Apparently there was a show in the 60s in Australia about a boy and his intelligent pet kangaroo. I’ve only seen this intro above and it satisfies me on so many levels:

#1 – intelligent kangaroo, can’t be beat
#2 – animal playing musical instruments – a dream of mine
#3 – cheesy 60s theme song
#4 – kangaroo hiding things in its pouch – makes me wish I had a pouch, though if I keep gaining weight I could probably start hiding things in my folds
#5 – anything that exacerbates Aussie stereotypes is aces in my book

The only downside is that I will be singing the stupid song all day now. Sigh.

via

My newest addition arrived at my home Wednesday afternoon, December 9, via an animal rescue group from the Burney/Fall River Mills area called SNIPPP.

They brought to our home a 10 month old male pup named “Bingo” who is ¾ Australian Kelpie and ¼ Queensland Heeler.

He is a FOSTER dog that I am helping to rehabilitate so he goes with me to Petco and helps me teach my dog classes.

He came from an elderly man who had beaten the dog and threw him outside in 6 below zero weather. He had no fenced in yard in the mountains and the dog was often found running along the side of the roads and wandering. He was terribly mistreated and SNIPPP had been trying to get the man to surrender the dog to them for quite some time.

The rescue group paid to have him neutered in November and he got at least a Rabies shot, but hadn’t had any other vaccinations.

He was starving for love and attention. He is very smart and learns commands very quickly. It is a delight to work with such a sweet dog. It is also sad to see him belly crawl and cringe and the slightest movement that reminds him of his mistreatment.

He had never been on a leash, been in a crate and stayed outside most of the time. He is now wearing a no-pull harness by Premier (the makers of the Gentle Leader Head Halter) and is walking on a leash beautifully.

He is now crate trained, knows several basic commands and gets along with all the other animals in my household and with my roommate, Dee. Except I must say Skippy and one of our cats, Alexandria Rose don’t like him, but Bingo is smart enough to stay out of their way.

I will keep working with him at least through January and see him through his second set of vaccinations and get him ready for adoption, with nice manners when he is ready to be placed again.

Dee & I have since renamed him, “Christmas Beau Ty,” and call him “Beau Ty.” It seems to fit him perfectly.

I will keep you posted on “Christmas Beau Ty” and all his activities. We are looking forward to my sister and her Sheltie, Traveler, coming up for the Christmas holidays. We shall see how Beau works out with Traveler.

Remember this Christmas the MANY RESCUES and Animal Shelters that need extra help – financially, volunteers, foster homes and other tangible donations. Check out www.petfinder.com for a Shelter or Rescue group near you and see what you can do to make a difference in the life of another animal!

Merry Christmas!

I had my third year anniversary with Petco as a Dog Trainer this past October. I am the only Dog Trainer at our Petco facility and I can honestly say I get to go to work and play with dogs and meet all kinds of new people!

In March, the California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation authorized retraining and education for me to attend the Animal Behavior College to become a Professional Dog Trainer (technically that is what I am at Petco). This will in the future open doors of opportunity for having either potential growth via Petco or branch out on my own a bit more. I finished the online and book learning in August

I began my externship with a Dog Training Mentor, Cari Bowe, in September. I finished phase one of three before the rains and the weather permitted anymore. I hope to finish the last two phases early spring.

I also hope to begin my volunteer requirements with the Shasta County Animal Control after the first of the year.

When my externship and volunteer phases are completed, I will then take my final exam.

I hope to continue with my dog training education in working with Shelter dogs and rehabilitating problem behavior dogs and dogs whom have aggression issues.

During the Spring/Summer of this past year I taught Agility classes for the Nor Cal Dog Training Club and had a great time. Also with the Nor Cal Dog Club and through my own dog training business, a few friends and I did some demonstrations at some local elementary schools in April and June. We did Obedience, Agility, Flyball and Tracking demos. It was lots of fun for the dogs, the kids and us!

I have also been busy doing demos or having informational booths at various “animal/dog” events in and around my community.

In April, I had an info booth and offered the AKC Canine Good Citizenship (CGC) testing for the annual “Love Your Pet Expo” a benefit for local animal rescue groups. My Shetland Sheepdog, Dani Joy, did some Agility and Flyball demos at this event and had a great time.

