At probably the biggest intersection in Whimsieville, we have what is known as Coffee Table. It mainly serves as an eatery for Miss Chrissy and Mr. Russ, as it sits just opposite the biggest Movie Theater in town, but on occasion Coffee Table also functions as a Library.
“Coffee Table Book” is a phrase you may have heard before, and though here in Whimsieville books do not usually sit on top of Coffee Table, there is one very specific book I personally adore that spends most of its time on the bottom shelf. (Take a look at the picture below, you can just see it there, right next to Barnabus Collins’ coffin. Don’t ask. That’s a whole ’nother story, and I might tell you about it someday.)
From this picture (which, if the internet is working the way it should, is now on the left), you may not be able to tell what my favorite book is all about, so give me just a moment here…I’ll scurry on up to Coffee Table, reach underneath… grab the book, pull it up on to the… top…Jeez! This thing weighs a TON! Whew! Okay, now you can see it! And you can clearly see that the title of the book is The Art of Marvel Studios.
This is a book all about the superheroes I love so much! So you can imagine how many times when I am moseying by Coffee Table, I like to get my exercise by lugging this book off the bottom shelf and setting myself up for a good Look.
I say “Look” instead of “Read,” because the whole point of a good “Coffee Table Book” is that it is something that LOOKS great, with lots of fabulous photos or artwork. It’s not really the kind of book where you have to do a lot of actual reading, it’s more about skimming through and enjoying the artwork. I think originally the idea was that you would get yourself a nice big cup of delicious coffee (if you like that sort of thing…), sit back on a sunny Saturday afternoon, or cold Winter’s evening, when going outside simply isn’t in the cards, and relax and simply let yourself get lost in the pages, transported to another world.
Well, I don’t particularly like coffee (I much more prefer to sneak a sip of Mr. Russ’ cream soda whenever he is not looking! Shhh…don’t tell him!) But it doesn’t matter what I like to drink, because I would never want to
drink (or eat) anything while looking at such a beautiful Coffee Table Book! I would be much too afraid of ruining the glossy pages of these gorgeous books.
And here I say “books,” because as you can see, the “book” called The Art of Marvel Studios is in reality a collection of four different books, each one showcasing a different Marvel superhero. (Though, strangely, Iron Man has two books, when Thor has only one, which I don’t really understand, because…really??? WHY???)
The Thor book is of course my favorite, because (as everyone knows…) Thor is my favorite of all the superheroes. And in this book, not only do we have a lot of great pictures of Thor, but we also see a lot of Asgard, which is so mystical and picturesque, but perhaps best of all, we also get to meet all of Thor’s friends.
To tell you the truth, my very favorite pages in this book are not so much about Thor himself, but actually about one very special lady: Sif, the girl warrior who sometimes fights beside him. As you can see here, Sif has some pretty cool outfits! Don’t you think? Very shiny!
Of course, these picture are just an artist’s idea of what Sif might look like, with her long, dark beautiful hair. We happen to know what Sif really looks like, because a while back she showed up on one of our very favorite TV shows, *Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, and you might recall, we talked about her when we saw her on that show.
But I don’t want to spend all my time here talking about Sif and Thor and Asgard. Despite the fact that Iron Man is unfairly represented in two of the four books, I do have to mention that most of what we see of him and his world in those two books is actually pretty cool. Miss Chrissy tells me that Iron Man is actually her favorite of all the Avengers, but if you ask me, I think it’s because she mostly likes his alter-ego,Tony Stark, because he’s both so funny and so sexy.
Mr. Russ prefers Captain America, and my fellow Whimsies…well, they all just say they like Thor best of all, I think mostly because they know that I like Thor best of all, and they don’t want to get me started on outlining my long list of all the reasons why Thor is the best Avenger ever. (And by the way, Miss Chrissy…Thor…ALSO very funny and very sexy!)
Anyway, there you have it. A Marvelous Coffee Table Book right here in Whimsieville. I can’t wait until Miss Chrissy and Mr. Russ make another trip to Barnes and Noble! Who knows what they might come up with next?

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. 
Miss Chrissy has been very busy lately, so we had to be patient, but at last she made it over to the Thrift Store Boutique and was able to find us a few new items for our Wardrobe! So we have three new items to model for you today. Miss Chrissy actually picked up a couple more things as well, but you will not see in this post, because when we looked at all this new clothing, it immediately came into our minds that there were two very specific photo shoots that were in order. So we will show you these new clothes now, and the rest of the fashions at another time in the future. Because, it’s always good to have the anticipation of yet another Fashion Show, don’t you think? Really gives you something to look forward to!
