Another Day in Paradise

 The sunrises here are just gorgeous.

Although some mornings it was a bit chilly (like 20C)!

Chilly is "relative" of course!

I read this book that Beanie Mouse gave to me. It was FASCINATING!!! If you thought you knew the stories of Jack the Ripper's victims... think again.

Then it was time to lie on one of the bali beds and just relax...

This bear is not renowned for "relaxing"...

But I'm working on it!

And for dinner... we sat at one of the a la carte restaurants outside... and Panchita came to visit!

This appetizer was "pickled fish" which we thought would be something like herring rollmops but... it was not. Delicious! But... a bit odd looking. 

And of course we got some towel animals!

Not sure what this sweetie is supposed to be but we are friends!

The Stuffie Winter Olympics!

Hullo!! It's the Stuffie Olympics! Many thanks to Ajdin for coordinating it (again) this year! We have two entries this year! Let's see what our contestants are up to... well... our contestant!

Speed Skating

Alright folks... we're here in front of the Olympic oval for the Stuffie Speed Skating Event!

As we know, maintaining ice conditions at the Olympic Oval is a challenge, with so many sports taking place.

Let's go take a look at the ice...

Yep, just as a I feared... the temperatuer conditions are a bit warm today, but let's hope for the best...

Sandy Bear... any words for our viewers?

Sandy: Um... well... just that I'm going to do my best... you know balance and speed are not innate stuffie traits... so I've trained hard for this one!

Sandy's off to an excellent start so far, skating into position at the starting line... 

And they're off!!! Sandy's off to a fast start (for a stuffie)...

He's on his second lap and doing well... but watch out for that slushy patch!!

And he's on the third and final loop... will he make it???

Yes!!! Sandy crosses the finish line in record time!! Great job Sandy!!! Any words for our viewers???
Sandy: View... *gasp*... just... *wheeze*... I'm glad I maintained my balance and didn't let the ice conditions affect my concentration!

Figure Skating

Alright folks... next up we have the figure skating competition!! Not always a natural fit for stuffies but Sandy is going to give it a try. Er... interesting costume Sandy... dare we guess what music you are skating to?

Sandy: Well... obviously... It's the Nutcracker Suite!!!

And Sandy is off... skating beautifully so far... and he's gathering speed...

He's going to attempt something never done before at the Stuffie Winter Olympics... A Triple-Sow-Cow-Axel followed by a Quad-Lutz combo!!!

And there he goes... Look at that height!

And he lands the Triple-Sow-Cow-Axel and now... can he managed the Quad-Lutz??

And yes!!! He's done it!!! Way to go Sandy!!!

Great job Sandy!!! Any words for our listeners... er... viewers??

Sandy: I'm just speechless... I've been practicing this for minutes and to have it come together like this, during competition... well... it's just an honour for me to compete in the Stuffie Olympics!!!

Mexican Vacay!

 Yup!! If you guessed Mexico, you would be right! Was it my outfit that gave it away?

It is soooo nice here... warm and sunny... a nice break from cold and wet!

We went to the dining room and had breakfast...

That weird fruit (yellow with big seeds) is guava... one of our new favourites!

And then it was time to chill and relax...

Some people like to do aquasize... not this little bear.

I'll just soak up some sun.

Although, it's beary hot... perhaps time for a liquid refershment?

This bubba mug is a perfect size for a little bear!!

And then some lunch... chips with guacamole and salsa...

One can never have too much guacamole!

Oh, and this is Panchita... kind of the resort mascot. She is a bit spicey but if you crouch near her, and hold out your fist... she thinks about it for a minute and then decides you are being respectful enough... and she will come and schmooze!

And rollie-pollies...

And sniff...

And cuddle!

Soon enough, time for dinner...

With beef carpacchio (yum!)....

And then lamb confit (super yum!!).

And then time for bed...

Happy Bearentine Day!!!

 Hullo! Yes, today is Bearentine Day (or Valentine's Day for the humans)... and as a gesture of my appreciation to my sekrebeary, I am going to...

... conduct the Annual (or Semi-semi Annual) Sekrebeary Evaluation today! Surprise!

I had a look, and the last evaluation was in 2023... which is not great... although the previous one was in 2015... so this is not bad.

The sekrebeary did "meh" last time. The yellow categories stayed the same... the red went down and the green went up. Overall... she was no functioning at a high sekrebeary level.

Oh, and the blue... that is a new category...

So... now... let me think... how did 2025 go...

I don't think I need any new categories... so let's sit down and do this...

Hmmm... "1 Provides snacks (promptly and without eye rolling) when requested from stuffies"... overall... hmmm... let me think...

This might take a while!!!

*** many "hmmmms" later...****

OK... I finally made it through this. It's challenging you know!

And I was, quite frankly, shocked. So when I did the first run through and saw the results, I had to go through it again... just to double-check...

But I think... overall... it is accurate. Brace yourselves!

Can you believe it??? Improvement across many categories!!!

I mean, I did do a tonne of trips in 2025... and she was on the ball with the blog... so overall... pretty darn good. Mind you... she still fails at "providing complex mysteries for stuffies to solve".

So there is room for improvement! But on the whole... impressive.

I can't really complain you know. I think Ajdin has been struggling for years to get a capable, reliable sekrebeary. Jerry and Ben also need to kick theirs in the behind. Although Beanie's and Little Fox's are both doing tolerable ... pretty good!!

Have you done a sekrebeary evaluation for 2025??