The Fuzz Brigade

Well, That's Showing a Good Example to Kids!

2009-10-19T08:52:00.001-04:00

THE latest Webkinz News item (on the WN website) spells the word "Arctic" wrong TWICE.

See the Leaves Falling Down!

2009-09-11T23:38:00.004-04:00

GLORY be! It's fall in Webkinz World–

–and not just Fall Festival with leaves flying!

They have actually done a fall theme with autumn trees and leaves scattered on the grass of any yard that you have.

Some night-time shots follow:

Jeff's yard and garden looks quite nice with its autumnal background and leaves scattered about his Zum-decorated area. (I will be getting him a treehouse bed soon!)

Now the fairgrounds look ready to hold the annual county fair, with the fireworks just starting!

And the year-round fall yard/pumpkin patch looks just dandy with the rest of the "trimmings"! Wish it could stay this way year round!

Not a Pet of the Month

2009-07-09T23:34:00.001-04:00

I was persuaded by someone who shall remain nameless that when you used the "frog" card from the Webkinz Series 1 cards, you got a spotted frog, which was pet of the month.

Wrong!

So now I have a frog.

But he's pretty cute. His name is Sparky and he lives in a nice little frog bed and has a lily pad sofa and a firefly lamp.

A Special Spaniel

2009-07-04T11:21:00.000-04:00

FOR Independence Day I have adopted my springer spaniel.

When I was a girl my cousin Johnny had a springer spaniel named Jeff. He was the sweetest, funniest dog. If you said "sic 'em!" to him, he ran around the yard in circles. Back then no one knew chocolate was bad for dogs, and it never seemed to bother Jeff: my aunt fed him Cocoa Puffs and milk for breakfast! He lived a long, happy life and I remember him with great affection.

So you see, I couldn't help naming a Webkinz spaniel after the real thing.

Jeff is the proprietor of my general store, which I constructed from the general store theme as well as some other pieces, like the drinks fridge, condiment stand from the movie theme, sink, blender, etc. The vegetables come fresh from his garden, which he sleeps next to to keep away the gophers!

Jeff also owns the adjoining bakery/luncheonette which sells candy and gifts as well! You can set a spell at Jeff's, have a burger or a bagel, and maybe hang out with your pals playing a game of "Go Fish!"

Ready, Set, Sell!

2009-06-10T13:57:00.002-04:00

HAS everyone seen the new General Store theme?

I can't wait till all the items are in. In combo with other items, like the drinks refrigerator you could build a great grocery store, or with some of the things and the candy theme, build a candy store, etc.

Sly as a...

2009-05-22T01:07:00.000-04:00

YESSSSSS! There's going to be a Webkinz fox in July!

Was It Something I Said?

2009-05-15T12:36:00.002-04:00

FRANKLY, Tabby VonMeow speechless is a definite advantage...

Gobsmacked!

2009-05-13T22:20:00.003-04:00

I am not a good videogame player.

I've been in Webkinz nearly two years (it's two years next week) and played innumerable games of Cash Cow and Candy Bash 2 and Go-Go Googles (which I find the most manageable) until my eyes hurt and my wrist wouldn't respond anymore and have never won one stinking trophy. Never, ever, ever. I rejoiced in Webkinz Day since I finally got a trophy just for being around.

Then came Eager Beaver Amusement Park, which is based on a favorite, Bookworm, and it has a trophy. It's a bear to play, though, because it's harder than Bookworm. There are a lot more consonants than vowels, and at a certain point, when you get the fiery tiles that break through the other letters (when they get to the bottom, you've burned down the park and lost the game), you have to make your words with a certain number of letters. Since they don't give you a lot of vowels, this is a right pain in the butt.

But tonight I kept playing, and wangling, and scrambling...and oh my ears and whiskers, see what I did:

You even get to see the park completed (the last thing you build is the roller coaster).

Once you win the trophy, however, you can still play the game, but no additional trophies are forthcoming.

Webkinz for Mother's Day

2009-05-10T18:14:00.000-04:00

MY "fids" gave me Webkinz for Mother's Day! Since one of my fids imitates the kiss and squeak they make when you go into your room, this is especially appropriate!

I always said J.K. Rowling created an owl with the personality of a budgie. I named a real budgie after the fictional Pigwidgeon, so now we have a virtual pet named after the real budgie, since their coloring was similar.

Very appropriately, this gift was "given" to me by a budgie!

And what else would a bookworm name a Jack Russell Terrier?

Very appropriately, this gift was "given" to me by a terrier!

Webkinz Day!

2009-04-29T18:12:00.001-04:00

THANK God for Webkinz Day, since it seems to be the only time I ever get a trophy.

The card was not animated this year:

Easter by Any Other Name

2009-04-12T22:06:00.001-04:00

GANZ makes me laugh. They won't designate the day as "Easter" because of its Christian connotations.

Yo, guys, you're supposed to be "educational" as well as fun—at least that's what you claim. "Easter" comes from "Eostre," a Pagan term. Bunnies and eggs are also Pagan symbols. Duh.

Anyway...look! A gift in the dock...

And the front page announces "spring"...

Spring critters frolic...

And some Easter gifts. The rug is sure better than the silly egg shoes.

Easter Adoption

2009-04-12T10:03:00.000-04:00

THE stuffed lamb was sooooooooo cute! (Of course I waited until it came out and not those advance copies that were going for $200 on EBay...you guys had to be kidding!) Both the stuffed pet and the virtual are huggable.

In the American Girls books, Felicity Merriman, from 1774, has a pet lamb named Posy.

I didn't like "Posy," so I named her "Felicity."

Webkinz Alley Cat Video

2009-04-01T13:53:00.001-04:00

Cute!

"Where Did You Get Those Stripes?

A Country Girl at Heart

2009-03-18T16:13:00.000-04:00

LOOKS like Hilary Booth has unpacked her tractor! LOL.

A Goat on a Skateboard?

2009-02-18T16:19:00.004-05:00

JUST because. LOL.

I'd thought about a Swiss name for this one, especially the place Rick Steves loves, Gimmelwald. But mountain goats are indigenous to North America.

Oh, dear, I "sent him to Montana," didn't I? LOL.

Did you know mountain goats are not really goats? They are part of a group called "goat-antelopes," in the same family with the Chamois.

I wonder if they will ever do an actual goat.

I still want a fox, not a Floral Fox!

Hearts and Flowers

2009-02-14T23:36:00.002-05:00

ONCE again, it's time for Valentines Day!

Greeted first thing in the morning...

...with a small gift in the dock...

...and a card in the post...

...and upon opening the gifts:

I'm not much fond of teddy bears, but that one is kinda cute.

He Doesn't Have A Shadow

2009-02-02T23:26:00.000-05:00

THE Webkinz groundhog doesn't cast a shadow. I guess that means that spring is always just around the corner in Webkinz World.

Darnit.

This one is not only a cute fuzzy, but the virtual has the most darling face, especially when it smiles and shows its little teeth.

I thought the name appropriate for a woodchuck!

They're Flocking This Way

2009-01-30T21:12:00.001-05:00

I'VE had these two for what seems like ages. I just couldn't think of names for either of them, especially the hummingbird. It was either "Flit" from Pocahontas or some other overused name, like "Rosie" and "Jewel."

