Strange things you're not used to

[English Muffin 59]

Ohmygoodness, I remember watching Hammy the Hamster tooling around in a radio-controlled motorboat! It was a Canadian kids show and I loved it. Tried to find a pic of that segment but this is all I could come up with:

Now I know what most of you are thinking. Just how entertaining can some rodents on a riverbank be? Well the charm lay not in the animals themselves but the props and the sets that they were put in. The animals lived in nifty houses, such as GP's mill with the water wheel and Hammy's boot house. The houses were fully furnished with rodent-sized furniture. Then, to make things extra exciting, Sutherland and Ellison would stuff the animals in remote control vehicles - such as motor boats and jeeps and planes and such.

Ooooh, I used to love that show. We had it in the UK and I had no idea it was Canadian. I think it was called 'Tales from the Riverbank' or something similar. I've come over all nostalgic.

[Krikit 1,165]

Julez.

but did you have a pool party for your hamster and all his friends?

I would totally go to that party. LOL

*makes a note in preparation of Krikit's upcoming visit*

Wine - check!

Pool - check!

Hamsters....must go shopping....

I'll bring the Hamster Yummies!

I'm leaving in the morning, Julez. That'll have me in your area around Friday about 5:00pm or so. Going to hit the Wegman's before I cross the border. I'll give you a call (or you can call me) and we can try to hook up. If not, I'll catch you on the return trip, or sometime during my stay.

Ooooh, I used to love that show. We had it in the UK and I had no idea it was Canadian. I think it was called 'Tales from the Riverbank' or something similar. I've come over all nostalgic.

That's it! Oh, thank God someone else has seen it. You kind of feel an idiot talking about power-boating hamsters when no one's ever heard of them.

[Jeraly 4]

For hamster in a boat I found this:

Or this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvXDWQdFTEA

[TBoneTX 46,262]

Are Hamster Yummies like Weetabix? Can we cover them with treacle? Si, man?

[Krikit 1,165]

For hamster in a boat I found this:

Or this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvXDWQdFTEA

The second one was cute. The first one was kinda creepy.

Are Hamster Yummies like Weetabix? Can we cover them with treacle? Si, man?

Yes! You should try some! They would be treacle-covered goodness. Yum.

[Gemmie 142]

For hamster in a boat I found this:

Or this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvXDWQdFTEA

That first one is AWFUL.

[Reba 2]

We used to watch Hammy Hamster all the time. I liked GP the best.

Yanno what I can't get used to down here? I dunno if they do this in other parts of the US, but for some unfathomable reason, "evening" starts at around 10AM here! I'm serious! Everyone starts saying "have a good evening" before lunchtime even! And they'll say stuff like "I have to go over to such and such this evening, around 1pm or so" It hurts my brain it does. Evening is after 6pm at least! There's no "afternoon" here. We go straight from elevenses to evening.

weirdness...

[StillThePrettiest 3]

that would do my head in

[TBoneTX 46,262]

I dunno if they do this in other parts of the US, but for some unfathomable reason, "evening" starts at around 10AM here!

You live in Nawth Keh'lahnah? I lived there for 200 years (1984-1986). It's a different world. When I found myself driving behind a man who was wearing a hat, I knew that I would grow old before I reached my destination. In Charlotte (named after an English queen, si man?), when the stoplights turned red, people rocked their cars back & forth over the pressure-plates in the pavement to try to get the lights to change. Also in Charlotte, you could come to the intersection of Queens Road & Queens Road. Carolinian English is less a dialect than it is a throat-disease.

Most tellingly, the temperature one night in Charlotte fell to 5 degrees F. (an all-time record). The next day, my acquaintances were saying "Ah nearly froze mah AY-ss off!" Having grown up in (and having moved from) Iowa, I was hard-put to keep from LAUGHING my ay-ss off, thinking "Is THIS as cold as it gets?"

Also, even the passing mention of a possible snowflake caused businesses to close, schools to be let out, and the "barbaric cottonheads" (secret Yanqui term for the natives) to rush to the supermarkets to clear the shelves of bread, milk, and Spam. (North Carolinians are the world's heaviest consumers of Spam, si man.) THAT was always funny. (For those unfamiliar with Spam, it's a canned glop that likely consists of meat by-products, moose-droppings, Hamster Yummies, and probably also a few hamsters themselves. Even slathering it in treacle would not much increase its palatability.)

My most lasting memory of Charlotte was when a buddy (from Philadelphia) & I were sitting in a trendy bar, nursing our drinks and sedately watching the social action go on around us. After several contemplative minutes, he turned to me and said, "You know what I would really like to encounter someday?" I asked, "What?" He said, "A Southern woman... with a MIND." I nodded solemnly, and we returned to our observation.

