Say (French) Cheese!

 

Daddy Steve has just returned from a shopping excursion to Trader Joe's.  Naturally, Emile needs to inspect and put his stamp of approval on the purchases.

Emile: Ah, ze lavender scented soap.

Louisette: Eet reminds me of Provence!

Emile: Sunscreen.  At 'ees age, Daddy Steve needs to take care of ze skin.

Louisette: I agree.  All French women know ze importance of a proper skin care regime.

Emile: >Boof<  I simply do not understand 'ees affection for ze California Chardonnay.

Ze wines of France are so much better.  Zees ees just...peasant wine!

Louisette: Now, now, Emile.  Peasants are people too.

Emile: Ah, brie from France!  I approve of zees. 

Perhaps 'ees taste ees evolving after all.

Emile: Brie flavored cheese spread!?!  In a...tub?!?  Sacre bleu!

Zees ees an affront to cheese lovers everywhere!

Lulu: >Tee-hee< Now what ees Shorty complaining about?

Louisette: 'E ees upset by ze fake brie in ze tub.

Lottie: Au contraire, we think eet ees une idée magnifique!

Emile: What?!?

Lulu: Oui.  When ze tub ees empty, one can use eet to plant flowers.

Ze flowers of springtime!

Lulu et Lottie: ♫♫ Printemps, printemps, la-de-da-de-da! ♫♫

Emile: >Sigh<

Stamp of Approval

 Noah Conrad and Kirwan Mahoney have been wondering about Daddy John's recent mysterious absence; frankly they're a bit miffed they've not received any attention.  

They've gone out to investigate...

Kirwan Mahoney: What's going on here?  

Noah Conrad: It appears he's in the midst of a project of some sort.

Kirwan: 'Blue Brixx'?  What's that?

Noah: It looks like Legos.  Oh, a Lego-type kit!  Impressive.

Kirwan: You admire this! I wonder where it came from.

Noah: He's building something; what's not to like?

I think I heard him say that Auntie Tricia helped him get it.

Noah:  Oh, ho!  Very smart.

Kirwan: What?

Noah: He's organized the bricks by color.  

Noah: He's laid out his tools neatly and within reach. 

Noah: He has the directions close at hand and 

appears to be following them carefully.

Noah: And he's working under good lighting conditions. Wonderful!

Kirwan: Slow your roll, Norm Abrahm.

At least he's staying hydrated.  Well, sort of.

Noah: Yes, yes.  I very much approve, all told.

Kirwan: But he's spending all his time on this!  And none on us!

Noah: This will have a definite completion date.  Once he's done he'll be back to playing with us.

Kirwan: Bah.  He could've at least asked us to help.

Noah: Ha!  You'd've just mixed up his brick colors or 

replaced the instructions with the vacuum cleaner manual.

Kirwan: ...Okay, true that...

Pete Dakota and Uli Ponder the Imponderable

 

Pete Dakota: When referring to macaroni and cheese as "mac", is it because mac is short for 

"macaroni" or is it because mac, m-a-c, is an acronym for macaroni and cheese?

Uli:...

Pete:...

Uli:...

Pete: Hm?

Uli: Get out of mein kitchen! 

Dreams of Spring

 Last night Lulu went to bed and had the most amazing dream...

She dreamt that she was walking in a wild old garden when she encountered the largest and most beautiful watering can in the world.

Lulu: C'est magnifique!

As soon as she woke up, she told Lottie about her dream.

Lulu: Eet ees a sign! Le printemps est arrivé!

Lottie: Quelle merveille!

Lulu et Lottie: 🎶 Printemps, Printemps, la-de-da-de-da! 🎶

Here at Gregoropolis, we hope that all of your springtime wishes come true!

High Water Note

Patrick: So peaceful.

Frank: Hi guys!

Ravi: <You jinxed it.>

Frank: What's this highbrow stuff you're listening to?

Patrick: It's Handel's Water Music.

Ravi: Why don't you sit down and listen with us?

Frank: Alright, but first I need to prepare.

Ravi: 'Prepare'? What is he talking about?

Patrick: Oh, who knows with him.

Frank: Okay, I'm ready now.

Ravi: >Sigh<  Oh, Frank...

Patrick: Makes you wonder what he would have done

if we had been listening to The Firebird.

Unenforceable

 This is Luke.

This is Luke eating dry cereal.

Luke: >Crunch, crunch, crunch<  >Sigh<

Suddenly, he hears a voice...

Disembodied voice: Luke! Use the Force, Luke!

Luke: Huh?

Luke: >Unnnnhhh< >Grrrrrrrrrr< >Gasp<

Rhoda: Oh, good grief.  Can't you just ask me to pass you the milk?!?

 

Raffle Outfits, Part 1

 Daddy John: In 2024 I won the Sasha Festival Seed Money Raffle.  The prize was a Gregor, whom I named Chance Victor, and 36 separate outfits representing different U.S. states.

At first, I had planned on dressing only Chance Victor in the outfits but as I redress my boys maybe twice a year, I realized it would take me forever to get through even half of the raffle clothes.  

I've finally shared the outfits out amongst my Gregors (nicknamed the 'Terrific Ten') and will present them across the occasional blog post.  Today, we have the first 5.

This is the outfit for Washington!  It's a shades of gray knit hoodie sweater, hockey-themed button down shirt, black pants, and knit socks that keep BR's toes very toasty.  The outfit was donated by Cynthia Hunter.  The outfit is perfect for BR as he, like his daddy, loves hockey.

Here's Stephen Orange in the clobber for Maryland!  Can you spot the 'crab' theme?  The outfit was donated by Beth Whitehouse & Elizabeth Mizerik.  I customized the outfit by adding a crab pendant necklace; the pendant was a little prize that everyone received at the 2025 Columbus Festival.

Lynne Field donated this funtastic New York ensemble.  Philip Guy immediately claimed it and is charmed by the souvenir backpack zipper pulls.  He sends a proper Bronx wave to you!

In anticipation of the upcoming 2026 Manchester, NH Festival, Diego Luis sports the New Hampshire outfit.  The knit sweater came with a matching knit hat and blue jeans.  Donated by Heidi Wheeler.

And finally, one of my favorites (really, they're all my favorite).  By Betsy Stroomer, the Colorado ensemble is great for keeping Pete Dakota warm in the Minnesota cold.  The shades of blue!  The matching hat, scarf, mittens, turtleneck, long johns, and socks!  The hooded jacket and lined pants!  Pete will not be cold the rest of this winter.  The outfit also came with an inflatable pool, which Pete will have to wait until summer to use.