Then I took a second look at "Jewel" and twisted it a bit.

The cardinal was even more difficult. I couldn't think of anything but Catholic jokes. At one time I flippantly considered "Cushing." (He was the archbishop in Boston while I was growing up and was always in the news.)

But instead, something different.

A Late Christmas Critter

2009-01-21T23:02:00.001-05:00

HIS name is Gingerbread. Of course. LOL. I meant to adopt him on Epiphany, but things just got out of hand.

And I didn't intend to buy a cocker spaniel either (well, an original cocker, anyway; I have the American cocker), but the face on the fuzzy for this one just got me.

(I'm with Gingerbread, BTW—I think going on vacation is really awesome, too!)

The Christmas Pets

2008-12-25T23:12:00.000-05:00

THIS evening I adopted all the "Nativity animals."

However, my cow's name stems not from any Biblical connection, but from a sweet memory.

One of the best treats to have in Rhode Island as a kid was a paper cup of Hood's ice cream, called a "Hoodsie." It came with a paper wrapped wooden "spoon" to eat the ice cream with. In the 1940s, kids collected the Hoodsie caps because they had photographs of movie stars on them, but that custom was long gone by the early 1960s.

Hood's Milk still makes these ice cream cups. Not sure if they still come with a wooden spoon, though.

Who thought I would buy a camel? When I was about eleven or twelve I got bitten on the left bicep by a camel that was housed behind too short a fence at "Kiddieland" in Rocky Point Park. I was petting the donkey that was also in the enclosure with the camel; who knows, maybe he was jealous of the attention?

Melchior is a different sort, as you can see by the rosy cheeks of the stuffed version! LOL. I've never seen a camel look that happy; they're very dour.

My sheep's name comes from the dog story Beautiful Joe. Joe and his mistress Laura are in the countryside of New Hampshire for the summer and one morning her Uncle John takes her out to look at his flock of sheep.

Laura would like to pet one of the lambs and John coaxes one to her with some salt, calling "Come, Cosset." I don't know if this is an old-fashioned name for a sheep or what, but it seemed very apt for an old-fashioned looking sheep adopted on Christmas night.

Christmas Has Come!

2008-12-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

JOLLY cool things this year!

Follows: front page greetings, Belsnickel's Christmas room (he's just lighting the last lamp) with the post awaiting, the Christmas card itself, the Christmas package, and the gifts.

"You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet!"

2008-12-19T20:17:00.000-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS to the Wheel of WOW, which finally has its "voice" back. The strident tones of "the Wheel of WOW!" hasn't been heard for about a year.

Home, Home on the...

2008-12-18T12:04:00.000-05:00

I had originally intended to adopt an animal each saint's day in December (Barbara, Nicholas, and Lucia), but then time went rushing by like an express train, so all I managed was my bison, which I adopted on St. Barbara's Day (December 4).

I toyed with a name like "Smoky" or "Gatlin" since I bought him in Gatlinburg, but instead I settled for a name pun.

"Oh, give me a home
Where the buffalo roam...
Home, home on the range..."

A New Wrinkle on Gifts!

2008-11-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

HERE are the Thanksgiving front page, card, and gifts for this year.

One of the gifts, the Thanksgiving dinner, is quite novel, as the Webkinz folks have never given us food that would actually sit on the table before. It always has had to be fed to your pet.

I do wish we could keep the baskets (in this case) or boxes that the gifts come in. They are, like this basket, usually very beautiful!

Ditto for the cards.

No Knowledge Is No Knowledge

2008-11-21T13:05:00.004-05:00

YOU know, if you're going to post educational questions on what is nominally a kids' site, don't you think the answers to the questions should be correct?

Today the "calendar question" at Quizzy's was "Who is on trial in To Kill a Mockingbird?" The choices are: Jem, Atticus Finch, Scout, and Boo Radley. The "correct" answer is, according to "Quizzy," Boo.

Boo Radley is not on trial in To Kill a Mockingbird. It's Tom Robinson who is on trial.

Shame on you guys.

Have a Batty Hallowe'en

2008-10-31T11:57:00.000-04:00

MY original thought for a bat name was "Belfrey."

But then I remembered the crazed little character in Love at First Bite. What could be better for an insect eater than "Renfield"?

Not Bigger Than A Breadbox

2008-10-24T13:36:00.003-04:00

WANTED to do something to celebrate it having gotten cold today; the least expensive option was to adopt a pet.

I hadn't intended to buy a Lil Kinz black-and-white cheeky dog, as I was perfectly satisfied with my large acquisition ("Mighty Manfred"), then one little guy smiled at me from a rack. His cheeky little smile reminded me of an "old friend" whom I watched every night.

Mr. Cerf, this one's for you. :-)

(I notice Bennett likes puzzles, as did Mr. Cerf, which makes the name all the more appropriate.)

OMG!

2008-10-08T17:43:00.000-04:00

I actually WON a Quick Draw! I didn't think that was possible!

New For October

2008-10-01T13:45:00.003-04:00

ADOPTED in honor of cool breezes, cold fronts from Canada, turning leaves, and October eves.

Er, what else would a Remember WENN fan name a wolf? :-)

Double or Nothing (With Reservations)

2008-09-23T20:35:00.000-04:00

THE moment I saw the deer—really a fawn—I was determined to have one and name him after Jody's deer in The Yearling (yes, I know Flag came to a bad end, but it was too good a name to pass up).

Except Webkinz wouldn't let me name him "Flag." They said that was "a forbidden word." Eh? They have this vocabulary thing now, so that idiots can't post dirty words in the KinzChat Plus rooms, so many words are forbidden. For instance, you can't name a cow "Buttercup" or "Butter"-anything because it has "Butt" in it. [eyes roll] Just in case they were not seeing the L, and interpreting "Flag" as "Fag," I tried "Phlag" (which I hated, but...). Nope. "Lag" apparently is a "bad word"!

So this says my deer's name is "Jody." No, his name is "Flag." No matter what the certificate says, his name is "Flag." So there.

And my other woodland creature, adopted along with Flag, a bit late but in honor of autumn, is the darling little chickadee. His name was easier, since Webkinz didn't object and he is wearing a mask, after all. (So I guess in Webkinz World, "bandits" are okay, but "flags" are not. Heh.)

OMG!

2008-09-18T23:40:00.000-04:00

I managed to do a third-level KinzPost Sorter!

Adoption Just Because

2008-09-18T23:30:00.002-04:00

IT'S September. I work in purchasing. Therefore I hate September.

So I have adopted my Siamese "just because." (And perhaps in honor of the leaves scudding about for Fall Festival.)

No, he's not named after Burn Gorman's character on Torchwood. :-) I purchased him in the FYE in Owensboro, Kentucky, when we went up to see the Remember WENN radio play. Ergo...

The Floating Leaves

2008-09-18T10:31:00.004-04:00

FALL festival is early this year! Last year it was held in October.

The "corn dolly" cow, leaf sweater, and apple hat (yes, thank God) are gone this year, replaced by an orange sweater, a cornucopia, and a fall place setting for a table (you can see the cornucopia and sweater above).

