For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
All of Us Bears are glad you're okay! We're also glad that Rusky made it through.
Looks like Rusky got his fur blown around a little!
Okay... If the dogs can do it, so can the cats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-43Xu6wrK0
This picture reminds me of dogs barking "Jingle Bells": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xam01uaj6Vg
Wash him in hot water so his fur will shrink and smooth out all those wrinkles.
I was just thinking the same thing!
We use a soft hair brush like the kind used for babies. Of course, we buy it new and never use it for anything else except Bears.
Brush very gently in short strokes. Technique often varies by the Bear.
Short fur can simply be brushed in the direction of the fur. Longer fur might need to be brushed against the nap then brushed down.
As you have mentioned, if too much fur comes off in the brush, stop.
You are bound to get a small amount of fur coming off on just about any Bear. It's part of the manufacturing process. The way plush is made, there are bound to be loose hairs.
For dusting a lot of Bears, we often use a vacuum cleaner.
Use a canister style vacuum with a long hose.
Here's our trick:
Get a cardboard tube such as one from the center of a roll of bathroom tissue.
Cover one end with a piece of cheesecloth and hold it in place with a rubber band.
Poke a small hole, about the diameter of a pencil, in the side of the cardboard tube.
Place this assembly over the end of the vacuum cleaner hose. Hold it on with a piece of duct tape if necessary.
Now, you have a cover over the end of the vacuum hose to protect your Bear from getting his fur or ribbons sucked up.
Place your finger over the hole in the tube to regulate the amount of suction.
If the suction is too strong, let the hole be open. If you need more suction, cover the hole.
If I'm doing just one or two Bears, I often simply put my hand over the end of the vacuum hose and let the air go between my fingers. I use my fingers to fluff up the fur and the vacuum sucks up the dust.
We clean and fluff our Bears about twice a year. We start at one end of the Bear's Den and do a few at a time. By the time we finish all 1,000 of them, it's time to start over again.
No! That's not a typo! I said, "one thousand!" That's a lot of fur to keep clean and fluffed but we enjoy talking to the Bears as we do. They like the attention, too.
It looks like your Bears are having a grand, old time taking turns going for horsey rides!
Well, in that case, the alternate caption might be:
Eew! Your breath smells like tuna fish!
Does my breath smell bad?
The newscasters over hyped this one.
Yes, New York got hit hard but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
When the storm came on shore it hit a mass of cold air and fizzled pretty quickly.
In Pennsylvania, we were supposed to have two days of rain and high winds but it only lasted a few hours then died down.
The weather is still rainy but there's almost no wind.
It turned out to be no worse than an ordinary storm for us.
There's flooding and wind damage in New York but they can handle it.
New York City has one of the best disaster response teams in the world. (They've had practice.)
I feel bad for people in New York and I hope everybody is all right but, know what? New Yorkers are tough! :D
The thing that bugged me most is how the news made it sound like the sky was falling.
It was a bad storm. Really bad! But that doesn't justify them making it sound like the world is coming to an end!
Those news people are going to cry wolf one time too many and people will stop listening to them. Then, when something REALLY bad happens, nobody is going to listen to them. That will be real trouble!
Melanie gets her "panda fix" every evening after dinner.
Of course, one of the pandas sits on the sofa and watches along side! ;)
They've been watching every day since shortly after he was born.
She was also watching the panda baby at the National Zoo but that one didn't live very long. Panda mortality is very high. That's why they don't give them names until they are 100 days old.
The National Zoo has a panda cam: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Giant … fm?cam=LP1
The Memphis Zoo also has a panda cam: http://www.memphiszoo.org/pandacam
If you haven't already heard, last July, one of the giant pandas at San Diego Zoo gave birth to a panda cub.
The mom's name is Bai Yun but her baby has yet to be named. It is tradition that pandas aren't named until they are 100 days old.
Well, the panda was born on July 29 and he will be 100 days old on November 6. It'll soon be time for the panda to get his name!
The San Diego Zoo is taking votes on the panda's new name.
Melanie and I and all of Us Bears are putting our choice of name in.
The Bears would be really happy if some of you Teddy-Talkers would vote too! :)
Go check out the on-line panda cam where you can see Bai Yun and her panda cub:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/
Then, on the right is a link where you can click and go vote for your favorite name.
Melanie and I voted for "Shui Long" (AKA: "Water Dragon.") because we liked the sound of the name in Chinese the best.
But they had expert timing!
(Those are the actual words to the song! )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TgoF-ccdGM
All of Us Bears laughed. Especially the pandas!
"I iz abouts to POUNCE you!"
"I'll work on this after I take a little nappy-poo..."
Ah, yes! I believe they are called "hoverpups."
A sudden, localized updraft!
A tennis ball that's never been chewed is like a mountain that's never been climbed.
"This doesn't taste like chicken!"
"Don't tell anybody..."
Should have used Rodinal!