A Beary Special Flag

 Hullo Stuffie pals... today we are going to be looking at a beary special flag! The flag of Vancouver Island! Bet you didn't know V.I. had a flag, did you? Well, it did but then it didn't but now it kind of does...

Ta-dah!!! We've been hunting for one of these forever. Ah-hem... The flag of Vancouver Island initially came into being in 1865 when the Admiralty (of Great Britain) decreed that all ships needed to fly the flag of their colony. But then... in 1866, Vancouver Island joined the colony of the mainland soooo... it didn't exist for beary long. And most researchers say that the flag itself was actually never produced... But then in the late 1980s, a local flag store started making them! It's the British Ensign...

With the seal of Vancouver Island as well... The symbols are: Trident of Neptune and the Caduceus (or wand) of Mercury crossed in saltire. These represent the Pacific island colony’s relationship with the sea and with trade respectively. Above this is set a pinecone, and below is a beaver sitting on a small island surrounded by calm water. These represent the forest and other natural resources of the colony and perhaps also the early connection of the colony to the Hudson’s Bay Company (who also bore beavers on their arms). (This is all from Wikipedia)

Cool, no? 

We kind of likes it! It's an artifact of history and we think we'll hang it in our stuffie clubroom... Now, we just need a stuffie clubroom.

But really... the beary special flag we wanted to present today is different... we just need to make one!

First we need some coloured paper... waaaaayyyy too much purple...

But... there we go... some nice blue...

and some yellow...

We just need to use the handy-dandy paper cutter to cut the blue in half...

And find some tape...

And... voila... our Beary Special Flag. Stay strong.

Stuffie Winter Olympics Winners!

Today we are judging the Stuffie Winter Olympics contestants! Finally.... the deadline came and went weeks ago but we are beary busy stuffies and... wait... who wrote that? No... the human is beary busy!!! Hmph... 

Anyhow... we are ready!! Let's take a look at the entries...

First up, we have two entries from Little Fox. Normally it's only 1 entry per stuffie household but... we only had two contestants sooo... made an exception! We can do that... cause we are stuffies!

Little Fox's first entry is Winter Chillin'. Last summer, Team France (Ben) entered the Summer Chillin' event and did a stellar job. A bit more challenging in the winter since it's much colder on stuffie bottoms. Check out Little Fox's blog for a video of the event! Excellent job!

Little Fox also entered the Winter Tracking competition... this is a tricky event. But LF and Sequoia came through and got a super view of Mount Hood. Great work athletes!!

"And... for our third and final entry... we have Ajdin with Winter curling!"

We are seriously impressed that a stuffie like Ajdin could both throw the rock and sweep it as well! And with a toothbrush, no less. The shot was a good one as well, a testament to the skill of the skip!

The judges are now conferring... this is tricky... each competitor did such a good job... how will the judging go?

Looks like the judges have made their decision... let's hear what they have to say...

Here are the results of the 2022 Stuffie Winter Olympics!

Gold Medal - Little Fox - Winter Chillin'

Silver Medal - Ajdin Adilovic - Curling

Bronze Medal - Little Fox - Winter Tracking

And it's a clean sweep by Team USA!  Congrats to all the Olympians! Prizes will be sent out shortly (we hope)... We have a lot of mail to catch up on!!

A Flying Visit...

Hullo!! We are going on a trip!!! I know.... so exciting... not sure where we're going yet, but we are going. 

"And look, Sandy, there's even a salmon sandwich in here!" Really?? Well... it must be true cause mice have excellent noses! Yum... I'm sure Mama won't mind if I eat her sandwich...

Alright folks... see you in a bit!

***burp*** Oops... sorry, didn't realize we were live again! That sandwich was super yummy! Now we're just waiting for our flight... Mama looks a bit peeved but... hey... you don't keep us stuffies happy and you have noooooo idea of what could happen. Although Cocoa is looking slightly peeved too that there was no cheese in... hang on...

"I smells something.... in this little suitcase... something..."

"Yes... something cheesy... in here!!"

The nose always knows you know!

And we're here!! The flights were packed and there was no way we were coming out to have a look around..

And we're visiting Gramma!!!!

Whew... we're both exhaustipated (as Beanie would say)... time for a nap maybe?

"Nope... time to track down the cheese!!"

And here it is!! A huge (ginormous) block of Jarlsberg cheese... oh yummmmmm!!!!!

Mama brought two blocks up... one for Gramma and one for meeeee!!!!

Oh... and look what's hanging around in the fridge!

"oooohhhhh Saaannnndddyyyy!! Come check this out! There's something special in the fridge...."

Oooh... could it be??

It is!!! It's salmon... oh yum!!!!

Who has the best Gramma ever??? We do!

And she's patching up a pair of mitts for Mama...

And making some pot holders...

And this mystery project is apparently stuffie related!

Maybe mitts for stuffies??? We'll have to wait and see.

Anyhow... time to cook the salmon... yum!!

First... cut it in half and ditch the tail bit (that goes into soup)...

And then one side gets mayo and mustard and the other side is just seasoned.

"Yes but... where does the cheese go??? We can't have salmon without cheese!?"

Er... well... honestly... fish and cheese really don't go well together - fish is a delicate flavour and cheese can be a bit too strong...

"That's an old stuffie's tale!!! Cheese and fish have a long and happy relationship! Look at this link! If the Smithsonian says cheese and fish go together... then they go together! Hmph... What do you think readers???"