Scary Hippo - Part Two

While writing the previous post, I remembered I have another scary hippo in my collection. I find the number of interpretations by artists of one single animal so fascinating. From cute and cuddly to flat out scary, and everything in between. I found this mug in a store in Bangkok, and almost did not buy it, because it looks too scary. Like the hippo in the previous post, the fact that it was a hippo, won me over. If possible, I always buy two mugs, one for the collection, and one to use. Of this particular mug, they only had one, so I do not use it. But if they had two, I wonder whether I would.... because holding this mug by its scary hippo head is not very inviting... especially in the morning, when I really do need my coffee... I prefer a mug with a friendlier hippo face ;-).

But I do love this mug. I think it is great that somebody can make a hippo you almost can hear roaring: "Don't you dare touch me!"

The Hippo Has Landed!

Normally I do not buy toy-hippos made of plastic for myself. Often, I get them as presents... but sometimes I just can't help myself. I found this hippo in a tiny gift shop in a hospital in Bangkok. I looked at it for some time, because it was a toy.... made of plastic.... and looking a bit scary. But the fact that it was a hippo, won eventually. I had the idea of making it look like it just landed on the railing of my balcony. After trying different poses, I liked this angle best, but not all feet did fit on the railing. The fact that the hippo was actually too large to fit precisely on the railing, turned out to be just the right thing. Because now it looks like he is just holding on with the toes of his hind foot. Making it look very plausible that hippos can fly, land on the railing of your balcony and scare you! 

One Hundred!

Time for a mini-celebration! And before you get any ideas... I did not get one hundred hippopotamuses, but this is the One Hundredth post on my blog :-). This blog was initially mend to be a personal archive, as I started to forget how certain items became part of my collection. But then I got to know the International Hippopotamus Society (www.hippos.com) and I never could have imagined how that would impact my life and this blog. I feel my blog is not only an archive anymore but it has also become a vehicle for sharing Hippo-Happiness! I was very curious to see what would come up through Google Images, if I searched for: Hundred Hippos. And this wonderful picture surfaced... with that exact title. You can order a print on www.redbubble.com. It represents the One-Hundred-Hippo-Posts, it reflects my feeling of being part of a huge, wonderful and caring bloat and as you can see... there is room for many more... hippos and posts ;-)!

I know there are quite a number of loyal followers of my blog. Thank you for making it so much fun for me to keep posting! And to the occasional visitor: I hope you will, after reading some of my posts, love hippos too. 

Pincherette (hip) Pos

I considered to call this post: "Welcome to the USA, part two", because this was another surprise gift that found its way to our new home. A very nicely decorated (with hippos, of course) little box was delivered. My daughters rolled their eyes and gave me "you-must-be-kidding" look, together with the "More hippos? Really?" and "Let me guess... another hippo!" remarks. I never would have guessed to find such a wonderful hippo-gift. A vintage pincherette ashtray. To be honest, I was not familiar with this kind of ashtray. Only after using Google, I found out that the cigarettes are placed in the hippo's mouth, explaining the name "Pincherette" (I know, a lot of catching up to do... especially on fancy hippo-items like this ;-)). This ashtray will not be used as ashtray, but it will spend the rest of its life as "fancy-hippo-decoration". Dear David, thank you so much for this perfect gift. You must have remembered the remark about me being a "Human Magpie"... absolutely loving everything bling-blingy and shiny. You couldn't have given these Pincherette Pos a better home!