Oh dear friends. This is just exactly what this oinker needed to hear upon returning home from camping out in the woods all week at Summer Camp. This is what nightmares are made out of – I’m just saying!
So there we all were this past Sunday, all camped out in the living room of the Hotel Thompson watching the locals news on Fox 5 based out of Atlanta, Georgia. This story comes up about – wait for it – a snake. Shivers to mergatroid. And not just any snake. They were talking about a Gaboon Viper.
See, this lady Ms. Lora Brown was riding down the street in her vehicle in Milledgeville, Georgia when she saw something in the road in front of of her. So she did what any of us would do. Upon passing it, she stuck her camera out of the car window and took a picture. Makes sense right? Ms. Lora Brown said it was because of the unique markings that got her attention. This photograph is the one that was shown on Fox 5 news of what Ms. Brown took. First up, awesome markings and I applaud you Ms. Brown for taking a picture instead of creating a speed bump.
Ms. Brown contacted the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to find out what kind of snake this was. Do you know what she was told? It is a Gaboon Viper that originates out of South Africa and are not known to exist in the wild here in Georgia. They are VERY venomous. What it is doing in Georgia no one knows. DNR can’t confirm or disprove that it is even here. They have been out in the woods looking for it and so far have seen no signs of it. Then again from the looks of this picture it seems that it would be able to blend very easily with the vegetation in the woods.
Thank goodness I saw this AFTER my Summer Camp. If I had seen it before leaving, there would be no waycome heaven or hell that I would be camping out in the woods. Shivers – this is a SyFy movie in the making!
You are so not going to believe this my friends. I almost didn’t! Last night, mommy came home from the worky place and told all of us something that was out of this world! I mean OUT OF THIS WORLD!
Guess – go ahead guess – who she got to talk to yesterday on the phone. I bet you can’t guess. Heck, I *know* you can’t. We were shocked. We were surprised. Heck, we all wanted to talk to them too.
Who was it?? It was my pals Wallace and Samuel from South Africa. Can you believe that? My mom talked to their mom on the phone person to person. They got to hear each other’s accents and everything. We were all like, “That’s not fair – what about us?” We wanna talk to them too.
It was crazy! It was like around 9:30AM here our time and after 4:00PM South Africa time. It was a blast. Mom explained this won’t be the last time we talk so we told her next time – we wanna talk too!
Piggy Squeals! Yesterday the mailman came to the door of the Hotel Thompson. He said he had a package for me and he had to see me… of course he knows me and finds an excuse to see me when I have a package. I came flying to the front door where he petted me and gave my box to my daddy. Daddy said I had to wait until mommy got home to open it.
I thought mom would never get home but finally she did from the worky place. She let me and dad open the package. Squeals!! Score for all of us here. Do you see all of these delicious delights that we got? Are you wondering from who and where the box came from? Can you guess by looking at the picture?
It came from my buddies Samuel and Wallace in Johannesburg, South Africa! Aren’t they the coolest?! They sent a little cork board in the shape of South Africa – you can see it on the upper left hand side of the picture. Mom put all of the chocolate in the fridge to harden back up. The pupcorn – OMP! – me and my brother Houdini had some of that. It is DELICIOUS!
Thank you my buddies. I really, REALLY appreciate your thoughtfulness. Ya’ll were so sweet to think about us here at the Hotel Thompson. THANK YOU!
So this contest is said and done. First up – I want to thank EVERYONE that submitted emails and EVERYONE that voted. We really appreciate that here at the Hotel Thompson. There were some great emails sent and don’t worry – there will be more contests in the future 🙂
It was a very close race in the voting. The top 3 according to the list were:
No. 3 – Evil Squirrel
No. 2 – Sammy
No. 1 WINNER – Samuel and Wallace!
Congratulations my friends. South Africa is going to get their very own Elf on the Shelf.
Samuel and Wallace, please send me your address to send you your new friend. You will need to name him before Thanksgiving. Keep in mind, he is related to our Don Juan but who knows what his personality will be until after he receives his powers the day after Thanksgiving. Don’t forget to post updates on him. We will surely miss the guy here at the Hotel Thompson.