Today the leaves have been flying pretty quickly, like the first day of Winterfest earlier in the year. I'm sure Ganz will twig and they'll slow down soon, so I'm trying to nab as many as possible.

Frankly, I think they should keep them flying fast. Webkinz, after all, is primarily for children, and most parents limit their kids' computer time to an hour or so. On the regular six-minute interval setting, you can't get much in an hour, and if you want to do an autumn room, not very conducive to doing so.

Yay!

2008-09-06T23:56:00.000-04:00

FOUND a chickadee! Also a sheep!

Latest (and Belated) Adoptions

2008-09-05T09:53:00.002-04:00

TOO busy with real life to have updated here...

Of course I had to have a flying pet! I didn't adopt the toucan for ages because I couldn't think of a name for him. The name of the Froot Loops toucan would have been too corny. I checked the encyclopedia for names in the toco toucan's home range, but I didn't like any of them. So I ended up with corny anyway. :-) It suits him. Adopted July 20.

Another adoption that took forever because of the name. I wanted something associated with winter, but not all that common. Hence, "hoarfrost," although he's known by the more casual name of "Frosty." Adopted July 26.

I'd dismissed the rhino since I figured it was just a hippo with a horn and I didn't like the hippo.

Then this fellow looked at me.

A nosy person is often known as a "Nosey Parker," which is also the name for Lady Penelope's chauffeur in Thunderbirds. So "Parker" he became. Adopted August 9.

A two-for-one! Anyone older than dirt like me remember the movie Snowfire? It was made in 1958 and was a children's matinee movie and television staple for years. Here's TCM's synopsis of the film. I paged through my memories for other white horse names—Maestoso Borina from White Stallion of Lipizza, El Blanco from the Disney short, Aladdin from the episode of The Virginian, Silver...then I remembered the movie. (I did a search for it online; you wouldn't believe how many people are trying to find a copy of this film!)

Adopted September 4.

Sammy is just named after the blue jay in the Thorton W. Burgess "Old Mother West Wind" stories. His friends were Johnny [Wood]Chuck, Peter Rabbit, etc. Adopted September 4.

Waiting for the Chirp, Chirp, Chirp

2008-07-20T00:55:00.002-04:00

OMG! There IS going to be a Webkinz chickadee!

From the Depths of the Forest

2008-07-16T14:46:00.003-04:00

LAST August everyone in Webkinz World was looking for charms. The twenty-four physical charms had been released, and a minimum of eight allowed you to search for virtual charms in the Charm Forest, an enchanted place occupied by good fairies with plaited red hair, led by the lissome Alyssa, and bad fairies with dark hair and an even darker laugh, led by the nefarious Nefaria (first encountered in the arcade game Tulip Trouble 2).

Then the Chinese-lead-paint scandal exploded. Ganz never came out and said the charms had lead in them, but all of a sudden the charms dwindled and they eventually disappeared.

Now, once you find all the virtual charms, the Charm Forest is just a place to go to get laughed at by Nafaria, gather charm candy or special food, or to get the occasional W100 gold coin or duplicate charm which will get you W100. Otherwise, the challenge was gone.

Well, there's a new challenge in the Forest, "Alyssa's Star Challenge." Like Arte's Gem Search, this can be done once a day. You search a sky full of Webkinz constellations, clicking the tip of the pole of your star net on a colored star. The net swings and you either "catch" or "miss" a star which may have the shape of a triangle or square, or be in the image of a pawprint or other Webkinz-associated shape. Alyssa will offer you Kinzcash for your acquisition or you can keep it in a revolving star-keeper. If you gather all the stars, you get a special prize. There are also shooting stars, which pay off in cookies or in various parts of a space suit.

So far I have two stars and the pants part of the space suit.

Recent Adoptions

2008-07-11T14:14:00.000-04:00

USED to drive my mother nuts since I always loved mice. I didn't want them in my house, mind you, but I liked looking at them and wasn't afraid of them, like my mom was (but she had due cause: when she was a girl she saw a baby who had been bitten by a rat). Mom always told the tale about the night we were at the mall and a crowd was gathering around one of the sunken seating areas that were popular in malls back then. We asked someone what everyone was looking at, and they said there was a mouse under one of the seats. My mom nearly had a cow when I excused myself through the crowd and got down on my knees to peek at the cute little meadow mouse who was huddling under the seat!

She wrote about all cute little animal characters, so I thought it was quite appropriate to name this little mouse after Beatrix Potter.

Sarang the tiger is named after the tiger who was on the series Daktari (which took place in Africa; I can't remember why they had a tiger in Africa).

The real Sarang was one of Ralph Helfer's animals at "Africa USA," which supplied the wild creatures that appeared on the series. They were famous for being "affection trained" rather than ruled with whips and prods as the old-style animal "tamers" used to do it in the past.

I highly recommend Helfer's Zamba and Toni Ringo Helfer's The Gentle Jungle to folks who want to read about animals.

Branch by Branch

2008-06-29T14:09:00.000-04:00

I have a new favorite Arcade game: Tropical Troubles. This involves the monkey from "Bananza," which I've always had trouble managing, jumping from branch to branch collecting bananas, avoiding deadly spiders and insects, and knocking over pineapples and cocoanuts to possibly roll on the deadly spiders and insects, which gains you extra points.

I can't say I'm really good at it—I think my highest score has been 22—but I really enjoy it because it reminds me of the old Jumpman game—and if the monkey falls, he doesn't get killed the way Jumpman does. :-)

I do hate that one bug, though, the one with the big eyes that pops up and follows the monkey. The other bugs just wander at random, and the spiders just crawl up and down branches, but you either have to scramble to avoid the big-eyed one, let yourself get bitten, or hit it with a cocoanut or pineapple to get rid of it. It's a pain in the neck.

Cat of a Different Color

2008-06-15T20:31:00.000-04:00

I picked up a Siamese cat at the FYE at the mall in Owensboro, KY, so his name will be "Owen." What's with Ganz and their weird animals? First we get a "Yorkie" that's white (guys, that's a Maltese...) and now a Siamese cat with green eyes.

June Pet of the Month

2008-06-01T14:04:00.003-04:00

I'D had an elephant for ages hoping one of the older pets would be POTM, so I was pretty happy about the choice of the elephant.

What I didn't know was what to name it—I either didn't like some of the choices, like Bimbo or Kala Nag or Two Tails, or thought they were a little cliché, like Babar, Trunks, Peanuts, Dumbo, etc. It couldn't be Modoc or Maya because it was an African elephant and a male to boot.

I finally settled on a literary elephant, just not the usual one: Cornelius, one of the wise old elephants in the Babar stories.

No Flames, Please!

2008-05-22T15:25:00.003-04:00

IN honor of my first anniversary on Webkinz, I have adopted my Whimsy Dragon.

Since the Dragon is pink, of course it is female.

And what better name for a W[h]ims[e]y Dragon than Harriet?

Heh.

Happy Anniversary

2008-05-22T09:15:00.002-04:00

ONE year goofing off on Webkinz. They sent me a token. (Geez...couldn't they send a trophy? Or a wall plaque? Maybe a piece of cake?)

I remember when I was only going to buy "a couple." ::snort::

The Final Charm

2008-05-21T10:20:00.002-04:00

AFTER months and months of search, I finally have found my last Magic Charm Forest charm. Yeesh. It took long enough.

