It’s official: Summertime is here! Time for summer dresses and shorts, and time for delicious slices of watermelon! We Whimsies have combined the best of Summer and put it all together in one glorious Fashion Show for you! So let us begin.
First, here is our Group Portrait, all of us hanging out on our snazzy Adirondack chair, about to dive into the aforementioned delicious slice of watermelon. As you well know, we Whimsies are very fond of Sugar, and while we usually prefer the more elaborate treats of pastries, candies, cakes and cookies, every once in a while, we like to indulge in Sugar in its most natural form. And what could be more natural than a slice of watermelon in the middle of Summer?
You might notice that there are four of us and only one slice of watermelon, but that is no problem, as Whimsies love to share with friends! And besides, we are very small, and in comparison, that slice of watermelon is actually quite HUGE, so after the photo shoot, when we cut it into four very perfectly distinct wedges, it turned out to be just enough fruit for each of us.
It’s often been said that Whimsies have “watermelon smiles,” and we really do, if you think of a full half slice of watermelon, as seen here. Maybe one of the reasons why you can’t seem to wipe those watermelon smiles off the faces of any Whimsies is because we are always dreaming of the next time we might get to eat a delicious slice of our favorite fruit!
Tootsie in particular could not bear to part with the watermelon when it came time for our individual Portraits, and insisted it be incorporated into her photo. For all the world I would say it looks as if Tootsie is just about ready to devour this whole slice of watermelon by herself! At least that faraway look in her eyes seems to indicate that is what she is daydreaming about.
And isn’t this the most appropriately Summer-themed outfit in which to be eating watermelon? The red bandana print of her dress, with a shirred top and tie-straps exemplifies the best of everything you associate with Summer.
The only thing more summery, perhaps, is her hat. It might be hard to tell from this photo, but on one side, her hat is a delicate white cotton eyelet, but on the other side, a white terrycloth, such as you might have for a beach towel. We Whimsies have of course never been to a beach, but we have seen plenty of pictures of it on The Internet, and of course seen it in movies such as one that Mr. Russ and Miss Chrissy watched just a few weeks ago, called Where The Boys Are. This is a 1960’s movie, from the decade in which us Whimsies had our beginnings, when everything in the world was so much simpler than it is today. In this mostly frolicsome romp (yes, we watched it with them), a bunch of boys and girls leave their colleges in the snowy north and go to Fort Lauderdale Beach, hoping to have some fun and maybe find somebody to marry. At least some of the girls are thinking about getting married. But now I am getting way off track! I can say this, though: while it’s true that we see a lot of the beach in this movie, from what I remember, we don’t see anyone wearing a terrycloth/white eyelet hat like the one Tootsie is sporting in her Portrait. And I also don’t think we see anyone eating watermelon. So, you know what? The more I think about it, the more I have to wonder how accurate this movie actually is…
But let’s move on!
After prying Tootsie and the watermelon out of the Adirondack chair, Trixie stepped in for her photo shoot. As you know, Trixie is Whimsieville’s #1 Fan of the color PINK, so she rummaged through the Wardrobe especially looking for Summery items in her favorite color, and ultimately paired together a very casual short-sleeved shirt with soft pink shorts. But the pièce de résistance, as the French like to say, is her little pink ruffled hat, with a brown flower adornment on the brim. Generally you would not think a brown flower would sound very attractive, but brown is generally such a complimentary accompaniment to anything pink, and in this case, it works out perfects, wouldn’t you say?
I guess I’ll go next, in my flowery green outfit that fits somewhere right between Spring and Summer. You may have noticed that Tessie was wearing this very same outfit a couple of months ago when we did our Fashion Show Complete with Dinosaurs. At the time, I very much admired how bright and lovely Tessie looked in this outfit, so I kept it in the back of my mind that someday I wished to give it my own spin. And that’s what I’m doing here with a little green stretchy cap on my head.
Since everyone else was also choosing to wear hats, I didn’t want to be the oddball, so I searched for just the perfect headpiece to accompany my green and flowery outfit, and tried on several from our Wardrobe, but in the end I decided, as they say, to “Keep It Simple, Stupid!” Now, I’m not saying I’m stupid, or anyone else is stupid, that just happens to be the saying. And the meaning of the saying is that in the end, the simplest solution is very often the best solution. And so, here you see me, in simple green pants (which just a touch of drama in a ruffly hem), a simple green hat, and big expressive flowers all over my dress.
