Mailbag

I received a couple of letters in the mail, so here they are!

The first postcard is from Beanie Mouse - it's a postcard of King John.  He looks like a serious fellow.  I love getting postcards from Beanie.  Thanks Beanie!

This second card is from.. hmm.. "Freetzel Ran-SOMETHING-Whyler."

"I think that's ‎Fritzel Ranßweiler," said Feathers.

Ah yes, Fritzel is an alligator (or crocodile) from Germany.  I do not think he has a blog but he is on Facebook and posts some beary cool photos.  Danke Fritzel!

Watermelon juice

Hello everyone.  I am beary thirsty today and I happen to have a nice, ripe watermelon here, so I will be showing you how to make watermelon juice.  It is a perfect, refreshing drink especially in the summer!

First of all, you need a watermelon.

Then you cut it in half.  Be beary careful with the knife.

Cut it in half again.

Then cut those halves into halves.

Alright, this watermelon looks so delicious that I am going to sneak in a quick bite right now.  Mmm, it's good!

Cut the watermelon into small chunks.  Now this is where a blender comes in.

Put the watermelon chunks into the blender.

Now all you have to do is just press the button on the blender.  I like to press all of them to make sure it is nice and smooth.

"Ajdin," Uncle Tibbs said, "don't forget to put on the --"

WHIRRRR!! the blender groaned.

"...lid."

"Oh no!" I exclaimed.  Watermelon juice splashed everywhere!  It was a mess.

"Doh!" Uncle Tibbs said.  "That's alright Ajdin.  I'll help you clean up."

After we wiped up the table, it was time to strain the watermelon juice.  This part is optional but I like to have purely watermelon juice without the pulp and any seeds.  Take a mesh strainer and put it over a glass.  Pour the blended watermelon into the strainer and slowly stir with a spoon.

And that is how you make watermelon juice!

Enjoy!

SALMON WARS: Jedi Training Makes Me Hungry

(For the previous episode of Salmon Wars, click here)

Master Oooda and I - Ajdin Salmonfisher - were working on my continued training with the Fish.  It was beary hard work and I began to get hungry.  My tummy rumbled.

"Master Oooda," I said.  "I sense a great disturbance... in my stomach."

"Huuuuungry yoooou areeeeeee," Master Oooda replied.  "Eaaaaat thiiiis yoooou muuuuust.  Dooooo ooooor doooo nooooot.  Theeeeere iissssss noooo tryyyy."

He presented me with a box of macaroni and cheese - the SALMON WARS edition!

I used my Fish powers to open the box.

The pasta came in cool shapes like Master Oooda, R2D2, C3PO, Darth Tibbs and an X-wing Fighter!

I boiled the pasta in a pot.  (Be careful not to let your Jedi robes catch on fire when cooking.)

 

After about 10 minutes, the pasta was cooked.

Then I added some butter, some milk, and the cheese packet from the box.

There was just one thing left to do, then my destiny would be complete.

"Master Oooda!  Darth Tibbs!" I called.  "Dinner is ready!"

They came to the table.

"Phew!  Ruling the Empire sure works up an appetite," Darth Tibbs said.

"Huuuuungry I aaaaaam," echoed Master Oooda.

"You want this, don't you?  Go on... take your spoon," Darth Tibbs said.  "Use it.  Strike the macaroni and cheese down with it.  It is unarmed.  Give in to your hunger."

We were about to dig in with our spoons, but I sensed a dark and evil presence lurking nearby.  Someone was trying to steal our macaroni and cheese!

"Reeeemember youuuuur traiiiiniiinggg," Master Oooda said.

"This is not the macaroni and cheese you are looking for," I said, using the Jedi mind trick while waving my paw.

It worked!  The dark and evil presence went away and the galaxy could eat in peace once more.

Stay tuned for more episodes of SALMON WARS...

May the Fish be with you!

By the way, below is the recently released second teaser for SALMON WARS: THE FISH AWAKENS.  We are beary excited for this movie!

TurtleTax

Hello everyone, today I am going to tell you about --

"Aaaaaajdin."  I was interrupted by Ooogie.

"Hello Ooogie," I said.

"Caaaaan youuuu heeeeeelp meeeeeee pleeeeease?" he asked.

"With what?"

"Myyyyyy taaaaaaxes," he said.

I looked at the calendar.

"Ooogie, today is April 16.  Taxes were due yesterday for us stuffies in the USA."

"I knooooooooow," he said, "buuuuut I'm sloooooow."

I thought for a moment, remembering what I had learned from last year's tax preparation.  "Well, that's alright," I said.  "You can file a Form 4868 for an extension to file.  Do you have a tax software program?"

"Ah, TurtleTax.  Yes, I am familiar with that program."

I put the TurtleTax CD into the computer.  Then we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

It took such a beary long time to load that I had time to take a nap.

After some time, TurtleTax finally loaded onto the screen.

"Alright Ooogie," I said.  "I'll just start by entering your basic information here."

"Ooogie, did you receive any W-2s from last year?" I asked.

"Yesssssss," he answered.

"Ah that's right, you worked as Santa's helper over Christmas."

"Here's another question, Ooogie, and one that could get you some substantial tax benefits.  Did you own your own home in 2014?"

He pointed to his turtle shell.

"Ah yes, I guess that will do," I said.

After answering some more questions, we were finally done.

"Alright Ooogie, now we can file your tax return," I said.  I clicked on the e-file button but received an error message.

"Ooogie, this is strange - it must be a setting only on the TurtleTax edition.  We cannot e-file your tax return.  We have to print it out and mail it in.  It may take several weeks, or months, before you receive your refund.  Is that okay?"

"Thaaaaaat's fiiiiiiiine," he replied.  "I'm iiiiin noooooo hurryyyyyyy.  Thaaaaaank youuuuu Aaaaaajdiiin foooor heeeelping meeeee."

"No problem Ooogie!" I said.  "Now we can go relax and do something fun!"

Phew!  Are you glad your taxes are done?

April surprise giveaway drawing

Hello everyone!  The April surprise giveaway ended yesterday and there were a total of 7 entries including blog comments and Facebook comments.  Who will be the lucky winner?

I put the contest entries inside my trusty fishbowl.  This time, Uncle Tibbs was going to select the winner.

"Uncle Tibbs, will you please do the honors?" I asked.

"Why certainly, Ajdin."  He put his paw in the bowl.

"AND THE WINNER IS..." I paused with excitement.

"Hmm... ungh...ergh..." Uncle Tibbs made grunting sounds.

"AND THE WINNER IS..." I said again.

"Hmm... there seems to be a problem," he said.

"Uncle Tibbs, they're waiting.  Please take your paw out of the bowl."

"I'm trying Ajdin, but it seems that I am stuck."

He was stuck indeed.  I called Ooogie and Feathers over to help.  Together, we pulled while Uncle Tibbs tugged.

Suddenly... POP!!  Uncle Tibbs' paw came out of the bowl.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Congratulations Sandy!  You have just won a new pair of pants!

I will be shipping them to you as soon as ---- hey!

My mom does not seem to approve of the pants as a contest prize so I will be sending you something else... it is truly a surprise!

Thank you everyone for entering this giveaway and stay tuned for more giveaways!