1. All magic comes with a price.
2. True love can break any curse.
3. I will always find you.
Can you guys what TV show I have been obsessively watching this week?
If you guessed ABC’s Once Upon A Time, you would be absolutely correct.
Photo: abc.com
My asbestos friend has always enjoyed this show and watched it religiously. I catch a half an episode here and there. And if you have ever watched the show yourself, you will realize that it is just not that type of show!
I only became interested now because at the end of the first season, the curse is (partially) lifted, and everyone can remember their former identities in Fairy Tale Land, as well as in Storybrooke, Maine. This made the show more interesting to me. But, unfortunately, Season 2 does not make much sense without knowing the character backgrounds in Season 1.
Last night, I finished all of Season 1 on Netflix streaming. Now, I may have to resort to signing up to HuluPlus.com for a month so that I can catch up on Season 2. I am really looking forward to tonight because I have a wonderful idea of who could possibly be Rumpelstiltskin’s son.
Although, I must say, trying to keep all of the characters multiple identities straight is making me a little crazy. I am a visual person. I almost always enjoy a TV show/movie to the book version of the same tale. But I think this may be the only time that I would appreciate a book so that I can understand the TV series better. (Also, maybe the Terminator movies could use a reference book as well!)
Season 2 is also more interesting to me, because it has the delicious Captain Hook. Feast on a YouTube.com clip of Hook below.
Today is also the dating anniversary of my husband and I. I can’t believe he has put up with me for 16 years. Here is a picture of my very own pirate. (This is from Halloween a few years ago. I think maybe he was actually supposed to be a Rock Star. I just can’t resist a man in eyeliner;)
My own personal pirate
Now, I think it may be time for my asbestos friend to give The O.C. a try:)
Barfey. Other kids have a teddy bear. I have Barfey.
Old Barfey in foreground.
He started off as a little white stuffed dog with brown ears from the Hallmark store in the mall, made by R. Dakin. My mom said she named him after one of the dogs in the Family Circus cartoon strip. My mom bought him for me so long ago that I can’t remember. Barfey was just always there, for as long as I can remember.
I loved him so much he became tattered and dirty. And of course my mom, being the woman she is, resolved this by buying me a replacement Barfey–AND THROWING OUT THE ORIGINAL. She snuffed out a young stuffed animal’s life, just as it was beginning. I was so young that I didn’t know enough to protest. And while the second Barfey was the same dog made by the same company from the same store in the same mall, this one had a brown body and white ears! Leave it to my mom to not even bother to color match.
Barfey was my favorite stuffed animal. I slept with him every night. If we went on a trip, he went with us.
Here if my VHS copy of The Velveteen Rabbit, Hanna-Barbara 1985
There used to be a show on Saturday mornings called ABC Weekend Special. They showed family cartoons and movies. One of my favorites was a cartoon of The Velveteen Rabbit, based on the book by Margery Williams, from 1985, made by Hanna-Barbara. (One of my other favorites was a mini-series called Cougar–I actually managed to find that on DVD!) It always made me think of Barfey. That maybe he loved me as much as I loved him. That maybe he too was on a quest to be real, as was The Velveteen Rabbit.
The Velveteen Rabbit, Hanna-Barbara 1985
[In the nursery closet]
Rocking Horse: Real isn’t how you’re made. It is a thing that happens to you. Love makes you real. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become real. Once you are real, you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always. You can’t be unreal again.
Bunny-Rabbit: Oh, I want very much to be real.
I also imagined that the stress that Barfey went through as I slept with him at night and tossed and turned was probably similar to the torture that The Velveteen Rabbit endured as well.
The Velveteen Rabbit, Hanna-Barbara 1985
[In Robert’s bed]
Bunny-Rabbit: Look out, you’re flattening me.
I can hardly breath.
Ouch, I’m not a football.
Easy now, don’t move. Ooo-ooo.
When I was in fourth grade, I got the Chicken Pox. I was scared because I didn’t really know what that meant. (And they proved to be quite uncomfortable.) I clutched Barfey tightly for comfort during this uncertain time, as my mom called her nurse friend for information. Something occurred to me while she was on the phone, and it scared me more than being sick. Thinking back to The Velveteen Rabbit and the rabbit’s fate after Robert’s sickness, I asked my mom if Barfey was going to have to be burned since I was holding him and I was sick. She laughed at me and told me “no”. I was relieved. And pissed that she would find my question amusing.
As the years past, Barfey got shabbier and shabbier. He was made with ground nut shells. This helped him have more weight and stay in bed at night better than other stuffed animals. But by now his nut shells had turned into nut dust. His eyebrows looked ready to fall off anytime. And my, how his nose dangled from his cute brown muzzle! So, I followed the precedent that had already been set–I bought a replacement Barfey. This one had a yellow body and brown ears. (It was as close as I could find to original Barfey’s color scheme.) My mom’s first impulse is to throw things out the second she no longer has a use for them. My instinct is to keep everything. I kept both Barfeys. From here on out, they would be known as:
All the Barfeys from my scrapbook
Original Barfey = 1st Barfey (no longer with us)
Old Barfey = 2nd Barfey
New Barfey = 3rd Barfey
But New Barfey was not an adequate replacement. Not only because he lacked memories, but also nutshells. He was young and bounced out of bed too easily. New Barfey always struck me more as a stuffed animal, rather than the “real” aura that Old Barfey had. You looked into Old Barfey’s eyes, and he talked to you. Or, at least, to me.
