Meanwhile in the backyard...

Gertie has a new friend, and they share one thing in common, they both like to eat.

I present to you the World Eater...

" Ahhh, smells delicious!"

and also the World Eater...

"Hey, don't hog all the grub!"

Yes, two pees in a pod indeed.

I have been waiting to debut this Galactus for quite sometime, it was a sweet reward from none other than my pals at Tate's. I will have to do a better post later, plus show off some of the other swag!

The Gert Days of Summer

I know the official start of Summer is about five days away, but we are having a really unseasonable June this year. This week alone the highs are already hitting 100º Fahrenheit by noon, which is not weird for Texas... in July and August that is. The last good rain we had was in January, so far for this year our rainfall has been about 4.02" and 2.66" of that was in January.

Even with the water restrictions going into Stage 2, you cannot have an overheated bulldog and the Gert has her own pool for when we are outside, sometimes on weekends we throw a bag of ice in it which she tries to eat, she loves her pool!

The Bassets on the other hand love the A/C...

Something you might not know

Before she came to live with us, our bulldog Gertie used to be a test pilot. She was instrumental in making a lot of planes that fly today safe for everyone from a U.S. Air Force Pilot flying the latest fighters to "Joe and Jane Traveler" flying commercial airliners. Decorated several times for bravery and above all staying cool under pressure.




This has been something you might not know.

You have disappointed me for the last time commander

Darth Gert has enjoyed the well wishes on her Birthday but is sorely disappointed in your efforts to capture the Rebels.

Another Year! Another Gert Day!

That's right our resident, awesome English Bulldog is now two years old! Gertie or as we call her "Gert" is looking forward to having a day of pampering and fun with presents and cake tonight!



Happy Birthday Gertie!

Holidays, Eclectorama Style!

This is going to be a quick post with just some teasers for the new year and an update or two, I am swamped this week at work, having fun with a cold and this limbo week between Christmas and New Years is always sort of weird. That all said I felt it would not be right if I just didn't share in some of my holiday cheer from this past week/weekend.

So first up I decided to bite the bullet and order this guy, I promise I will do a more detailed post on him in the coming weeks. This really isn't a Christmas present, it was more of an opportunity presented itself and I just took it and pressed the add to cart button. The Super 7 Stormtrooper arrived a couple days before Christmas , so my 2011 goals are off to a grand start.



Next was a quiet little Christmas Eve Dinner planned and prepared by my wife, those were the best potatoes I have ever had by the way.



Followed the next morning by an awesome breakfast, it's a tradition to have piggies in blankets and fruit salad on Christmas morning in our house, this year a new sausage roll and some home made pastries joined the festivities. No room left for lunch or dinner after these.



Then we watch "the girls", our two Bassets and one English Bulldog open their presents. Yes we get them presents. Lulu is quite good at opening presents, I think she enjoys this more than the toy inside. Then everyone else opens theirs.



Here we have my Christmas morning haul. I think I did pretty good. This year seemed to be a Star Wars themed Christmas! These were gifts from my wife and son, pure awesome. As long as I live there will always be a toy under the tree, period.



Next my good blogging buddy, James from A Piece of the Action sent me a little surprise. I guess little isn't a good word to describe it. What could it be?



WOW! it's a Empire Strikes Back Action Figure case! Wait it's a little heavy...



Holly Cow! That is right it is filled to the brim with Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back figures! This is another thing I am going to do a more detailed post about in the coming weeks as this was another one of my 2011 goals and this little blurb does not do it justice. I just wanted to make mention here so I could send out another thank you to James, I can't thank him enough.



So, I think I have had a pretty good Holiday so far for not taking anytime off from work and having a head cold. Sure I bought a few little things in the days leading up to Christmas and one at a sale afterwards, but that is all filler compared to all that Awesome stuff above. I hope everyone is having a great Holiday and I should be back and going with more in 2011!

Battle for the Cowl: Epilogue

Well, in celebration of last Friday's victory I decided to don my Batman T-Shirt for work today. I also just wanted to thank all the readers and followers for enthusiastically keeping up with the competition and thank Reis for giving me a challenge. Reis is really a good sport and all around awesome blogger. If you haven't checked out his blogs on art and toys you need to make it a usual stop in your surfing.



