Bulletin Board

Snowpuff dreamed for many years of following in his grandfather's Olympic Carrot-Jumping footsteps, and in 2018, he finally got his chance to compete. After a disastrous trial run and some unfortunate nervous chewing on his skis, he rallied and performed a nearly-flawless 360-degree aerial rotation. His landing was less than flawless, but luckily he is quite bouncy, and only one carrot was broken. Grandpa was bursting with pride.

I met Nefeli at the Woodland Park Zoo gift shop, and from the silky coat to the soulful eyes it was love at first sight. She's a little over a year old now and still very much a kitten. Nefeli loves pouncing and jumping and hiding in blankets. She likes to keep me company on the couch and "help" me with whatever I'm working on (this "help" mostly consists of looking cute and being soft to pet!). She is a champion snuggle buddy. When I'm not home, Nefeli "guards" against intruders (from the safety of a pile of blankets!) or naps in a sunbeam. She's a little shy and very particular about her white coat, but she loves to visit friends for indoor yarn chasing and hide-and-go-seek. Maybe one day I'll convince her to sit still for a tea party.

This is Peppy Kitty. Clearly a child of the eighties, she was part of a series of plush animals called Yum Yums that were each printed (and scented!) with a different type of candy. I have clear early childhood memories of burying my nose in her belly and inhaling the intoxicating peppermint scent. I don't know her age for sure; she was a gift from my grandmother, and I think I got to pick her out at the store, so I was probably around six or seven. When I was eleven, I took her on a family vacation to Hawaii and I accidentally left her on my bed on our last night at the hotel - blending in with the white sheets she was swept up by room service and sent down the laundry chute. I was absolutely devastated - I remember the aching feeling in my chest. I cried myself to sleep night after night. My dad wrote a heartfelt letter to the hotel imploring them to look for Peppy Kitty and send her home, and somehow, miraculously, she was found - I'm very grateful to that unknown hotel laundry worker who put her aside, realizing that she must be special to someone. After an agonizing couple of weeks of waiting for the overseas mail, she was restored to me.... rather flat. They mailed her to the mainland in a flat-pack envelope, and when she arrived she was a pancake of a cat. Since then I've tried to hug her back into her original shape. She has never quite regained her original chubbiness, and the peppermint oil scent is long gone - her hair and her lip-licking tongue and the glitter on her peppermint print are all long gone too - but I'll always love her.

My bear is diminutive, but powerful. He sits on the bedstead railing above my head, and keeps my polar bear company. They both welcome me when I come to bed every night.  

The polar bear's name is Poli, named by our granddaughter, Juni. Symmetry, there.    

Because I am not a good keeper of stuffed animal names, I don't remember this bear's name is. But that doesn't matter. I do know what his role is. He's there when it comes time to remember what is most important. Things like knowing your daughter loves you, and wants to share her understanding of the very useful role stuffed animals can play in any human's life. So she gives you a soft, very cute, and cuddly bear with mittens and hat for your very own. This is a carefully chosen, very particular bear who knows how to keep himself warm, and is always ready to warm my heart with a cuddle and reminders of how important and sufficient love is.  

It's effective medicine, and I highly recommend it.

My animal’s name is Spoticus Salmonid, or Spot for short. He is an awesome Sockeye Salmon, and tails from the far flung Isles of Murkswimistan.  Also known as a Red, for his vivid spawning color. He is now nearly six years old. Extra cool because of his hand pocket, so you can make him swim, talk, and even sing, very realistically. I take him with me on a drive, sometimes. He lives in the front room, on a matching red chair in front of the picture window, where he can look outside and see the bird feeder. He was a gift from my nice niece. He gained local fame when he sang happy birthday and sent it to her over the Intersea, and has consented to the general release of this number. His effect (when not humorous) is calming, yet resolute. Very smooth to pet, front to back ONLY.

This is Marco. He's a chick. He lives in the cupholder of our family car where he shares everyone's drinks! He loves them all, except for alcohol - he's just a baby chick after all. As you can see, he is a pretty big soccer fan. He loves the Seattle Sounders. He goes to every home game, but prefers to watch the game from his cup holder. It's cozy. The last thing Marco would like you to know about him is that he loves road trips. There's a lot of world out there, and he's going to see it all!

This is Max, short for Maximillian. He is at least 10 years old at this point, and I can’t even remember how he came into my life anymore. Our most memorable year together was when I was teaching 5th graders at Islandwood on Bainbridge Island. Max always came along on the trail and played storytelling and stop-light games with the kids. His sculpt-able hair and toss-ability was highly prized among the kiddos. He especially loved joining groups on the Teams Course. One morning after a day of team-building, Max was nowhere to be found. I worriedly went searching for him before breakfast and found him laying in the wood chips, enlivened from a night in the woods by himself, feeling very brave and also very glad to be found. These days Max still makes appearances every so often for games- he’s really good at putting people at ease.

Here’s my story about Blue, the wild thing:

Name: Blue

Age: about 23

I especially like the way he seems to be peering around the corner at you. Also he’s a protector and refuge of sorts for smaller critters.

He was a gift from my friend Melissa. After she saw me admiring him in a toy store she went back and bought him for my birthday.

For many years, at two different jobs, Blue sat just behind my computer, where I could see him giving the side-eye to everyone. Surprisingly, I can’t remember an instance of any coworkers commenting on him.

Photo attached of Blue in his present habitat on my bedroom shelf, with other critters. (I’ve recently realized my few stuffed animals are all characters from books) - and peering out from behind a computer, as he did at my workplaces.

This is Mocha. She is much younger than most of my other stuffed animals - maybe only three or four years old. She hopped into my arms at a plant nursery, and she was so soft and delightfully understuffed that I immediately fell in love. When I foolishly talked myself out of taking her home, my husband (who could tell I was smitten and would forever regret that decision) went back and got her for me. She turned out to be exactly the right size and shape for smooshing against my chest, and now she sleeps with me every night, including when I travel. As a result, she is getting a little flatter all the time, but she doesn't seem to mind.