!
We must have this fabulous treasure!
Hey, Maurice, will you use your Superhero cape to fly up and get us some apples?
Please please?
Yes, Britta, yes, Astrid. I'd be happy to.

Oof. Still gotta work on that landing.

Let's go in and sit on the nice, soft, cushions.
Nice apple you got there.

Yeah! Hee hee hee. I like how it fell off the tree when you bonked it with your head.

There lies the secret to our success!
A Superhero Magical Flying Cape
Just the object indeed.
Let us steal it once the rabbit goes away.

Here it is! Not kept under lock and key, nor watch of any kind. Silly rabbit!

How does it work?
This we must discover, Carlton.
It appears to be a simple length of cotton cloth, embellished with a large M.
Do you see an "ON" switch anywhere? Any levers or buttons or pull cords?
Nothing of the sort, Carter. Perhaps it is voice-activated.

It is large for us. Perhaps we can use it as a magic carpet.
GO!
Up and Away!
Avanti!
Hmm.

It is a cape, after all. Perhaps it is necessary to wear it. The connection of the two ends may provide an essential circuit necessary to its function.
Off we GO!
Up Sesame!
Yee-Hawww!
I have noticed the rabbit always wears it with the M hanging off the back. Perhaps orientation is important.

Let me give you a boost.

I'm going up! going up!

And I'm going down!
Aughhhh!

Oof.
It's not so good at landing.
Maybe we should try again later.
.

Story for the P-Bus

2010-08-15T23:48:00.001-07:00

It's the Poetry Bus! This week our mission is to riff off of a kid's story.
Well, I think we can do that. Everybody ready for a story?
Yes Yes Tell us!
Once upon a time there was a woodcutter and his wife, who lived deep in the forest...
That's a woodcutter?
Yes, that's the woodcutter and his wife. They do, um, teak or something. Very nice wood.
Ahem, the woodcutter had cut down all the nice teak trees until there weren't any left, and with the global economic crisis and all, their investments tanked and they just couldn't make ends meet. So they decided to get rid of the kids, where were eating them out of house and home anyway. Hey, kids, lets go for a walk in the woods.
I thought there weren't any woods left. There was woods left, but they were just regular trees, all twisted and gnarly. Nobody wanted to buy them.
So they went for a walk in the woods, and late in the afternoon the woodcutter told them to stay put while he went and got them something to eat.
Mmmm I can hardly wait to eat, Greta.
Harold, I'm famished. When's Dad coming back? Is he bringing steaks?
But they waited and waited and the woodcutter didn't come back. Suddenly, a giant ogre appeared.
HO HO! What have we here! A couple of tender morsels for my stew! The ogre swept up Harold and Greta and stuffed them in his sack. Back in the ogre lair, he threw them into the stewpot, where other terrified victims were already floating. As the meaty ogre turned his back to start a fresh green salad to go with his stew, Harold and Greta leapt out of the pot. They leapt onto the ogre and devoured him right down to the bones. Temporarily full, they let the grateful captives go.
Thank you! Thank you!

Meanwhile, back in the woodcutter's mansion, the woodcutter and his wife were starting find the house empty and quiet.

It's so nice to have the place to ourselves! Mom! Dad! We're back!
Oh! Why yes you are, my darlings.

What's for dinner? We're hungry.

Yes, I'm sure my dears. Let's go look what's in the cupboard.

And they lived happily ever after.
Are you sure?

Why do they always live happily ever after?

What did they have for dinner?
Is it our turn for dinner?

And that's our Poetry Bus ticket for this week. To check out the other riders, click here!

Heh heh heh.

Now we are free from that digusting ogre, we can get on with our nefarious plans!
Yes! We will rule the world!
...

Not kid stuff

2010-08-10T03:10:00.000-07:00

Step one in making a gin&tonic, is get a really juicy lime.

Squeeze the whole thing into a glass with ice.
All of it? Thatsalotta lime.
That's how Nancy likes it. A fizzy, ginny, limeade

Next you add some gin. Not too much.
How much is too much?
Depends. And then you fill it with tonic.

Hmmm. I think there's some spilled here.
Smells strange.
Tastes good, though.
Yeah, that's not bad.

Hey, what are you guys doing in the apple tree?

