Dick's Toys

 I've made it to my next stop. Back in the hometown with one of the people I've become re-acquianted with as an adult, and Dick and his wife Darla and I get along really well. Dick has quite a collection of toys.

Oh, wait. Actually, Dick really likes full-size toys. This is his new favorite- a '72 Cheyenne Super. He's pretty fond of Darla too.

The view from his back yard is a favorite of mine. His garden, with the hills on the other side of Cayuga Lake behind (and a corn field).

And just to round out the end of the visit with Elaine, we played Scrabble before I left this morning. I thought I might beat her, but she managed to pull ahead and win by 14 points.

I'm working on the final round of book editing, and also had some time to relax this afternoon. Very good day.

See Hometown Time

Odd Spot and Wishbone

  This will complete the tour of my little stuffed animals for now. Today you get the "me" edition. Both of these dogs are ones I purchased myself.

The one on the left is a "Pound Puppy." These were made by Tonka in the 1980s, and for a limited time you could get one with a Burger King meal of some sort for an additional... something in the range of... a dollar. He has the genuine Pound Puppy logo. I actually found a couple of these for sale at an appreciated price. However, you'd have to sell a lot of them to actually make much money.

And this one is not for sale. I just like it. His name is Odd Spot.

The dog on the right, I'm sure you recognize. This is Wishbone, possibly the most famous Jack Russell terrier of all time. I purposely bought this because I like Wishbone. The PBS TV show was one of the most creative educational shows of all time for kids. The dog acted out classic literature (in case you somehow missed knowing about Wishbone). It was a real dog, and he would wear costumes and strike poses in various staged scenes with a voiceover. There were also modern day kids and the story was usually woven into a secondary plot. It was a very cute show. If you have no idea what I'm talking about just go to YouTube and search for Wishbone TV show.

When this toy was newer it would say, "Be like me; read a good book," when you squeezed its tummy. But whatever powered that voice loop has died. That makes me sad, but I suppose those kinds of things don't last.

So, today's stuffies are just for fun. But they each make me smile.

In other news: I did a lot of editing/formatting. Software issues- I finally solved othe problem, and then final tweaks and all the small changes that take forever. I did not make as much progress as I hoped, but at least I worked on it.

See Bear-y and Ears

Bear-y and Ears

  I didn't do much of consequence today, so you get the next set of two stuffed animals. This is the "Marie" edition.

There was a time in my life that was very difficult. The whole premise of this blog- to find some quality moment in every day- directly grew out of those years. You can see a little more about that at What is My Quality Day?

The little teddy bear is named Bear-y- not very original. I didn't have enough emotional energy to be cute at the time. Marie spent several months with us. When she finally had to leave, she left me with this little bear for comfort.

The bassett hound also came from Marie, as a condolance after Chips died. See In Memory of Hoover Houdini Chips. He's actually part of a set of collectible hounds made by the Applause company. I don't think they ever really caught on like Beanie Babies did, but he's very cute.

One thing you can say this little collection of animals proves is that it doesn't take some expensive gift to show someone that you care. I don't know what Dismal Desmond's (link below) 1926 price was, but he was a gift for a child. I don't know if he was expensive at the time. He's the only one of these stuffies that may be worth anything beyond sentimental value now. As for the rest, I know they each cost, at the most, $6.00; some were less. And yet, they've brought me (and hopefully my mother) a lot of joy. There's only one more set of two to show you (and one more that I can't find- hopefully it will surface some day).

In other news: It was a low-key day. I did some editing, but mostly I read and watched old Perry Mason videos. Maybe I'll have more energy tomorrow.

See Dismal Desmond and Winky

Dismal Desmond and Winky

  Since I worked all day, you get more stuffed animals tonight. This is the stuffed animal "Mom" edition.

On the left is Dismal Desmond. This is a toy from my mother's childhood. In fact, I've found out that this toy was made by the Dean's Rag Book Company, and was introduced in 1926 (my mom would have been 7, so that seems about right). It's made of velveteen, and the features and spots are printed on. The toy was so successful that other poses came out in following years. The dog became the mascot of the England Cricket Team and the womens' Wimbledon team. He may have originally had a pink tongue that hung out. This one has been loved and played with. There are several tears that were mended, so it's quite possible it did have a tongue that was torn off. Even so, original ones are pretty rare.