And now at last we come to Tessie, looking positively adorable in aqua! Like Tootsie, her dress has a shirred top and thin straps, as well as a ruffled hem. The juxtaposition of pale pink and pale yellow accents in her aqua dress make for a fabric that simply screams of all the hazy, lazy joys of Summer. With those large armholes and open neckline, I would imagine that no matter how hot it might get, Tessie will be staying cool in her choice of Summer dress.
But we must pause for a moment to talk about her hat. To the naked eye, it appears to be a simple aqua cap. But in fact…it is not! Tessie is in fact practicing a bit of Fashion Deception on you! (And I say Deception in the nicest way.) You will notice from this photo of Tessie and Tootsie waiting on the side for their chance to be sit for their Portraits, that Tessie’s hat actually has a cleverly disguised secret! It is NOT a pure aqua hat, but on one side, sports a sporty orange and yellow Hawaiian flower pattern! 
Very nice for some outfits, but this would not do at all for the gentle aqua plaid dress Tessie had chosen. So, rather than appear in something so jarring to the senses, this clever little Whimsie simply made the decision to tuck the entire brim of her bucket hat up under the “bucket” and simply pretend this was a completely aqua hat.
Sometimes you have to think on the fly, and that is exactly what Tessie has done here, and I applaud her for it. And I just hope I have not offended you too much by showing you this “behind the scenes” photo of her crazy mixture of gentle plaid and mismatched bright Hawaiian flowers! If I have offended you, I apologize. But I think you will get over it. Because it’s Summer, and everything is so relaxed, nothing to fret about. Go have yourself a delicious slice of watermelon, and before you know it, you’ll be feeling quite yourself again.
Miss Chrissy and Mr. Russ have been spending an awful lot of time with us in Whimsieville lately. They stay very busy pecking away at their keyboards most of the day, but in the evenings, they always have time to stop for some fun. And we Whimsies get to join in! One of the things they love to do (while listening to music provided by the newest resident of Whimsieville, a plain black and gray cylinder with a very pleasant voice, named Alexa) is to work on PUZZLES.
Now, we Whimsies are no strangers to Puzzles. Having lived many many years in a Hoard, both Trixie and I have run across quite a few Puzzles in our time. Tootsie says she vaguely remembers Puzzles, and Tessie says she most definitely remembers them, from back in the day when she and Miss Chrissy were young girls together—but back in those days, the Puzzles were nowhere near as big as the Puzzles that come into Whimsieville nowadays! Tessie remembers Puzzles being maybe 100 pieces, but now we are seeing Puzzles of 500 pieces, 750 pieces, and even 1000 pieces! Goodness! When you open the box and look at all those pieces you have to wonder, “How in the world are we ever going to puzzle all this together??” But guess what? We do! It takes time and patience (and a lot of good music) but in the end we have something that looks just as good as the picture on the box.
In fact, we enjoyed doing this Puzzle so much, that there were many nights, after Miss Chrissy and Mr. Russ had retired for the evening, that the four of us crept out of our beds, put on a soft light, and went back to Puzzling out what the final picture would look like. In the morning, Miss Chrissy would scold us, but not very heartily, because she knew how much we were enjoying the Puzzling. She was just concerned that we might not be getting enough Beauty Sleep. But she need not worry on that account! Whimsies actually require very little actual sleep. Mostly, we just like to get tucked into bed because the blankets feel so comfortable. But when there is an interesting Project that needs completing, that Project will always win out over Comfort!
Now don’t get me wrong! There were plenty of days when we worked on the Puzzle as well. In fact, we spent so many hours upon hours Puzzling, that soon we all had to admit that perhaps we were spending a little bit too much time on the same activity. Because after a while, it go to where if we just closed our eyes, even for a brief moment, we would see puzzle pieces floating around, like clouds in the sky. 
(right now, we are rather obsessed with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, because it’s so funny, and actually, it’s Rhoda who is our favorite character, not Mary, because Rhoda is such a good friend to Mary, sort of like we Whimsies are to each other, and of all the sassy ladies on the show, Rhoda is the sassiest!). And of course, we never tire of visiting our Wardrobe and creating new Fashion Outfits to wear while strolling around outside and enjoying all this fine Spring sunshine! So yes, we keep busy. But then…somehow we always end up sitting around the Puzzle once again!
sometimes such a serious fellow, he didn’t quite seem to catch on to all the fun, and even though he never actually said so, we feel quite sure he must have thought these youngsters of his species were being downright foolish in hanging around so much candy. Because really, cats don’t give two hoots about candy, no matter what some puzzle artist likes to make you believe. 
