Mystery Bear
I bought this bear at a yard sale a couple of years ago. He cost me a whole dollar. When I saw him he just spoke to me and I couldn't leave him there. He has stressed seams, he's balding in places, his paws are cracked and he's missing an eye, but something about him grabbed my attention. He's been a prized possession of mine since I purchased him and he's been on display on our entertainment unit, and now in our spare room. I never really took a close look at him until I was browsing through eBay and found a bear quite similar to him. It was uncanny really. Unfortunately the seller is unable to identify their bear as well. It got me to thinking, are there message boards out there that discuss old teddy bears?
First I took out my bear and gave him a thorough inspection. He's 11 inches from toes to the top of his head (excluding the ears). I'm fairly certain he's synthetic fabric, however I don't know how to tell. His seams are stressed, and he's stuffed with straw. His nose and mouth are yarn, and his eyes are glass. His paws are either vinyl or leather. Either way they are well worn. He has a round circle in his tummy, which I thought perhaps could be a music box or growler of some sort. I really have no idea. His ears are sown on, and his head is sewn in three pieces, including his nose. He has no remnants of a tush-tag, or a tag of any sort. No holes in his ears from a steiff tag, and no markings of any sort other than being well loved.
Any thoughts?
Sara
-Who's starting to get back into collecting old bears.
I've been tagged! Silly things....GAH!!
My mom tagged me so I'm passing it along!!
Here are the rules:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.
Here are8 things you probably didn't want to know about me:
1. I have 14 fish, and 2 bunnies that don't get along, and I think I'm absolutely crazy for it.
2. I have this strange obsession with having to make sure the corners of the bed are always tucked. Untucked sheets drive me insane (thus hubby's side of the bed drives me insane)
3. I can't stop buying house plants. I have no room left and yet I feel the need to be a foster home for the all the flora of the world.
4. If I had a farm big enough I would be a foster home for all the fawna (sp???) of the world.
5. I write children's stories, and one day hope to have them published.
6. I'm convinced that there are monsters in the closet, and that if the closet door is not closed absolutely tight every night, the portal will remain open and a plethora of monsters/ghosts/demons will enter the bedroom and torment me.
7. I secretly like the name Sydney for a girl, I just haven't told Matt yet. I'll wait until we have a girl. I want it to be a surprise. (It grew on me. I hated it for so long but I've cleanses my memory of the horrible children named Sidney at my old daycare).
8. I see dead people. Although I talk to them more often than I see them.
I'm Tagging the Following People:
Nancy Howard
Mélanie Sanche
Karla Veilleux
Bea Tracy
Matt Kent
Heather Warren
Casey Deliva
Crystal Toulouse
It's Gonna Be a Bright, Bright, Sunshiney Day!
Wow, I can't believe how great a day this has been! I got up this morning feeling pretty tired and not really wanting to get out of bed. I had an optometrist appointment so sleeping in really wasn't an option. So I drag my butt out of bed, shower and get ready to go. I get out into the kitchen and there was a nice big coffee waiting for me! Matt picked one up for me on the way home from work. Awww what a sweetie hehe. It was absolutely delicious and I'm still buzzing from the massive caffeine overdose lol.
Anyway I get to the optometrist and have my check up. I still have perfect vision. He doesn't see my vision changing for a long time. He said barring some unforeseen circumstance, he can't see me needing glasses until well into my 40s or 50s, and even then I'll likely only need reading glasses. So that's some good news! He said to still get my eyes checked every few years, but that he doesn't see any problems at all. Another great start to my morning!
Next stop, the daycare. I got the good news from my doctor in TO yesterday that I can go back to work! I wanted to tell them in person so I drove down to the daycare for a visit. I got to see some of the kids, play a bit and visit with the girls. It was nice to be in there again. I really missed the place. I got to visit and chit chat and everyone is excited for my return. Especially Stephanie lol. The poor girl has had to deal with the SACC kids on her own basically, for three months. So I'm excited to go back and see all my kids, and the parents again.
As I was leaving the daycare I ran into one of my parents. She saw me and said she had something for me. She opens her van door and hands me a small brown envelope. She said it was a late valentine's gift. I smiled, said "Oh, thank you very much!" and stood and talked with her for a few minutes. She was bringing one of her little guys in for the day so we parted ways. When I got in the car I opened the card and it was a $75 gift card for the mall! Talk about exciting! There was a really nice letter in there as well. It said,
"We want you to know how much we appreciate all that you do everyday. We see the extra patience, the extra creativity and the extra love that you give to all the children in your care. You help give the foundation of learning and living to our children. You also teach us through your example how to be better parents. Thank you very, very much."I was very touched! It's things like this, (the sentiments, not the gifts) that make my job amazing. When I went into the daycare I went to visit the toddler room and the kids all came up to me and hugged my leg, and ran over to me when I was in the chair, giving me huge hugs. I missed that. I love their smiles and their kisses. They give their love so willingly. They love everyone so blindly, and trust you with everything they have. That's what makes my job so amazing.