I actually found a key, which fit in a door that revealed five pods, shown below:

Quite a haul, actually: W400 (since the duplicate umbrella charm was also worth W) and that last single note!

Tribute to Gladys

2008-05-12T22:12:00.000-04:00

FELT like adopting an animal on what would have been my mom and dad's anniversary, which this year was the day before Mother's Day. So I adopted the animal I had that was closest to what my mom would have liked, which was my American cocker spaniel.

Because one of my favorite writers, Gladys Taber, raised cocker spaniels at her home, "Stillmeadow," in Southbury, Connecticut, I wanted to name the spaniel something in tribute. I couldn't decide among any of the real dogs' names ("Honey" and "Teddy" were two of the buff-colored cockers she had) and I don't particularly like "Gladys" and wasn't sure about "Jill," who was Taber's best friend.

So I simply named her "Stillmeadow" or "Meadow" for short (with no reference to The Sopranos, for gossakes—what kind of good Italian name is "Meadow" anyway; Italian girls usually receive saints' names).

In the Cards

2008-05-01T11:05:00.002-04:00

ONE of the free pet cards I received in the Series 1 trading cards was a panda, so when they announched that the panda would be the May Pet of the Month, I was inspired to use the card.

I thought hard about a traditional panda name, but gave him a less typical one. Traditional dominos are black and white, and of course the panda looks masked. Back in the days of masked balls, a mask was also called a "domino," so it fit as well.

Dom came with the steam-powered television, which is a funny-looking gadget, and also with another W1000 coin and also a disco ball. I take it from messages that disco balls are highly prized, so it looks like I can trade this one since I already have another.

Webkinz Day

2008-04-29T19:10:00.002-04:00

CELEBRATING Webkinz 3rd Anniversary!

A greeting and a gift in the dock when logging on early this morning!

When we arrive in the Royal Room, home of Treve (pictured) and Flax (my German Shepherd), there's a letter for us...

...which contains a card! (You can't see the animation in the screen cap: the penguin jumps up and down, the velvety elephant wiggles his ears, etc.)

And here are our Year 3 trophy, photo, and other gifts!

The New Guys on the Block

2008-04-21T18:48:00.000-04:00

I adopted Gertrude on Easter Day. She is named after a much less lucky Gertrude, the duck in Journey to the Center of the Earth, who ended up as a meal for the awful Count Saknussen (he got his "just dessert" a few minutes later when he is buried in a rock slide).

But I call her "Trudy" after Adrian Monk's wife.

(Hmn. Another dead character. Could I want her to be a...::groan::...dead duck? Never!)

As for this fellow, also adopted on Easter, what else would you name a chocolate-colored dog?

"N-E-S-T-L-E-S...Nestlè's makes the very best...chocccccc-late!"

For you non-baby boomers who have no idea what I'm waffling about: here's the original pushing a Nestlè premium and a 1990s version of Farfel (and family!) doing a Christmas commercial and singing the famous jingle.

Here are a couple from the beginning of this month: Abigail is named after Abigail Adams, because I noticed after I bought her that she was pigeon-toed. This comes from a scene in 1776, taken from John and Abigail Adams' real-life letters, where they are discussing her faults as John had listed them in a previous letter. To each fault, John protests, "That was an endearment!" or "A compliment!" or something similar, until Abigail says, "That I am pigeon-toed." He responds, "Well, you have me there, Abigail. You are pigeon-toed."

Jack is named after Jack the bulldog in the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. (No, TV series watchers, Jack was not a shaggy mutt, nor was he whatever breed of dog that portrayed him in the Disney Channel miniseries. Of course, the real Jack was what they called a bulldog back then, which is closer to Pete the Pup in the Our Gang shorts or Chance in Homeward Bound.)

Jack was a Valentines Day gift, along with Skippy the (bush) kangaroo.

Ears or Patches?

2008-04-01T08:36:00.003-04:00

WEBKINZ Insider, which has been uncannily accurate with ferreting out the Pet of the Month almost since the program began last fall, has told us for over a month that they found out the POTM for May would be a panda. However, when Webkinz announces the present Pet of the Month, they always have the next month's POTM in a little iris underneath.

Now some folks who already went out and purchased pandas are upset because the May critter is announced to be a Lil Kinz cocker spaniel, not a panda.

By accident, I have it covered both ways, but I can see where they'd be upset.

(Maybe it's an April Fools joke? I've already see several of them this morning already.)

"I Got A Rock..."

2008-03-31T21:10:00.000-04:00

TO quote Charlie Brown.

News Brigade

2008-03-25T12:18:00.002-04:00

THE Webkinz home page addressed the garden problem by telling us that "Nafaria" (the evil fairy from the Fairy Forest) had hexed our plants. Uh-huh. Yeah, sure. Last night the message changed and every single garden item was ready for harvest. Boy, did I make a bundle selling to the W Shop.

Some new pets are confirmed for May; here they are in virtual form. The Samoyed is Too Cute! The Gecko looks too much like a frog and the rhino like a hippo with a horn. And, why, oh, why, a pink dragon? Purple would have been okay, but pink? Ugh.

Here's the plush "Sammie."

One of the April animals is an American cocker spaniel; very tempting to buy and give it the name of one of Gladys Taber's cockers, like Honey or Teddy.

Following the pink poodle for April and the panda for May, the Pet of the Month for June is confirmed as an elephant. I have a panda virtual pet card, and an elephant in my stash.

Easter in Webkinz World

2008-03-23T21:22:00.001-04:00

EXCEPT it can't be called "Easter" (which is silly, because "Easter" comes from "Eostre," a Pagan goddess). Pre-announcements:

And on March 23:

One of the gifts was a bit chinzy: you can buy the tulips in the W Shop. Usually the Spring/Easter gift is something novel.

Lowell models the egg shoes:

There was a clever animated card, too, but I didn't cap it properly.

Where Are My Plants?

2008-03-22T19:08:00.001-04:00

WELL, this is a glitch I've never seen before.

Poor Lowell wants to know where all the vegetables went...

Getting the Jump on Things

2008-03-20T17:38:00.003-04:00

I'D toyed with adopting my black poodle today, but adopted the kangaroo I got for Valentines Day instead.

After all, it is is the first day of spring.

:-)

(g,d, and rlh, as we used to say)

I was going to name her "Clancy" after Liza Goddard's character on Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (the ultimate Baby Boomer's Australian association)—since my koala is named "Rafferty" it would have continued the Irish name theme. But I copped out and went straight to the source. How could I resist naming her "Skippy"?

Right now she's sitting next to Schuyler's cage and Schuyler is happily whistling at her.

Not to Forget Those Numbers

2008-03-14T17:05:00.001-04:00

AS a reward for surviving those numbers today, I adopted my velvety elephant.

I decided he was much too sweet-looking for all the expected monikers: Hannibal, Kala Nag or Hathi (the elephants in The Jungle Book), Modoc. I toyed with "Trombone."

In the end, I named him "Norbert," probably because the day I bought him I was reading Beany Malone, in which she's dating a boy named "Norbett." Norbert sounds better to me and I can call him "Bertie" for short.