I just learned that the character was re-introduced in the 1990s, but the modern ones I found pictures of don't seem to me to have much charm.

The animal on the right is a little white seal. His name is Winky. While I doubt that Dismal Desmond was Mom's first stuffed animal, I'm pretty sure that Winky was her last.

Mom had advanced Parkinson's, but was managing to live at home by having caregivers that stayed with her. She was in New York state, and I was in Michigan, so I wasn't much help. But in the winter of 1991-92, she fell and broke her hip. That was the beginning of the end, but that's getting way ahead of this story.

I went to NY to visit her in the hospital. That whole scenario is a bit of a medical horror story, and this blog is not about the negatives of my life. I will just say that they finally got her back on the correct meds, and we were able to have some good visits over the time period I stayed (maybe a week?- I was working a real job- I couldn't have been away too long.) She confirmed that she did not want me to bring her to Michigan.

Anyway... I'll avoid bunny trails of stories.

When I was getting ready to leave, I went down to the hospital gift shop to try to find something I could afford that she would be able to keep and remember that I cared. I found this little seal. When I took him upstairs, Mom named him Winky.

Here's another view, so you can see their tails.

So, Mom never went home again. She was unable to pass the rehab qualifications in 30 days time because of the issues with the Parkinson's as much as the hip. We chose a nursing home, and she quickly declined. She died three years later. Winky often got shoved into her drawer by staff, but at least he didn't get lost.

Just for the record, I told you my collection was small. I've already shown you half.

Perhaps you are enjoying the stuffies tour. If not... there's bound to be something different soon!

In other news: As I said, I spent the day working on an editing project with short breaks to add pieces to my current jigsaw puzzle. But my brain is fried. I think I'll be relaxing after this.

See Baraga and Berea

Baraga and Berea

  I've been thinking for a long time that I should blog about these two little toys. Today's the day. It was inspired by a hiking friend, Richard Morgan, who framed some of his Buckeye Trail patches with a little green Gumby that he found beside the road on the first day he ever hiked on the Buckeye Trail.

These aren't getting framed (they aren't flat), but they hold their places of honor in my very small collection of stuffed animals. Here are their stories. Baraga is the little plush dog on the left.

Marie and I found him beside the road in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, in Baraga County (Say BEAR-uh-guh), west of Marquette. It was named for the Catholic Bishop, Frederic Baraga. His story is fascinating! He was Slovanian, and came to the United States in 1830. He had grown up during the time of the Napoleanic Wars, which led to instability in his official education. This actually served him well. He spoke German, Slovenian and French by the time he was nine. Latin and Greek were required subjects, so he was a budding linguist at age 16.

Once in the US, he learned the Ottawa language, and ended up at L'Arbre Croche (Cross Village), Michigan. He then moved to Wisconsin to work with the Ojibway, and then founded a mission at L'Anse, just west of Marquette, Michigan. He was known as "The Snowshoe Priest," because he walked hundreds of miles in the winter to serve his mission outposts. He created a dictionary and grammar of the Ojibway language, and fought constantly for the rights of the Native peoples. He was well-enough known that Matthew Brady photographed him some time in the 1850s.

In 2012, he was declared a saint. I've read his journals, and although like most things that were written before 1850, they are tedious, but they were quite interesting. This statue of him, and a small museum are located at L'Anse.

The little rubber duck on the right is puzzling. It's definitely a duck. It's definitely wearing a helmet with a visor like some ducky knight, and carrying a sword and shield. Maybe it is some fantasy or game character that I don't know. I'm sure there are many! Anyway, Marie and I found him alongside the road in northeast Ohio. His name is Berea.

We found him on a day that we passed some interpretive signs for Berea sandstone, and a lot, lot, lot of sandstone buildings, foundations, steps, etc.

Berea sandstone was named for the town of Berea, Ohio, where tons of it were historically quarried. It's a fine-grained pinkish-gray sandstone. The sand that formed it actually came from far north, in Canada, and was carried down an ancient river to Ohio. It was laid down about 400 million years ago. I was not there to verify this. I just read Wikipedia.