Doing acrobatics!
Going to make pie!
Is this the apple tree?

It's fun up here
Look! No hands!
Hey, I found an apple!
Get down from there before you hurt yourselves.

Oof
Ow!
HAHAHAHAHA
May we have some more of that lime stuff?

random pix

2010-08-05T08:58:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to share a few random photos from my recent trip to the US. No particular story.Hello? anybody in there? A rabbit at the United States Supreme Court!

A rabbit at the National Gallery.
Nobody even yelled at me for touching the art.

A rabbit meeting a really really fabulous blogger: Reya!
.

Extra dessert

2010-07-28T01:10:00.000-07:00

Look at that! Extra desserts left over from the picnic.

Let's eat!

Not so fast. You rats have to help clean up first.

Clean up?
Do you think he means it?

Darned rabbit. We may as well get it over with.

Dibs on the chocolate one!
I'll race you for it.

My, this grill is really dirty.
Nothing I can't handle!
Are you sure, Laars?
MrrRrrmff

That's all of the dishes.

All put away nice and neat.
I wonder how Laars is doing with the grill?

Aack! A rat!
A strange rat!

Guys! Maurice! It's me, Laars.
That's not Laars. It's all black.
Really, it's me!

You need to be washed, Laars.
I don't want to go! No!
It's for your own good.
We can't let you in the house covered with soot.

Noooooooooo

Is Laars done washing?
Yes. Britta and Astrid put him out to dry.

I think they might have used a bit too much bleach.
Hey! Lemme down!

Hey!
I'm dry!
Really!
aw c'mon, guys, lemme down.
.

Building a bookcase

2010-07-24T00:38:00.000-07:00

Well, guys, Nancy has been to Ikea and has brought us this bookcase for the guestroom. Let's put it together for her.
Laars! Get out of the way! I'm trying to pound in the pegs here.
You ok, Laars?
I think I'll be alright.
Now it's time to put the top and bottom shelves in place.
What? you have a pain in your tail?

You are a pain in the tail, Bjorn.

You guys bring me the thingamajigs that secure the shelves, please!
Thingamajigs?
Which ones?
I dunno.
Just bring them all.

Now, to secure the back panel, we hammer in these nails.
Lemme try!
Lemme try!

Please please!!
Alright, but you rats be careful with the hammer.

Owwww!!!!!!
Oops.
Sorry, Bjorn.

Ow ow ow. My poor little nose.
Maybe you won't be sticking it into so many things now.
Fat chance of that.

That's all for this part! It'll look great once we get the other units up, and the doors on, and all the books in. For now, let's go have some dinner.

Yeah! All that hammering is hard work.

Makes a rat pretty hungry. And bruised.

Southbound

2010-06-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

Here we are driving around Indianapolis.
What? Indy is closed?
Oh.
I guess we'll just head on south for the rest of our vacation, then.

In Kentucky there was this fun buffalo.
I wanted to invite him along,

but he was chained down.
No shuffling off for this buffalo.

In Nashville I got to meet Elvis!

Finally we got to Alabama, which at first didn't seem like a very friendly place.

We stopped for the day in Cullman, where we went to play in the park.

I got to score all the goals in Rabbit Basketball.

See ya later!

Maurice in Indianapolis

2010-06-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

Darrell has a great pillow at his place. With tassels and everything.
Here we are ready for dinner at a Korean Barbeque restaurant. I like barbequed carrots.

What, this isn't the seat for rabbits?

Then we went to Potato Creek park for a fun day of picnicing and canoeing on the lake.

Look at me! Hey! Don't go too far!

Erfff

Thanks, Dad.

Is it time to go eat the birthday cake yet?

In the yard

2010-06-10T02:31:00.000-07:00

I just love these late spring days,

when the grass starts to get tall,

and the flowers make a really good salad.

What's all that noise?

Maurice! Look!
A monster!
Hey! It's cutting our meadow!
Quick, we must defend our territory.
Look mean.
Look real mean.

Run away!!!!
!!!!!

It almost got us.
It's gone over by the apple tree now.

oooo, that was close.

We should be safe up here on the ladder.
But all our tasty flowers are gone.
True, but now you can see the cats coming.
Ah.
Yeah, there is that.
.

