Happy Birthday Bacon!

 Hey Bacon’s friends.  This is Bacon’s mom and dad here.  We are hi-jacking the little guy’s blog this afternoon for an important announcement.  Today is also our pig-son’s birthday.  Our baby Bacon turns the big 6 today!  Can you believe he was born on our anniversary?  Just one more little sign that his adoption was meant to be with us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BACON!

Bacon has brought so much joy here at the Hotel Thompson.  When I tell you there is *never* a dull moment, that is certainly the truth.  Bacon is like the little child we never had.  He’s very smart – as you all know from him writing his blog here – cough cough.  It doesn’t matter what kind of day you’ve had, how much stress you encounter in the world – he is always here waiting for you with a snort and oink.  I’m not sure what me or Jim would do without Bacon and our other ‘children’: Houdini, Hemi and Mouse Girl in our lives. They bless us beyond our imagination.

So today, we raise our glass with you our friends to send out a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best pig-son we could ever have.  And here’s to years and years of more happiness and adventures!  Help us out our friends in wishing Bacon the best of all birthdays!

Bacon – may all your dreams come true.  May you have more delights today than ever before.  We love you our boy!

And thanks to my bro across the pond – Phenny – for these awesome presents.  That card was almost as big as me!  I loved it.  Thanks bro ❤

 

Blog Hi-Jack from Mom and Dad

Hey Bacon’s friends.  This is Bacon’s mom and dad here.  We are hi-jacking the little guy’s blog this afternoon for an important announcement.  Today is also our pig-son’s birthday.  Our baby Bacon turns the big 5 today!  Can you believe he was born on our anniversary?  Just one more little sign that his adoption was meant to be with us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BACON!

Bacon has brought so much joy here at the Hotel Thompson.  When I tell you there is *never* a dull moment, that is certainly the truth.  Bacon is like the little child we never had.  He’s very smart – as you all know from him writing his blog here – cough cough.  It doesn’t matter what kind of day you’ve had, how much stress you encounter in the world – he is always here waiting for you with a snort and oink.  I’m not sure what me or Jim would do without Bacon and our other ‘children’ in our lives. They bless us beyond our imagination.

So today, we raise our glass with you our friends to send out a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best pig-son we could ever have.  And here’s to years and years of more happiness and adventures!  Help us out our friends in wishing Bacon the best of all birthdays!

Bacon – may all your dreams come true.  May you have more delights today than ever before.  We shall celebrate tonight with your favorite birthday ‘cake’… a piggy plate full of your favorites – apples, bananas, strawberries, watermelon and grapes.

We love you our boy!

 

Cartoons Anyone?

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There we were this past weekend, errands were taken care of and mom and dad finally were resting in the living room. There wasn’t anything “good” on television so they decided to watch the cartoon channel. Yes I’m glad to report that they are not that old yet – snorts with piggy laughter.

So they were watching their cartoons, laughing and acting like two year olds. They started talking about Saturday morning cartoons and what they used to watch on television. That made us all think. What were some of your favorite cartoons while you were growing up?
Mom and dads were: Scooby Doo (mom still loves this show today), the Flintstones, the Jetsons, Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Thundercats, the Looney Tunes, the Huckleberry Hound Show, Yogi Bear, Jonny Quest, Speed Racer, Hong Kong Phooey and Jabber Jaw.

Do you remember these?  What were your favorites?

 

Travels in the South

Hello sweet friends.  Today we are continuing our Travels in the South series with our great friends Bill and Jean who are the parents of Shoko and Kali from Canadian Cats.

The first week we posted, we posted of their arrival and eating at a local seafood restaurant.  You can read about that here.  The second week, we posted about a fantastic restaurant we all went to called Fogo de Chao.  You can read about that here.

This week, we are going to talk about a tour that we took of a place called Stately Oaks.  Stately Oaks is a historical Antebellum home located in Jonesboro, Georgia and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It was originally constructed in 1839 by Mr. Whitmill Allen who sold his home to Robert McCord in 1858 and then moved to Tyler, Texas.

It is located in Jonesboro, Georgia.  Does that sound familiar to you?  Jonesboro is the very city where Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind had to pay the taxes on Tara. Even though Tara only existed in Margaret Mitchell’s imagination, she placed Tara in Clayton County where she had visited relatives who lived on a large plantation south of Jonesboro. Many of the stories she heard as a child are in the movie.