Tillie is wearing some soft gray jammies, trimmed in red, which actually have been seen before in Whimsieville. These jammies are not new, but it has been so long since they made an appearance that they almost feel new! And since these jammies do not have “feet,” Tillie tops them off (or is it “bottoms them off”??) with a simple pair of gray socks.
Now, let’s head off in a different direction and take a look at me and Trixie. Hmmm…what is the theme of this photo shoot? Well, the obvious answer is: GREEN! Miss Chrissy bought up TWO very cute tops in the color green. Not only the color green, but both a very bright and vibrant green that simply screams Springtime!
But look at me! My pretty top with big white and yellow flowers has sleeves so short, it is practically “sleeveless”! I found some pale green pants in our Wardrobe which don’t quite match, but do compliment the colors of my new shirt. And because it is, in fact, not quite yet Spring, I’m carrying a simple white sweater to put on, in case the weather is still a wee bit cold.
And later on…it did indeed feel a wee bit cooler, so I had to put on my sweater, and now I am feeling quite cozy! And even though I am dressed for a day outside, I feel as comfortable as if I was hanging out at home in a pair of dinosaur jammies!

Probably her hair was all dirty and matted, and some well-meaning person suggested a new shampoo to help her get hear hair looking pretty and shiny again, but when she tried that new shampoo it was what is known as an “Epic Fail,” because instead of making her hair look beautiful, it all fell out!
In fact, in some pictures we have seen of her, she actually has a tail and is carrying a pitchfork. Oh my!
thing I know for sure, it won’t be anything too scary or “racy,” since it appears they have even invited a little baby to their party! (I wonder if that baby is old enough to eat popcorn?)
But most of all, we four Whimsies are blessed to have each other. We all come from different backgrounds, have different stories, and different personalities, but when that “push comes to shove,” We are better, and stronger, TOGETHER, than any of us would be on our own. Even though we may differ now and then on the little things like whether strawberry ice cream tastes better than chocolate ice cream, or which hat best matches a gingham outfit, in the end, we are all devoted to each other in a strong and everlasting bond of Friendship.
The weather has been crazy here lately! Ferocious thunderstorms, followed by days of sunny weather. Sometimes it’s in the 70’s, but at other times, it dips nearly into the 20s! And then, just the other day, our ears perked up when we heard the Weatherman say that magical word: “Snow”!
(I know I’m mixing metaphors, but you get the idea…)
Santa was exceptionally good to all of us here in Whimsieville this pass Christmas, and even though Christmas is now at least six weeks ago, Tootsie can’t seem to stop thinking about Santa Claus! (Personally, I think she has a crush on him… I’ve suggested she could write something about Santa in the “My Favorite Boyfriend” section of our blog, but Tootsie is still just too shy to even imagine doing something like that. So for the time being, you’ll just have to trust me. Santa Claus is Tootsie’s Favorite Boyfriend.)
Our old-fashioned ideas about yellow were quickly obliterated! In other words, we now have NO PROBLEM wearing yellow! So on this evening, Tessie was the one wearing the yellow jammies with the adorable pink ladybug.
Finally, let’s take a look at Tittle. Tillie looks sort of silly, if you ask me, because she is SO bundled up in her white fleecy pajamas featuring a polar bear on her chest. Tillie herself sort of looks like a polar bear in these jammies, don’t you think? And as if she didn’t already look like a polar bear, you might also say she looks like an Eskimo, so bundled up, so on top of all this, Tillie decided to wear a pink and white fleece-lined hat that also covers her ears quite well.
Now, one more thing, before I wind up here. You’ll notice in the pictures above that we are all sitting on a very colorful background, which happens to be a hand-crocheted blanket Miss Chrissy recently got when she and Mr. Russ went on a trip for a Family Reunion, and Miss Chrissy’s sister offered her this blanket. It seems that Miss Chrissy’s grandmother, Violet, once had a sister named Wanda, who LOVED to crotchet, even when she was very old and beginning to go blind, and so she would crochet and crochet lots and lots of blankets, and there are several of these beautiful items floating around in the family, and Miss Chrissy was so delighted to be able to bring this one home. All the bright colors in this blanket sort of remind me of the days way back in the 1960’s, when we Whimsies were much younger, and everything was so groovy! Wouldn’t you agree with me that this beautiful blanket, in addition to having a rich family history, is also “groovy”??









