Armadillo Playing With A Toy

How can something so armored be so adorable?   But this little guy playing with a toy is almost cuteness overload.  It looks like a little armored puppy!

I have never seen an Armadillo in person and only heard stories about them from others that they jump high if startled and can do a lot of damage to a windshield if they hit is after that.  I was also told that they are sometimes referred to as "Possum's on the half shell", which I guess is for a southern Southern delicacy that tastes like pork.

A site called Armadillo Expansion said they are a member of the Superorder Xenarthra that includes sloths and anteaters and originally from South America.

For thousands of years, there were none in North America but the article indicates they have been migrating North.  In 2008, several were reported in Chicago, Illinois.

How far north will depend on climate as the site indicates they have very little body fat so need to be consistently above 28 degrees and need a lot of water to survive.   

Thrift Store Find: Cute or Creepy Vase?

I love going to the thrift store as you never know what you are going to find.  

On a recent trip, I spotted the above vase.   As first I thought it was cute, with innocent little toddlers, one drinking out of what looks like an old milk bottle while the other two are feeding a cat in a grassy patch with a village, then a city in the background and thought it was kind of cute.

I then thought, why are they naked?  Maybe a hot day in a poor country?  If so, then why is the one feeding the cat wearing what looks like a sock cap on a hot day? I picked it up and looked at the bottom to see if I could find any additional information.  All it indicated was "Made In Japan" and the number 49 (pic below),

I flipped it back over and got a more creepy, sinister impression, that it was a Hell with the brown being flames and it is the underworld world below the narrow part with the city above.  The former toddler drinking out a bottle now a horn-tooting harbinger of doom and the other toddler and cat ar attacking the boy in the sock cap.  The darker green became dark spirits circling in to capture the soul of the boy.

I put it back immediately on the shelf and once again it seemed cute again.  Perhaps it is the genius of the artist to see both, or myself having had watched too many horror movies and consumed too much caffeine that day.  

What is your impression of the vase?  

Made in Japan

"All The Wrinkled Ladies"

All The Wrinkled Ladies from nicole carpenter on Vimeo.

Anita Renfroe is an Atlanta Mom turned comedian Youtuber that relates thing in her life with humor and through music and this little ditty is a parody of Beyonce's "All The Single Ladies". 

After watching, I don't know that I can see the Beyonce one without seeing the grey-haired gal on the right as one of the backup dancers.

THRIFT STORE FIND: VINTAGE NUTCRACKER SET

If you have ever heard the term "hard nut to crack" it was probably after dealing with something like the above.

I had not seen since I was a kid a Christmas at my Grandmother's house and I am not surprised they are not popular today, although they did fancy up a Holiday table visually with all of the different shapes, colors, and textures of assorted nuts on a table or buffet. 

This should also be under the category of "Kids don't know how easy they have it today" to be able to get pre-packaged shelled nuts.

Back in the days before you could buy packages of nuts that had already been shelled, you would purchase nuts in the shell and have to crack them yourself.

Usually, it was an assortment of nuts that were placed in the bowl then you would take metal nutcracker that is stored in the center, place the nut in between and squeeze hoping the nut would crack open.  Unless it was a peanut, the first attempt was not successful, or only partially so.  There were also those occasions where it would slip out and project all or part of it the nut across the room. I can still hear my Grandmother's voice saying "Be careful!  Go pick that up!". 

Once you cracked the nut open, usually in two or more pieces, there was a pick like metal object also in the center that you would use to pry out tiny portions of the nut to eat.  Walnuts were the worst.  Usually, you could only pick out a crumb-like morsel at a time.  

While the above has a Depression glass vibe to it, I am guessing this is a late 50's to early 60's reproduction.  

I used to go with my mother-in-law, who was a Depression glass fanatic to flea markets on the weekend to hunt for Depression area glass that she collected and displayed in a large glass china cabinet in her dining room.  She would hand a piece to me to guess if it was real or reproduction and then tell me if it was or was not and why and on this it felt heavier and the glass was too clear, but I by no means am an expert.   It also has more of the look and feel of a tea/snack set my mother had from the late 50's/early 1960s.

While a piece like brings back childhood memories, they are more ones of frustration that joy so I left this treasure at the thrift store for someone else to find.

Unusual Toys: Pomsie Poos Wearable Pets

The interesting little pastel puff balls above caught my eye over the weekend on a visit to Target.

It seems like fun colored cuteness combined with the word "Poo" is what kids are craving this season.

Upon closer inspection, I found these fluffies are not only cute and wearable, as they have a curly tail you can wrap around things or secure with a clip that is on the end (but their eyes also light up and they make noises and say short phrases.

I couldn't resist trying all of them on the display (short video below).

and seriously contemplated getting the one on the top right as a rearview mirror accessory but concerned it might obstruct my view (and distract me too much at stoplights pressing its little nose).

Look Ma!   It's wearable and even comes with its own little brush to fluff up its fur.  Let's not forget it wraps purrfectly around your wrist or backpack(unless it is the dog one...I guess then it wraps wooingly).

You Might Need to Be Over 40 To Get This Joke: Little Diddy, with Jack and Diane

Source

If you are over 40 you probably got the references immediately and it made you chuckle or groan. 

If not, it is a play on a line from the 1982 hit song for John Couger Mellencamp "Jack and Diane".

Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton from the 2003 movie "Something's Got To Give" with a miniature of late 90's Rapper/Actor/Producer P. Diddy (Sean Combs).

Here is a link to the video of the song.

Scammers Replacing Baby Formula With Flour

If you have a baby or care for one this is something to be aware of.  Although not common, there are some people who have bought their child formula to find out it has been replaced with flour.  The scammers buy the formula, replace it with flour, then return it to the store to get their money back and sometimes it is making its way back to the store shelves for purchase.

I can't think of anything much more heinous than to taint a product that a baby would consume, but apparently, this is a new scam where flour is being switched out with baby formula and returned to the store and somehow making its way back to the shelves, in this case, a Wal-mart, even though it is against their policy.

In the video it has a clip of a woman that was convicted on tampering charges previously and another woman in Tuscon claims formula purchased at CVS replaced with flour, but at least she realized it before feeding it to her infant, unlike the situation above.





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