Now, Stately Oaks is open for tours and on this day (mom, Jean and Bill) decided to tour the home.  The down side of the tour was we could not pictures of the inside of the home which was a real bummer.  The start of the tour starts off on a CD and you listen to the history of the home while in the bottom level.  Then the tour moves you into the sitting room, the dining room and the entertainment room.  Then the tour moves to the upper levels of the home.

 There are some items to point out which is interesting to know.  Back during this time, tea was expensive and kept in a locked box with only the woman of the home having the key.  Sugar was kept in cones and was brown, not the normal white sugar we are more accustomed to today.

Also,  celery was a sign of money in the southern days.  There was actual celery jars – kind of like the one in this picture – that were put on dinner tables to show the status of wealth in the family.  Can you imagine that?  It makes you want to go out, buy some celery and put in a jar on your table doesn’t it?  Who knew this could be a sign of wealth… especially in today’s market at what $0.99 cents a bundle – LOL.

They also didn’t season meats when they cooked them.  They had little individual salt bowls at every table setting.  The mistress of the home would pass around the big cluster of salt and individuals would put some in their salt bowls to season their meats.  Brings new meaning to, “Can you pass me the salt”.

One of the things we all fell in love with was the courting candle.  I think it would be a blast to have one of these today.  Jean bought one and trust me – mom is going back to get one as well.  You see how they are made in the picture?  The father could lower or high the amount of candle that would be burned during the courtship of their daughter.  Once the candle burned to that desired place, the man that was courting the young lady had to leave for the night.  What a concept huh?  Such an easy and simple method to watch over a courtship.  Of course, mom says she would use hers to show daddy actually how much time he had to be silly for a given amount of time.  That’s my mom – snorts!

Now let’s talk about the upstairs of the home.  The day that they went on the tour it was a little hot outside so you can imagine the inside of the home.  Mom started getting the vapors downstairs and had to sit out a bit for some of the tour.  Now, once mom was feeling a bit better, she ventured up the stairs as well.

 Stairs in southern homes are steep.  You see the average woman was around 4’11” and the average man was like around 5’7″ – not very tall for the likes of these days.  And the stairs go straight up it seems with not much railing.  Can you imagine as a woman in full attire (hoop skirt, bodice squeezing the heck out of you, tiny shoes, etc.) walking up stairs?  In fact, at the top of these stairs, there was usually a chaise or chair of some sort for the women.  Because believe it or not, sometimes they would pass out from the shear heat of exhaustion.  Well, that was almost like my mom.  She made it up the stairs, started having a hard time breathing and had to rush back downstairs and out of the door before she was hit with the vapors once again in a bad way.  Don’t ask.

One thing that mom did notice upstairs in a glassed case was mourning tear jar.  When the woman of the home was going through mourning, she would collect her tears in a jar.  Once it was full, she would then close the top for her mourning.  Forever, she would have the tears of her sorrow that she cried for her loved one.

Now the kitchen of this home had been redone more modern and we didn’t get to see any of that.  But then again, the kitchen of the home back in the day really wasn’t a ‘kitchen’.  It was more of a warming room.  You see food was prepared in a ‘shack’ behind the home.  This shack would host a fireplace, a table to prepare food and you can imagine the heat from the summer or the cold from the winter creeping in through the boards of the walls.  The food was then brought into the home to the warming kitchen and stayed there until the woman of the home motioned for it to be served at the dinner table.

So much wonderful history was learned this day about the ways of the south.  Can you imagine doing some of these things and living like this today?  I hope you join us next week my friends as we continue our series of Travels in the South.

 

Bacon’s Show and Tell

Thank you so very much my friends for making Bacon’s Show and Tell a great place to be every month.  This month for Bacon’s Show and Tell we are going to highlight Halloween.  What did you do for Halloween as a child?  Did you trick or treat door to door, go to a Halloween festival or did you stay at home?  This month let’s share what we did and show pictures – costumes, movies, whatever your favorite Halloween captured.

BOO!  Mom never celebrated Halloween per say when she was growing up.  She says that she went out one time during her childhood – it was cold and wet and she hated.  And what did she dress up as that one time?  You won’t believe it – a CLOWN!  Can you believe that?

