Snake Show Hippo

How would you explain a child of a hippo-loving mom, loving snakes? The good thing is that nobody can accuse me of brainwashing my child. Needless to say, I am not into snakes at all.... A few months ago, a reptile show was being held close to where we live. If it wasn't for my daughter, I would never even have considered going to visit an exhibition like that. We found ourselves in a huge sports hall filled with hundreds of vendors. We saw a lot of lizards, geckos, chameleons and frogs, but they were far outnumbered by snakes. I had never seen so many snakes in my life! Truth be told, some snakes looked very pretty. Not "let's-take-one-home" pretty, though. Of course I speak for myself. My daughter wanted to buy all of them. Besides frozen rats and mice, live crickets and cozy tanks, there were a few other animal related items for sale. Mainly jewelry. So while the rest of the family was admiring the endless rows of snake filled boxes,  I looked around to see if they did sell something else other than sparkling lizard necklaces or snake shaped ear rings. And there... in the middle of it all... a glass hippo. Smiling and calling my name. Apparently, there must be an obvious connection between snakes and or reptiles.... and hippos?

Hurtling Hippos

Did you ever buy a birthday card for yourself? I did. A long time ago, I saw this card and simply had to have it. And yes... to keep it, not to sent it. Google does not come up with a lot, when searching for the artist: Dennis Grass Designs in combination with the printing company: Paperclip Holland. Not very surprising as this card was printed in 1994... only three years into my hippo collecting adventure... now 21 years ago! The card itself is huge (29 cm x 21 cm, or 11,4 inch x 8,3 inch). The front reads: Een denderende verjaardag, which translates into: A hurtling birthday. Then you open the card, and many more hippos can be seen on both sides. The right side reads: van harte gefeliciteerd, which means: happy birthday. I can't help but feeling a little bit like it is my birthday, when looking at this card. I wish I had bought more cards... and that the artist would still make these: best birthday cards ever!

 

Front

 

Dennis Grass Design - Paperclip Holland 1994

 

 

Inside left and Inside right

 Back

You're Beautiful

Speaking of a weird conversation. My friend was telling me "I have this poster at home, hanging in my living room... I have had it for a very long time. I think they might be hippos." Really??? You are telling me, that you think they might be hippos? Frightened by the look I gave her, on line she went... to find out that indeed... what she has prominently hanging on her wall, are two adorable hippos! Even Wiki states that the subject the artist Peter Smith is most known for is a striped rotund creature with the form of a hippopotamus, but the stripes of a zebra. She told me that when she saw it, she fell in love with it right away. Like, I would not know what she is talking about. Honestly, what are the odds meeting somebody who likes hippos too (outside the Hippopotamus Society, of course)? In many of my blog posts, I talk about my theory that hippos contribute to world peace. I have another theory: people loving hippos must be lovely people. My dear friend Anneke (see post Hippe Pottamus) and now Tracy (see post: Lady Tracy), are living proof of that statement. Dear Tracy, I already told you, the universe has long been working on us meeting each other. We are all so happy to have you in our lives. Thank you for introducing me to the work of this wonderful artist and yes: You're Beautiful!

 

 

Peter Smith - You're Beautiful

 

 Please visit the website of the artist: Peter Smith