Sitting on Pins and Needles

It is nearly time to find out where Jillana, my giveaway teddy, will be going to live. We are all sitting on pins and needles! Now that is just a saying in many homes, but around here it really can be true depending on where I have accidentally dropped them. Anyway, there are only a few more hours before we can choose a winner. Woohoo! We can hardly wait!  Come on November 1st!

While we wait, I would like to say a huge thank you to all of you who stopped by and entered our little giveaway. It’s been great to meet so many new people and visit from blog to blog to blog. I would also like to give Jillana an opportunity to say so long and goodbye.

Take it away Jillana.

Goodbye. Au revoir. Auf Wiedersehen. Farvel. До свидания. Tot siens. Slán leat. Arrivederci. Adiós. Viso gero. La revedere. Näkemiin.

Oh – and from all of us here we’d also like to say

Have a safe and fun holiday!

Halloween Mouse Style

October 31^st is a big day for some – being Halloween and all. It’s also the day that Jillana, my giveaway bear, says her fond farewell to all of you. Since we’ve got Sunday sorted out for that, I thought we might celebrate Halloween one day early here at Bearbits. Wanna come?

Yeah? Okay. Grab your candy bucket and let’s go trick-or-treating with The Mouse.

We might see some scary things . . . Oh, that’s right. It’s Halloween Mouse Style. It can’t be that frightening.

I don’t think these Scarecrows are going to scare up anything but a few smiles and some great souvenir photos.

Look! There’s Mickey’s face on the light post.

Love these decorations – even Winnie the Pooh makes a pumpkin appearance.

Whoa! Is that a giant inflatable Mickey Mouse pumpkin head? Well, he’s not scary at all, is he?

Let’s hurry! It’s going to get dark soon and I want to get to Mickey’s house before it gets dark.

I hear they have a great Halloween Party at Disney. Maybe next year we can attend – if I can figure out what kind of costume to wear by then.

Uh oh . . . it’s getting dark. Look at the castle. Creepy looking isn’t it?

How do they do that? Ha-ha. Just kidding. It’s all about timing.

Now it really is dark and the castle is orange against an inky black sky. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time to take our goodies home and eat candy until we’re silly!

My (Sort of) Sad, Sad Teddy Tale

As the only bear awake at the moment, I’ve decided to share with you my sad, sad teddy tale. It all started when I was left behind when they went to Florida. They said it was accidental. I’ll never know for sure.

While they were gone, I wondered what kinds of things I was missing.

I knew for certain that they would see Cinderella’s castle. I’m sure it was magical.

I also heard that there is an Electrical Light Parade at night and I can just imagine there might have been a fierce dragon snorting smoke. That would have been exciting!

Maybe there was a choo-choo train, too. If I had been there, I would have been the conductor. Alas, I was here – all by my lonesome self. Okay, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but this is supposed to be a sad, sad tale.

The more I thought about the castle, the more sadder I got. Wouldn’t it have been terrific to see it all lit up at night?

Maybe, if they had remembered to take me along, I could have talked them into buying me a balloon that would glow in the dark. Of course, I might have flown right up into the night sky, but let’s not dwell on that. It’s quite beside the point.

Oh, and the fireworks. I missed the fireworks over the castle. Let me tell you I was having a big pity party. With a party you have to have guests, some honey, a few cookies, some chips and loud music right?

Before I could get the place cleaned up properly, they came home.

I was so surprised when they presented me with some Mickey Mouse ears in just my size. Seeing as how I felt a little sick from eating too many cookies, the gift made me feel a little better if not a bit guilty.

They told me all about meeting Duffy and I could hardly believe there was a teddy bear that big in the whole wide world.

To make it even better, they surprised me with my very own Duffy bear in just my size. I was starting to feel bad about the mess I had created while they were gone.

But just between you and me and Duffy, getting left behind worked out okay. And you know what? Duffy and I are going to share my new mouse ears! How cool is that?

Food & Wine?

When we arrived in Epcot, one of the things we wanted to do was to meet Duffy.  Duffy, according to the story, is a bear that Minnie Mouse made for Mickey Mouse before he set off on his journey around the world.