After that ill fated time trick or treating door to door, her parents got smart.  Why go door to door and worry about your child when you can keep them home to have fun.  So from then on, mom and siblings told their parents what kind of candy they wanted and their parents bought it for them so they could have it on Halloween.  As their dad passed out candy to the regular trick or treaters, mom and her siblings had pizza, ate candy and watched scary movies on television.  Those are some of her best memories – watching the likes of Vincent Price, Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi just to name a few.  I even found this picture of mom during her teenage years.

 

 

Blog Hi-Jack from Mom and Dad

Hey Bacon’s friends.  This is Bacon’s mom and dad here.  We are hi-jacking the little guy’s blog this afternoon for an important announcement.  Today is also our pig-son’s birthday.  Our baby Bacon turns the big 4 today!  Can you believe he was born on our anniversary?  Just one more little sign that his adoption was meant to be with us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BACON!

Bacon has brought so much joy here at the Hotel Thompson.  When I tell you there is *never* a dull moment, that is certainly the truth.  Bacon is like the little child we never had.  He’s very smart – as you all know from him writing his blog here – cough cough.  It doesn’t matter what kind of day you’ve had, how much stress you encounter in the world – he is always here waiting for you with a snort and oink.  I’m not sure what me or Jim would do without Bacon and our other ‘children’: Houdini, Hemi and Mouse Girl in our lives. They bless us beyond our imagination.

So today, we raise our glass with you our friends to send out a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best pig-son we could ever have.  And here’s to years and years of more happiness and adventures!  Help us out our friends in wishing Bacon the best of all birthdays!

Bacon – may all your dreams come true.  May you have more delights today than ever before.  We shall celebrate tonight with your favorite birthday ‘cake’… a piggy plate full of your favorites – apples, bananas, strawberries, watermelon and grapes.

We love you our boy!

And friends – Thank you so very much for the birthday wishes to Bacon.  Kali and Shoko – LOVED your card!  So beautiful and sweet.

 

Dear Bacon

Dear Bacon –  When they humans are away, the Kung Fu Fighting comes out to play.  This kitty was “Kung Fu Fighting” – go ahead you can sing and dance with me.  I won’t tell anyone.  “Those kicks were fast as lighting.  In fact, it was a little bit frightening – But they fought with expert timing.”  Signed Funky Chinatown

Dear Funky Chinatown – Awesome!  What a way to start a Dear Bacon issue.  Love that song.  It’s one of mine and dad’s favorites.  Heck, you should see dad put on his headband and go to town – he’s got the moves like Jagger!  But don’t worry, you’re moves are tops!

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Dear Bacon –  I may look like a super dog but really I’m not.  I’m waiting at the driveway for my super hero to get home from school.  When he gets off the bus, I give him the cape.  In my eyes, he will *always* be my super hero regardless of how old.  Do you have a super hero Bacon?  Signed Side Kick

Dear Side Kick – Let me tell you something my friend, you are not only the bestest Side Kick ever – you are my hero. ❤

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Dear Bacon –  Make it stop.  Why.  Why do we have to be punished like this and given these drownings?  Why can’t I just stay dirty?  Signed Soaking Wet

Dear Soaking Wet –  Aaaww – little guy.  I’m sorry you feel this way.  Let me explain something to you.  Your humans love you.  They really do and it doesn’t seem like it but me trust on this okay.  If they didn’t love you, they would’t bathe you and take care of you.  You know – you wouldn’t have your forever home.  And here at the Hotel Thompson, if your clean guess what.  You get to snuggle in the big bed.  Is that the rule there too?  If so, go ahead and get it over with so you can get some bonding time.  Baths don’t take forever.  Close those puppy dog eyes and roll in some water my friend!

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Dear Bacon – My human.  All mine.  I don’t share.  This is my human’s hand.  I will hold it and hug it and call it mine.  All mine.  Signed George

Dear George –  I say go for it my furry friend.  I would gladly give you my hoof as well – you look way too cuddly!  That’s one lucky human for sure!

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Dear Bacon –  The shock!  It was amazing!  We couldn’t believe it!  It was like a train wreck and we couldn’t move away from the window.  What we saw Old Man McDonald doing to Mrs. McDonald – WOW!  He is one lucky man.  Oh, you’re asking what?  Come closer and we will whisper it to you.  He was doing the dishes for her!  I know!  Shocking huh?  A man in the kitchen doing the dishes.  We all almost passed out too!  Signed the Farm Hands

Dear Farm Hands –  What the pig!?  I’m so showing this to daddy.  WOW!  Yes you are right.  That Mrs. McDonald is one lucky lady for sure!!  Let me know if you see anything else.

