Christmas is coming, the goose is going shopping....

I know it's a bit early, but I spotted mince pies in the Co-op the other day, so I thought it would be nice to take a peek at the forthcoming Christmas offerings from Moulin Roty and Maileg this year.

This is just a very small selection of what is coming, but it gives you a flavour... and it should all begin arriving in the next two or three weeks, so watch this space.

From Moulin Roty we have some new festive Grand Family decorations, some wonderful present ideas from their Memoire d'Enfant range, and  few old favourites that do well (i.e. sell out!) pretty much every year. Here is a glimpse:

Moulin Roty Grand Family advent calendar and decorations

Lovely new gift set of Sylvain and Nini in their own house

Brand new classic rabbit and mouse family - meet The Mirabelles

Old favourites - carpentry, tea and sewing sets

You can flick through the Moulin Roty UK Christmas catalogue here - it's not everything they do but gives you a good flavour. I will be stocking most things, but if there is something you particularly want, do get in touch as I can probably order it in for you. 

And now on to Maileg, which I will split into the departments I use on my website...

Decorations and Festive things - I'm stocking LOTS of pigs this year, plus there will be a new crop of mischievous pixies arriving soon (uh-oh!) and some lovely decorations, cards and accessories

Pixies, napkins, decorations

Pigs! Decorations, wooden, candle holders, fabric...

Bunnies - a few new arrivals and the lovely angel bunnies

Bunny and a few accessories - wellness set and tea and biscuits

Angels - many sizes and types flying in

Mice - how great are these new superheros? Plus a plethora of new arrivals scampering in soon

Mice, clothing and suitcases

 

Happy and Sad

This is a happy and sad post. But don't worry, the sad bit happened a long time ago now so I'm okay.

Firstly....

Say hello to Ralph!

I would like to introduce everyone to the lovely Ralph, the latest member to join the 'team' (i.e. me) at Cottontails.... in fact Ralph has been with me for some months now, I just haven't launched him on the world before now because hand in hand with introducing Ralph is writing sad news about dear Rudolph, and I just haven't felt up to that really. More on that in a bit.

Ralph is an ADORABLE rabbit. Of course he is a rescue bunny - he was 'unwanted' by his previous owner (what a bloody fool she was) and left at a rescue centre, a subsequent re-homing attempt failed and back he went to rescue again before he came to me. But despite his difficult start he is the friendliest, most relaxed rabbit I have ever known. A truly lovely little chap. And as you can see, he is settling in nicely!

 

On door duty

Supper time

As I said, he is the most relaxed rabbit I have ever met!

An unfortunate fondness for my sitting on my desk

Now of course, those of you who have been following Cottontails for a while will perhaps be thinking, what about Rudolph?

Very, very sadly I lost Rudolph a long while ago now - it was last year - but I just couldn't face writing about it at the time.

It was heartbreaking.

In a matter of hours he went from being a happy, healthy little chap into becoming desperately ill. I had been away for the day, and returned home late at night to find him clearly feeling very poorly. I called the vet and rushed him down at midnight... overnight they did everything they could but he passed away the following morning. It was a terrible shock, he was only five years old.

Rabbits are such delicate creatures really. Their digestive systems in particular. Rudolph had a case of something called 'bloat' where something (a sudden obstruction? we don't know) stalled his digestion and the fermenting food in his gut caused a gas build up. He was fine and happy at the lunchtime, critically ill just a few hours later.

Rudolph was the first rabbit I had lost quite so suddenly in this way. In the past, all my beloved rabbits have become ill gradually, usually as part of getting older. Of course that is challenging in itself. But this was brutal and I just couldn't write about it.

But that was a eight months ago now, and since then lovely, friendly, funny Ralph has moved in and makes me smile countless times every day.

So over the coming weeks and months, expect to see him gracing the pages of Facebook and Instagram.

And if you have a beloved pet - go and give them a cuddle right now, and appreciate every day with them - because you just never know. 

Dear Rudolph