The shirt was just the last of the celebrating, Friday was Chili night and a night off so I added the extras back to the shelf and made a spot for my new Batman, number 106, who's on his way. Saturday we had a viewing of that classic from 1989, Batman staring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger. Sunday, Halloween, Bat Hound dropped by to help hand out candy with Lulu and Gertie, who decided to dress as Sugar and Spice respectively.

Never fear! There will be more Bat Hound in Eclectorama's Future!

Finally, hopefully this week I will pick up a little reward for myself to either add to the loose Batman collection or some other part of the Batman Collection. Stay tuned for that in a future post. Also as work gets busier I will try to get some posts I have been planning up and make some announcements on Spockcation and something else Reis and I have brewing, so thanks in advance for being patient.

As promised

Here's a little pre garage sale sort action. My assistant was non other than "the Gert" (Gertie) the resident Bulldog. She really is a big help and keeps you hopping. Meaning you do not leave things laying around for too long. She would make regular trips and nose around to see if I had uncovered any squeaky toys or a nyla bone.



Walking into the room that just the day before had been clean. This time though nothing but toys on top of toys.



A photo of a little of the sorting action going down and a shot of the inside of the closet. If those boxes stacked on that tote in the foreground were not there you could actually see the floor in the closet.



Here's some things I learned during that sort.

1) I really do not need to go through a toy aisle for quite some time, I have plenty to keep me busy and posting.

2) I miss the cleaned out room.

3) Never, I'll repeat NEVER, store your JLU loose in a tote with no circulation or some sort of protection. See this photo, these two were stored onto of each other and there was some sort of reaction with the plastic.



4) Mattel's newer toys seemed to have more issues with plastic melting, paint rubs and the dreaded molt on rubbery parts. Kenner/Hasbro, to date only one problem with a Mr. Freeze, that was easily cleaned. My verdict I wish Hasbro made more of the toys I like.

5) You really need to get in the mindset to sort, not go and open a tote and start having memory flashbacks, that is if you don't want to get rid of stuff.

6) I found some long thought to be lost friends. Though still no vintage R2-D2, I'm afraid he is gone forever.

All said and done the garage sale saw six toy totes cleared out and I am on the way to clearing out a comic tote. The Room now has stacks of comics everywhere, but I will need to get it all straightened up for the Battle for the Cowl.

HEY!

"What are you doing here? He said vacation this week, be back next week!"

Eclectorama Vacation Hiatus

"ssshhhh...don't wake the Gert..."

Hi all my Eclectomaniacs!

Next week will be a week off here at Eclectorama, but we should be back to posting on April 26th for more Marvelous Mondays, the Adventures of Gonk! the Traveling Power Droid, Spockation 2010, Basset & Bulldog fun plus more on my favorite subject, toys!

Be good to each other, May the force be with you and Live long and prosper!

Happy Gert Day to you!

Well look who turned one today! That's right the resident Bulldog, Gertie!



Happy Birthday Gertie!

Gertie vs. Stormtrooper Out Takes

TK328: "Excuse me ma'am, have you seen these Droids?"
Gertie: "Mmm, Wha? Who are you? Droids? You looking for trouble?"

TK328: "Ah, no ma'am, just looking for Droids... sorry to bother you."
Gertie: "Say is that a Blastech E-11? You threatening me? I don't like you...

interrogate the locals

"No, I haven't seen any droids!"

Gertie Update!

Okay, since I was asked here are some stats and background information on little Gertie. This will also come in handy as we have family out of town that might be interested in the latest member of the family. I promise I'll get back to toys for my toy collecting audience soon.


Gertie's Stats:

Full name: Gertie... (We are still trying to decide on her full formal name)
Breed: English Bulldog
Gender: Female
Coat: Brindle
Father: English Bulldog
Mother: English Bulldog
Age: As of 4/5/2009, 8 Weeks
Favorite Things to Do: Eat, Sleep, Poop and chew on everything
Favorite Toy: Purple Rubber Ring with Knotted Rope Tether
Funniest Moment (To Date): Chasing and terrorizing two full grown Bassets that are easily 3 to 4 times larger than herself.
Item of Note: To date she loves the camera and is not afraid in the least to have her picture taken, matter of fact she heads for the camera and pretty much looks directly at it, it is hard to get candid shots.


A nice side shot of her coat


Chasing Auntie Squee

Special Announcement

Sorry for the lack of posts the past few days, but we have been trying to get ready for a new member of the family. My son is now a father, so to speak.

I present... Gertie.