I'm a Widgetaholic

Yes, it's true. But I don't admit this to the world to get help or get cured. Heck, I'm having too much fun!

Okay, so if you look to the right you'll see the latest in my widget fun ... and no that's not my voice you'll hear when you click the little arrow (I don't have a microphone). But I did pick a rather snazy voice for the widget chick, if I do say so myself.

Update: I can't stop! I have one on all my blogs now, plus these two!






Check out People with Cameras and Cute Animal Pics to see the welcome messages there.

Glass Animals

Well, this weekend did not turn out the way I'd planned. First I never did get my pink petunias planted because it was too darn cold! I ended up bringing the plants back in the apartment so they wouldn't get frost bite! Yikes! Ah well, the weather forecast is a bit more promising ... so hopefully I'll get them planted later in the week.

I spent the weekend attempting to go through some stuff that's gathered in my apartment. I say "attempt" because, to be honest, I really hate spring cleaning. But some of the stuff I found, and a conversation over on the Blogcatalog discussion board about your favourite toy as a kid, reminded me of glass animals.

Anyone remember those? They're actually called Wade Figurines and they used to come in packages of Red Rose Tea. I had a huge collection and was quite proud of them. Got only knows how much tea my parents had to drink for me to get them all! Well, thankfully they were big tea drinkers anyway. The things parents do for their kids, eh?

I remember as a kid spending hours (yes hours) sitting in the backyard on the grass (not on a chair) amongst the dandelions (because we didn't hate them back in the 70s and they grew everywhere - which is how it should be) and I'd have these elaborate stories for all the glass animals. Each had a unique personality. I'd pull up big chunks of grass (because grass was grass back then ... not a "lawn" and it was something for kids to play with) and create homes for each of the animals. Some animals lived together, some lived on their own. It was all very complex.

It was great. I'd be lost in the Glass Animal world for hours upon hours. Sometimes my neighbour and best friend, Diane, would join me ... and other times I'd just be out there on my own.

I don't have kids and I really don't know how kids spend their time now, but I hope that whatever they're doing they're using their imagination ... because without imagination we're a pretty boring species, I think.

I still have all my glass animals, they're living in an old ice cream tub at the moment. The same ice cream tub my mom gave me to put them in back in the early 70s. I keep thinking about getting a little display cabinet or something and putting them in it ... but so far I haven't done that. I found this website where you can buy the figurines. It's hard for me to fathom, but some of them are selling for $20.00 or more!?! Well, if I get really desperate I probably have about a thousand dollars or more in that old ice cream tub.

I only liked the animals ... not the nursery rhyme characters. I was a bit snobbish in that way when I was 8 or 10 or however old I was. Let me introduce you to a few of my favs:




The Poodle was a little snobby, but very nice ... and more mature than the rest of the animals. Never sure if it was a guy or a girl ... didn't matter.







The Bunny was a sweety. Kind of shy. Definitely a girl.








The Retriever was a 'take charge' kinda guy. A leader.











The Monkey was a guy, and the peace keeper. Kind of like a cop. In retrospect I have no idea why, lol...but that's the way it was.








The Fox was a bit of a bully. I didn't really like him that much, but he was part of the community.









The Beaver was a real cutie...kind of like the baby of Glass Animal world.











The Fawn was a bit of a mother figure, maybe because she kind of reminded me of my mom.








The Hippo was a favourite of mine because it was kind of chubby ... and I was chubby, so there was a connection there.







Well, you can't get any cuter than a kitten with a ball of yarn. The Kitten was like the popular kid in the group.






There were many more in the Glass Animal community, but I won't bore you with all of them. Maybe someday I'll do a reunion post and invite them all to drop by.

Open Windows & Annoying Neighbours

The weather is great, people have their windows open ... and I live next door to a semi-deaf guy who has really annoying taste in music. Ah yes, the joys of living in a freaking apartment building.

Yes, this is the same peeping-tom neighbour, who hasn't peeped in a while ... thank god. Altho he did knock on my door around 2:30 am one morning ... yes that's AM! He seems to drink quite a bit so I don't think he realized what time it was. I noticed his daughter visiting him the other day and I thought of mentioning it to her ... but then I decided better of it.

Anyway, if you've been watching my changing new music widget ... you're getting a taste of my music. This weekend I'm featuring 1974 ... Hooga Chucka! (For those unfamiliar ... hooga chucka is what's said in the song "Hooked on a Feeling".) My neighbour was probably 50 in 1974 (okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration) so his music tastes are much different from mine.

I get that it takes all kinds of music to make the world go 'round ... but I just don't like having to be exposed to it at someone else's pleasure. It was the same when I lived next to this metal head guy who loved Metallica. God, that was a long summer.

So what does my neighbour enjoy? I know you're dying to know. Well, he listens to what appears to be old Irish songs. Most I don't recognize. But I did find this little gem of a video to give you a taste of what I'm enduring here.

Enjoy.