Cherrytime

2010-06-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

Hey, Bjorn, these cherries are really good!
Laars! Will you pick some cherries for Astrid and me?
Psst, Bjorn! The big boss wants some cherries.

Just wait, Astrid, Laars and Bjorn and Britta will bring us some, and we'll have a picnic.

Ah, thanks, guys. Appreciate it!

You sure you have enough? We can get more!
Yeah, yeah, Laars, we're good here. Thanks!

Maurice has email!

2010-06-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

just to let you all know,
I now have my very own email address, where you can contact me directly. If anybody wants to talk to a pink rabbit, that it.

pinkmaurice@gmail.com
.

Sunbathing

2010-05-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

Hey, there's Maurice.

He's looking particularly pink today.

Yo! Bunny Boy! Where've you been?

Well, I went to San Sebastian with Nancy, and they had this really nice beach there.
The sand was so inviting and warm I figured I would lay down for a while.
And I fell asleep.
I got a terrible sunburn!
I'm all hot pink!

Yep, that's pink all right.
I thought he was supposed to be pink.
Not this pink.
Just pink pink, not PINK pink.

Oh.

Warren takes off.

2010-04-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

Hey there you are, Warren. I've been looking for you for days.

I've been playing hide & seek with the rats. I think I may have won, but I couldn't get the door open to find out.

Ah, yes. The rats did seem rather satisfied with themselves recently.

That's better. It's a good hiding place, but it's freezing in there!
I'll bet. Nancy's starting to pack for the trip to Washington. Let's get a good spot.
We should be comfy in here.
Where's that package of dark chocolate eggs from Easter?
I though it was in the cupboard.
Not there. Have you rats seen the dark chocolate eggs?

Who, us? Chocolate eggs? No, never saw 'em.
Nope.

Sorry.
No.

Darn. Oh well, we don't really need more chocolate after all.

Time to go!

Bye, everyone! It's been a great vacation here in France.
Leaving already? OK.

Finally they're gone.
Break out the eggs!

Mm, these things are great!

Good call to hide them behind the catfood.
.
.
Hey, who's that at the door?
No fair! They're back!

Uh, hey, you're back...
Yes. Paris is closed because of some volcano in Iceland.
We're stuck here until Monday.

.

What have you got there?

Uh...
Oh this!
Um, I guess the chocolate eggs got sort of accidentally put with the catfood.
Those cats. Can't trust 'em!
They seem to have eaten them all, too.
Bad cats!

.

Maurice in Marseille

2010-04-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Another weekend, another adventure! This time we're off to Marseille in the south of France, with friends Luiz, Mev, and Laisheng.
The big new bridge at Millau. The opening last year was cause for lots of celebration around here.

Finally in Marseille, it was only a little bit rainy. The train station is quite elaborate and nifty and has these great pedestals just waiting for a posh rabbit to get up on and have his portrait done.

Some of the statuary is quite dangerous.
Beware!

I wanted to go for a boat ride, but my companions didn't fit through the gate. Aww.

Laisheng is my friend.

On Sunday it didn't rain at all, so we took the tram, and busses, and walked walked walked all over the city.

We discovered more dangerous statuary.

The statue guy was pretty good at keeping the statue bears at bay, but then he dropped me in a puddle and I got all soggy.
Took me all day to dry out.

Laisheng likes cars.
He posed with Porches and Ferraris (on the road we passed a Ferrari once!) and even a Lambourghini.

After all that walking we were so tired we went right back to the hotel and slept like logs.

That's it for Marseille!

Paris

2010-03-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

Well, guys, I'm off to Paris for the weekend.

Bring us stuff!

Yeah, bring us stuff!

They've got lots of good stuff in Paris! Sackfuls!
We stayed with our friends Letitia and Bruno, and their miniature cat Kikou.

Then we had dinner with all sorts of cool people who make movies and write books and travel all over the world.Was there any food left???

Did you bring us any?

On Sunday we had a picnic in the park. It was a tiny bit cold still for a picnic, but it was nice.
Did you bring us any???

Then we went walking around and saw lots of great stuff.

??
That's it?

Noshing with statuary and you're done?

And of course I brought you a present.
Yea!!!
I knew he'd bring us something!
What is it?

It's a book! About primates. Letitia wrote it herself.
A book?
He brought us a book?
I don't get it.
.
*sigh* you rats never want anything but food...
.

