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.

Home, Home on the...

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

New For October

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? :-)