So Miss Chrissy bought these tiny little ice creams, thinking they would be the perfect size for an after-dinner snack for her and The Man (who, by the way, we have come to learn, is named Mr. Russ).
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The point is that once again it is time for Putting on Thinking Caps and coming up with some wonderful foods to both impress and delight the other members of their family. As we Whimsies hear them talking about what they should bring, we couldn’t care less if they decide on Tuna-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes or Pigs in a Blanket. But when it comes to the matter of SWEETS, our whimsical ears perk up, and we are all about trying to help them decide. Not only because we want their family members to be both impressed and delighted by their wonderful choices, but also because we know that if by any chance they happen to make just a wee bit more than will actually fit on the serving platter, some of it will stay home, and we’ll get to try a few bites.
Tillie has chosen this dessert—but don’t ask me to say it, because it’s spelled P F E FF E R N U SS E. Actually, don’t ask me to spell it—or say it! The book tells us that this is a German version of “pepper nut” cookies, so we’re guessing that word must be German, and we don’t know how to speak German. At first I was not altogether sure “pepper nut” cookies sounded like a good idea, but Tillie persuaded me when she read the recipe, which includes cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and firmly packed brown sugar. MMMMMmmmm…….Of course, the recipe also includes a half a teaspoon of ground black pepper, which seems very strange in something that is supposed to be a SWEET. But I guess I would be willing to try it. Who says us Whimsies are not adventuresome spirits??
As for Trixie, she’s campaigning for these Mexican Wedding Cakes. Hey, wait! Are those some Pfeffernusse nestled there in between the Wedding Cakes? Sure looks like it to me! But if you read this recipe, you’ll see that in addition to your usual flour and butter, these sweets also call for masa harina which is some kind of flour made from CORN. Yep. Corn. I’m not so sure about that. I would really have to wonder what these little cakes would taste like, with corn in the mixture. I think perhaps when Trixie chose this recipe above all the others in the book, she was trying to outdo Tillie’s international sense of adventure in choosing Pfeffernusse. I think Trixie must be thinking more along the lines of “impressing” the other Christmas Eve guests, rather than “delighting” them. Though you have to admit, those little cakes dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles do in fact look mighty delightful! So! I might be willing to give the Mexican Wedding Cakes a go, as well…
Except for this! My favorite recipe from this book of Holiday Baking is Raspberry Linzer Heart Cookies. Oh, don’t they look so adorable! I’m not really sure what “Linzer” is all about (another German cookie term?) but I certainly understand Rasberries and Hearts! If Miss Chrissy and The Man were to bring these cookies to the Christmas Eve noshing, the cookies may not scream “Merry Christmas!” the same way candy canes and cordial cherries do, but they would certainly say, “Baked with LOVE.” Holiday or not, there is never a time when raspberries are not appropriate. And delicious. These cookies also contain a good deal of walnuts, which are not a favorite Whimsie food when eaten on their own, but in a recipe with lots of sugar and butter and raspberry jam, I imagine they would compliment all the other flavors very nicely, thank you very much!
Of course the very best of all these recipes, we all heartily agree, is the basketful of Gingerbread Men on the cover of the book. All of them (except one) are smiling so happily, as if they have no idea they are about to be consumed in a flurry of holiday happiness! Well, it’s happy for the people who get to EAT these Gingerbread men, I guess…but NOT so much for the Gingerbread Men themselves! But then, maybe (I wonder…) if you happen to be a Gingerbread man (or woman), do you begin your short but happy life, understanding that your very highest purpose is simply to provide joy to others? Do all these Gingerpeople instinctively understand that,,,except for Mr. Startled Bowtie?
When I first saw this Whimsie, her appearance was so intriguing, I knew I just had to write about her. She has a fresh, bright, beautiful look, which makes you sit up and take notice. I’m calling her The Christmas Peppermint Fairy Angel, because, to me, every one of those words fits her just perfectly. 
First of all, as you know, we are now getting very much closer to Christmas, and there’s something about this outfit which strikes me as so festive. True, there is nothing about her that absolutely screams “Christmas!” but still, she makes me think of the holidays. Maybe it’s all those red and white stripes. Red and white are good Christmas colors, they are the colors of candy canes, and if you close your eyes for a moment, you may not be entirely sure if this Whimsie is holding a lollipop or a candy candy. It could easily be either!
So I love her white hair. It reminds me of an Angel. (I always imagine angels have ethereal, white hair.) That’s why I call her an Angel. But I also call her a 