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Remember my friends, Dear Bacon can’t happen without YOU.  Keep your letters and pictures coming – sent them to me on my email 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

REMEMBER FRIENDS – We can’t have Dear Bacon issues without YOU.  Keep your pictures and questions coming to me via email 🙂

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Dear Bacon

Dear Bacon – They know me in the wild as the guy to go to for back adjustments.  We all have problems with our backs from time to time.  You know with all of the jumping, running and playing with our buddies.  So I’m here to offer you my services dude.  When your giddy up has gone and went, give me a call for an adjustment.  Signed Crack Doctor

Dear Crack Doctor –  WOW.  I’m at a lost for words.  Really.  By the looks of that purr thing that you are “adjusting”, I would take a gander and say they are as well.  Back adjustments… hhhhmmm… I think I’ll pass.  You know the little tyke here Houdini has great paws for massages.  I think I’ll call him for a massage.  But hey, I appreciate the offer.  You carry on and flourish with your business my friend.

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 Dear Bacon – Let’s understand each other okay.  You show respect to us purr things and I won’t have to call that elf of yours Don Juan.  Capice?  We have ways of making our communication brutal.  Just one phone call from Hemi or Mouse Girl and I will drop a line to elfy.  We wouldn’t want that now would we?  Signed Enforcer

Dear Enforcer – gulps.  Understand my friend.  I understand completely.  No reason to call Don Juan.  We are all family here.  Love your coloring and by the way have I told you that purr things rock?  They really do – honestly.  Creeps out of this letter….slowly and silently.

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 Dear Bacon – Sometimes the best things in life is just sitting back to watch the animals and humans.  You can see some amazing things in the household when you do this.  Just be quiet and observe.  Have you ever done this?  Signed Voyeur

Dear Voyeur – YES I agree 100% my friend.  One time, I watched daddy come out of the shower.  My eyes!  What has been seen can not be unseen.  And hey, he jumped pretty high when I snorted – rolls with laughter.  Carry on watching and let me know what you see next. 🙂

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 Dear Bacon – I *almost* got caught in this picture.  I mean dude it was a close call for sure!  The barky thing is so loud and loves to pick on us purr things when the humans aren’t lucky.  I had it with that mutt up to my forehead.  So, he came by and I was just about to flick my nails out when I saw the humans out of the corner of my eye.  Thank goodness I saw them looking so I did what all cats do best – I looked disinterested and innocent.  You know the look I’m sure.  But it definitely was a close one.  Have you ever been almost caught in action?  Signed Wolverine

Dear Wolverine – Squeals!  That was a close call my friend.  Thank goodness your spidey senses were working and you noticed the humans.  I hope that you did get even with the barky thing when it was more convenient – snorts.  I’m sure he had it coming his way.  Snorts – have a great one!

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 Dear Bacon – Really?  This is the juvenile behavior I have to put up with at my own castle.  My little brother doesn’t get his way so he acts like a small person wearing diapers and sticks his tongue out at me.  Really?  What is he two?!  What am I to do?  Shakes head.  Signed – Beyond Irritated

Dear Beyond Irritated – Just walk away.  My best advice my friend.  Unless you want to contact the Enforcer up above or Wolverine from up above.  I’m sure they can tell you a few pointers.  I certainly couldn’t.  Cause you know I’m just so cute and would never do anything to anyone. 🙂  Right Enforcer?  Snorts.

 

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Remember friends – keep your pictures and questions coming.  Send them to my email address.  Have a great day!

 

Blog Hi-Jack from Mom and Dad

Hey Bacon’s friends.  This is Bacon’s mom and dad here.  We are hi-jacking the little guy’s blog this afternoon for an important announcement.  But first, we want to say thank you to all of the wonderful and kind comments for our anniversary today.  Thanks so very much!  They say that time flies by and it really does.  We have been together for so long and it seems just like yesterday when we met and started dating. It’s so hard believe it’s been 26 years now.  We both thank God every day for Jim’s mother introducing us!

