Ramune

Hi everyone! Today I'm going to show you a Japanese soda called Ramune, have you heard of it? It's a hot and humid day today, so this will be the perfect refreshment!

Let's take a closer look at the bottle.

As you might notice, the packaging is in Japanese, but this bottle shape actually has its origins from England. This is called a Codd-neck bottle, made of glass and sealed with a marble, named after its inventor Hiram Codd. He invented this to help reduce the need for corks in bottling production.

Then, a Scottish-born pharmacist named Alexander Cameron Sim introduced the drink to Kobe, Japan in 1884. Since then, there have been at least 50 flavors of Ramune, with some interesting flavors such as:

- chili oil
- teriyaki
- octopus
- mystery flavor

I should suggest a salmon flavor, huh?

Here are the instructions for opening the bottle. Hmm, it is all in Japanese...

Oh, here are the instructions in English!

I've removed the seal from the top and now I can see the marble holding the seal together. But what do I do next?

Inside the cap, there is a piece that looks like it can be separated.

POP!!

Yes, that's perfect! I was able to pop the middle piece out.

It fits right on top of the marble like a plunger. Now, I'm going to push it down hard so the marble drops down into the bottle.

POP!! PLINK!! FIZZ!!

Look at that! The marble went down, and it is caught in the thin neck of the bottle and kinda spins around.

And what does it taste like, you might be wondering? This is the original flavor, and it tastes a bit like a mix of Sprite and ginger ale. It's the perfect treat for a summer day!

STUFFIE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS

As you probably know, the humans postponed their Summer Olympics this year due to the pandemic. Now many humans are stuck at home, and from what I've heard, some of them have put on quite a few pounds.

But we stuffies won't let that happen to us.

Let us continue to carry the Olympic torch, the sacred fire which burns within us all, to pursue excellence and discipline of the highest level...

Annnouncing the

STUFFIE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS

Yes, that's right! The Stuffie Olympics are back again.

STUFFIE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS RULES:

1) You can enter up to 3 different events per stuffie household. For example, boxing, rowing, and gymnastics. Or create your own unique category!

2) Send your photo entries via email to lifeisbearygood (at) gmail (dot) com.

3) Entries must be received by July 27, 2020 at 11:59 pm EST.

4) Gold, silver, and bronze medal winners will be awarded!

Need some inspiration? Check out some entries from the 2016 Stuffie Summer Olympics below!

Terrance - high dive

Benny Woodlouse - pole jump

Patch, Droopy, and Spunky - javelin throw

Will YOU be the next Olympic champion? Good luck with your entries everyone!

Build-A-Bear shopping

Today, I was in for a real treat! My mom told me there was still a balance left on this Build-A-Bear Workshop gift card. Time for some online shopping!

Look, Build-A-Bear Workshop is having a sale this weekend - perfect! I wonder what good deals I can find.

Some skirts and tutus? No thanks! I'm not auditioning for Swan Lake anytime soon.

Boxer briefs? No!

Pants? Definitely not! You all know how I feel about pants.

What's this? Star Wars costumes? Now we're getting closer.

*some time later*

Well, I placed my order and I can't wait for it to arrive! What do you think I bought?

Chinese lesson

Hi everyone! Today, I'm going to teach you a couple of Chinese words. Learning a new language is fun!

Let's start with one of my favorite -- if not my most favorite -- word. You guessed it. HONEY.

In Chinese, "honey" is 蜂蜜 and pronounced fēngmì. I like to eat 蜂蜜。

Next, let's learn a very closely related word: BEE.

Do you see anything interesting about the word for BEE?

If you said it is the reverse of BEE, you are right! In Chinese, the word for BEE is 蜜蜂 and pronounced mìfēng.

So, be sure not to confuse the two. You don't want to eat 蜜蜂  - that would really sting!

I hope you enjoyed this Chinese lesson!

Perler bead kit

I received something beary cool in the mail last week from a friend! It was a Perler bead kit with a Super Mario theme! Of course I am wearing my Super Mario hoodie while I talk it about it today.

It's a large bucket of beads that can be used to make sprites. Just arrange the beads in the design or pattern you like, then iron it to melt them together.

I can pick from 11 sprite designs in this kit. It comes with a pegboard for holding the beads, and also a piece of wax paper for ironing. I'm going to pick the question mark block.

Now, I carefully start the first row of beads. You have to be very patient. My friend Ooogie would probably like this project.

*some time later*

Okay, now I'm about halfway there! Any slight tip or movement of the pegboard will mess things up. I did that quite a few times.

Alright - there! All the beads have added to this design.

Now it's time to iron it so all the beads melt together. I will defer to my mom for this part. Be careful as the iron is very hot! Once I iron one side, we'll have to flip it over and do the other side also.

And we're done! It look pretty cool, huh? I might glue some magnets on the back of this sprite. Do you have any other suggestions for using this sprite?

Skateboard

Alright folks, I am super excited to show you my new skateboard! My mom had been working on a secret project for the past couple of days and wouldn't let me peek at it, but now I know that she had been painting this for me.

Look! It's similar to the design on my t-shirt.

The little wheels on it actually spin!

I'm going to give it a try. I could be like Tony Hawk flying through the air in a 900 spin.

It shouldn't be that hard, right? I think skateboarders just put one foot on it, like this, and then -

WHOOPS!

Well, I guess it takes some practice. Good thing I started on carpet. And maybe I should wear a helmet and some kneepads.

Woof?

Have you tried skateboarding before?

Mail from Sandy

Hey everyone, did you know that Sandy is single-handedly keeping the postal service beary busy? I checked my mailbox yesterday and found two letters from him!

The first is this light yellow envelope that has a lot of stickers on it. The envelope is really shiny and has a pearl-like lustre to it - cool!

And on the inside was a red card with some intricate cut-out design.

When I opened the card, a huge dragon popped out at me! Wow, this was so cool! Sandy is thanking me here for the sticker I sent him recently.

The second piece of mail came in a larger envelope that also had stickers on it, Winnie the Pooh stickers to be exact.

Look at this beautiful card!

Sandy gave some interesting updates in his card. He might be going on a long road trip to visit Gramma, and visiting Rose and Otto the Otter. Thank you beary much Sandy for the mail!