He has a “Mickey” face outline on his muzzle and a “Mickey” birthmark on his back side.

I was distracted from taking loads of photos at Epcot by all the food at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival, now in it’s fifteenth year.

We tasted Empanadas from Argentina, Spaetzle Gratin from Germany, Xinjiang Barbecue Chicken Stick from China among other things.  The Belgium waffle with Berry Compote was delicious as well as the Chocolate Mousse Cake we found in Norway’s bakery there.  Where are the photos?  Now that’s a very good question.  I think I was too busy tasting!

How about a couple of photos from inside a dark ride?

Can you believe these colors?

These jellyfish moved up and down as if in the ocean.

Here’s a photo of a life-size AT-AT from Star Wars in Hollywood Studios.  (You do remember we have a couple of geeks in the family, right?)

I will sign off with this photo of Mickey’s Wizard Hat taken in the early evening at Hollywood Studios.

Say Goodnight, Duffy.  “Goodnight Duffy.”

We’re off to see the Wizard

No, not the Wizard of Oz.  We went to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Pour yourself a glass of pumpkin juice . . .

or a tankard of (non-alcoholic) butterbeer . . .

and join me for some quick snapshots of Harry’s world. 

All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!

Here’s a view from a short distance.  What a fascinating place!  Looks just like the movies!

The Sorting Hat - which was along the queue for The Forbidden Journey ride.  (The ride was super cool, by the way!)

These portraits adorned the walls as well.

A street view of Hogsmeade Village.

Inside the Hog’s Head Tavern.

Honeydukes Candy Shop from the outside . . .

and the inside.  You can buy chocolate frogs here and fizzy wizzies.  The Wizarding World is a neat place to visit and there is a lot more to see than I have posted here.  If you are ever in the neighborhood, I’m sure Harry would love to take you on a broom ride tour!

Stitch, among other things . . .

It’s been quite a whirlwind tour today with our son and his wife, both Disney cast members.  Talk about a visual overload!  Therefore, I have chosen only a select few photos to post for the moment – a kind of highlights of the day synopsis.

Our First Stop

We saw this giraffe . . .

and this rhinoceros as well as a bunch of other animals.

Crazy people with two favorite characters.
The one on the right is STITCH!

It was a lazy day for some.

Rode this roller coaster twice.  The first time I had no idea what i was in for.  The second time I knew and rode it anyway.  Not sure what that says about my judgment!

Epcot at night.  I know this photo has been done and done, but well, I did it again anyway.  I loved the colors here.

The grand finale – an amazing display.

What’s next?  I’ll have to consult my tour guides.  My only task is to make sure I’m in the car when it’s time to leave.  The last time we were here was at least ten or more years ago and many things have changed.  Right now, I am heading for the real dreamland.

Jack-o-lantern Inspiration

Quite a few years ago, when one of my children was very young, their teacher read them a storybook about this time of year. It was called Mousekin’s Golden House. Little did I know that the book had been out of print for quite a while. Nevertheless, somehow or other, I procured a copy which I love.

It tells the story of a mouse finding refuge in a jack-o-lantern in the woods. Can you see where this is going?

I read this book again and came up with the idea of a jack-o-lantern bear house. Now I have finished with this project and we are having a party – a Halloween party! Come on in.

Don’t let this face scare you. He’s very friendly.

In the daylight, he’s much less intimidating.

If you open up the back of this pumpkin head, you can see someone has decorated for a party - a Halloween party – with bats circling the ceiling and a friendly ghost hovering nearby. The floor is covered with autumn leaves and a pumpkin or two from the pumpkin patch.

Would you like to meet your hostess?

Here she is.  It’s Jack-o-leen, the Halloween fairy who lives here.

Here’s her studio portrait and she is ready for some company.

The place is all lit up, ready and waiting for some hauntingly good fun.  All we need is some music!

Of course, if you are just a tiny bit nervous, don’t worry. We’ll just turn on the lights so you can see it’s not a bit scary at all.

I’ve just added Jack-o-leen and her jack-o-lantern house to my website. Now it’s time to brush the glitter off of my face and go buy some Halloween treats for the trick-or-treaters!

Who is going to be knocking on your door on October 31st?