In May, I participated in the Haven Humane Society’s Dog-a-thon.

In August, I did some demos with 2 other dog trainers in the area, Lyn of River Dog Agility and Chere McMillan of the Capable Canine, at the Open House for the Wild Horse Sanctuary in Manton (near Shingletown east of Redding). Unfortunately, Dani Joy ended up with a foxtail embedded in her chest wall and had to have surgery as it was headed to the heart/lung cavity. Thankfully, she is doing great now.

Also in August, I had an informational booth with Petco at a fundraising event called “Woofstock” a benefit for a local animal rescue group.

In September, I coordinated a demo event for the Nor Cal Dog Training Club at the annual Honey Bee Festival in Palo Cedro where we did Agility, Rally Obedience, and Flyball demonstrations. My two Shelties, Patrick Ryan and Dani Joy, showed off their stuff in Flyball and Dani Joy got her picture in the Palo Cedro newspaper. My Italian Greyhound Skippy did some beginning Agility at the demo as well.

Also in September, I went to the 2^nd Annual Chico Canine Carnival, a benefit for Animal rescues in Butte County. I offered the AKC CGC testing and my dogs did Flyball demos.

I was supposed to do some Flyball demos and some more AKC CGC testing for the Siskiyou Paws for Walk fundraising event that same month, but ended up coming down sick.

In October, I coordinated a dog-sport community event (sponsored by Nor Cal Dog Training Club) in Anderson called “Pawsibilities Unleashed” where we had numerous dog trainers, dog sporting activities and animal rescue groups putting on demonstrations, offering information and encouraging responsible dog ownership.

After that event ended, I resigned from the Nor Cal Dog Club. I am now also an inactive member with my flyball team the Gold Coast Flyers.

Still on the subject of dogs… over Memorial Day Weekend I traveled down to my dad’s home in El Dorado, CA and went to the “Hangtown Kennel Club’s Dog Show”. I had Patrick Ryan entered for 3 days in competition Rally Obedience (Rally “O” for short). He came home with 2 qualifying scores. He needed 3 to get a Rally Novice Title. Unfortunately, his owner (me) messed up – always “handler error” – and it was his best performance of the weekend. My dad and step-mom, Marti were there to cheer me on and take pictures.

In the second week of June, I went to a four day dog show in Gridley, CA and entered both Dani Joy and Patrick Ryan in Rally “O”. Dani Joy got her title in Rally Novice on the fourth day. Patrick Ryan got his Rally Novice on the first day and 2 qualifying scores on the 2nd and 3rd day, in Rally Advance. However, like the last show, Patrick did a “star” performance but once again – handler error! So we need another show to get his Title in Rally Advanced. I was still so very proud of them!

Patrick just turned 10 years old this past week. He is showing more of his age and he is losing a bit of his hearing. But he is still as smart as a whip. He is now learning new tricks and I am thinking of taking up the sport of Canine Freestyle (a.k.a. doggie dancing).

Dani Joy will be 7 years old in January and is still the jumping live wire as ever. Although she has mellowed just a touch, enough to focus more on commands and do her Rally “O” and a few tricks too!

Skippy got his AKC Canine Good Citizenship while we were at the Chico Canine Carnival in September, which is his first step in any kind of event. I hope next year to enter him into Rally “O”. By the way, he is finally potty-trained! Skippy will be 4 years old in March. He still has some behavioral issues to work through what other dog trainers like to call “resource guarding” he thinks EVERYTHING belongs to him, the living room, Dee, the cats, the toys, the yard, etc.

My private dog training business has been primarily focused on private lessons with one-on-one training with the dog and the dog owner. It has been challenging and very rewarding.

This year I created a new website and as you know this blog – just for my dog training business and all things dog… check out my website at:  www.k9keltsdogtraining.com

Barbara Walters unleashed her 10 Most Fascinating People of the Year last week with great fanfare, but nobody pays any attention to the animals. So, to fill the void, here’s a list of the most fascinating critters of the year. This event won’t be heavily promoted before — or for the entire week after. Nor were extensive interviews conducted with the candidates. For the record, no candidate was asked what kind of tree they would want to be.

Unlike Barbara’s selections, this list contains only eight. 