Hello my friends. As you know, I put together a contest for the adoption of a captured Elf on the Shelf that I have here at the Hotel Thompson. My captured Elf is a distant relative of my Elf on the Shelf – Don Juan. Although they are relatives, who knows how the captured Elf will act once he is released and gets his powers the day after Thanksgiving.
We thought here at the Hotel Thompson, we would have a contest to see who would like to have the captured Elf. Your mission was to send me an email of why you should have him in your house. I got several submissions and we thank you for them. Today, I’m going to highlight the submissions we have received.
Submission 1 – Evil
Submission 1 comes from my friend Evil Squirrel. WOW. That’s really a lot in that WOW. He didn’t email a request. Instead he did a blog about why they deserve the Elf at the Evil Squirrels Nest. You can read all about it here. Some of his favorite tenants on his shelf to include: Swing Squirrel, Rain Gauge Skunk, Buster Possum, Snuggle Bear and others you have to read to believe voiced their opinions about the Elf.
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Submission 2 – Sammy
Submission 2 comes from Sammy. Get your Kleenexes my friends. This is what Sammy and his mom sent:
“Dear Cousin, well I think you’ve come up with a pawsome contest and OF COURSE I have to enter – what self-respecting Cousin wouldn’t enter his Cousin’s contest anyway? Huh??? HUH?????
So, why should I win? What can I do to make my very own Elf on the Shelf “at home” here with my folks and me? Well, it’s simple really. My Mom is pawsitive that elves do exist – for real. They live in the woods and we can hear them talk about us when we go down into our woods for walks…….I get glimpses of them down there too. We just know that we could give one of them (the one you’ve got trapped in a box right now) a good home INSIDE our house instead of outside with those other elves. He could sit inside in the nice warm house (or cool house in summer) and make faces at the others who are jealous of him living in the lap of luxury (or shelf of luxury).
I’ve had a rough time lately with my thyroid mess so I’m going to play the “poor pitiful me” card here and say I deserve the elf because I’m old, tired, and taking medication that makes me sleep all the time – when I open my eyes up I’d like to see a happy little elf staring back at me. Yep – that’s the truth of the matter…….I just think he’d make a fun friend for me in my retirement years. Now get out your hanky and blow your snout – I know I’ve got you in tears right about now………….HAHAHAHAHAHA
Hugs, Sammy the Elderly. Here’s the woods where the other elves live. They spy on us all the time! You can’t see them but they’re there! Trust me on that!
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Submission 3 – Sue Brandes with Katsrus
Can you say aaww – look closely at the box my friends. This is what Sue says in her email:
“t gets pretty nosy when the lights go out here at night. I think my kitties are up to something they don’t want me to know about. When I get up to look everyone is always sleeping and acting all innocent. As soon as I lay back down I hear stomping and running around. I really need someone who could spy on them for me and tell what they are doing? Or is it something else and not the cats? I did catch this but; all I could see was a box. Can you see anything?”
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Submission 4 – Samuel and Wallace
Okay – My friends Wally and Samuel sent this heart tugging email you have to read.