This Little Piggy

2008-03-06T11:23:00.001-05:00

OH, yeah, I bought into the Pet of the Month thing again, just because the Lil Pig was so cute. (This despite the fact I haven't activated my larger pig yet.) Don't ask me where the name came from; I looked at the piggy and she told me her name. Maybe I was thinking of Buddy Sorrell's wife Pickles on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Also picked up the Wacky Zingoz today; very cute! Wish there was a virtual one as well. "Wacky" gives you access to a new "extreme" Wacky Zingoz game. It also talks when you squeeze it, Wacky's stock phrases, like the giggle and "That tickles!" and "Zingozman!", etc.

Thanks, I Think

2008-02-28T10:05:00.001-05:00

WELL, after nearly ten months membership, I've joined the elite company of those who have received the following special item on the Wheel of WOW:

Heh.

"Him, Him, Him..."

2008-02-24T09:57:00.001-05:00

SINCE I've adopted my schnauzer on Rupert Holmes' birthday, and since he has a beard just like Mr. Holmes...

Not Yeti

2008-02-22T17:04:00.002-05:00

WELL, what else would you name a Himalayan cat? :-)

(Talk about blue eyes! You can see this one's across the room!)

Trouble in Webkinz Paradise

2008-02-22T17:01:00.002-05:00

THERE are several Webkinz websites that list what rare items are going to be at the curio shop in advance. This way if you want something special you do not have to log on every hour to see what's in the curio shop. It's always been especially useful for schooldays and work days. Now Ganz has moved the information from where it used to be and asked the sites that were showing the previews to not do so any longer.

Let's say it hasn't endeared anyone to Ganz.

Two-Digit Diva

2008-02-17T20:04:00.002-05:00

IT happened again. I've been doing the Big Button of Kinz Cash any time it was available since May 23, 2007, and only once have I gotten any more than a two-figure amount (and then it was only W150 or something like that. Tonight the grand total was W39. I've had W59, W43, and other amounts of that ilk. But three-digit amounts seem to be as rare as a politician with scruples.

Nostalgia Strikes Again

2008-02-16T23:26:00.005-05:00

IF naming a Webkinz after Lowell Thomas wasn't enough, I've mined the past again.

Two of the first pets in Webkinz World were the Cheeky Dog and Cheeky Cat, and they have been hotly collected ever since. They are both cartoony looking animals, and IMHO, the Cat is the homeliest thing I've ever seen, both the stuffie and the avatar. On the other hand, the Dog avatar has always looked cute, but I'd never seen many pics of the stuffie to form an opinion. I do know both of them sell for about $250-$300 on E-bay.

Ganz reported a new "cheeky surprise" for the new year in Webkinz Insider and it was fulfilled with the release this month of the black and white Cheeky Dog. I saw a photo of it and decided if it really looked that cute I might buy one.

It does and I did. He reminded me of something I'd seen on TV.

Of course he isn't pink (but then I only saw the show in black and white anyway), but he reminded me a good deal of Mighty Manfred, the sidekick of Tom Terrific, one of the cartoons that was shown on Captain Kangaroo back in the 1960s. Hence the name.

All Heart in Webkinz World

2008-02-14T11:22:00.000-05:00

NOW if they'd only fix it so we could feed our pets again, since all the gift foods are going a-begging.

A friendly greeting upon opening:

Plus a newspaper story, with the Valentine gift box showing down at the bottom:

The Love Puppy gets greedy:

And the gifts:

Lowell of Arabia

2008-02-10T21:56:00.000-05:00

I was faced with a surfeit of names for a grey horse, but somehow all of them didn't fit. There was February Callendar's "Grey Arab" (very simple), Dr. Syn's Gehenna (too grim), and Woodpigeon (name of the grey horse in the Flambards series), but all were older grey horses, who turn white as they get older (Lipizzaners start out black, then grey until they are completely white). A horse the color of soot was ... well, yeah, a horse of a different color.

Then I remembered the joke about calling an Arabian horse "Lawrence," coupled with Thursday's Young Indiana Jones in which he meets Lowell Thomas, who was the man who brought young "Ned" to the public's attention. Lowell Thomas' biography, Good Evening, Everybody, is one of my favorites of all time and was a particular favorite during my college years; I had it with me on one of our cross-country tours. Since the documentary that followed the Young Indy tale was fresh in my mind...

2 Cute 4 Words

2008-02-10T21:52:00.000-05:00

GIVE the Webkinz artists A+ for adorableness here, especially that sugar-sweet "Cubbit":

A Sweetie

2008-02-01T11:50:00.001-05:00

I wish I'd known about Webkinz in time to get this puppy, which is now selling for a minimum of $75.00 (more like $125.00 to $175.00). I like stuffed animals, especially this cutie, but not that much. LOL.

Improvising

2008-01-30T15:07:00.000-05:00

SINCE Ganz won't give us snowy yards that last all year, here's a "winter park" made of snow flooring, using snow chairs, sofa, side tables, and dividers, with perks in the form of icicle trees and Google ice sculptures, with the blue skies wallpaper subbing for real sky. Minerva enjoys the permanent snowiness. You can even take a hot-air balloon ride around the park!

The Animals Came Two by Two...by Two...by Two...

2008-01-30T11:52:00.000-05:00

IN the wake of the new January Webkinz pets—the black poodle, the velvety elephant, the grey Arabian, and the tie-dyed frog, plus the new Easter duck—and recent news of the February animals—the schnauzer, the Himalayan cat, the pink and white cat, the black and white cheeky dog, and the kangaroo—there is now news of more new pets, these for March!

The "March Madness" bunch will be a brown dog (looks like a cocker spaniel/golden retriever, but chocolate brown), a Bengal tiger (has a completely different design from the earlier tiger), a tiger snake (it is striped tiger color), plus a Lil Kinz pink poodle and black Labrador.

There is also a stuffed Wacky Zingoz, but the rumor is that we will not get a virtual pet with it; it will open up a new section of Webkinz World. Maybe a "Wackyland"?

No news on the grey wolf, which is rumored to be a totally virtual pet.

Six is Swell...I Guess

2008-01-30T11:48:00.000-05:00

BUT not compared to two. :-)

After a veritable blizzard over the weekend where the snowflakes of Winterfest were falling in intervals of multiples of two (sometimes they did come every two minutes, which was a "wheee!" moment), they have slowed down to the old Fall Festival/Goo-Goo Berry rate of intervals of multiples of six (and very slow sixes at that). Should have done more snowflake hunting over the weekend.

Catching Snowflakes With A Mouse

2008-01-26T13:45:00.000-05:00

WINTERFEST has arrived; in fact it apparently arrived early in the Asian time zones that they now have. It looks like they are giving out all of last year's Winterfest prizes except for one, which I am happy about because I really want the snowflake sweater. I have the snowflake toque and the new parka, but am crossing my fingers for the sweater.

The snowflakes seem to have been reset from last year's six-minute intervals like the leaves in the fall festival and the goo-goo berries. They are coming in multiples of two; I've gotten one in the most recent catching session in six minutes and then the rest in four minutes. I think this makes the odds better in getting more "stuff.