Sweetpea – Over seven hours, Sweetpea, a 145-pound Cane (pronounced Kayna) Corso near Akron, OH, recently give birth to 20 puppies, vying with a record for the number of live, natural, surviving births. With much tail wagging Bruno, her mate, reportedly has been handing out rawhide bones to his neighborhood posse in celebration.

Bo Obama – Last spring Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog, moved into the White House to assume the role of the nation’s First Dog. Other than having to give a command performance for Oprah’s White House Christmas Special, Bo has managed to live a relatively normal life. No reports of attacking, biting or digging up the rose garden. Bravo, Bo!

“Bud”(Real name withheld due to age.) — No ordinary bear, this 125-pound guy wandered inside a Hayward, WI, grocery store back in October and headed straight for the beer cooler. No, he wasn’t searching for a cold one, despite being in the beer capital state. He apparently just wanted to chill out. He calmly climbed onto a shelf in the beer cooler where he sat for about an hour before officials from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources tranquilized him, removed him from the store, and returned to more natural surroundings.

Skippy – In May Skippy the kangaroo, apparently abandoned by his mother, was found helpless on the grass at the Global Wildlife Center in Folson, LA. Given almost no chance of survival, Skippy proved he had a strong will to live. (Kangaroos are born hairless and blind and looking very much like an embryo. They crawl over the mom’s fur into the pouch where their mouths firmly attach to a teat for the next several months.) The GWC’s Christina Cooper has hand fed Skippy every few hours and carried him around in a specially designed pouch. As Skippy grew, his head or feet began to stick out of the pouch and people became fascinated by the woman carrying a kangaroo. Cooper plans to reintroduce him to the other kangaroos but joeys don’t wean fully until 16 months. Here’s a slideshow of Skippy’s life, so far, here. 

N1H1 Cat (Named withheld under patient confidentiality laws) – This poor 13-year-old kitty is Patient Zero – the first cat known to be infected with H1N1. The domestic short-hair was treated at the Iowa State University State College of Veterinary Medicine and has recovered. The virus has also been confirmed in two ferrets – one in Oregon and one in Nebraska — but they both died. 

Mindy – A Maltese-poodle mix, Mindy survived more than three months in the woods of northwest Massachusetts among owls, foxes, coyotes and bears. When Mindy was found in mid-November, she weighed just 3 pounds and was infested with fleas. She was lost during a family trip in August when her owners stopped at a rest area. Each thought the other had put Mindy back in the car. On November 13, a father and son found Mindy, “effectively blind” because her fur was matted over her face, running around in circles about 30 miles away from where she was last seen. Mindy is recuperating at home and is putting on weight.

Sugar – Life for this filly, now 21 years old, has been anything but sweet in South Carolina. A man was caught having sex with her last year and put on probation. Then this summer while still on probation, he was caught having sex with her again. This time he was sentenced to three years in prison where Sugar no doubt hopes he’ll get to experience what he did to her.

Baloo, Leo and Shere Khan – Oh, My! Lion, Tiger and Bear. This American black bear and African lion and tiger prove that animals of different breeds can get along, so why can’t we? They have been living together at Noah’s Ark, a rescue reserve near Atlanta, since 2001.  All males, they were rescued as cubs and live together in perfect harmony. Perhaps they should have been given the Nobel Peace Prize. Here are some pictures of the trio:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/noahs-ark/

After an initial advance New Balance and the Australian magazine Sneaker Freaker finally team up for an official release.
Just to refresh your memory, the shoes are made with ‘Genuine Kangaroo Leather’, mesh toebox, side-panel in black premium leather and suede details. This is a limited edition available in many locations worldwide and online. (I’ll be getting mine from Burn Rubber in Detroit)

Release locations

AUSTRALASIA
Brisbane – Laced
Perth – High’s and Lows
New Zealand – Qubic Store

ASIA
Taiwan – Invincible
Seoul – KASINA
Seoul – Zubbo
China – ReAction
Singapore – Limited Edition
Malaysia – Sole What?
Tokyo – Mita
Tokyo – Atmos
Tokyo – BEAMS