“So even though WE are sending this submission we need you to know that it is actually for our mom…you see mom is a Christmas FREAK! She LOVES Christmas like no-one else in our family. Now living in South Africa means that we don’t really get to have the full Northern Hemisphere Christmas experience. For starters Christmas time is summer time here in South Africa so no white Christmas for us. Also, we don’t have Elf on a Shelf here in SA. In fact mom only learnt about Elf on a Shelf 2 years ago when she joined Pinterest and started coming across all these pins dedicated to little the guy and the mischief he gets up to. Now we can assure you that if you were to send us one of your Elves he would be the ONLY Elf on a Shelf to be getting up to mischief in the WHOLE of South Africa…let us repeat that…THE. WHOLE. OF. SOUTH. AFRICA. Put another way, WE NEED A SOUTH AFRICAN ELF ON A SHELF (pleeeeease). Ok, so we’re gonna let you ponder our pitiful plea and we’re keeping our paws crossed that you and your readers will take pity on our mom and grant her this special Christmas wish…an Elf on a Shelf of her very own. BIG licks your pals, Wally & Sammy
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Submission 5 – The Pigs
Another heart tug in the right direction from my friends The Pigs (Dusty, Billy, Pip and Cocoa). Here’s what they had to say in their emotional email:
“It wasn’t very long ago that whee began to muse on the thought of not only being a pet, but having one too. Whee piggies know very well how to BE pets but whee’ve never actually had the chance to look after a little chap or chap-ess of our very own. Of course our ‘one’ couldn’t be any old Tom, Dick or Harry. After putting our heads together whee decided that whee would need somebody very special to be our own.Then came the thought: what if it wasn’t a pet? What if it was a little terror that ran around and tried to eat all our veggies! For a while whee squabbled over this then Cocoa pointed out that whee share the hoomans veggies for don’t they eat carrots too – all chopped up and boiled though, yuck! So whee promptly decided that whee wouldn’t mind that either. There were many questions that whee had to discuss:
Would whee be able to afford it? (Luckily Mop has a wealth of Carrot Coins so whee’re safe there.)
Exercise? (Pip is a mad house. He really could use something, or someone, that can help him to work off all those beans with a walk each day, or perhaps a kick-a-bout of a football.)
What would our pet eat?
Where would it stay?
Would whee be good pet owners?
Each question whee slowly went through, making sure that whee would fully be able to provide for our little friend. In the end, whee decided that whee would be able to for whee have been shown lots of love and have had a good example with which to pass on. Then was the biggest dilemma. Who would whee like to give a home too? Whee searched website after website after website. Then whee came across a little elf. A little chubby cheeked elf with bright eyes and a funny little smile. Could he be the one?
In order to stand a chance of giving him a home whee need to explain to you, Bacon, why whee would be a good home to such a little chap. Guinea-pigs, as a breed are very social animals. Out in the wild whee live in small groups and here, in captivity, whee like to have at least one cagemate though some places have many! Here there are only six of us. Whee have been thinking and have decided that whee would like to expand our group. Upon adopting this cheeky chap, if whee are chosen, whee promise to embrace him into our home. Our bed will be his bed. Our food, his food. Whee are ready to take on a little friend and, after many long months of preparation have finally, hopefully, made our decision. It was a hard choice to make, there were so many choices from fae to fairies and pixies but now whee really believe that this little elf is the one for us!
Now a little bit about our family. Whee range in age from five years to only 4 months old. This means whee have a range of different skills. Mop is retired from her job now but does enjoy going to the local Little Library where she reads books to all the pups, kittens and other baby animals that come there regularly. She also knits a range of different clothing and objects for a range of different reasons.
Dusty is an astronomer. He spends a lot of time gazing up at the stars. You might think that this would make him distant but it his income and Mop’s former income that has provided us with the means to look after our little boy, or girl.
Billy is a sportsman. He plays an attack position in the local rugby team, the Peel Pigeons. This has turned him into a very dedicated individual. Despite this he is very gentle, as was demonstrated when his young friend, Cupcake, gave birth to her children. He was very happy to babysit, showing how patient and caring he is. (Plus, he enjoys the games that children like to play – such as throwing a ball around!)
Pip is a children’s entertainer. He dresses up as clowns, knights, dragons, lions. This little ginger pig is perfect to help our elf, should we be allowed to have him, develop his imagination. Whee really do want to give him the best start in life. Nothing will be too good for our little boy!
Cupcake is a teacher at the local primary school which Cupcake now attends. She works there part-time as she is also a house wife and needs to be there for her young daughter, Cocoa.
Cocoa will be the friend to the little chap. Whee hope her and him will have a fantastic relationship!
So, here it is. Our petition to you. Whee hope that whee have answered all your questions and if a more suitable home is found for him, whee will continue our hunt for a pet. Our decision is made and we’ll make sure that some little chap or chap-ess, somewhere, will get a new start in our home.”
