Gale's playground: December 2007

Thursday, December 27, 2007

December 27

Kris Kringle is exhausted! He went on a 24 hour around the world flight, and he and his workers are enjoying a much deserved rest. Their village has faded away until next December first.The village was a "happening place" for this last month. The endorsements that Kris had with a major soft drink company had some rocky phases, but the bears and Kris have settled things amicably.They both are endorsing the company and using the perks offered them for their faces and personalities. Kris endorses for the month of December, and the bears and their friends have the rest of the year. The inhabitants of the village continue to enjoy free train rides, snow ball fights, ice skating, camp-outs, and other pastimes while working in the green toy factories set up by Kris. In the couple of warm summer months they have fishing competitions, speed boat races, and picnics at the lake.The invading Canadians have been assimilated into the population.; The BIG BUGS that came with them are being used as pack animals for the outings that are being planned.; The fly makes a great air transport for going over the hills to the reindeer herd.I'm saying good-by to the village for this year. I hope you enjoyed the glimpse into the life of Christmastime Village.

Monday, December 17, 2007

December 17

The Canadians are here! Maggie said to have dinner ready at 6:00 pm, and they got here at 5:55 pm. I think that they parked down at the bottom of the hill for a while so that they could be so timely!

I went to Curves this morning and when I got home, the Canadians had invaded the village. There was a new hockey skating rink with the Canadian flag flying over it all. Mr Kringle thinks that is a bit much, but he's willing to let things be for now. There is one thing that he's concerned about though, Apparently our "Home Protection" Customs didn't do such a good job of inspecting the cargo trailer that they were hauling. Some rather large BUGS have been seen around the village.

BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Thursday, December 13, 2007

December 13

>Some of the villagers are having a camp-out on the edge of town. Christmastime Village is above the Arctic Circle, so the folks are accustomed to living in a rather cold climate. Several of the folk have noticed, however, ;that the snow doesn't stay on the ground as long as it used tco, and they don't need to wear as many layers of clothing for as long in the winter as before...new competition. She's always open to playing a quick game of pool too...perhaps you would like to challenge her. Her name is Christine....Christine Kringle. Sound familiar? I thought so.>In a third part of the village is a building that is favored by much of the adult part of the population. (And perhaps some sneaky younger folk, too); Since the weather seems to be warming a bit each year, the consumption of the adult beverage produced here seems to be increasing. I wonder if there could be a scientific study; based on this observation...lets see..."the consumption of beer is directly influenced by the increasing average temperature of the surrounding countryside." Nah...I also wonder if that soft drink company is having any regrets about terminating its deal with K. Kringle.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

December 6

class=insertedphoto>

Mr. Kringle has been trying to go green lately, but some habits die hard. He has a love of steam locomotives, and has signed a contract with a soft drink company. He has lent his image to the company for its advertisements, and in exchange, he has been given a full steam railway. It is a very beneficial arrangement for both. The soft drink company gets to use the most powerful toy manufacturer's image, and the village gets free freight for all its supplies, as well as free transportation for its inhabitants.

Kris has a dilemma on his hands: keep the steam engine and continue to create more greenhouse gasses, or break the contract and cause all the inhabitants to drive cars to commute, (not to mention all the trucks bringing in the villages supplies). Perhaps he could convert the train to electric, but then he would have to enlarge his power plant. Ethanol or bio- diesel isn't much of an option either. One would take up too much land to grow the corn, and the other uses cooking oil from restaurants. The restaurants in the village are all health food and organic places, so not much deep frying takes place there.

While poor Kris is trying to figure out what to do to create the smallest carbon footprint possible, the soft drink company makes his decision for him. They release him from the contract. It seems that they have found other "creatures" to endorse their product. Kris is off the hook.

Kris gets to keep the train, but he no longer is needed for the advancement of the soft drink company. &p;

The dilemma remains however. Perhaps he will simply go back to the horse and buggy. Sometimes less is better.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

December 4

>Perhaps I need to tell you a bit more about K. Kringle.; His full name is Kristopher; (Kris) Kringle. All his friends just know him as Kris.; He is not a very tall man, as a matter of fact, he doesn't hit 4'6" in his work boots. One biographer hasreferred to him as "a right jolly old elf".; He isn't sensitive about his hight, but he is sympathetic to others who might be "hight challenged" and almost always hires short people to work in his toy manufacturing plants. Above is a picture of his mansion. The plans are to someday turn it into a museum for Christmastime Village.; His wife opens it up to the village children everySaturday morning where they get to eat pancakes with peppermint syrup and watch cartoons on the big screen TV.Kris is very fond of animals, and his very favorite is the caribou. Did you know that the caribou and the reindeer are genetically identical, and that there are only two ways that you can tell the difference?One was is that the reindeer is domesticated, and the second is that reindeer can fly!; Since Kris has domesticated caribou, they must be reindeer, and since reindeer can fly...I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.The downtown business district has many fine shops. There is a seamstress shop, a clock shop. toy shop, cafes, candy store, espresso stand, book store, drug store, department store, and other shops for the villagers to find whatever they need. Most of the merchants have relatives who work for Mr. Kringle, and there is a sen mllow...

Monday, December 3, 2007

December 3

There are two churches in the village.; The High Church is on Snob Hill, and the Low Church is down in the valley. They are both prosperous in their own way:; one has all the money, and the other has all the people. I'll leave it up to you to decide which is which.The lower Church also has a nice nativity scene out in the front, and on Christmas eve the whole village gathers to serenade the Baby Jesus with carols Across the street from the church is the formal gardens of the village founder: K. Kringle.; This gentleman made his money in the toy manufacturing business, and founded this village for his workers and their families. He still comes around once in a while to visit folks, but since he has diversified his holdings into electronics and is trying to go green, his days are rather busy.On our next visit we will view some of the shops in the downtown district.