EUROPE
Barcelona – 24 Kilates
London – Size?
Modena – Coffe Spoon
Rome – Beaverton Store
Aberdeen – Hanon
Paris – Black Rainbow
Paris – Colette
Stockholm – Sneakersnstuff
Oslo – SOLE SERVICE
Berlin – Solebox

NORTH AMERICA
Seattle – Goods
DC – Major
LA – Undefeated
Chicago – Saint Alfred
Dallas – Premium Goods
Boston – Concepts
Detroit     - Burn Rubber
Canada – Livestock
Canada – Off the Hook

SOUTH AMERICA
Mexico – Dragon Skate
Brazil – Visionaire

It is hard to imagine how one can find anything amongst the thousands of photographs located at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland.  In many cases, these are buried deep within a box containing hundreds that have no relation whatsoever to your topic.  These expeditions, however, can sometimes offer up hidden gems.  While hunting for images of navigators in World War II, a series appeared which, although completely distant from my topic, still grabbed my attention.  They were pictures of a military funeral.  These pictures were unique, however, because they were not showing the solemn burial of a soldier, airmen, or sailor; they were showing the burial of a unit mascot.  In times of war, men and women who face horrors and bloodshed on a daily basis often take refuge in the simple joys of life.  Throughout history, military units have often adopted animal mascots as a way to escape war, even if for just a few moments.  These animals were typically pets cared for by a unit, offering comfort and joy.  These animal mascots usually became an important part of a combat unit and were treated with reverence and respect as a member of the unit, just as any of their human counterparts.  The images below show just how much respect some military units would show towards their mascots.

Men of Hedron 12 standing at funeral for "Skippy". Photo courtesy NARA , #NARA RG 80-G 82603

Skippy is ‘embombed,’ placed in an empty bomb shell, and ready for a sea burial. Photo courtesy NARA, #NARA RG 80-G 82605

“Skippy”, whose identity has been lost to the annals of time, was the mascot of Hedron 12, or Headquarters Squadron 12.  Hedron 12 was stationed at the naval air station (NAS) in Banana River, Florida, which served during the Battle of the Atlantic as a base for Martin PBM Mariners of VP-201 to use while patrolling for German U-boats off the Florida coast.  Upon Skippy’s demise in September of 1943, the squadron saw it fit to take a moment in order to offer a proper funeral for their mascot.  The entire unit stood at attention while Skippy was placed in an empty bomb casing, or “embombed” as described in the pictures.  The casing was then attached to the wing of a Vought OS2U Kingfisher.   The OS2U Kingfisher was a sea plane used for offshore patrol at the NAS Banana River during the war.  After attached, Skippy was sent off with a final salute by the men of Hedron 12 to be dropped at sea.  Although offering no military significance, Skippy played an important role in the lives of the men of Hedron 12; important enough to be laid to rest with honor.

Bomb shell containing Skippy is placed on rack under the wing of a Vought OS2U Kingfisher. Photo courtesy NARA, #NARA RG 80-G 82602

For more information on animal mascots and their connection to flight, make sure to read Animals Aloft, by Allan Janus.  A video program based on the book premieres December 13 on the  Smithsonian Channel.

Thomas Paone is an intern in the Aeronautics Division of the National Air and Space Museum.

Well there are no cats in this post anyway, just geeky old me showing off his new acquisition; the Sneaker Freaker x New Balance Skippy’s. Just spent the morning in a queue of one to be the first person in London with these on my feet! Happy days. I really thought there would have been a bigger turn out for them but apparently no-one’s feeling the kangaroo leather joy of these bad boys… Ah well, I got to enjoy the splendour of Carnaby St at 7.20am on a Saturday morning and I got to have a phone interview with Rick at XFM about my geeky obsession (Even if they did cut it to buggery) still one of the other guys who did turn up at the slightly more sensible time of 9.45am told me that he’d heard me on the radio so that was nice.

anyhoo, now for the shoe:

Sneaker Freaker x New Balance Skippy's

So pretty.

Geek out.

Bx

Alcohol and Girls. Two things that are great apart but when put together become the ultimate guy combination, even greater then Mac and Cheese or Football and Sundays, liquid courage and babes is THE dynamic duo. So obviously when these ads for Absolut Vodka that feature Kate Beckinsale came across our screens here at the office we instantly knew that Absolut had us. With these print ads, which I’m sure you’ll see in men’s magazines over the next couple months, Absolut became the Vodka of choice for our weekend debauchery. Why? In case Kate Beckinsale is around we have a in to start up the conversation that is going to allow us to stare at her up close for a extended period of time. We suggest you switch over to the brand too.