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**LET’S VOTE NOW**
You’ve read all of the submissions. Now it’s time for *you* to judge and post your vote. The winner will be announced at a later date. Who do YOU think the captured Elf needs to go and live with for his adventures? NOTE: Voting will end midnight on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. This gives everyone plenty of time to post their submissions on their blogs and encourage voting. Good luck my friends – let the voting begin!
Okay, I admit it. With mom’s work schedule and our ‘regular’ per say television shows during the week, we get behind on other shows and activities. I think that is so normal.
Tuesday night, we didn’t have much going for us on television on our ‘regular’ line up so we ventured out to the Animal Planet. It’s a great channel – it has animals on it – how could we ever go wrong?
So after dinner, mom reviews the television guide and we chose a show called “Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives”. We at the Hotel Thompson absolutely LOVE shows like this. They are educational, interesting and by George they are scary! Shivers – think about it. Do we really know everything that is under that vast ocean? I think not.
Mom/dad have been deep sea fishing several times in the past. They’ve often wondered with them being in such a tiny boat – compared to how big the sea is – what is under them. Heck, they have even thought this when they have traveled on cruise ships. The ocean is HUGE and very, very deep. And, scientists are finding new animals all of the time.
So, the title of this show on television last night, “Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives” didn’t sway us to think that it wouldn’t be good. I mean yeah, megalodon sharks were prehistoric, right? Let’s reflect on some of the things we learned from the show last night.
Megalodon means roughly giant tooth. This term is really true when you think about the size of their teeth. A megalodon tooth was 7 inches long. Seven.inches. That’s over a half foot long. Watch out Freddy Kreuger.
A megalodon’s bite is fierce. It’s force when biting is enough to crush the skull of a prehistoric whale. This is compared to like you and I biting a grape – that easily. Shivers to mergatroid.
A megalodon is big. Do you understand that? B.I.G. Like 60 – 100 feet long big.
A megalodon’s closest relative per say is the Great White Shark. Okay, count me out on that family reunion. I’ll pass – enough said. Shivers.
So we invest some time in this great and wonderful show last night. It starts off with four people on a boat in the middle of the ocean in South Africa. They are all happy, taking videos, laughing and having a great time. The guy goes fishing and feels something on the line. It shows him reeling and reeling and reeling in the line…. flash forward 2 hours later. Whatever was on the line breaks off and it is now night time. Then, BAM, something hits the boat but never fear the video is still running. The camera is shaking, the video is jumping, everyone is screaming. It kind of reminded me of that old scary movie, “Blair Witch Project”. Then, something completely destroys the boat and the people disappear.
Days later, miraculously they find the video and are able to adjust the jumpy, screaming footage enough to hear, “Oh no shark”. Alright, I know. This should have given us some clue. When they are able to revive a video camera that was in the water, submerged fully, for who knows how long and then to pick up on, “Oh no shark”. At this point, daddy started laughing. Me and mom was ssshh’ing him to be quiet so we could hear. We were mesmerized to say the least. Daddy tried to talk and we both gave him the all knowing raised eyebrow look of hush. He finally conceded and sat in silence with a smug look on his face.
Me and mom were spellbound. What the heck was this huge shark in the water?! Then they started showing coverage from all over the world and calling some sharks submarines. Okay, just because we’ve never heard of a submarine shark, doesn’t mean anything. I mean, we are not marine biologists so we didn’t know. This show was good.
Okay, maybe not really good. Some of the so called biologists were in some way kind of weird on camera. We just chalked that up to them not being actors – snorts. The last five minutes of the show, this little blurb runs on the screen:
“Though certain events and characters in this film have been dramatized, sightings of ‘submarine’ continue to this day”.
What? Huh? Okay, we knew that megalodon’s didn’t exist but this wasn’t a ‘real’ documentary show. We looked over at daddy sitting so smug on his couch. He finally said, “Can I talk now?” Well yeah, this show bites now please do. That’s when he proceeded to tell us about this show being on the Discovery Channel a couple of weeks ago and people were upset because of the ending. Well, dad, you could have told us this an hour ago! I’m sorry, what channel were we watching? Sci-Fi? Comedy channel? Nope, sweet ole Animal Planet.