Once I moved out on my own, I developed a fear (remember, I love to worry) of losing my Barfeys, such as in a fire or tornado or volcanic eruption. When I discovered Ebay, I found people who had Barfeys to sell. They were easier to locate when I discovered that his Dakin birth name was “Drooper”. (What a bad name!) I even ordered a few use Barfeys to have as spares. But they are not the same. There experiences were with other children. They are packed away in a drawer upstairs, while my Barfeys have a revered position of honor in my bedroom, on a high shelf, well out of reach of dogs and toddlers. Although, I did finally get a baby “Drooper” that I always wanted and my mother would never buy me. Yes, the design was so popular they even made mini ones.
Barfey is so popular, he was on a greeting card (see far left). Gibson Greetings, Inc.
At the same time I was trying to find a way to keep Barfey with me forever, I was also trying to figure out what tattoo I could get that I would never get tired of. (Do you see where this is going?) So, shortly after my 30th birthday, I had Barfey tattooed on my ankle. I wanted him to look furry and cartoony. I think it turned out wonderful.
My Barfey tattoo
As I continued to age, I felt bad that Barfey had no children in his life anymore. My green-haired friend’s niece, who was fond of me and I of her, gave me a friendship necklace. I put it on Old Barfey, to keep him connected to the wonderful childhood spirit. But, alas, she has now grown to adulthood herself.
The Velveteen Rabbit, Hanna-Barbara 1985
Robert: [to Nanny] He isn’t a toy. He’s real.
Bunny-Rabbit: I’m real. I’m real!
I have never outgrown stuffed animals (that will be a future post). I still find comfort in stroking Old Barfey’s nappy fur and feeling his nose gently rock back and forth. And he probably looks a fright to anyone but me. But I have given him so much loving, that to me, he is REAL. Like The Velveteen Rabbit.
The Velveteen Rabbit, Hanna-Barbara 1985
[By the incinerator]
Nursery Magic Fairy: I watch over all the toys who are worn out from too much loving. I will take you away and make you real.
Bunny-Rabbit: But I am real.
Nursery Magic Fairy: You were real only to the boy. Now you shall be real to everyone.
Fun Trivia Fact: Barfey co-starred in the 1978 movie Long Journey Back with Stephanie Zimbalist.
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There was a farewell potluck at the church for the Pastor’s family. I asked my asbestos friend what I should bring. Being that I live 20 minutes away, it is a pain to bring something warm and attempt to keep it warm and/or try not to spill it. My asbestos friend suggested I make deviled eggs. And that made me happy.
Work Station: 1.Peel 2.Cut 3.Yolk 4.Whites
I find making deviled eggs relaxing. I know, you are probably thinking I am crazy. How can peeling one (or two) dozen eggs be relaxing? If you use brand new eggs, I have to admit, they are almost impossible to peel and can cause endless frustration. But if you use eggs that have been in your fridge a week or two, they peel better when boiled. And standing at my kitchen counter doing endless manual labor gives my mind a break.
Another relaxing thing about deviled eggs is that I don’t need to use a recipe to make them. Maybe people have a lot of dishes they can make by heart. Deviled eggs would be my only one. I don’t measure ingredients either. I just feel how much should go into each batch with my soul.
Because I enjoy making deviled eggs, I often make them for large groups, like showers or family gatherings. I have two deviled egg storage containers, which hold 35 eggs total. (Whoever invented a deviled egg container which holds an odd number of eggs should be shot. Probably a man.) When my mom made deviled eggs, she used to smash up the yolks with a fork. But then again, she was only making eggs for three people. I have found the most useful tool to use when making a large quantity of deviled eggs is a pastry blender. It is meant to be used to cut (blend) shortening into dry ingredients. I would have no idea what it was if I hadn’t been told in middle school Home Ec class. It works very well to efficiently smash lots of yolks in no time flat. (Ha, flat!)
I am not going to give you my recipe, because it is my secret recipe. And pretty unimpressive. But I will say that I do not believe the school of thought that says bring your eggs to a boil, then turn them off and let them sit for 20 minutes. I believe in BOILING my eggs for 20 minutes. I am a big advocate of food safety. I don’t want to take any chances with my eggs.
Also, if I want to fancy them up, I can put the filling in a Ziploc bag, cut the corner, and fill the egg whites as you would take a pastry bag full of frosting to a cake. But I don’t often do that, as I feel you leave valuable yolk stuff stuck behind in the Ziploc bag. I always top with paprika, although I don’t really believe it has much taste.
Finished Product (I recently melted the blue try, so I had to buy a new one. Ya! No more odd numbered eggs!
And, that is pretty much all I have to say about deviled eggs. I like to make them. They make other people happy. Hey, is it wrong to take “DEVIL”ed eggs to a church function?
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