In spite of finding myself being rather busy with school and work i took on a little side project a few months back for a motion picture being made by a former classmate. I will be responsible for modeling, texturing, rigging, and animating a cockroach that i have named “Skippy” Skippy the cockroach. Skippy has to die unfortunately but on the bright side his various incarnations show up throughout the film. I would also like to point out that my reason for being pretty vague about the story is because i don’t want get sued not that i’ve signed a contract or anything i just want to pretend if only for a moment…

The sculpting process is more or less done with the exception of a few piece like the antenna’s and weird anal feeler thingy’s that creep me the hell out. Next i’ll have to retopologize the zbrush mesh with my new favourite program Topogun! did i mention that i love it? Hell i even bought it with legal tender no less!

Leave a comment, Skippy loves comments

The next 2 weeks will see some goodies from New Balance released. Hit the jump to get the deets and some wicked cool flyer artwork that is so awesome whoever made it must be heaps popular and also awesome.

- t

This coming Friday we have the Concepts “Freedom Trail” pack drop at Laced. We will be the Australian exclusive stockist, so come get some! Click the pic for more info and detailed pics of the shoes.

December 5 marks the release of Sneaker Freaker’s “Skippy” 850. These babies feature gen-yoo-ine kangaroo leather on the toe and a green/gold hits. Doesn’t get much more patriotic than that… strewth! A few stockists around Australia will be getting them, but for QLD I’m pretty sure Laced and Level Three are the only stores to get their grimy mitts on pairs. Click ze pic for more.

This just in. The Steelers special teams suck. Nice knowing you, Jeff Reed.  I look forward to bidding on your Superbowl rings on e-bay.

Soooo, the Fetus has as many TD tosses as Ray Lewis has tackles.  Too bad Baltymoore has field turf and Ray has nothing to lick this week.  Except my ass.  Booyah.

Chefs are making a game of it.  Leave it to the Steelers to play down to the competition.

Wow.  Someone remind me why I picked up the Lions D.

Bizarro world….Steelers tied with the Chefs and going into OT.  What’s next, a black president?

Nice game Steelers.  You just lost to Kansas City.

Today is a sticky day, but what day isn’t for a writer? But this is an especially sticky day… I feel a craving coming on and am compelled to write a blog about peanut butter!

No, it’s not National Peanut Butter Day; that falls on January 24th. It’s not Peanut Butter Lover’s Day; that falls on March 1st. It’s not National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day; that’s April 2nd.

Heck, it isn’t even National Peanut Day. That was on September 13th; I missed that one by exactly two months!

For fun and mischief, I’m posting a cartoon depicting peanut butter and jelly  as best friends. However, being somewhat of a romantic, I like to think of them as sweethearts. If that’s the case, then ol’ peanut butter must be the male of the two because he often gets fickle and pairs up with marshmallow, or honey, or grated apple. But he always sees the light and comes back to his true love––jelly! And millions of people agree that that’s the best, tastiest pairing possible.

I Googled “peanut butter” to find out who invented that delectable pb&j sandwich and other tidbits of info to share with Dames of Dialogue fans and was shocked to find over thirteen million entries. Well, now my blog will make thirteen million and one!

Yikes, I could write forever about this popular food. Instead I’ll share the bare bones about its origin: Africans ground peanuts into stews as early as the 15th century; the Chinese have crushed peanuts into creamy sauces for centuries; Civil War soldiers dined on “peanut porridge.” These uses, however, bore little resemblance to peanut butter as it is known today––and that’s what our readers are interested in, I’m sure.

Our grand, golden, smooth peanut butter started out in 1890 as a lowly “ground paste,” eaten as a nutritious protein substitute by people with poor teeth who couldn’t chew meat. It evolved from a paste to “nut butter” or “nut meat” when the Kellogg brothers, who later became famous for cereal, began experimenting and selling it.