Anyway, that's the duck's name, and you can follow the link below to see some cliffs of Berea Sandstone. The pictures are from the day we found him.

Perhaps on some other slow news day, you'll see others of my little stuffed animals. They sit on top of my desktop computer, which needs to go away because it is too old, but it still runs one game I like, so I haven't worked too hard at getting rid of it.

In other news: I worked on an editing project and chilled.

See Buckeye Trail Berea Sandstone

Monkey See, Monkey Two

 


Both monkeys done! Just need to gift wrap them. Long-time readers may know what this means.

Yes, it's the end of February, and I'm getting ready to head east to see my two favorite little girls, Anja and Mia, their parents David and Rachel, my best friend Marie (the grandma), and more. Of course the event that prompts the trip is the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Prepare for botany!

	See One Poncho Done
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Where the Sandhill Cranes Nest (and an Answer)

 
Before we begin, do your have your guesses for the craft project in place? Early guesses were for a golf club cover or a cover for a wheeled table leg. Yesterday both Ann and Lin thought it might be a monkey.

Maggie and I did a roadwalk today. I skied this morning, but it was still mostly a mental exercise in telling myself it was fun. I didn't get all my ski trails mowed in the fall, and with only a little snow the tall grass really hampers forward motion. And the sun was softening things up and making the snow sticky. Solution for the afternoon...roadwalk.

We were accompanied by some strange monsters.



We walked along a paved road past the home of an acquaintance. She has told me that sandhill cranes nest in the little pockets of wetland behind her house. One year I saw some there. Of course they aren't there now! (They're vacationing in New Mexico and California)

This is one of those small low spots the cranes like because it's somewhat isolated.



I know, it's not much to see, but it's the best thing we encountered on our walk.

And now... here's the answer.



Were you right?

	See It's a Siege for sandhill cranes in a different wetland See Birds, Birds, Birds for a crane flying
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A Progression and a Clue

 
Do you think the light snow that started coming down yesterday amounted to anything?

Friday, 8:57 am



Friday, 6:06 pm


Saturday, 11:06 am


Saturday, 11:29 am Can you see what's different?


Here's your next clue on the project



Have fun!

If you needed a little help, there are ski tracks in snow picture 4. It was pretty marginal, but I pretended I was having fun.

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Potpourri

 
It's been a long time since I've been working on any craft project, but I've got a little one going again. Anyone want to guess what it will be?



Here's a tidbit that just comes from nowhere, except that 60 years ago today Queen Elizabeth was crowned. I remember that day, and I remember watching the whole pageant on television. The reason it's locked in my mind is that my father was fascinated by the whole thing. That seemed, and still seems, so out of character for him that it becomes defining. Isn't that odd that sometimes we are remembered for the unusual things about us?

Anyway, Dad not only watched our recently acquired TV all day, giving a running commentary on the events, but the next day he came home with a monstrosity that graced our mantel until after his death in 1976. My mother hated it, and I just thought it was odd, even at the jaded old age of four. It clearly did not fit with the rest of the things in our house. Note early kindergarten skill: which squirrel does not match the others? I hope you are really wondering what it could have been.

But I won't tell just yet. Not that I need any more junk around here, but after Dad died, Mom and I continued to joke about this object, and agreed that we'd sell it. I sure wish we had at least taken a picture before it went to some other sucker delighted owner. I don't have a clue what it originally cost, or what Mom sold it for.

Excuse me, I'm doing an internet search to see if I can find an image of this "thing." Nope... See, if I'd kept it, it might be so rare now as to be worth thousands. (Not) Probably everyone threw them out.

Here we go...Dad came home with a reproduction of the coronation coach, being pulled by eight horses, with a clock in the side of the coach. It was all gold in color, and not finely made. He loved that clock!

Um, I haven't told you much about my dad. He was a no-nonsense man who loved tools, his garden, order, simplicity, and beer. Not ornate, gilded doo-dads. Go figure.

Finally, just a funny from the Riverwalk!

	See Butchy Boy for a picture of my dad
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