Stuffie Holiday Celebration 2021

Happy Holidays Blog World.  Welcome to Stuffie Holiday Celebration 2021 (SHC2021).  It's me, Little Fox, and my dapper pal Bear teaching you about SHC2021.

First, to clear any confusion SHC2021 is not celebrated in December like other holidays, instead SHC2021 is celebrated in January after human holiday celebrations.  Why celebrate in January?  Trust me, it's complicated (however it has something to do with all the Christmas food, candy, and gifts  being on deep discount after human Christmas).

Stuffie Holiday Celebration always involves a check in with Santa Bear.  Don't worry, we're on the good list.

Besides checking in with Santa Stuffie Holiday Celebration is all about safety.  As you can see we have a nutcracker firefighter positioned next to the tree.   

SHC2021 is always about hanging out with your pals. You see we have another nutcracker, bear, and a reindeer with a scarf.  We are just catching up and seeing what each other has been doing this year.  

Squirrel and Mr. Mouse are back from their recent vacation to Jamaica.  The Christmas Stuffies have a condo in Jamaica where they spend the off season.  

.

Lot's of elaborate food forStuffie Holiday Celebration.  Baked brie filled phyllo cups.  A delicious and easy recipe to make. 

Bear is very intrigued by this recipe as it has honey in it.

Stuffies can't live in baked brie along (sigh)  so we decided to get some devil eggs.

Devil eggs, another recipe that was a piece of cake to make. 

Of course one of the traditions of Stuffie Holiday Celebration is to support local businesses and give back to education.

Mr. Mouse took care of that.   Let's see, Tillamook Hot Habanero Jack Cheese counts as the local product.  Check.

Beaver Classic Cheese.  Beaver Classic Cheese is made by the food and science technology students at Oregon State University (GOBEAVS). 

The milk comes from cows raised by the colleges agriculture program and cheese (along with other food products...honey, meat) are created and produced by food science students.  Products are sold online, at farmers markets, and at football games.  Go Beavs.

No Stuffie Holiday Celebration would be complete without a little homemade bread.  Wolfy has that taken care of that. 

Every year Stuffie Holiday Celebration has a comedy show and this year is no different.  Kermit is performing his comedy routine "Kermit at the Christmas Tree".  

Another great Stuffie Holiday Celebration in the books.  Hopefully 2022 brings you lots of safe adventures and fun experiences.

Your pal, Little Fox.

Stuffies on Strike Part 2

 Hello Blog World.  The stuffies are still on strike against the humans (management) and the strike team wanted to update everyone.

Management put a measly offer on the table.  5 unfrosted cookies....really?

Sigh, nothing has progressed in negotiations but we are happy to say that more stuffies have joined our cause. More stuffies striking on the line is always a good thing.

  In fact, one of our spies (I can't tell you who) heard that management is ready to make an offer. 

.We reject this offer.  Our spy has mentioned management is about ready to crack.  Oh, wait, another offer on the table.

  Three trays of homemade cookies all for us stuffies?  Yes, this will do.   We will be happy to move off the couch and relocate temporarily. 

. 

Stuffies on Strike Part 1

 Sequoia here. I am filling in for Little Fox this week as he is on a scouting mission for Spring hikes.

All was good until a few select stuffies were told to move off of the couch due to the fact that the humans had company coming over.  The stuffies decided they were sick of being told what to do by management and decided to take it to the streets and go on strike. Strike Strike Strike were the chants ringing throughout the house all day.

Meet the stuffie who have been chosen to represent the stuffies versus management.

1) Coyote Reindeer.  CR brings a unique set of skills to the management team.  When negotiations get stressful he often refocuses the group by howling.  Fun fact, he also requires management to provide a vegetarian option for his meal.

2) Young Fox.   Young fox represents the interests of the younger stuffies.  He is part of the negotiation team and brings his excellent sense of smell and can smell out BS from management.

3) Drunk Fox.  Special skills he brings to the table include menacing looks and security.  DF has been kicked out of many bars by some of the worlds best bouncers and knows how to protect stuffies.

4) Mr. Penguin.  Mr. Penguin represents the interests of the Christmas stuffies.  Special skills that Mr. Penguin brings to the table is speed and agility.  When a proposal is brought to the stuffie negotiation team Mr. Penguin is a fast reader and responds quickly with counter points to management. 

Negotiations have stalled and the stufifes are holding their ground.  Young Fox tells the team not to write off the humans as they always have tricks up their sleaves. 

A holiday adventure with LF.

 Hiya Gang,

Yes, the holidays are mostly over (ps. happy new year stuffy word)  but this Little Fox wants the season to continue for a while longer.  It's me, Little Fox enjoying a nice holiday light show at the University.

.No, not the University where I am earning my archeology degree, another local college.  They lit up campus one nigh in December and I got to go. 

After getting a program I wandered around to the grotto area. They did a great job with the lights and they ordered up some good weather too.

The grotto and clock tower are new additions since my roommate attended school there. 