Peanut butter spawned several businesses along the way but it didn’t gain broad acceptance until C.H. Sumner introduced it to the world at the Universal Exposition of 1904 in St. Louis. He sold a “whopping” $705.11 of the treat at his concession stand and peanut butter was on its way to becoming an American favorite! Grocers across America were selling bulk peanut butter in large wooden tubs to satisfy their customers’ demands.

I won’t bore you with more about peanut butter’s evolution, but here are a few important historical facts:

• Krema Products Company in Columbus, Ohio began selling peanut butter in 1908 and is the oldest peanut butter company still in operation today.
• In 1922, Joseph L. Rosefield began selling a number of brands of peanut butter in California.
• Swift & Company’s brand name for this product was E.K. Pond peanut butter, renamed Peter Pan in 1928. In 1932, a company official had a dispute with Peter Pan and began producing peanut butter under the Skippy label the following year.
• In 1955, Procter & Gamble entered the peanut butter business by acquiring W.T. Young Foods in Lexington, Kentucky, makers of Big Top Peanut Butter. They introduced Jif in 1958 and now operate the world’s largest peanut butter plant, churning out 250,000 jars every day.

As for trivia, did you know?

• The two major peanut producers in the US are, in order, Georgia and Texas; peanuts are also Georgia’s official state crop, with at least 50% of the production being used for peanut butter.
• An 18oz jar of peanut butter needs 850 peanuts to be made.
• The USA produces about 6% of the world’s crop of peanuts: by comparison India and China, together, produce about 70%.
• The world’s largest peanut is 20 feet tall, and it’s currently kept in Turner County, Georgia.
• Americans eat 700 million pounds every year (3lbs per person), which could theoretically cover the entire floor of the Grand Canyon.
• Americans on the West Coast prefer chunky peanut butter, whereas those on the East Coast like it creamy.
• The reason peanut butter sticks to your mouth is that its high protein content absorbs moisture.
• Peanut butter was almost never used outside the US until 1960.
• The average American boy eats 1,500 peanut butter sandwiches before reaching the age of 18.
• Due to its high fat and protein content, peanut butter is used as base emergency food for famine-stricken countries.
• The world’s largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich was created November 6, 1993 in Peanut, Pennsylvania and was 40 ft long. It contained 150 lbs of peanut butter and 50lbs of jelly.
• 96% of people, when making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, put the peanut butter on before the jelly.
• Adults actually consume more peanut butter than kids.
• The US market for peanut butter amounts to 800 million dollars per year.
• The most popular brands in the US are Jif and Skippy.

But why all the hype about peanuts and peanut butter? Ask anyone and they will tell you: people love the protein in peanuts, but they love that golden sticky sandwich spread even more…with or without jelly.

When my kids were growing up, peanut butter was a staple in our home. They loved it! Couldn’t live without it. Of my six children, some liked pb with jelly, some without; some liked it on crackers and on celery sticks too. And we all liked peanut butter cookies, pb fudge and pb truffles. “Good fixin’s,” as my mother used to say.

That stuff is even good straight from the jar. On separate occasions, I caught each of my kids with a spoon, eating it straight from the jar (and they may have caught me, but I’ll never tell…).

Daughter Debbie used to mix it in a cup with chocolate syrup and practically drink it…like the girl in the accompanying photo.

Doesn’t that look yummy?

As much as we all loved pb, none of us took it to the level of the  mischievous boy in this photo, but of course, I was much more attentive than the mother of that child. I would have caught my Bobby long before he made a living sandwich of himself. All I can say is: if the parents of that kid had had a dog, he would have been licked to pieces, and tickled in the bargain… LOL

Now for some odd uses of peanut butter… Did you know that peanut butter and mayonnaise on crackers was popular in Georgia in the early 30’s? That sounds yucky to me, but I’ve never been a mayo lover. And as for Elvis Presley favoring fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, I find that double yucky…and I do like bananas. King or no King, he can have it!

I’ve saved the part of how jelly came to be paired with our beloved peanut butter for near the end of this story because it ties in with the quirky taste of a family friend.

