Scare Bear

I love stuffed animals. I do. They were my only friends sometimes, when I was growing up, because as I've mentioned before, my part of town was rural and largely childless. I talked to them and they talked to me. They were my "pets" and I love them still, even though they aren't real. But they were very real to me. When the comic strip 'Calvin & Hobbes' came out, my parents told me it reminded them of me, how Calvin's tiger was fully alive to him, but a small stuffed toy when observed from his parents' point of view. It reminded them of me and my fave stuffed horse, Trax. There was one night my mom was rather alarmed, when I was supposed to be sleeping. She heard me in my room laughing my ass off. She called up to me, "Go to sleep!" and I called back, "Sorry, but Trax just told me a really funny joke!" I was probably 7 or 8.

That said, there is one stuffed animal that just Creeps. Me. Out. For my overseas readers, there's a fabric softener called Snuggle. I've never used it....I won't buy it. The ads, which have been running since the late 80's, feature a very scary animatronix or puppet bear, 'Snuggle', romping in the freshly clean laundry, or romping with children in a field of flowers. The way it blinks it's eyes and it's mouth moves is just......just so wrong...and a bit evil.

In 1989, when we first moved to San Francisco, I found a Snuggle bear puppet. I thought it'd be a very amusing Christmas gift for Holly, who was equally creeped out by this ad. But because Brian and I have a very, very twisted sense of humour, we had to take some pictures of it.

"Hi, I'm Snuggle, and I could learn to hate you!"

"I'M COMING TO GET YOUUUUUUU!!!! YOU CAN'T HIDE!!!!!!"

Snuggle Bear. Terrorizing Laundry Rooms for Over 20 Years.

Princess Pepper Pepperoni Puppington

She just hates it when I take her picture. Here she is staring at the rug, and after I took the picture and the flash caught her attention.........without moving her head she flicks her eyes up at me and gives me an annoyed look. So I took another one.
She cracks me up.

New Pics of Baby Guy

Here are some recent pics of my sweet little guy, Sagan. I know I haven't posted many recent photos of Pepper, but she really doesn't like having her picture taken and there are only so many pics of her curled up on her bed that I can post.

Silly boy burrowing under the blanket.
In case anyone is wondering, the beastie on the blue blanket is a unicorn.

He's so patient, letting me stack toys all over him for a cute photo op on his couch in the livingroom.
Some of his fave toys: Moocow, Mr. Bun, Fuzzy Bone and No-ma (snowman).
Chair stealin' Chair Stealer!
Sagie really loves it when I adjourn to my craft table, go to bed early, or just generally vacate my chair for a few minutes. "Juss keepin it warm fuh yoo, moms."
Who can resist that face?

I love how he stuck his tongue out. Doofus.
I wuvs my widdle guy.

Antiquing

I am one of those people for whom "antique" is a verb. I love, love, love going to antique stores, if for no other reason than to just look at old stuff. It's like being in a museum of Americana. Twice a year, there is a huge antique show sponsored by Palmer Wirfs of Portland, Oregon. It used to be in the Tacoma Dome but switched to the Puyallup Fairgrounds a few years ago.

I got up early in order to get the grocery shopping done so that I could be in Puyallup before the doors opened at 9:00 a.m. There was plenty of free parking and I entered at Blue Gate.

I find it curious that the Volcano Evacuation Route was pointing into the Fairgrounds. Sure, gather everyone in the same place and watch the lahar sweep them into oblivion.
I got my ticket and headed for the Showplex, one of the largest buildings at the fair.
I'd been looking forward to a Fisher Scone all week, so I was a bit crestfallen to see the Scone Wagon was closed.
However, once I got inside the Showplex, I saw that there was an open scone window inside!

YUMMY!!!!!
I spent the next 2 hours weaving my way up and down all of the aisles, taking in all of the cool, old stuff.
This booth was really beautiful with all Asian artwork, statues and the most amazing wood chests and trunks. Val, I looked for the horse & carriage from "Chinoiserie" but there wasn't one. (Click on the photos for a closer view.)

Some of my pics came out a bit blurry because I wasn't using a flash and trying to shoot without people noticing me.
These were the absolute CREEPIEST looking dolls and figurines. I would not want one in my house.
There were some people dressed in Civil War era clothes.

I could kill my mom for getting rid of all my lunchboxes, especially the metal ones.
Lots of duckies.

Of course I wanted to buy all of the pretty glass and sparkly jewelry.

I guess this explains the origin of the term "bombshell" when it comes to a pretty girl.



Huge, innit? Crowded too.
If there is one thing I wish, it's that MEN WOULD JUST STAY HOME! I don't understand why they feel the need to accompany their wives to these things, when all they do is stand there, in the middle of the aisles, with ZERO spatial awareness. Go home! Take your manhood back and stay home watching sports! Then there are the old men who like to 'set a-spell and spin a yarn' with various booth owners about the tools and wares, making it virtually impossible to inquire as to the price of items. Ladies, I'm begging you, leave the 'unnecessary accessories' at home to drink beer, watch TV and scratch!!

After I finally shopped my way through the Showplex, my feet and low back were killing me. I thought about getting a foot massage when I left.
The Civil War reenactors were outside, shooting their black powder rifles.

I don't go to the antique show with a list or anything. I just like to drift and see if anything catches my eye. This year, I scored a cute little Ontario license plate, which was probably a cereal premium. It's quite small, probably 2" x 5".

A nice linen postcard of Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill in SF.

I love to collect postcard folders/books. They have many photos of different sights, all folded together in a little booklet.

Postmark from 1948.

This was one of my biggest scores, a booklet of photos showing the damage from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. It's postmarked 1908 and extremely fragile.

One of the pages isn't attached so I scanned it.

This was also a huge find, and is also very fragile, which is why I didn't try to scan the postcards inside. There's no date on this, unfortunately, but it's clearly from the early 20th century.

I don't collect fans, but this one caught my eye and was a steal at only $6. You HAVE to click on this one to see the amazing colours.

I also found this adorable little metal box with jewels on the lid and sides. "Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes..."

I hadn't exactly planned on buying another antique beaded purse, but I could not take my eyes off this one. I knew if I walked away, someone else would buy it, so I scarfed it up. It dates from the 1920's.
That's the bottom. Isn't it cool? All my fave colours too!

So, all in all, a successful day at the antique show! I can't wait for the next time it blows through town in November!