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!
Hey my friends and welcome to another week of my Paw Time with Houdini. Things have been a little scattered around here lately. Summer is right around the corner and with that comes heat – which the oinker hates and I can’t blame him one tiny little bit. Also some has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks – whistles and looks all innocent and cute. Mom has started her DIEt thingy again and is making daddy do it with her. This is hilarious – why do you ask? Cause mommy whines. I know! I didn’t know that either. But apparently here and this thing called chocolate have a love/hate relationship. Mommy loves it but she hates what it does to her butt. Barks! Anyone else have that problem?
A while back my friends Samuel and Wallace sent all of us a care package here at the Hotel Thompson. One of the things they sent was pupcorn. I gotta tell you, I absolutely ❤ that stuff! Mommy puts it in a little dish for me and her and dad will let me eat out of it after dinner. Oh my puppy! It’s so good! But I eat politely. I take one little piece from the container, eat it and then go back for more. All during this time, my sweet daddy will hold the container for me. Isn’t that awesome?!
And don’t worry, daddy also gives the purr things and the oinker a piece here/there as well. And yep, they love it too. We love eating this pupcorn when our favorite movies come on the Animal Planet. Who wouldn’t, right? So my friends Samuel and Wallace – thank you bunches and bunches from all of us anipals here at the Hotel Thompson – Ya’ll rock!
And another funny thing. I’m a Yorkshire Terrier and we can be known for being how shall I say this – more active than a runner in a marathon – barks! I’m on the constant go-go-go, running around the Hotel Thompson, jumping off the pig like he’s my personal trampoline and chasing the purr things – or them chasing me!
Well when I land, I land HARD. Mommy says I sleep like a rock at times. Daddy says that when I sleep, I’m his little angel – barks! But don’t worry – when I sleep, I’m dreaming of the things I love to do… like running some more!
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Well that’s all for me my friends – yawns – I hope you had a wonderful week as well. Happy weekend!
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!
September we are highlighting some of my friends who volunteered to help me out with my Dear Bacon issue. Today’s special edition is by two cute adorable little Scottie brothers – Wallace and Samuel. If you don’t know Wallace and Samuel, you *must* go visit them and check them out. Tell them that Bacon sent you. Now, on to some great advice to help out our fellow anipals.
Dear Wallace and Samuel,
Help. We have some really nosey and crazy neighbors. They are always trying to find out what is going on in my crib. Today I saw them looking into my window. I thought I would teach them a lesson and let them know what I thought about them. It’s amazing what a good stretch in the direction can tell them. Meow. Any more ideas? Signed Tails Up.
Dear Tails Up,
If your Peeping Tom neighbours don’t get the message after that eyeful of booty we suggest kicking it up a notch, how about treating them to a fine feline operatic performance at say 2am? Alternatively, nothing says “back off” quite like a week old dead mouse bouquet. If all else fails we recommend a good old restraining order. Good luck! Wally & Sammy
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Dear Wallace and Samuel,
I.hate.baths. Can I say that any louder? Can I express that any louder in this picture? Get it over already and baptize me so I can get out of this tub of water. What do you suggest I think about during this torture? Signed Water Logged
Dear Water Logged,
Samuel here – I hear you loud and clear buddy! I too am not a lover of water or baths or baths filled with water. Based on personal experience I suggest you focus on the one of the following: a) the fun towel rub down you’ll get when the water torture is over OR 2) the fun you will have shaking all that water off you and onto your peep *snicker snicker* OR c) the fun you’re going to have rolling in something REALLY stinky first chance you get. Happy daydreaming! Sammy (and Wally)
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Dear Wallace and Samuel,
My mom says that everyone has a beauty mark somewhere on their body. Mine just happens to be on my snout an looks like a heart. Do you see it? What kind of beauty mark do you have? Signed Heart of Snouts
Dear Heart of Snouts,
How frickin’ adorable are you!! We got mom to do a full body search of both of us looking for our beauty marks and you know what…she couldn’t find one!! Not one!! We’re not going to lie, this worries us a little and we’ve asked mom to make us an appointment at the tattoo parlor asap so that we can have one made – for some reason she is dragging her paws about making the appointment. We hope we can still be friends…even though we are beauty markless. Wally & Sammy
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Dear Wallace and Samuel,
I’m sending you this picture for evidence. It was the last selfie that I took when the boys were chasing me. What? Wouldn’t you have done the same thing? Bad barks are chasing you and you take a selfie with the cell phone? What can I do to make the bad barks quit chasing me? They didn’t catch me this date. I ran into a log that they couldn’t get into. Can you help me out? Signed Faster than Pooches
Dear Faster than Pooches
This is an easy one…STOP TAKING SELFIES!! Seriously dude, put the phone down and walk away. We guarantee you those pooches won’t even sniff you twice if you get rid of the phone and start behaving like an ordinary cat. Nobuddy likes a show off especially a show off who needs to document his every move, meal and meow. Embrace living off the grid. Wally & Sammy
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Dear Wallace and Samuel,
I don’t get it. I jumped in this box. My human dad took a pen and did something to the front. Afterward he was laughing hysterically. I don’t get it. Can you help me out? Signed Bat Cat
Dear Bat Cat
What can we say, small things amuse small (hooman) minds. We can see what effect your dad was going for here butt unfortunately it is lost as soon as you climb out of the box. We recommend pushing the box to the nearest mirror…it will all make sense then. And remember: Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman cat, then always be Batmancat. And remember: Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman cat, then always be Batmancat.
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Remember my friends – Dear Bacon can’t happen without *you*. Please continue to send your letters and questions to me here at the Hotel Thompson at baconthompson@gmail.com
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.
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 