Since I have a duplicate pig I'm seriously thinking about a second account. Most of the Webkinz World superusers have at least two account. Some started out as parents taking care of their kids' accounts and then starting one for themselves and finally taking over their kids' accounts. Most of the kids seem to play with it as Ganz probably intended; the adults have the collecting fever and the trading fever.

Me, I just want enough icicle trees to do a faux winter park. :-) (Actually I have a faux winter park, but no trees for it. Trees in pots are better than nothing.)

Where else could you decorate rooms for so little cash input?

Sliding in Soon!

2008-01-15T06:32:00.000-05:00

COMING soon!

Hoping for Consistency

2008-01-08T19:43:00.000-05:00

LOL to this menu. These choices came up in the hourly menu this afternoon when I logged on after work, above the actual hourly choices.

"Wheel of Bananas" is funny enough (evidently referring to the Wheel of YUM), but I love "WOTM (hopefully)." The Wheel of the Month is notoriously ticky and it seems even the Webkinz programmers are doubtful that it will work!

Christmastide Adoptions

2008-01-03T19:29:00.000-05:00

I finally had a chance to adopt my pinto horse (I keep typing "pinot" as if she's a wine) on Boxing Day (St. Stephen's Day, whatever). She is named after Addie Mills' horse Treasure in The Thanksgiving Treasure. I had a hard time picking out the stuffed animal; most of them seemed "pulled" along the seams so they were all very obvious; it was hard to pick an attractive one (or at least I thought so).

I waited until January 2, since the site was hiccuping again on New Year's Day, to adopt my white seal. As you can see, I went traditional (but then I'm a Kipling fan). The seal moves like the google, gliding back and forth on the ground. I was hoping it might move a little more like a real seal, but that would be a difficult locomotion to animate.

I didn't adopt the penguin until today because I could not for the life of me think of a name for him. "Tennessee Tuxedo" and other permutations and Happy Feet names seemed too sterotypical. So did most of the snowy/icy names. I considered "Hoboken" after the little penguin in the Bugs Bunny cartoon that cries ice cubes, but wasn't sure about the name. Then I started considering fish (although my references say that most small penguins eat krill, not fish) names. The solution I came up with sounded the cutest. (Hey, it could have been "Halibut"!)

The penguin is so cute when he moves; he does indeed waddle!

Christmas of Errors

2007-12-25T19:16:00.000-05:00

THERE was a great deal of trouble getting in today, which explains why I did not adopt my pinto horse. The site was down most of the day, but in the times it was up we got this lovely Christmas cover:

And a special card (I'd just asked Belsnickel what he had done while I was gone, the wiseacre):

Which opened to reveal this:

Also, there was a note that Santa Kinz had arrived!:

This is what was in the box that had been left:

Gnawable

2007-12-16T22:23:00.000-05:00

WE saw some of the new interactive "Kookeys" today. Now we have seen the Russ "Shining Stars" and these are pretty cute stuffed animals. They even have a dragon, which Webkinz does not have. But I gotta say that the Kookeys I saw are really ugly, even if they do have a giraffe. They are of this fuzzy, ugly material and look a lot like dog toys.

Today's Humor

2007-12-16T11:39:00.000-05:00

EITHER my attempt at gem searching has rendered Arte speechless or he has laryngitis.

Cute Screencap for the Day

2007-12-12T16:41:00.000-05:00

AS this year's Hanukkah celebration draws to a close, Treve (in his autumn sweater, of course) takes a last look at the lighted menorahs.

Recent Adoptions

2007-12-12T16:23:00.000-05:00

I seem to have an animal for every Sunday in Advent as well as other feast days. :-)

Many years ago a fellow named Thorne Smith wrote a book named Topper describing an ordinary man's encounter with a married couple who lived hard and fast and died the same way, in a car accident, and who return to haunt him. It was made into a film starring Cary Grant, and then into a television series, with Leo G. Carroll (yes, "Mr. Waverly" himself) as Topper and Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys as the ghosts, George and Marion Kerby. In the TV series they died in an avelanche while skiing, along with a St. Bernard rescue dog. The dog, Neil, accompanied them on their hauntings; he was also a bit of a dipsomaniac. So it was natural that I'd name a Webkinz of the same breed after Neil.

(The joke continues: this was an adoption that included a Superbed; I picked the Movie Bed because some friends of ours have a teenage son with the same name, and he wants to become a filmmaker.)

Neil was my St. Nicholas Day adoption. For the second Sunday of Advent, the pet du jour was Bonfire, who is my "Hallowe'en cat"; she's living in the Hallowe'en "bed and breakfast."

And then my long-awaited birthday gift, the cutest of them all, my collie, named after Albert Payson Terhune's "Treve." Terhune claimed Treve got this call name from his kennelman Robert Friend, who, when Terhune asked him about it, replied, "Well, a dog has got to know how to 'treve' before he can 'retrieve,' doesn't he?" I'm afraid I'm going to be playing favorites with this one, because not only is the stuffed animal adorable, but the avatar is equally cute!

Winter's Here!

2007-12-07T08:46:00.000-05:00

IT snowed last night!

Well, in Webkinz World at least. (Here's it's supposed to be in the low 70s tomorrow through Tuesday. Ugh!) All the yards are covered in snow (but the crops are still growing and the trees in the background still green...very funny looking!).

[hands on hips] Okay, WHERE'S THE CHRISTMAS STUFF?

[a few minutes later] CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS!

Go-Go Goo-Goos

2007-12-05T08:08:00.000-05:00

IN the game "Go-Go Googles," the white google and the pink google attempt to gobble goo-goo berries while also eating the nasty "buzzerflies," who arouse the poor goo-goo berry tree's allergies. Enough buzzerflies on the tree and it sneezes, your game being over.

Some time ago Webkinz had goo-goo berries floating across the screen in the manner of the leaves in Fall Festival and the chocolate medallions a few weeks ago. Well, the goo-goo berries are back, today through December 11; you click on them when they float by and you get a berry to feed to your pet.

Caught one while I was on briefly this morning before work. They certainly are big! The folks who complained about the tiny chocolate medallions will have no trouble seeing and clicking these!

A Hanukkah Glitch

2007-12-04T21:28:00.000-05:00

WEBKINZ is celebrating Hanukkah with a series of three menorahs as they did last year; however, the silver menorah is a new one this year (last year's silver looked exactly like the gold one). They are all supposed to be animated, but when 6 p.m. arrived, only the silver one lit up.

I assume in the programming there is some date and time that tells them when to "light," since I hardly see the Webkinz support staff suddenly "turning them on" manually. I wonder if they forgot to change—or if the change didn't take—the date and times on the other two menorahs. That would certainly explain their darkness.

Christmas Adoption

2007-12-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

FOR the First Sunday of Advent, an appropriate adoption: my reindeer (although it might have been more appropriate on St. Nicholas Day, but (a) I couldn't wait that long <g> and (b) St. Nicholas rides a white horse—or a donkey, depending on the country—not a reindeer). I wanted a unique name, so he is "Belsnickel," or "Nicky" for short. (Poor thing: he is best friends with "testcolour4," a very common adoption glitch these days.)