Snorts – what’s on the television next? Oh, that’s another blog in itself. We made the mistake of wasting another hour of our lives watching, “Voodoo Sharks”. This show was about the mysterious ‘Rookin’ who is a killer shark in the bayous of Louisiana. And, I kid you not when I tell you the captain of the hunt was… drum roll please… Captain Blimp.
Mom told me about this show that she used to watch growing up as a child. It was called Romper Room. Do you remember it? She said that it was a series that ran from 1953 until 1994. Of course, snort – mom came in there sometimes in the late 1970’s.
She told me she used to watch it ALL of the time. We even found an old back issue of one of them and she showed it to me. Even dad said he watched it growing up. Of course, it was right up there with shows like Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Rogers.
There were lots of things that mom and dad both said they learned. One thing was when they served milk and cookies to the children. You remember the little prayer given before eating, “God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Amen.” I think I’ve even heard daddy still mutter that before dinner sometimes – snort.
And do you remember the bumblebees, Mr. Do-Bee and Mr. Don’t-Bee? Do-Bee good little children and Don’t Be Mean. Those were so hilarious when we watched the show the other day – LOL
The ending was my favorite – the magic mirror. “Romper, bomper, stomper boo. Tell me, tell me, tell me, do. Magic Mirror, tell me today, have all my friends had fun at play?” The teacher would then name off names, “I see Jimmy and Lucy and Tiffany and Judy…” I *so* hoped she would say Bacon in the episode we watched, but she didn’t. Mom said she never said her name either. Pooey.
So, I kind of wanted to do a throw back to the old Romper Room Magic Mirror. I wanted to look in my Magic Mirror and ‘see‘ all of the people that have seen my blog.
I see Hungary, I see Italy, I see Bosnia and Herzegovina. I see Greece, I see Lebanon, I see Australia and I see Oman (I had to look that one up on the map!).
I see Saudi Arabia, I see Denmark, I see Maylaysia and I see United Republic of Tanzania. I see Estonia, I see Kenya, I see Vietnam and I see Pakistan.
I see Israel, I see the United States, I see the Netherlands and I see the United Kingdom. I see Canada, I see South Africa, I see Mexico and I see Germany.
I see Singapore, I see Spain, I see Georgia (not to be confused to the Georgia where I live in the United States 🙂 and I see the Phillippines. I see Brazil, I see India, I see Portugal and I see Indonesia.
I see Switzerland, I see Poland, I see Russian Federation and I see Ireland. I see Serbia, I see New Zealand, I see Malta and I see France.
I see Thailand, I see Taiwan, I see Guatemala and I see Sweden. I see Republic of Korea, I see Norway, I see Hong Kong and I see Austria.
I see Columbia and I see Aruba. I see Peru and I see Ukraine.
Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you again REALLY SOON my friends. Hogs and Kisses – Bacon
Miniature pot bellied pig and friends - Bacon, Houdini, Hemi and all of the Rock Clan with Journalist Rocky the Squirrel all out looking for adventures from the Hotel Thompson.
See, this lady Ms. Lora Brown was riding down the street in her vehicle in Milledgeville, Georgia when she saw something in the road in front of of her. So she did what any of us would do. Upon passing it, she stuck her camera out of the car window and took a picture. Makes sense right? Ms. Lora Brown said it was because of the unique markings that got her attention. This photograph is the one that was shown on Fox 5 news of what Ms. Brown took. First up, awesome markings and I applaud you Ms. Brown for taking a picture instead of creating a speed bump.
Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness!
time lately with my thyroid mess so I’m going to play the “poor pitiful me” card here and say I deserve the elf because I’m old, tired, and taking medication that makes me sleep all the time – when I open my eyes up I’d like to see a happy little elf staring back at me. Yep – that’s the truth of the matter…….I just think he’d make a fun friend for me in my retirement years. Now get out your hanky and blow your snout – I know I’ve got you in tears right about now………….HAHAHAHAHAHA
Piglove 