Neussargues

2010-03-15T05:13:00.000-07:00

What's up? been looking all over for you.

We wanted to watch the France-Italy match.

Don't worry - I taped it.
I spent the day exploring Neussargues!

Noose arts?
Neussargues. It's a nice little town. We took a train and had a sandwich and went hiking.
Sounds like a lot of work.
Except for the sandwich part.
Did you save us any?

No, we ate it all. Hiking is good exercise.

We went up and down hills and across fields and all over.

If you want to walk around in the mud, just go in the back yard.
Save yourself some trouble.

But we saw a castle!
Up close?
Were there dungeons?
Was there jousting?
Were they torturing anyone?
Noooo, we only saw it from a long way away. It was kind of a ruin.

Well. Shoulda stayed in the yard.
Yeah.

You rats have no sense of adventure!

Got any more pretzels?
.

Ussel

2010-02-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

We're going to Ussel!

I don't know why. We just are.
It's a nice little town.
Very quiet, and grey.

It's got a neat-o statue.

There were no actual people dancing in the streets on this cold and windy weekend.

The people were mostly smart and stayed in.

We were not quite so smart.
We went for a long walk around,
in the occassional snow, looking for that special Ussel thing.

In the park somebody had left a collection of beer bottle caps.
That was about it.

Here's my favorite part!
Sitting in a bar having a nice hot coffee before catching our ride home.

SuperWarren

2010-02-15T04:19:00.000-08:00

It looks like we're having snow this winter after all.

This clearing the walk is hard work.
I wonder if my cape has Super Snow Removal powers.

At the least, it'll be warm.
Now, where did I put it?

I could have sworn I folded it neatly and put it away...

Psst!
Hey! Alien Guy!
My name is Warren, and I'm a gecko, not an alien.
Yeah whatever.
We've got this great Superhero cape for you!

A superhero cape?
Yeah! It's got all sorts of super powers, like Incredible Strength, and X-ray vision.

Try it on.

Well, it would be nice to have help getting rid of all this snow.

It can do that!
Yeah!

Instant Spring.

Hi Laars. Have you seen my Superhero cape?
Who, me? No. Never saw it.
I've just been sitting here reading The Economist.
Now, you stay here and think real hard about warm weather and chirping birds and all that spring business, and

*Presto*

Springtime!

Thanks, guys. I'll concentrate on Warm.

Hi Astrid, Hi Bjorn, have you seen my Superhero cape?
Nope. Never did. Didn't touch it.

...

Hey, what are you doing with the knitting, anyway?

We're helping!

Yeah!

You're such nice, helpful rats.

Where's Warren? Anybody seen Warren?
He's been gone all day.
Uhhhh, I think he said something about phoning home.
Oh, Okay. Let me know if you see him around.

*the next morning*

It's still out there!
Wow!
Incredible!

Brrrrrr.....

It doesn't look like this Instant Spring thing is working...

I'd go in for some coffee,
but I seem to be frozen.

Oh there you are Warren, I've been looking all over for you!
Brrrr....
I see you found my Superhero cape!
Brrrr....

Let's go in and get some hot coffee.
Good idea.
Look, Nancy swept the stairs for us,
and cleared the walk.
And she didn't even use Superpowers!
.

About those superpowers, Maurice...
.

Strasbourg

2010-01-29T23:24:00.000-08:00

Let's get in the luggage, quick. It's time to leave for Strasbourg.

Hey, isn't it the end of January already?
When are they going to put away the last of the Christmas decorations?

What is it?
It's Art.

Are you sure?

Look! A special treat! The European Parliament!
Oh. How special.

Isn't this exciting!
Is it supposed to be exciting?
Of course it is: It's Parliament!!!

I'm overwhelmed.
Can't you just feel the energy of dedicated men and women working hard for a better, more perfect union of Europe?
Is that what it is? I thought the rumbling was just this pod getting ready to go back to its home planet.

Playing on the swings - that's more like it!
Be careful Warren.

oof.

Um, perhaps we can find something fun to do that's both fun, and not so bruising.

Okay.
We'll watch the swans go by in the canals.

And then we can go find something to eat.