The real "Belsnickel" isn't as benevolent as the stuffed type. According to folklore, Belsnickel is "[a] German Christmas servant (and pseudo-precursor to Santa), his name comes from the two German words "Pelz" (fur) and "Nichol" (Nicholas), meaning "St. Nicholas dressed in fur". The Belsnickel has been variously described as thin or portly, and as a man or woman. His only truly consistent trait appears to be his commitment to justice over holiday good will." He was the one that kept the naughty and nice list and was quite capable over the years of leaving presents for the good children and awarding the naughty ones with coal, nothing, or even a switching!

The stout, vintage Santa decorations you see, with Santa in a robe instead of a suit, are often called "Belsnickels."

Here's the rest of the Belsnickel article.

And a fascinating article about 19th century "Belsnickeling" in Indiana.

Upcoming Fuzz and Other Tales

2007-12-01T22:37:00.000-05:00

NO sooner had someone in Adultkinz sprung the news of a new grey wolf Webkinz (one that might be just a virtual pet without a corresponding stuffed animal), Webkinz Insider chimed in with news of four new upcoming stuffed animals: a black poodle, a "velvety" elephant, a grey Arabian, and a tie-dye frog. The black poodle looks like a dyed version of the white poodle, the grey Arabian just a rework of the brown Arabian. The elephant and the frog are a bit different than the other animals as they look a bit more "cartoony" than your regular Webkinz.

Menorahs for Hanukkah have already shown up in the W Shop since Hanukkah starts on the evening of December 4. The skinny on them is that one candle will light on the first night and then another light each night thereafter. Cool.

There is a new promotion in the vein of the Bee Movie promotion last month in which you clicked on the ad and received a bee costume or honey. This one is for the upcoming "Chipmunks" movie—yes, they are remaking yet another old icon, Alvin and the Chipmunks; the 'monks, of course, are CGI and David Seville is played by Jason Lee. Anyway, you click on an ad and receive a chipmunk nose and glasses (dark for Alvin and Theodore, clear for Simon) with one of three hoodies. Alvin's red hoodie also comes with a guitar. Or you get Theodore's favorite food, waffles. The ads were rotating frequently last night; I got at least two of each outfit (more of Theodore's) and eighteen waffles, one which I fed to the pet du jour. They appear scarce tonight.

There were also chocolate medallions floating around again today, in honor of POTM. I never saw a one, but James clicked several.

A Lucia Dog

2007-12-01T20:58:00.000-05:00

SINCE I managed to find a chihuahua that didn't look as if its brains were busting out of the sides of its eyes (the large Webkinz chihuahuas are really bad about this; they have bulges over their eyes that are decidedly unattractive), I adopted one this morning since it is the Pet of the Month.

In deference to her ethnic heritage and also to December holidays, she's named Lucinda after St. Lucia, whose feast day is December 13, and who is celebrated in Scandinavia and also in Sicily. In several countries, Lucia is the gift-giver, not Santa Claus or St. Nicholas.

Unfortunately, I did lousy in the area of POTM adoption special gift: I said before I went into the adoption that the one thing I didn't want was a "Playful Picture." (It's a picture for your wall that moves. Gah.) The next was the candy-striped unicycle and after that was the virtual Newton's cradle and the steam-powered TV. I didn't get the picture, but I got stuck with the dopey unicycle. My top wishes for a POTM item would be a lighthouse or the snow machine, after that the crystalline pond, the star machine, the UFO, or the cuckoo clock. Even the space window, the telescope or the doughnut plant wouldn't be bad.

I stuck the unicycle in my new toy shop, where it will at least fit the decor. Yawn.

I also got the items at right, plus the usual adoption gifts of some food, the chihuahua's special chair, and a halfway decent special prize, the vortex hole.

I really don't plan to buy POTMs that I don't like (so no frogs) or that I already have, so my chances of getting a goody are going to be narrow anyway. Ah, well.

The Guardian of Fall

2007-11-25T18:57:00.000-05:00

ON Thanksgiving Day I adopted a brown Arabian. Despite hints to name him "Lawrence"—::cough::—I decided that since he'd be living in Autumn Acres he needed an appropriate name.

Hence, "Cider."

And hence his choice of best friends—well, we'll see.

After much debate with myself, I also bought the December Pet of the Month. I have a LilKinz Chihuahua, but I didn't like the larger ones: they looked hydroencephalatic (water on the brain). I said if I found one that didn't look like that, I'd buy it. I did, and I did.

It's Pilgrim Hat Time!

2007-11-22T11:14:00.000-05:00

HAPPY Thanksgiving from Webkinz World—a card and gift basket, too.

Didn't Clementine model the Hallowe'en gift, too? The girl gets around.

Lucky Seven

2007-11-16T21:07:00.000-05:00

YAY! I've made it to seventh level in the Curio Shop, which means Artie now holds up a sign of what time a sale or a rare item is coming up. It's only taken me six months (but then I don't tip the old coot every day).

You'd think after buying a W10,000 bowling alley and a hot air balloon and much other stuff, he would have upped me sooner.

Chocolate...Kisses?

2007-11-15T21:29:00.000-05:00

ACTUALLY, they were chocolate ribbons.

Today at six-minute intervals, just like the leaves during the fall festival, a blue ribbon floated across the screen if you were in your room.

If you clicked upon it, you were awarded a "chocolate ribbon" to feed your pet.

2007-11-15T09:43:00.000-05:00

ON Monday I adopted a polar bear. After deciding not to name him "Iorek" (he's too sweet looking to be a panserbjørn, after all), I instead named him "Carmichael." As part of his room decoration, he will have the gold safe, of course. :-)

(And if you're too young to understand the joke, check here.)

Right now he's sleeping in the winter park along with Kimi the husky; once all the Christmas stuff comes out I can decide where I want to put a room with all the polar animals (the reindeer which I won't activate until after Thanksgiving and also a seal if I can ever find one).

In other news, I finally broke 20,000 points in "Go-Go Googles." Still no trophy. Sigh.

I Had to Wait for the Corn to Die

2007-11-07T10:04:00.000-05:00

YES, I "killed" four innocent corn plants to get the frostbitten harvest look I needed for my fall yard.

Welcome to the Autumn Acres Lodge. I'd planned to put my Autumn Paw Print window in here, but it looked sooooo nice in the den next to the fireplace I couldn't bear it. I settled for covering most of the wheat field window with golden elms to try to project the illusion of a fall window. Yes, those are the jack o'lantern tables turned around so they are now pumpkin tables.

I was going to have my collie bunk here, but now I'm wondering if the brown Arabian might work better. The blue ribbon picture would work perfectly over the bed!

Here's the Autumn Acres Pumpkin Patch with sunflowers ready for harvest, and of course the pumpkin patch—nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see! <g>—and the other harvest items. It's taken me so long to post these pictures because I've been waiting for the corn to die.

And here's the Fall Shoppe where you can buy items to give your home that fall look. In the big refrigerator are cider and pumpkin soup, and the two wardrobes hold the leaf sweaters, autumn-colored toques, and apple hats. And again those pumpkin tables!

We have a big sale on corn dolls! :-)

Erm?

2007-11-04T10:36:00.000-05:00

THIS has to be the funniest looking sandwich I've ever seen (it's one of the prizes on the Wheel of WOW at the moment) , although I have to admit it has two slices and a filling. It's a chocolate sandwich cake? :-)

G'Day, Mate!

