Memphis Democrat
December 22, 2005

Juan here. This week has been an interesting one for me. My birthday was this past Monday, and I celebrated by taking the day off and doing no work. After dinner, some people saw a movie in the common house, while others went into town for dancing.

I'm glad we showed the movie when we did, since we spent the rest of the week conserving power. With the snow and cloudiness, most of us simply weren't getting enough sun to charge our batteries, so we tried to become even more conscious of our electrical use than we normally are. It wasn't until the end of the week that we got some sun, and now there's nothing but clear skies in the forecast.

Between the power shortage and some work being done on the common house boiler, many of us spent a day or two without hot water. It amazed me how quickly I took something like that for granted, even living here. I'm much more aware of our water and electricity situations than I was a week or two ago.

The cold and snow sure didn't stop some of our more outdoors-oriented rabbits from having fun. There were a few games of Ultimate Frisbee played when the temperature was "way up" in the 30s, and there are reports that some brave souls even jumped in our frozen pond afterwards. Brr! Also, there was a celebration of the full moon that included a bonfire and a moonlight run. The clouds conspired to make the run a dark one, but a fun one nonetheless.

Wednesday was the beginning of our Secret Snow Co activities. Each participant has been randomly assigned someone for whom they get to do secret nice things throughout the week. On this coming Wednesday, a small festivity will be held where all secrets are revealed. My own Snow Co seems to have learned of my like of carbonated drinks, as I've been finding them everywhere. I don't even have to refrigerate them; I just put them outside my window on the cat balcony.

Friday saw the return of Cecil after a short absence. He was sorely missed. Nathan left us on Saturday for the holidays, marking the beginning of the winter travels. Many more of us are leaving this Thursday and some of us won't be back until January. Those who are staying won't be just sitting around, however. I hear big celebrations are in the works along with our neighbors at Sandhill. Jeffrey, who left Dancing Rabbit in August, will also be coming to spend New Years here.

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