Trials of a Gecko

2010-01-24T23:38:00.000-08:00

Harold! I'm famished! Let's find some helpless creature to eat.
You're always hungry, Marguerite. Psst! Harold! What's that?
I think it's a gecko.
Really? It looks like an alien. It says "gecko" right on it.
Only if you can't spell.
Geckos are tasty.
Oooh! Let's get it, then!Look! It's making coffee. What's it doing now?
It's reading The Economist.
A gecko that reads The Economist?
You're right, it must be an alien. Do you think it's still tasty?
We're Tyrannosaurs, we'll eat anything!
Oh yeah. Let's go! Hey! What's it got there? A mechanical minion!
It's coming for me!

(We interrupt our programming for technical difficulties. Please stand by.*) It's coming for me! Run!!! Oh no! We've come to the edge of the world.

We'll just have to jump, Marguerite, and hope for the best. Nice toy robot you have there, Warren. Yep. Best 1€30 I ever spent.

(* Harold! There's the Mountain of Steak! Let's get it instead!
Naw. You know what happened last time. It's too fluffy.
Ah, right. But maybe we could go for the Soft Underbelly.)

Focus, Marguerite! We've got this gecko thing in our sights.

Putting Away

2010-01-11T04:40:00.000-08:00

Alright everyone, time to take down the holiday decorations. They're fun, but they've been up long enough. Thanks for helping me with the tree ornaments, Warren.

How about if you rats give us a hand?
Huh?
Oh, we're fine down here.
Afraid of heights.
Yeah.
You rats! Get up there and get the lights!
Awright. Sheesh.

I think we've got them all.

Hey, Maurice, you forgot one!

Aw, let it stay. It's nice to have a bird in the tree. Gives the cats something to think about.

How are you doing with the lights?

Just fine.
They're all down.
Good, now put them neatly in their box.

In the box?
Neatly?
What's he talking about?
I dunno.
Let's go get some cheese.

Yeah!

More presents!

2010-01-03T01:26:00.000-08:00

Hey look! A package from Indiana!

Neat! The latest Hog Eye Navvy album! Somebody must really love us.
Let's go play it right now.

Open the box! We want the big box!
You rats are so impatient.

Mmmm! Rum balls.

Ooohhhh Rum Balls!

We'll have a couple now and save the rest for later. They're very rich, so we wouldn't want to gobble them down all at once.

Hey! Where are you going with that?
Bring those rum balls back here!

Um, We're just going to put them in a safe place.

Yeah.
A safe place where you won't be tempted to eat them all at once.
We'll keep them for you.

Honest!

Christmas day

2009-12-26T01:47:00.000-08:00

Where'd Maurice go? Isn't he going to open his Christmas presents?
He went off with that alien somewhere.

I like going to the park before there are too many people around.

This is my favorite swing, Warren.

Well when's he coming back?
He won't mind if we just take a teeny peek.

Nah, he won't mind. We'll just take a little peek.

Waaahhh, Hold on!

Look: the rabbit thing hops!
Great chocolates!
And this mouse wiggles its tail when it goes!

Hahaha!
That was good fun!

We're back from the park!
Hey! What happened to my presents? It looks like a tornado came through.

We didn't do nuthin'. We're just sitting here watching cartoons.
Yeah. We've been good rats!

Special delivery

2009-12-25T01:58:00.000-08:00

Look, Ingmar, a package has come for us from California!
It's making noise!
It's moving around!
I bet there's a monster inside.

I can hear it better now.
I think it's saying 'lemme out'

Oh my gosh! It is an alien!
Greetings, all. My name is Warren.
And I'm not an alien; I'm a gecko.

Hello, Warren the Gecko; I'm Maurice and that's Ingmar the Laboratory Rat.
Did you have a nice trip?
Not too bad. It took more than a week, though. I'm hungry!
OK, let's go have lunch.
.

I still say it's an alien.

Tree Trimming

2009-12-16T08:26:00.000-08:00

Hey, guys, it's time to decorate the tree!

What tree? Are we getting a Christmas tree? Cool!

This is the tree, right here.

That's the ficus.

It's a Christmas ficus.

.
You can't have a ficus for a Christmas tree.

Who says?

Here's the Box of Ornaments. There are red ones and gold ones and blue ones...

Is there tinsel? I don't see any tinsel.

