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

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

See the Leaves Falling Down!

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

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

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!

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...

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

Was It Something I Said?

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

Gobsmacked!

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

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!

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

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

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

Cute!

"Where Did You Get Those Stripes?

A Country Girl at Heart

LOOKS like Hilary Booth has unpacked her tractor! LOL.

A Goat on a Skateboard?

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!"

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.