Stuffy Class - Back in Session. Second careers with Odie.

Hello and thank you for attending the latest session of Stuffy Class.  Today's guest instructor is Odie (yes of Garfield fame).  Odie has been working hard on his class and is ready to present.  Please give a big Stuffy Class Welcome to Odie. 

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Odie here.  Thanks for attending my class today.  I hope those of you who were on the waitlist made it in.  Let's get this out of the way:  Yes, my previous career was good natured,  less intelligent side kick to a certain cat who hated Monday's and loves lasagna.  Garfield and I are still friends but my class will not be about him, it will be about second careers.

My first career was sidekick to Garfield and now I have a very important second career as house manager.  I am a house manager for all the stuffies and the humans.  I am part of a VERY select group of professionals that manage homes.  I share company with the following people:

Mrs. Garret from Facts of Life.

My personal favorite:  Benson.

Of course Tony from Whose the Boss can't be forgotten.  But perhaps the most famous house manager (no, not Rosy the Robot from the Jetsons) but Alice Nelson from the Brady Bunch.

My class will teach you to be a successful house manager like me, Alice, Benson, Tony and Mrs. Garret. 

A good house manager has to be a good communicator.  I am taking with a few of the garden animals and they have mentioned that the outside of the house needs my attention.

Basil needs to be trimmed.  Time for me to make some pesto. 

I better call the gardener.  Besides the basil being going crazy this tomato needs serious attention.

The work never ends.  Bertran is an outdoor dog and looks like the birds attacked him.  Time to get some cleaner and take care of this mess. 

Being a house manager is tough work. You are always working and on call but it's important work.  I always recommend taking a break during the day.  To be a successful house manager one must practice self care. 

It's always important to stay well fed.  You never know what you might have to do next.

Duty calls:  As a house manager you are always on.   It's getting close to dinner time, the stuffies want to BBQ and there is no propane.  

I need to get this fixed asap or there will be no dinner!!!!!

Final lesson.  As a house manager you always have to be thinking ahead.  See, the coffee is almost gone.  Time to refill before the breakfast rush.  You don't want stuffies to not be caffeinated, that can cause a host of problems.....trust me. 

Sometimes you can only do so much as a house manager.  As you can see for breakfast tomorrow we only have turkey bacon, not real bacon. Sometimes there are problems that you just can't fix as a house manager (really, who buys turkey bacon????).

I hope you have enjoyed my stuffy class today.  Second careers are very rewarding and can often propel you in new directions.  

Guess the sender

Greetings Stuffies. I hope you are all doing well (keeping those paws clean, eating lots of good summer food, and spending time outdoors).  I know you have all done well in the card sending department (by they way I hope my post cards made it to my pals).

(insert LF pic outside).

Right-O let's get started.  The first stamp looks like it came directly from the post office.  I know when I send mail internationally I usually have to go to the post office for a a specific stamp.  Any guesses on whose mail it could be? 

It looks like someone from the Royal family is on the stamp  and on the right hand side of the envelope there is a sticker from "Royal Mail".  Since I don't really know anyone from the Royal Family (although I did watch and enjoy the King's Speech) my guess is this is coming from a certain mouse artist.

Being that Beanie is an artistic mouse I have invited my pal "Scrap Rabbit" (being that he is the resident artist around here)  to join me in this post.  

I was one of the winner's in Beanie's art contest.   I got quite a stack of fancy post cards from the Royal Gallery.  I love the artwork.  I wonder which one is Beanie's favorite? 

Scrap Rabbit suggested displaying them all.  Let's take a look.

Time for me to do some post card writing!!!

Can you guess who sent this next card? 

Perhaps it was Jim Carey?  No...maybe Mike Myers? Michael J. Fox?  Nope.  Justin Bieber?  Negatory.  If guessed Alex Trebbek I am sorry you are incorrect.  It's from Sandy!!!!  

My favorite card is the one with the fox on it (go figure).  The card is from Germany and it is from an attraction where a person was lost in a cave and a fox came to rescue him by leading him out of the cave by his tail.  Foxes are so awesome.....or dare I say Pawsome (that was for you Droopy). 

