A spontaneous, albeit brief date night out in Chinatown tonight and I got to try out a tiny little café that specializes in créme brûlée (that I’ve been wanting to try since they opened but the gastroparesis has been too much of a problem!) - Crackle Creme is the name incase you’re in Vancouver. M always gets to have a little bit of extra food these days, which I am sure pleases him greatly ^_^
Look at those amazing macaron too! I rolled away with a couple to eat tomorrow. I bet you’d never guess which two I picked. I think I can name most of them but am stumped by the chick. They are: tuxedo sam, kerokerokerropi, minions, totoro, hello kitty, a poop emoji, a soot sprite, little twin stars and I believe that’s another totoro.
Tuxedo Sam’s person is one of you, dear readers! :-) They wrote to me earlier this year about Sam:
I was wondering if you had any availability to help me refurbish my best friend, Tuxedo Sam? He’s a Sanrio character that I became enamored with when I was like 13, and one of my best friends from high school (that I still talk to) ended up getting me a Tuxedo Sam plushie that I have slept with every single night for almost a decade. Naturally, he’s very worn-down with that kind of history, and the other day, his ice cream cone that is normally sewn onto his left flipper came undone. In addition, his fabric is VERY dirty, and hisbeak & tail that used to stick out are basically caved-innow.
Hereis one of his diagnosis photos, so you can see:
Sam (or Tuxedo or Tuxedo Sam) came in last month and got right in the spa. As a penguin, he had a grand old time in the bubble bath:
It’s hard to see there, but he really did get nice and clean! Next up, restuffing. To help his beak and tail stand out, he got slightly denser stuffing there, which was sewn in place inside. Then he got traditional stuffing elsewhere, and of course, a bit of original stuffing was preserved in a heart in his chest (this is also a preview of how clean he got!):
That’s a very special heart, because Tuxedo’s person had sent along their own childhood blanket for the fabric. :-)
Next up, repairs. We were recovering the ribbon on Sam’s hat with new ribbon, and replacing the ribbon that stood out. And even though his bow got nice and clean, his person wanted a new one that didn’t split at the edges, and was a bit squarer. We upgraded both a bit, with gold edging on the ribbon and a velour bow. Here he is getting his chubbiness checked:
There was one small problem… his ice cream cone was on the wrong flipper! A quick flip, closing up his final seam, and he was ready to fly home:
Tuxedo Sam arrived home safely Saturday and his person wrote last night:
Hi Beth, OMG Thank you so so so much for all of your hard work on my baby boy!!! He looks ten years younger LOL. My parents and I got a kick out of the patient chart that he came with, specifically the discharge instructions about his weight gain from the stuffing diet LOL.. He looks so much younger and happier.
And they sent a photo of the happy former patient back home with his two Tuxedo Sam siblings:
Now normally, this would be the end of Tuxedo Sam’s story on this blog, but his person asked a small favor, and I said I’d help. Apparently, Sanrio, Tuxedo Sam’s brand, does a vote every year for the favorite character. Last year, Sam came in 10th. And, as you have seen, his person is a huge fan and is hoping he’ll do better this year. He already is, as in current voting, which just started, he is 9th. She asked that I ask you all, if you might be interested, to vote for Tuxedo Sam. They are hoping, if there are more votes, there will be more Tuxedo Sam merchandise because “There’s already a high demand for him but so little supply…” So, here is the linkif you are interested in supporting Sam and is brethren. I already voted for Sam in my patient’s honor. :-)
p.s. i know i mentioned the fashion show series of posts and i’m still working on them, promise! but i wanted to give you all time to vote if you wanted. :-)