Lot's of lights on the trees. 

There were supposed to be alpacas here tonight, but for some reason they didn't show up. 

In lieu of the alpacas they had hot chocolate with an optional shot of baileys.  Just so you know  I opted in for the shot of baileys, this little fox knows a good thing when he's offered it. 

The largest living Christmas tree in town. 

Another snack stop. Four mini donuts.

And some mulled wine to keep me warm on this cold winter night. 

One last look at the lights and it's time to head home. 

Mail Call

 Hiya Gang.

Time for a beary belated mail call.  First up is a letter from early October from Sandy and pals.   Sounds like they have a beray busy fall planned.  Rose and crew are coming to visit, their side hustle is doing well (Sequoia wants to know if dog treats are provided upon arrival), and the October rain brings in proper  mushroom hunting conditions. 

They also sent some pawsome stickers.

Do you see these stickers?  Aren't they cool?  They say "Little Fox" and guess what? That's me!

Next up is a thank you card from Jerry and Ben for entering and winning the "Halloween Themed Snack" portion of their contest. 

Oooh, and look a starbucks gift card as well.  Drunk Fox and I are going to visit our nearest one and get some hot chocolate. 

The only question is should we get extra whipped cream on our hot chocolate?  We both agree that the answer to that question is an emphatic "yes".

Thank you Jerry and Ben.

 

Llyod Center - the end of an era? Only time will tell.

Happy Holidays Blog World.  It only seems appropriate to write this post about a mall as the holiday season winds down. 

 Recently, the local news mentioned that Lloyd Center (an urban mall) is slated for redevelopment and probably the wrecking ball.    This mall is an icon and it was explored a few years ago by my pal Drunk Fox. 

When it opened in 1960 it was the largest mall in the Pacific Northwest, (and the mall owners claimed to be the largest mall in the US at the time),  Richard Nixon was at the opening and the mall it did a heck of a business until 2015 or so.  

Now the mall is pretty quiet (even during the Christmas season). 

Another entrance to the mall that is basically dead. This courtyard used to be near Nordstrom, a fancy department store, and Stanford's restaurant which had an amazing happy hour. 

Most of the doors are boarded up for protection.   

More emptiness.

Inside, it's a little livelier.  Emphasis on the word little.  Although I do appreciate the time taken to decorate for Christmas.

By January 2021 there were 37 empty store fronts in the mall, all the anchors were gone and most of the food court was closed. 

The mall opened in 1960 and was open air.  Around 1988 it was remodeled to an indoor mall.

This staircase is pretty modern looking (edit: this staircase was part of the 2015 remodel).  It seems to flow nicely from the remodeled portion while still maintaining that 60s vibe.

 There used to be 2 movie theaters in Lloyd Center.  One in the mall, one outside.  Both have been closed for many years. 

The food court has two operating restaurants, a chicken place and a Dairy Queen.  Both doing a heck of a business.  About 12 food court stalls closed and/or abandoned. 

The good news...there is a little life left in the mall.  Some people out shopping and/or hanging out. 

The mall also has an ice rink....go figure.  It's kind of cool and it's one of the more popular things happening at the mall. 

Stores have come and gone.

Some popular store over the years include JJ Newberry and Co (a five and dime), Nordstrom, Old Navy, Sears, JC Penney, Macys, Bests dept. store, and Woolworths. 

One store has survived and is till going strong.  A local place, a food establishment, and they sell one heck of a good product.

Joe Brown's Carmel Corn.  Joe Brown's store has been since the mall opened in 1960.  In fact, Joe Brown's has been around since 1932.  George Brown and his son Joe opened a popcorn stand next to a movie theater.  They did well, lots of locations around town and at the beach.  During WWII all the locations closed and it wasn't until Lloyd Center opened up that Betty Brown (Joe's sister) opened up the location.  Now, the location serves over 300,000 customers a year.

The popcorn is sold in a variety of flavors. Kettle corn, carmel corn, Oregon carmel corn, cheese corn and regular popcorn.   All is good, but this fox got a fresh warm box of carmel corn.  

Not a bad treat for $5.00.  
What's next for Lloyd Center?  This fox isn't sure but hopefully the new development will pay some honor to the past (and hopefully Joe Brown's stays in the neighborhood). 

Sandy's Art Deco Contest #2 - The Baker Tower

 Hiya Blog World,
Little Fox here. I am working on my entries for Sandy's Art Deco contest. I have decided to enter the Baker City Tower.

This Art Deco beauty was originally christened the Baker City Hotel.  Built in 1929, it was originally an 82 room hotel catering to the automobile travelers.  It has an observation deck on the 9th floor and was in operation as a hotel until  the1960s.  In 1972 it was turned into an office building with some apartments and in the 90s it was pretty run down.

Now-a-days it has condos on 5 floors, offices on a few floors and a restaurant or two on the ground floor. 

Thanks for hosting the contest Sandy.  Good luck everyone!