Well, here it is, dear reader: We can credit the creation of the delicious pb&J sandwich to American soldiers during World War II (1941–1945). Since both peanut butter and jelly were on the U.S. Military ration menus, it is said that the American soldiers added jelly to their peanut butter to make it more palatable. Peanut butter provided an inexpensive and high protein alternative to meat for soldiers. It was an instant hit and returning servicemen made peanut butter and jelly sales soar in the United States. Food historians haven’t found any ads or other mentions of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before the 1940s, so it must be true. That’s another debt we owe to those brave men.

Which brings us to our family friend John Manha and his favorite way of devouring his pb&j. I discovered his secret quirk when he asked me to make him a pb&j. I prepared it the way I always prepared it for my children––with about a tablespoon of jelly, spread evenly. He took one bite, turned up his nose and said, “Where’s the jelly?” When I looked puzzled, he said, “I like a lot of jelly with my pb.” (By the way, he is a Reese’s peanut butter man!)

I added two more tablespoons and he still asked for more. Eight huge, dripping tablespoonfuls later and he was a happy man! Now that’s a lot of jelly, as you can see from the accompanying photos.

What a character, but he knows what he likes and isn’t afraid to ask for it! I always wondered why everyone continues to call him Johnny-Boy when he’s a grown man. Now I know! LOL

Just another example of how nuts we nutty Americans are over our peanut butter and to what lengths we will go to eat it our way…

Skippy has taken to making websites.  His latest and biggest project is Animal Research.  On his own, he has methodically researched

• Amphibians
• Reptiles
• Birds
• Extinct Animals
• Underwater Non-mammals
• Farm Animals
• Mammals
• Baby Animals
• Insects and Spiders
• Imaginary Animals

He’s so exhaustive he even covered animal that don’t exist, the imaginary animals. 

He gives practical advice on baby animals.  Trust me, he speaks from experience. 

For Halloween he had a special hide and seek. I was able to find the pumpkin and fill in my information.  He sent me a great packet of stuff for Halloween.  I wont give it away, you will have to search for yourself.

Great Job Buddy!

Have fun tonight, y’all!  We made it through the 10 days of Halloween.  Frankly, with all this evil I’ve been posting, I should be cursed or haunted or  something.  At any rate…yes, that’s Skippy from Family Ties.

As an adult, there is something so ridiculously exciting about getting mail that’s not a bill. I remember being twelve years old and getting Teen magazine and being overly ecstatic at the prospect of receiving mail with my name on it (versus my parents’). As I got older, I realized that I got plenty of mail, but it happened to be in the form of a Nordstrom bill, a Best Buy credit card payment, or an entirely-too-frequent parking ticket… somehow mail as an adult is much less exciting than it was as a child. Today, however, was amazing! I received my second package since arriving and it absolutely made my day!

Despite it’s rather petite size, it was surprisingly heavy and all the goodies tucked away inside put the hugest smile on my face:

Although you can’t tell, the box was full of American items that I’ve been absolutely missing! Two ridiculously huge jars of peanut butter (creamy, of course), three sticks of deodorant (so I can throw my spray deodorant away!), a coffee mug and the equivalent of eight boxes of Fiber One bars (mocha/chocolate, if you’re curious!)

My shelf is now covered with Fiber One bars (plus that box is full of as many as I could fit inside); I think I’ll have my fill of Fiber for the next few months!

You can probably now see how ridiculously huge these jars of peanut butter are. There’s enough to last through the year, if not longer! I am a peanut butter LOVER: PB&J is always a safe bet (plus a comfort food), PB&Carrots, PB&Apples, PB&Banana on an English muffin… there are so many brilliant ways to use it. Plus, American peanut butter (Jif, Skippy, etc.) is a million times better than Brit peanut butter; more processed, probably. Plus more sugar. Tastes a million times better.

In any case, I’m going to go to bed extremely happy and fulfilled tonight. Thank you, Chris!

If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to make a PB&J.

Also, unrelated note: Please notice the new ‘Poll of the Week’ on the sidebar to the right. There are so many things I want to know and thus have created a weekly poll with random questions for the week. It takes two seconds to answer the poll, plus it’s an interesting turn out. If you’ve taken the time to read this entire post, you likely have the extra two seconds to answer, I’m sure. Plus, it’s fun. For me, at least. <3.