So after all of that, it's not even 4 hours after I woke up and it's been an amazing day. My day could end right now and I'd be the happiest girl in the world. But just think, it's only 11:42, imagine all the other good things that can happen!
So as I sit here, my bunny is sleeping peacefully on his side under the dining room table, the tv is murmuring quietly in the background and Matt is sleeping soundly in the bedroom after a hard night's work. The sun is shining in the patio door bringing promises of springtime. I see the snow melting, the trees waving in the breeze with the first breath of spring, and the grass is poking it's head out for a warm spring kiss. The first day of spring has sprung with abundance and I can't wait to start gardening again.
Sara
-Who's really enjoying her day today.
Happy St. Patty's Day
Well another St. Patty's day has come and I don't get to drink, but you know what? What's okay with me. I got to see Keenan yesterday and he looks so fantastic I don't even care that I can't drink. I feel so good about what I did, that the negative aspects don't even phase me. On that note: I feel great today! Everytime I pull my muscle it heals quicker and quicker. I think I'm finally getting this thing licked lol. Maybe soon I can go back to work. God I hope so! lol
The weather today is soooooooooooooo beautiful! It's like 10 degrees outside, a nice breeze, the sun is shining, the sky is clear and the snow is melting!! The weather can stay like this from now until forever hehe. No seriously. I'd be happy with no snow....for...eternity. I would rather fish in a canoe anyways lol. I don't freeze my ass off in a canoe.
So I went looking at house stuff today. Laminate floors, subfloor systems, bathroom vanities and sinks. I can't wait to get into our house and play!! lol....
Mommy WOW...I'm a big kid now!!
Good House Hunting
Well, Matt and I lucked out! We didn't have to suffer looking through 25 different houses before we found the one we wanted. We looked at some real rat holes. Not even worth the materials they were made with. After sifting through all the crap we found an amazing house out on Capreol.
I have to tell the whole story. Matt and I were out in Capreol on Tuesday to look at a few houses. We looked at one storey and a half that was 1500sqft. We really liked the size of it, it was very outdated and needed to be fixed up, but we thought it might be worth a second look. Admittedly I was having a hard time with this house. I kept telling myself that I was having a hard time with not living in the city. I kept thinking that I was going to have to travel so far to get to work in the mornings. I spent most of Tuesday night and Wednesday thinking about that house and trying to figure out what my problem was with it. There was just something about it niggling at me. A major part of why I didn't like it was that it was electric heat. Matt and I really wanted gas forced air. The cost of the house was $127,500 and then we'd have been looking at close to ten grand for a new furnace. I wasn't feeling overly confident about the house. There was a whole other list of things wrong with it that I couldn't even begin to list. Basically we would have been moving in and doing nothing but renovation. It would have taken a long time to get it feeling like home.
Anyway, my mom had sent me a link to a house on Sellwood avenue in Capreol. It looked like a great house but it looked like an old listing. I was afraid it wasn't for sale anymore. I passed the email along to our agent and hoped for the best. The next morning out agent called us telling us about this house on Sellwood, how nice it was, the price, and that it was just listed. Turns out it was the same house lol. Susan hadn't gotten the email from me, she just happened to find out about this newlisting. We said we'd love to see it so she set up a viewing for us that day. We were supposed to go see the other house for the second time anyways. We decided to go and see the new house first. Good thing we did. It was gorgeous! I loved it from just about the moment I laid eyes on it. Anyway we looked through the whole house and I loved almost everything I saw. The main floor bathroom needs renovating and one of the downstairs bathrooms but that's basically it. The rest of it is cosmetic. It's definitely move-in condition. Anyway I got outside the house and I looked at my mom and grinned...she knew I loved it lol. I looked at Matt and snuggled up to him and said, "I want this house"....we went and took a second look at the other house but it just didn't compare. It was bigger but that was about all it had going for it. It wasn't laid out well and it needed a lot of updating and renovation. We decided to make an offer on the house on Sellwood.
We drove back to the city and met with our agent and filled out all the paperwork. We offered $115,000 and took out all the conditions. And then we waited. And waited. And waiter. Finally at about 10:30pm the phone rang and it was Susan telling us that our offer was accepted on one condition. The family wanted a closing date of June 22. That wasn't a problem with us at all, so we met at the office again this morning and signed all the papers. The house is ours. We're so excited!!! I've attached a link if you'd like to go and see it. I can't wait to move in! I hasn't totally hit me yet. I imagine it won't really 100% hit me until we've actually signed more papers and moved in lol. Tht gives me about 4 months to wait lol. Let's hope it goes by fast!
http://evalanctotrealty.com/Listing.cfm?ListingID=832Sara
-Who can't believe she has a house!