We've got lights, elves, snowflakes...

.
No tinsel? We have to decorate a ficus and there's not even tinsel!
.

We're sceptical.

There's lot's of fun stuff in here. Really. It'll look great.
.

See?

I dunno, Ingmar. I think it needs tinsel.

And Disney characters.

Maybe some bits of cheese.
.
Let's lock Maurice in the box with his so-called "ornaments"

Yeah!

C'mon guys, let's get some cans of that fake snow stuff and go tag the neighborhood!

Yeah!!!

...

hey.

hey lemme out!

...

Rabbits in need of help

2009-12-11T00:40:00.000-08:00

No jokes today. I just want to draw your attention to some fluffy young rabbits in need of help and homes:
http://renorabbits.blogspot.com/2009/12/foster-buns-need-your-help.html

Presents!!!

2009-12-06T23:16:00.000-08:00

Look! An enormous box of stuff has come to us from California!

Oof, with all these books, no wonder it was so darned heavy.

Dig around in there and see if you can find something more interesting.
There must be something fun under this load of clothes that Nancy used to keep at somebody's house.
Are you sure there aren't any cookies?

Here we are!
Two boxes of Mac&Cheese, and a bag of Tootsie pops.
.

San Diego Friends

2009-12-03T03:47:00.000-08:00

More of my San Diego adventures.

On Saturday we went hiking around Lake Hodges in Escondido with Kim and Terry. There they are getting away down the trail.

Kim does this Geo Treasure hunt thing where people hide stuff and give the GPS coordinates and you go out and find them.

I found one!

On Saturday we met up with Linda for lunch and then fruit and nut shopping at Bates Brothers Nut Farm.

They have barrels of candy there!
And bags and bags and bags of nuts and dried fruits.
We got chocolate covered peanuts, and cashews, and sesame sticks, and sour balls, and lots of stuff. We're set for munchies for the year!

On Monday Ira treated us to Mexican food and margaritas for lunch in Encinitas.
Then we went walking around one of the lagoons,
and along the beach at Carlsbad.
Somebody had made this BIG sand shark. It might look just like a pile of sand, but I could tell because it still had rocks for teeth in its scary mouth.

On Thursday we went swinging with Wendy and Jennifer, her chihuahua.
I like swinging.

I've been swinging in many different towns and countries, but I can't seem to get the 'hang' of it.

Stop that laughing!

A Rabbit at Torrey Pines

2009-11-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

This is Kymri, and we're going hiking at Torrey Pines State Beach.

I bet there are plenty of jack-rabbits around here, but they're too shy to come out and play.

Nya nya. It's a dog-free-zone!

Trail closed? Whadda they mean, "trail closed"??

Maurice in LA

2009-11-18T18:36:00.000-08:00

Ta da! Here I am in glorious Century City, Los Angeles! Home of the stars. Er, the lawyers of the stars in this part of town I guess.
Laars and I are staying at Linda's house.

Linda has all sorts of cool stuff, like a chef showing off his menu.

What's that?

It's a Hollywood Monster!

Run for it!!!!!!

Phew! That was a close one. Do you see it anywhere?

Um, what's that noise?

AAAAAaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!

But it turned out to be a very nice, civilized lizard that only wanted to show us its cool video collection.

See 'ya soon!

Sunday play

2009-11-09T10:03:00.000-08:00

Ha ha! With my fierce tyrannosaurs I have captured all your little pirates! You've only got one lonely captain left!

What was that?!
Eeek! It's a mouse!!
A mouse?? There's a mouse in our house??

Eeek! There it goes!
Save us!

You guys! It's only a mouse. I'm sure it's a nice mouse.
See, it's gone now.

Where'd it go, Laars?
I dunno, Bjorn. Maybe it's under the chair.

Ha Ha! Now I've got all the pirates! I win!

Hey no fair!

Yeah, no fair!

You snooze you lose, guys. At least I'm not afraid of mice.

Swings and autumn leaves

2009-10-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

May we please please pretty please go to the park today?
Please?

Well, Okay. But you be good rats, you two.
We are being good, we're just playing in the leaves.
.
Hey! A swingset!

Wait up, guys!

Nya nya, there's only one swing and it's ours.

Yes, all of ours.

Whaaaa.....

Hahahahahahaha