Now to our announcement.  Today is also our pig-son’s birthday.  Our baby Bacon turns the big 3 today!  Can you believe he was born on our anniversary?  Just one more little sign that his adoption was meant to be with us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BACON!

Bacon has brought so much joy here at the Hotel Thompson.  When I tell you there is *never* a dull moment, that is certainly the truth.  Bacon is like the little child we never had.  He’s very smart – as you all know from him writing his blog here – cough cough.  It doesn’t matter what kind of day you’ve had, how much stress you encounter in the world – he is always here waiting for you with a snort and oink.  I’m not sure what me or Jim would do without Bacon and our other ‘children’ Hemi and Mouse Girl in our lives. They bless us beyond our imagination.

So today, we raise our glass with you our friends to send out a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best pig-son we could ever have.  And here’s to years and years of more happiness and adventures!  Help us out our friends in wishing Bacon the best of all birthdays!

Bacon – may all your dreams come true.  May you have more delights today than ever before.  We shall celebrate tonight with your favorite birthday ‘cake’… a piggy plate full of your favorites – apples, bananas, strawberries, watermelon and grapes.

We love you our boy!

Special shout out thanks to my brother Easy across the pond.  He send me a birthday card and a bag full of goodies in the mail.  OMP – I’ve never been so excited.  I even let daddy play with my pink piggy mask.  That mask is pigawesome.  Now I can be a pink pig to see what it feels like.  Thanks brother!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh No You Don’t Daddy!

So early last week, mom and dad went to bed, turned on their television to watch the news and got all comfortable.  Hemi, as you can see in this picture, likes to sit front and center and swat at the news people.  See, it’s not just me that purr thing swats – snorts.  Mom sets the timer on the television and those humans of mine usually drift off to sleep land express before the television turns off.  But the other night, the television went off early.  Mom assumed that since Hemi was near the remote control, he probably hit the button and turned it off.  No problems.

So mom gets up the next morning to watch the news while getting ready for the worky place and guess what?  The flat screen won’t come on.  What?  That’s not good.  So my mom, who is NOT electronically inclined might I add, checks everything – all plugs, resets the television and hits the button again.  Nothing.  Now she fusses a bit and I’m sitting on the bed watching her.  Daddy wakes up from his slumber like a bear waking up from hibernation and asks whats going on and why am I on his bed.  I gave him a stink eye look just like mommy did – snorts.

Mom explains to him what happened.  Then daddy did something so stupid that I started snorting almost rolling off the bed.  He asks mommy, “Did you check the plug in?”  Pardon me dad, let me help you put that size 10 foot right into your mouth because mom is going to get you so good.  And trust me, putting your foot into your own mouth is NOT going to be as easy as you were a child.  Nope.  Not at all.  Trust me on that one.

After mom so politely told him where to shove his comment, mom told him she had checked all of the plugs.  She might have put in a “DOH” somewhere in there but I don’t think he heard her – snorts.  Then dad said the most outrageous thing.  He said, “Well, I guess it’s broken then.”  WOW daddy, you think?  Rolls piggy eyes.

And then when you thought that daddy couldn’t say anything more incredibly stupid, he did.  He said, “Well I guess we will have to take Bacon’s flat screen from his bedroom”.  Whatchu talking about daddy?!  I don’t think so.  You can back away from my flat screen this minute.  Nope. Not going to happen.  Not in a New York piggy minute.  That’s my television.  I jumped up on the bed and got in my fierce mowhawk stance and gave him the best stink eye look I could muster.

Mommy looked at me.  I looked at mommy.  Daddy looked at me.  I looked at daddy.  Then mommy looked at daddy and said, “If you are brave enough to take Bacon’s television, you go right ahead”.  Then there was silence while daddy was thinking.  I know he was thinking.  I could see smoke coming out of his ears – snorts.  I know he was calculating how he could do it without me getting him.  Don’t let this cute adorable face fool you.  I can protect what’s mine – like my television.  Okay.  I might have squealed a little too to enforce I meant business.

Dad finally said, “I think we have another one in the work out room, don’t we?”  That’s right daddy.  Ninja Pig Bacon wins.  You move right along to the work out room and get that television.

Pardon me now my friends.  Green Acres is playing on my television in my bedroom.  I need to go watch it.  Did I mention it was my television?  Snorts.