2007-11-03T23:55:00.000-04:00

IN celebration of Daylight Savings Time being over, an event well worth celebrating, IMHO, I adopted my koala today.

He's named after Australian actor Chips Rafferty.

Schuyler seemed fascinated by him. I held him up to the bars of the cage and she nibbled on the black fur of his nose and pecked at the "claws" on his foreleg.

Anyway, as I sat looking at the events for the day, it dawned on me that I OWN a Pet of the Month. I can then do all the POTM activities; I just don't get the cool adoption gifts for adopting in November of this year. Cool as far as I'm concerned.

Webkinz Fall Screen

2007-11-01T23:52:00.000-04:00

The image was clipped, as you can see in an earlier entry, into three ads for the Fall Festival.

Special Gifts

2007-11-01T20:52:00.000-04:00

YES, truly Googles can stand up! Here's Barney admiring the Monkey and Monkey dummy won on the Wheel of YUM. (No bananas today!)

Incidentally, James adopted the November Pet of the Month tonight, the black bear. He's named "Tupelov." Ganz added two new Pet of the Month gifts, and one was a flying saucer that looked too cool; well, Tupelov's special gift was a flying saucer. He was seen happily flying it around the airfield (the one with two hot-air balloons, an airplane and two flying carpets).

"Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet, Give Me Something Good to Eat..."

2007-10-31T11:01:00.000-04:00

IT'S Hallowe'en time in Webkinz World: you can tell from the opening screen that went up a few weeks ago:

Not to mention the Hallowe'en things for sale in the W Shop.

Even the trivia questions for October had been building up to this picture:

This morning when one logged on, there was a Hallowe'en gift bag in your dock:

And when you logged into your room, you had KinzMail...a card!

When you opened your Hallowe'en bag, you got the first three foods, seen in the dock (the other two foods were given out at the fall festival). Maple LaMarsh, my Pet du jour, models the fourth gift, a Frankenstein's monster head.

And now here's Maple, changed into the bee costume being given away courtesy clicks on ads for The Bee Movie, sitting in the Autumn Acres pumpkin patch—"sincerity as far as the eye can see!"—waiting for the Great Pumpkin.

I never liked dolls or dressing them up, and I really don't dress my virtual Webkinz except for little shirts, so did not plan to buy any of the costumes, but James brought home a witch costume for Harry, which I think is adorable as a decoration, so here's Harry downstairs in the foyer waiting for Hallowe'en night on top of our "Great Pumpkin."

A Name from the Past

2007-10-26T11:50:00.000-04:00

I activated my German Shepherd yesterday. There's a bit of history behind his name.

We lived between two small libraries when I was small; the big central Cranston library on Sockanossett Road had not been built yet. Both of these tiny libraries were about a mile and a half away. Since my mom didn't drive and thus we didn't have a second car, I didn't get to either very often until I was old enough to walk the distance, unless I could persuade my dad to put off his Saturday bowling for an hour or two to take me there. I borrowed most of my books from the school libraries.

The Auburn Library was in a storefront next to our bank on Rolfe Street, near City Hall and the high school. They had newer books, but a very small childrens/young adult department. The Arlington Library was up on Cranston Street, going toward the Narragansett brewery. It was an old brick building next to an older wood frame structure, the Hamilton Building, which had once been a school. I got most of my polio boosters at the Hamilton Building, before it burned down and was replaced with an uninteresting modern building.

Arlington had two stories. Upstairs was the adults' library while the childrens' books were downstairs. Today we would not recognize it as being for kids: it was dark and quite adult; no bright colors or murals or plastic tables and chairs. The wooden tables, chairs and shelving were all of dark wood in a room with low lighting (no fluorescents here!).

Today I would give a lot for the old books that were in that downstairs room at Arlington. Possibly they had bound St. Nicholas or Wide Awake issues down there; I know they had the entire collection of Thornton W. Burgess' "Old Mother West Wind" books about forest animals, which I read because I was crazy about anything having to do with animals. I read books about people only reluctantly; I read books like Roller Skates, Little Women, etc. only as I got older. What I wanted to read back then was Walter Farley and Marguerite Henry and Jack O'Brien and Jim Kjelgaard—and Arlington, I remember complaining bitterly to my mother, had books so old that the newest of them had a girl driving a car with a running board! (I was quite scornful about this!)

However, one of the books, despite it being printed in 1931, met with my approval: it was called Flax: Police Dog and I loved it. I did not sound as if it had been written by an American author; I thought it was translated from the German until I did some research on the internet some years ago and found out it was from the Swedish instead.

So I thought it quite natural and proper that my German Shepherd be named after that hero of my youth.

Yesterday, I also found Flax: Police Dog available at a reasonable price from a bookseller in Germany, via ABEbooks.com, so I ordered it. We'll see if re-reading as an adult will be as engrossing, especially since I am now an aficionado of old books.

Heh...

2007-10-25T13:58:00.000-04:00

::snort:: I now have so many corn husk dolls that you could call my autumn room "Valley of the Corn Dollies."

The Swift Crackle of Fall Festivals

2007-10-23T15:03:00.000-04:00

LEAF collection continues. I missed a total of four yesterday, which was very frustrating. I am dying to do a fall cottage and fall field despite the limitations on Webkinz World, like no fall-colored trees. I think I can achieve my goal with enough wheat sheaves and potted elm trees (although the elms will not go outside) and some creativity, but I keep getting apple cider and toques. No help. The elms seem to be rare, although James managed to amass five so far. I haven't even gotten one yet; the elm I have was a gift from him.

Yesterday was quite funny because I spent a total of 90 minutes playing games with only one leaf spotted. Then about 10:50, I logged on to bowl a few games. For every game I got a leaf, for a total of three, bang-bang-bang one after the other. Amazing!

When Is a Headline Not a Headline?

2007-10-22T10:38:00.000-04:00

WHEN it doesn't match the story!

Right now in the "What's New" section of the newspaper, there are three stories. The first talks about a new activity at the Academy.

The second headline announces "Lil' St. Bernard is Back", but talks about being the month of October and time to adopt the Pet of the Month, a frog.

So we come to the third headline, "Fabulous Fall Gifts," which instead talks about activities to do with your pet of the month!

Hellooooo! Wakey-wakey!

Watch for Falling Leaves!

2007-10-21T19:31:00.001-04:00

THE Fall Festival started promptly at midnight on Saturday. Fifteen minutes into the hour I had my first gift, some pumpkin soup, and got another twenty minutes after that, the maple leaf sweater.

The leaves seem to be rather meager today. I was on for 90 minutes and only got some cider. Thanks to James giving me his second potted golden-leafed elm tree, however, I now have one of each gift: besides the four already mentioned, there is a funny looking apple hat, a fall toque, a fall poster, a shock of wheat, and a corn-husk cow doll. The food seems to be the most common, so I have two ciders and two soups.

To get these prizes, you must wait for a leaf, which is fairly large, to drift across your screen. It can be yellow, orange, or red (there are reports of brown ones). When you click on it, it makes a crunching sound like someone stepping in a pile of leaves and a prize is issued. The leaves do not seem to appear in the arcade, but are seen chiefly in the rooms, but occasionally at the employment office, in the curio shop, and at Quizzy's trivia area.