Sandy mentioned that the garden is coming along well (lettuce, strawberries and foxglove).  Be careful of that foxglove as it's pretty darn poisonous.  I hope that little bear is able to start exploring again.  One of the cards in Sandy's letter is from Beanie.  I'm off to register it on Beanie's found art site.

My final stamp is a tricky one.   Who do I know that would choo choo choose to send me a stamp with a train on it? 

If you said Jerry and Ben then you win the prize (note: no prize shall be given). 

This card is awesome. It's from the fanciest gallery around, gallery 360.  The first picture is titled "Kindred Folk Music" and it's awesome.  Where is scrap rabbit you ask?  

He was holding the card up. 

Scrap Rabbit noticed that there was a picture on the back.  It is a tad hard to see the picture but the title is "The Mangy Meet Cute "

I need to find out more about this artist, DC Ice.   

DC Ice has a lot of animal based art.  This is my kind of artist.

Thanks for playing along with Guess the Sender.  Stay tuned.  More Stuffy Classes to follow. 

Stuffy Class Semester Break week 2.

 Little Fox here.  The professors at Stuffy Class have decided to take another week long break.  I'm back on the road heading south from the mountains.  Along the route I stopped in a small desert town in the center of my state.  The town had a truck stop, an old cafe, someone selling cherries from the side of the road (bought some) and an amazon locker.

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Time for another hike.  This hike starts at at snowpark. If you are not familiar with snowparks they are big parking lots in the mountains where you can park (in all seasons).  

It's always a good idea to check the map before a hike.  I am exploring a portion of the PCT, a trail that goes from the border with Mexico to the border with Canada. 

Along the PCT there was a nice stream that kept me company for the first mile or so. 

Now for the main point of this hike.  An exploration among the lava.

MT. McLoughlin, a stratovolcano (whatever that is) is named after Dr. John McLoughlin a representative of the Hudson Bay Company who was very nice to settlers who arrived at Fort Vancouver via Oregon Trail.  HBC didn't really want him to extend credit or provide any aid to settlers on the Oregon Trail but Dr. John did anyway.  

Dr. John was known for his fair treatment of everyone.  Indigenous peoples,  US Citizens, and British Subjects. 

Besides Mt. McLoughlin there are many numerous landmarks named after the "Father of Oregon". A bridge, public schools (too many to count) and a long section of highway. 

Sequoia has heard enough about Dr. John and he is hinting that this trail isn't going to hike itself so we are off. Besides the views along the way home there is also a nice large slice of homemade blackberry pie for this fox to enjoy.

Stuffy Class Semester Break

Hello Blog Pals.  Little Fox here letting you know that the instructors at Stuffy Class have decided to take a semester break so I decided to take the reins of the blog. 

This fox is finally getting a proper adventure.  Looks like we are going into the woods. 

Below me is Too Much Bear Lake on the way to Diamond Falls.  In my opinion there cannot ever be too many bears. 

The wild rhododendrons are in full force today. 

After a mile or two I reached my turn off. 

Crossed a little bridge. 

Finally reached the falls.  This post is about a month or so old but the falls are in full swing.  They are fed by the snowmelt from the mountains in the Cascade Range.  

My hiking pal Sequoia was also happy to get out and enjoy the hike. 

Where is this fox off to next? 

Stuffy Olympic Submission

Hello Blog World,
Little Fox here with a last minute submission to the Stuffy Olympics hosted by Ajdin and his crew.

Let's meet the team representing the US in this years event.

We have coach Little Fox.  Little Fox  has been coaching the US team in this unique event for many years.  The two members representing the USA are Odie and Wolfy.  

This event was developed in part by hard work of all Cherry Tomato farmers in the world.  We have to use store bought tomatoes as the cherry tomatoes on our plants are still green.

Coach Little Fox will demonstrate the event.  As you can see the objective is to catch the tomato thrown at you. Let's see a demo and how the US team does.