Is it possible that my lack of bloggery could be down to spending too much time eating instead? An afternoon spent at the twice yearly local food fair saw us come home with a haul of the usual culinary essentials – chocolate buttons, chilli jam, smoked cheese – and refreshed our enthusiasm for our own (somewhat feeble) produce. Perhaps they felt hard done by in their grow-bags or somewhat sidelined on the garden path, but for some reason the tomato plants never really delivered, despite looking quite promising early on. The most likely explanation is that we really don’t know what we’re doing out there, and they probably require more care and attention than we gave them credit for; often the fruit would start shaping up nicely, then just as we’d think about picking it, turn rotten without even starting to ripen. Luckily, the effortless butternut squash plants did us proud – I’m not sure how many fruit we should have expected, but we harvested 5 to ripen on the kitchen windowsill. Having eaten one roasted for dinner in the week, I feel like I’ll never buy another one from a supermarket again – at least not in the autumn. Yum. Small but perfectly formed, and entirely delicious.

I wasn’t terribly impressed with the meagre quantity of 6 smoothie hats that my slowpoke needles produced for Innocent’s Big Knit this year, so when I saw they’re now asking for Veg Pot warmers too, I took this second chance as an opportunity to redeem myself. Handily enough, there’s no awkward decreasing required – my stitches tend to be so tight that it’s always a bit touch and go – so now I just have to remember how to cast off. Yeah, just a minor detail in knitting – how to get it off the needles…

Now you’re going to judge me for this, but I’m okay with that: I save my grocery/drug store receipts. They’re my prize, my bragging rights, I guess? Not that I get them out and show them to visitors, though. (I don’t. Really.) I keep them tucked away in my home office folded over and paperclipped together. (At some point I will organize them by store - because that’s how I remember when my products were puchased. Not when, but where.)

Part of the way I justify it is this: Now and then, I will come across a rebate that I wasn’t aware of and get all *clappy hands* that I’ve already made the right purchases- which usually means I’ve gotten them for a song.

Today was one of those occasions: I stumbled onto the following rebate that I’d overlooked – and remembered that I’d bought Skippy at Target a few weeks back for $1 with a coupon. I’m sure the Littlest Rockstar would really dig the movie, so I’ll keep my eye open for a sale:

Buy Skippy & the It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown DVD  and get a $3 rebate

HERE’s the $3 off rebate form.

I also reminded myself of a couple of rebates that are out there which I haven’t (and may not) fulfill, but I printed up the forms and put them in my file, just in case. I’ve already completed requirements for the 3 SC Johnson rebates and could probably complete several more before the end of the time period (just 3 per household, it says).  

I periodically also look over recent deals that I’ve gotten and do web searches periodically to see if there are rebates that slipped through the cracks. Often rebates happen in conjunction with store specials through a corporate marketing promotion, so it pays to look into it.

The amount in rebates that I’m submitting this month will buy me a new bottle of Maker’s, and for this bourbon-lovin’ gal, that is the sweetest reward there is.

Happy rebating!

I have no idea how much peanut butter I ate while I was in China, but I do know the amount was somewhere around very very very very very much peanut butter (as most of my students would say). Anyways, Catie and I were very excited to find exotic Skippy Extra Crunch Peanut butter at the local Dream Mart grocery store. Since this product had clearly travel far from the decadent West where it was created, we were going to wait until pay day to indulge ourselves. However, on reconsideration we decided that PB and J sammies sounded delicious. For the reasonable price of 6500 won we purchased our peanut butter, and adding some bread and jam we headed home. The bread was a bit dry, but the peanut butter and jam were amazing, and we even had potato chips to go along with the sammies.*

*Official Disclaimer: While our last two posts have involved western foods, we have been eating plenty of Korean foods too (gotta love the ramyun [Korean for, "ramen"] cup noodles) which I’m sure we’ll post on soon.

Skippy hasn’t been well since three days ago and it became so bad that he’s puking and shitting bile and water. So we rushed him to the vet this morning, did a blood test, took a fecal sample and he had to be put on drip to replenish the water content in his body. (5% dehydration)

It hurts to see him yelp and cry and struggle when they put the needle into his tiny hind leg.

It hurts to see him attached to a tube.

It hurts to see him in this state.

I’m just so glad that the blood test showed he doesn’t have renal or hepatic failure.