Flowers and a Tear Down

Hullo!!! Ooohhh... what happened here?? Hmmm... can you see the snowdrops?

Ah... that's better... I am out to document some more spring flowers!

I found a little patch of violets!! Aren't they cute. I wonder if they would transplant into our garden??

It would be nice to have a carpet of violets in the back yard...

 And.... of course... the first dandelions are out!! That means spring is definitely here.

On another, sadder note... do you remember the post I did in October last year of a beary old school?? Well...

They are tearing it down!!! The outside stairs have been removed and there are fences and stuff everywhere...

Poor old school. So sad that no one could do something with it. The school board chairman said “We need to get rid of that building, it’s full of contaminants, we need to deal with that." Sigh... so sad. I'm sure there's asbestos and goodness knows what else in there.

It would be nice to have a peak inside while they are ripping stuff out but they say it's not safe for the public to enter. Sigh... bye bye old school!

Mail!

Hullo!!! You know my mail always comes way later than everyone else's... most likely because the CBSA (Canadian Bear Security Agency) that checks the borders (and mail) are beary suspicious of  mail addressed to a bear. Everyone knows bears are dangerous! Anyhow... I got mail! Can you guess who it might be from?

I'll give you one hint!

Yup... it's my Valentin'es Day card from Jerry & Ben!!

They hope I got lots of honey and hot chocolate from my secret valentine... or if I didn't, that I should go and loot the kitchen!

And... another card!!!

This one is from... someone with beary nice handwriting!

And a beary lovely card with paw prints on the front... Want to guess who it's from?

This side will tell you. It's from Droopy and his pals!!

Thanks for the cards everyone!

Maple Sugar Festival du Sucre D'Erable

OK, seriously, where have I been for the last few years?? Not only does Vancouver have a Hot Chocolate Festival but...

Nanaimo (on Vancouver Island) has a Maple Syrup Festival! And it's Francophone too which means a certain bear named Ben would love it! It's called Festival du Sucre'D'Erable...

They have musicians, street entertainers, traditional French Canadian food (I can only imagine poutine - french fries with gravy and cheese curds - don't ask) and apparently a fair bit of joie de vivre (joy of life). I need to get my toque, my plaid shirt (for the Plaid Dinner) and practice my français... Do I even have a plaid shirt??? Uh-oh... did I declutter that shirt???

Travel-Deprived Bear

I know this looks bad... but I'm not in therapy... seriously. I am definitely travel-deprived though...

Half a mo... I'm getting measured...

Are we done here??? Yes? OK... good... how much do I weigh?

Oooh.... 166 grams... that is beary good!!! You see the cut-off is 255 grams or something... which is probably 1/2 pound...

You see... my pal Ajdin... has gone into business for himself... along with Uncle Tibbs and Oogie. I have to say though... I never would have pegged Tibbs as an Arthur! Anyhow... Ajdin, Tibbs and Oogie have opened Stuffie Tours!!! Brilliant idea, isn't it!!

I know there's an outfit in Japan that does Stuffie tours... but there's been nothing in North America, until now...

Ajdin is running his first tour in the D.C. area to catch the Cherry Blossoms.... oohhhh...

Doesn't it look good?? It's only $65 for International Stuffies (that would be me)... but I'd have to get there by March 20... (and weigh less than 255 grams)... ah-hem... cough cough... must light a fire under someone's butt!

Is anyone going??

Sherlock Sandy and the Case of the Cookie Extortionist

Hello again... after having been distracted by the Hot Chocolate Festival, Sherlock Sandy (that's me) is ready to re-examine the Case of the Cookie Extortionist. If you remember, Bear Ben received a threatening note telling him to Hand Over His Cookies Or Else!

Since that time, Ben Watson has sent some fresh evidence my way. We now know that the threatening note was plastered to the fridge at a height of 2 feet above the ground. Given that Little Bears are only 9 inches tall, this is naturally quite suspicious. Ben Watson used some cinnamon to dust for prints and... found this print (blown up big for your viewing pleasure).

Clearly this is NOT a stuffy paw print... no, it is not... it is a human print!

Ben Watson (brilliant bear that he is) also set up a hidden camera. He baked a bunch of cookies, put them out in a tempting location and... voila... caught in the act!! A human hand grabbing a whole bunch of cookies... note that it is a left hand as well...

Sooo... Ben Watson... Sherlock Sandy would like to know... which human in your household is left-handed and... is this person susceptible to bribery? Because... although it may look as if the human is the culprit... they are notoriously slow-minded and me thinks a masterful bear may be behind the cookie extortion. After all... it would be a stroke of genius for a bear to bribe a human into stealing cookies... don't you think? Ben Watson... I think if you were to find the human belonging to that hand... and fix the person under your steely little bear gaze... we might get a break in the case!

6th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival

Errr... Sherlock Sandy has just been distracted from his most recent case by this serious news flash...

Oh. My. Goodness.

How did I miss this in previous years?? How???

Ben... you might want to grab Jerry around the waist to keep him from launching himself into the computer monitor.

Little Fox... well... you're on your own. Brace yourself.

Yes... you read that correctly. The 6th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival!!! In Vancouver!!

Be still my beating stuffie heart... 6th Annual??? Where have I been in previous years? And it runs for 30 days... oooohhhhh... I've already missed 24 days of it!

There are 25 Vendors... 30 Days... and 59 Flavours.

I looked up a few flavours from today...

SATURDAY NUT FEVER

A hazelnut milk hot chocolate topped with dark cocoa powder and latte art.

Served with hazelnut amaretti and a hazelnut truffle.

MALT TEASER

Made with Chocolate Arts' signature blend ‘Allure’ and Aberlour 10-yr-single malt whiskey.

Served with a malted shortbread coated in chocolate.

THE BEE'S KNEES

Dark chocolate infused with lavender syrup, topped with steamed milk and a honey marshmallow.

Served with a honey/lavender biscotti.

FUDGE IT

Made from a 12-year-old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey from Auchentoshan, blended with Scharffen Berger’s non-alkalized dark chocolate and Michel Cluizel 63% Vanuari chocolate. Topped with whiskey whip cream and served with a whiskey fudge and orange cookie.

THE FLUFFERNUTTER

White chocolate hot chocolate with peanut butter and butterscotch topped with vanilla marshmallows.

Served with peanut butter marshmallow slice.

Oh... yum... They even have a contest. You just take a picture of your favourite hot chocolate, post it on Twitter and you could win... something. Not sure what. Don't care... mmmm.... hot chocolate!!

They even have a walking tour map of the different locations. A cafe crawl!!

Soooo... when are we going? Huh? Huh?? I'm ready. I'm packed. Let's go!!

February Flowers

Well hello there... Sandy Bear here. I know this may come as a shock to some of of my pals but... today's post is about February Flowers. I think Beanie, Hammie and Little Fox can probably relate... February Flowers always seemed like an oxymoron to me too but... here we go!

First up... snow drops!! Of course... there are soooo cute... even though we've had no snow to speak of.

And some calendula... these have been blooming all winter...

All winter!!! Crazy... I know.

Oh... and some Berginia... mmm... let me check the spelling on that... yes, Bergenia - related to the saxifrage family.

They have nice pink flowers and will get much bigger.

Heh-heh... a few more snow drops...

And the primroses or primulas... they've also been blooming all winter. They like cool and moist best. Don't do well in the summer... but in a few months/weeks, they will be amazing!

Of course, some winter heather...

And finally... crocuses!! Do you have any flowers blooming where you are??