Gold?  Silver?  Bronze?  Participant?  Where did the US team land. 

Ace's stuffy class.

Hello Blog World.  My name is Ace.  Am I an aardvark?  Am I an apprentice to the Easter Bunny?  So many questions to answer but none will be dealt with today.  My name is Ace and yes during springtime I do help the Easter Bunny and sometimes I think I am the Easter Bunny.

Being that today is July 23rd my mind is not on Easter but on teaching you the fancy art of hose repair. 

 

When it's time for small projects around the house the humans and other stuffies call on me to fix them (unless the project is near Easter then the humans have to do it themselves).  Today's project involves fixing a hose that is leaking at the end. Originally I tried putting a new washer in the nozzle that connects to the end of the hose but it still leaked so time to move to plan "B".

First things first.  Get tools organized.  This is an easy fix.  You will need a replacement part and a screwdriver.  Also a pair of scissors. 

Since I am working on the hose I will take my project outside.  Here's the old thingy that is broken.  Next step is to cut the hose and toss the end the garbage. 

Now that the bad end is in the garbage time to put the new replacement end in the hose.  

The replacement part is tight in the end of the hose.  Almost done...

The replacement part comes with a metal clamp. Take your handy-dandy screwdriver and tighten the clamp.  I recommend tightening it as best you can......the tighter the clamp the fewer the leaks. 

The nozzle is a couple years old.  I decided to pull out the old gasket and toss it.  

I put a new gasket in the nozzle and pushed it in there tight with the back end of the screwdriver.  

Final step:  Call the humans over to test your work.  As we probably know wet stuffy fur is not ideals so if your hose repair job didn't go as planned better to have the humans wet vs. the stuffies.

Time for this session of stuffy class to end.  Who is going to be our next guest instructor?  Only time will tell. 

Ace - out

Who is Big Bear?

Hello Blog World.  Little Fox here.  I have not been on a proper hike for months and I am missing my outdoor time.  I have succumbed to spraying an air freshener that smells like the woods to hold me over till hiking is a viable option again.

In this week’s stuffy class session, we are honored to have a very special guest.  Big Bear is with us today to teach us about his hobby of flying.  Big Bear is a busy person. He takes flying lessons 5 days a week and has been doing so for the last 10 years.  Take it away Big Bear. 

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Big Bear here:  Thank you for attending my stuffy class.  Little Fox did a great job of introducing me. I have been taking flying lessons for over 10 years. Same plane, same instructor and I am progressing nicely with my lessons.

 

I developed an interest in flying mainly because my bear cave in the flight pattern of a small airport. I walked over to the airport years ago to learn more. Then I met the instructor at the flight school and the rest is history.

My little airport has small planes (like the one I fly in) and big planes.  Rumor is that this hangar holds planes of a certain footwear company.  The planes in this hangar are much more advanced than the ones I can fly.

See that little one over there?  Yep, that’s the plane I train on.  I have been training on that plane for 10+ years and I even have my own set of keys. 

Here's a better picture of my training plane.

How did I get into flying you ask?  I was an aficionado of a popular flying movie from the 80s.  Two of the main characters were nicknamed Maverick and Ice.  Perhaps this picture will help you figure out the movie.

I spend most of my days in the air and each day the instructor and I have lunch.  Part of the deal of my flight lessons (I get a heck of a discount) is to provide the instructor with a sandwich everyday we fly. 

 

Other questions that come up when I talk about flying that hopefully I can answer.

1)    Why do you wear a lei?  I wear it once school lets out to celebrate summer (I come from a long line of teacher bears).

2)    What happened to your leg?  I broke it years ago……..still hasn’t healed.

3)    Does your broken leg interfere with running the pedals of your plane?  Nope, I have adapted.

 

As my stuffy class is coming to an end let me summarize a little.  

1)    A hobby is a great thing to have.

2)    It’s Ok to take lessons for a long time.  Although I recommend trying to negotiate a good deal.

3)    A hobby that lets you travel is always a bonus.

Thanks again for taking my class.  Course evaluations are optional.