Whimsieville has a nice variety of weather. It never gets as hot as the Amazon, and it never gets as cold as Siberia. But this last week or so…it has indeed been cold! Colder than we’re used to. That means the Fireplace is getting a good workout, and also that we get to bring out all our latest in cold weather hats and clothing—which is always fun! We have in our Wardrobe several Winter Coats, which we don’t usually get a chance to wear, so when we saw that the weatherman was predicting below freezing temperatures for several days in a row, we were so excited! We couldn’t wait to bundle up and go outside to test out the cold weather.
But we ran into a little snag for a few days, because Miss Chrissy….well, she didn’t exactly forbid us to go outside, but she so strongly advised against it, we didn’t want to do anything to make her worry. You see, us Whimsies are just as susceptible to frostbite as Humans, and Miss Chrissy hated to think of any of us losing our fingers or toes! So we stayed indoors for several days, only looking out the windows at the poor little birdies puffing up and huddling at the feeder, and the stray cats in the neighborhood, who are not as fortunate as Mr. Squee, with a warm bed in front of the roaring Fireplace, or a soft cushion under a lamp. Oh, we hate to think of those poor birdies and kitty cats having to risk frostbite in the great outdoors! It makes us sad to think that anyone could be hurt by weather.
But then yesterday, it got a little warmer, to just over the freezing mark on the thermometer, and Miss Chrissy decided it would be okay to launder a load of bath towels and hang them outside on the line, and that they would not freeze while they were hanging there, and have to be brought in and thawed out, and then run through the Dryer to make them useable—which, of course, would totally go against the whole idea of hanging out towels on the clothesline in the first place.
So the towels went out, and because the sun was strong, they dried quickly, and when it was time to bring them in, we Whimsies decided we had had enough of being babied, and begged Miss Chrissy to let us go outside and help her bring in the towels.
She said, “Sure! Go get your coats and put on some shoes.”
So we scurried about, and got ourselves dressed, and went out into the cold, crisp air…and really had a ball! First thing we noticed, though, was that the Wind had apparently been so strong at one point over the last few days, that it totally blew the tablecloth off the patio table!! And that tablecloth wasn’t just sitting on top of the table, it was anchored down with clothespins on all four corners! But the Wind had said, “Hah! I sneer in the face of clothespins!” and just ripped that tablecloth right off and sent it whirling right across Whimsieville to the very edge of the Fence. (Here, Miss Chrissy has retrieved the tablecloth and will be re-securing it with the clothespins momentarily.)
Well, that was a little scary, to tell you the truth, to think that the Weather could have been so violent at one point, and we decided Miss Chrissy has probably been right to persuade us to stay indoors. I mean…if the Wind could do that to a tablecloth secured with clothespins, what might it do to a wee Whimsie? We shudder to think…
Anyway, the Weather yesterday, though cold, was not unpleasant, and we stopped long enough to take the portrait you see at the top of this post, but then after that, we felt so invigorated, that after being cooped up for so many days, we just ran and ran and ran all around, exhausting ourselves. We actually had to stop and sit down for a few moments to catch our breath. But then we remembered that we were actually out there to help with the laundry, so we began to jump, as high as we could, to help Miss Chrissy take off the clothespins and bring the towels back into the house. (In case you didn’t know, Whimsies, though wee, have incredible jumping power, able to catapult ourselves to heights of up to four or five feet! Legend has it that there’s a little bit of Leprechaun, or possibly Fairy, way back in our Whismie ancestory…)
But anyway, after all that running and jumping, I must say we were truly exhausted, and quite glad at last to come inside and warm up, and sit by the Fireplace, and we actually covered ourselves up with the freshly laundered towels for a little while, and ended up taking a nice little nap on the big chair. We wanted to help Miss Chrissy fold the towels (Whismies are very good at folding towels), but when we woke up, we found all the work was already done! That was a little disappointing, so to make up for our lack of diligence, we’ve decided that over the next few days we’re going to look for other ways that we might be able to Help Out Around the House.
It seems very strange, but as soon as we woke up on the chair, since it was already getting to be night-time, we went back to our Wardrobe to put on our jammies. Have you ever woken up and then put on your jammies?? Oh, what a topsy-turvy day we Whimsies had! Yes, indeed, but it was lots of fun! And maybe most fun of all was late at night, when the outside temperatures once again dipped below freezing, with the Fireplace roaring full-blast, Miss Chrissy made us a nice little snack of cherry-filled chocolates The Man had gotten her for Christmas, and cups full of steaming hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream! 
Nothing beats two kinds of chocolates and whipped cream, especially if it’s a gift of a gift, and you get to share it all with good friends at the end of an extremely fun and pleasant day.
All that chocolate and sugar had us quite hyped-up very late into the night, and after that we spent a good deal of time organizing our Wardrobe, and also thinking up new ways we can Help Out Around the House. We also kept the DVD player going half the night, watching some of our favorite cold-weather movies: Ice Age, Frozen, and Home Alone. We also found a real humdinger on the SyFy channel: Christmas Icetastrophe!
At last we were truly exhausted, and ready for sleep, but as we reviewed what a wonderful day it had been, instead of cuddling up under our blankets like we usually do, we decided to put our Winter Coats back on, and pull the hoods up over our heads, and sleep like that, so that in the morning, weather-permitting, we might simply slip into our shoes, and quickly dash outside to once again run and jump and play in the invigorating cold Weather!
