Last week Jim had to go overseas for work so I decided to take some time to go visit Peg & Bill, the people responsible for my awesomeness!  As always, I asked my excellent pet sitter, Tama to take care of the critters and she agreed because she gets to choose TWO toys from my “re-gift” closet. (Everyone has one, don’t kid yourself) PLUS she gets to hide my small basket of beanie babies all over the house.  Like most folks I’ve long had a tiny stockpile of the toys that I had picked up when they were everywhere in the 1990s.  She started this goofy tradition several years ago when I came home from a trip to find that my measly 8 little beanies were missing from the basket and hidden in weird places all over my house.  It took me weeks to find them and I’m not sure I ever found them all.  Well, I was pretty irritated, but Tama thought it was HILARIOUS so this has become her little joke on me whenever I go away. (Be very careful who you give a house key to!)  Little did she know when I left for THIS trip that I had recently amassed an army of beanies, and they were all lying in wait for her.

So, I fixed up a playhouse for Buster on the porch…

Castle “Lagomorph” –Google it.

…and then drove to Mississippi to see the family on Talowah Road.  I had a nice five-day visit with Mama & Daddy but I’m very concerned that Mama’s two beagles Lucy & Snoopy might be eating up my inheritance.

Don’t get up girls, it’s just me.

And you’re gonna think this is very weird, but you must know my family to understand that this picture is perfectly normal.

I call this the “before” picture.

THE HEADSTONES!  The Pegster was pretty proud of them, and I thought they were very dignified without being “showy”.  Trust me, if Daddy had been there, he would have laid down and crossed his arms for the shot.  Now maybe you can understand how I got this way.  It’s NOT MY FAULT!

As I drove back to Montgomery, the one thought on my mind was Tama’s reaction upon seeing the 250+ beanie babies waiting for her to hide.  I admit, I was not looking forward to hunting them all down when I got home, but good pet sitters are hard to find, so I decided it was a small price to pay for great service.  I just wished I could have seen her face as she opened the door to the bedroom.  What awaited me when I got home was unbelievable.  Stay tuned if you want to witness the greatest Beanie Baby epic in the history of playthings.  The girl is an evil genius.  OK, mostly just evil.