On the basis of my experience, the transgression of referring to morning or afternoon as "evening" is neither weighty nor out of character for North Carolina. However, it IS enough to drive one to drink. "Bartender! Tap me up a cold treacle and set it on the bar!" Si, man.

[Reba 2]

Actually, Hawaii eats the most Spam of any other state. Its the state food. I think its on their flag even.

Yeah, everyone freaks out about a little bit of snow here. Its hillarious, it really is. I haven't seen more than 2 inches of snow in all the 4 years I've been here. And there's been plenty of "snow days" in that time. Which is utterly rediculous. I mean really? Why shut down every business because there's half an inch of snow on the ground at 6 am, which will be all gone as soon as the sun comes up at 7am?

sheesh....Toronto could get 7 feet of snow and everyone still shows up to work! Maybe a little late from having to dig our cars out of the snowbanks, but yeah, we still have to go to work

[myperfectflaw 11]

...

I don't know how I didn't crash, but I didn't; I changed lanes twice in quick succession and dived down a side street, leapt from the car, grabbed a magazine or something from the back seat and brushed the ####### out onto the road, and then sat in the driver's seat with my heart pounding like I'd just witnessed a murder

and then I had to get back in the car and go to work and stand in my classroom and talk to parents for four hours

it wasn't funny at the time... good story though; I don't know how many times I've told it

and, believe it or not, it was BIGGER than the one in the picture

I think I would have puked!! I mean, I am not too bad with spiders in the UK but even I would have freaked out at something like that jumping on my head!!! I mean - it makes you wonder where the heck it was hiding

We *did* get another roach last night - in our bedroom this time... the cat had come in and was miaowing over and over and I went and gave her food but she didn't eat it. She came back into the bedroom and starting causing havoc - she has a habit of clambering under the chest of drawers and chasing her tail So I sit up to find out what she is doing and just as I do that, I see the roach run out from under the chest - Daisy duly pounces after it and it escapes under my nightstand. So I wake Jeremy up (who is less than pleased) and I tell ask him nicely to get the roach out. At this point it runs out from under the nightstand and tries to bury itself under my slipper. I ask Jeremy if he wants me to get something to catch it and instead he moves the slipper. So the thing runs back under the chest of drawers again - smart move (!). Eventually it runs out to Jeremy's laptop and climbs on that, Jeremy manages to catch it in a cup and throw it outside.

I was really proud of myself because I didn't scream once I think in time I might not even need rescuing but right now I still do

I'm always slightly amused when I read British people complaining about recycling - lack of curbside recycling was one of my biggest complaints in the UK where it seems to depend on the local council. Every place I've lived in the US has had it since about 1983.

We had roadside recycling where I lived in the UK I don't mind getting paid to do it here though I just wish we had more space to store things

Your story made me laugh, cos it didn't happen to me!

Haha, I would have been out of that room so fast!! When I went to visit my fiance in Australia, I was traumatized by the roaches there, and they always appeared when I was alone. I literally got chased two different times by them (WTH, here they ran away from you, not AT you!!), and had one hover over the sink when I needed to brush my teeth before bed. The Aussie's acted like I was insane, apparently they're pretty damn common there. I could never live there for that reason alone. Probably why I'll never move to the southern US either, they're ridiculously big there as well. ~shudders~

[myperfectflaw 11]

I haven't noticed any differences with the bacon in the US

or are you guys talking about peameal bacon??

This is back bacon

yeah... is that what you are talking about?? that seems to be more like ham...

I like the strips of bacon.. the fat makes it good.. although I hate when people fry it to a crisp. i like mine a bit floppy...

Yes!! When I visited my Aussie they kept referring to bacon, but I kept seeing ham!! If I wanted ham, that's what I would buy!! And floppy greasy bacon rocks!! Mmmmm.....

[Marilyn. 340]

I haven't noticed any differences with the bacon in the US

or are you guys talking about peameal bacon??

This is back bacon

yeah... is that what you are talking about?? that seems to be more like ham...

I like the strips of bacon.. the fat makes it good.. although I hate when people fry it to a crisp. i like mine a bit floppy...

Yes!! When I visited my Aussie they kept referring to bacon, but I kept seeing ham!! If I wanted ham, that's what I would buy!! And floppy greasy bacon rocks!! Mmmmm.....

finally someone on my side...

[TBoneTX 46,262]

(WTH, here they ran away from you, not AT you!!)

These are special USCIS roaches, sent to welcome you to America, si man.

[Jeraly 4]

Actually, Hawaii eats the most Spam of any other state. Its the state food. I think its on their flag even.

You beat me - I was going to mention that... on the grocery store shelves I think they have about 250 different types of spam as well... not to mention the plethora of spam cookbooks we saw there

As for snow - the UK comes to a standstill as well... it is pretty tragic