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
Mary enjoyed this blanket when she was a teenager, but now she is grown, and planning soon to move Cross-Country with her husband. She has held on to this blanket for all these years, simply because it IS so groovy, and because it has Sentimental Value. So she doesn’t want to get rid of it altogther, but at the same time, when you are planning a Cross-Country Move, it’s not always possible to take every little memento with you. Sometimes you have to make some harsh decisions.
blanket in person! Not that she ever needs an “excuse” to visit her daughter, but such a situation could be the proverbial “Killing Two Birds With One Stone.”
We’ve all had a wonderful Christmas here in Whimsieville, but now it’s almost the New Year, so yesterday I decided to sit down with the Whimsies to discuss the time-honored tradition of New Year’s Resolutions. The Whims know all about Resolutions, of course, just like the rest of us, but are usually so carefree, they don’t always feel compelled to make them. However, this year, because of our long conversation over steaming cups of hot chocolate stirred with candy canes, they got all hyped up about making some New Year’s Resolutions. After careful consideration, each has come up with a single idea about what they would like to do better in the new year. I could go ahead and tell you all about it, but I think it would be much better if I let them tell you in their own words.
TILLIE: READ MORE BOOKS!
Whimsieville itself is such a magical place, but it is not the only magical place in this wonderful world. Books can send us to so many wonderful and magical places, if only we let them. All it takes is that first quiet moment when you take the book down from the shelf, open its spine, and jump right in. Then you’re hooked.
TESSIE: MORE TIME WITH DINOSAURS
Now, having said all that, I don’t want to give anyone the impression that I’m a slob! Because I’m not! It’s just that sometimes I get so wrapped up in what I’m doing that I just keep going, and keep doing, and 
don’t really take a moment to think about the trail of stuff I’m leaving behind myself. I always go back eventually and clean up and “put away my toys,” so to speak, but I realize I don’t always do it as quickly and as considerately as I should, in view of the fact that there are many other people and Whimsies and dinosaurs that live here with me in Whimsieville—to say nothing of Mr. Squee, who is always so proper and clean, a “well-groomed gentleman,” as Miss Chrissy is always calling him. (And by the way, in case you’re wondering, Mr. Squee’s Resolution is to “Get More Rest” in the coming year.) Now it’s not that Mr. Squee would ever say anything to me about my mess—like the others do. But I know it must bother him as much as it bothers everyone else.
A little while back, Tessie promised a Fashion Show, but then we got distracted by the final episode of SHIELD and just had to stop and talk about that, and in addition, there’s been so much Christmas-type activity going on here in Whimsieville, that it’s been a real whirlwind! But every whirlwind must die down eventually, and when it does….Fashion is still there. And Whimsies are are always BIG fans of Fashion! So without any further delay, we present to you some of our latest Fashions from the Thrift Store Boutique!
I call this the “(Not So) Fancy Pants” Fashion Show because in fact our new clothes are pants, and…guess what? They’re not really very fancy. But that’s okay, because in general, Whimsies would rather be comfortable than be fancy, if we had to choose one over the other. And while I must admit we all look terribly good and terribly fashionable in our new pants, more than anything, and most important of all, we look comfortable…because we ARE comfortable.
Tessie, on the other hand, is evoking all the comfort of an evening at home, hanging out on the couch with Mr. Squee, looking positively relaxed in her new soft blue “footies.” Whenever you find a pair of pants that have “feet,” you have to say they are “jammie” pants, and that’s just fine with Tessie, and with the rest of us, because hanging out in jammies is one thing we Whimsies are very good at! The blue of Tessie’s pants might be called “Baby Blue,” and though we Whimsies are not babies, we have no aversion to the color. Notice how nicely Tessie’s pants blend with the pale yellow and blue of Mr. Squee’s Couch Blanket. He doesn’t seem to mind her sitting there with him, as long as she doesn’t try to monopolize the light from the nearby lamp. Cats love lamp light almost as much as we Whimsies love comfortable footie pants! And so, if you ask me, this is a picture of everything being right with the world.
Now, finally, it’s my turn! And even though the theme of this Fashion Show is (Not So) Fancy Pants, I think you might agree that I look a wee bit fancy in my hot pink shirt and sparkly pink sneakers. That’s the wonderful thing about Fashion: sometimes you can combine things that don’t really seem like they should go together, but when you do, you come up with some new look that absolutely works! That’s what I’m doing here. You’ll notice that my new pants are brown, and soft, and loaded with polka dots. Polka dots are always so much fun! (Why are they called “polka” dots, I wonder? Isn’t the Polka some crazy Slavic dance?? Maybe somebody thought all the dots looked like they are dancing? Who knows!) Anyway, the pants are soft, the shirt is soft, the polka dots are crazy, and the shoes are sparkly. How many differnt things can you have going on in one outfit? And yet, it all works together in perfect harmony, and besides all that—once again, this outfit has that all important quality of being completely comfortable! 
subdued pastel colors that make you want to calm down and get a good night’s sleep. But at the same time, there’s also a place for the lively look of of hot pink and crazy polka dots. It’s a good thing there are so many different types of clothes in the world, to fit all our many different types of moods. 
