Babes in Toyland

What toys did you love to play with as a child? This must be the funnest list so far! My first thought was Lego, but when I started looking up pictures, it triggered memories and I soon got lost in time reminiscing about Playmobil, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, Care Bears, Monchichi and Barbie. And thanks to this great blog Toys of the 80s, I also remembered the more obscure toys, such as Keypers, Snugglebum and Spirograph. My sister may be the only one to remember Pin y Pon and the Twinkel Pinkels. Here are the toys I so fondly remember. What are yours?

The Fisherprice menagerie – still cute

Monchichi – What animals are these even supposed to be?

The Smurfs – Who didn’t have at least one plastic Smurf?

ViewMaster – 3D images of worlds yet to explore

Twink – Rainbow Brite’s little friend. Mine’s nose is now white with pink flecks. I loved pushing his nose in and plopping it back out.

Playmobil – How awesome were the Playmobil animals? I was once accused by my kindergarten teacher of stealing the Playmobil doggie from class. My mother was called in and I fervently defended my honor. I guess now would be a good time to fess up: I totally did it. I loved that plastic puppy so much I slipped it into my coat pocket and took it home.

Care Bears – I can’t remember being as fond of these as of other toys, but they still make me smile.

Mr Men – these didn’t become popular in Belgium until much later, but my mom had bought all the Mr Men books, and every night we could choose between dessert or a book. We always picked the books.

Lecturama – not technically a toy, but these books with cassette tapes represent hours and days of losing yourself in the most amazing fairy tales, fables and legends from around the world. Ping! Turn the page.

Keypers – I had forgotten all about these, but I totally had that swan! Such a pretty princess.

Twinkel Pinkels – The butterfly was mine. I couldn’t sleep without her luminescence to keep me safe at night. At summer camp, this girl tried to steal her from me, but I showed that little twerp soon that wasn’t gonna fly.

Pin y Pon – Our dad got these for us in Spain and we went nuts about them even though they were just inferior Playmobil. The pink hair rocked.

Spirograph – kids today would probably scoff at this, but this was graphic design artistry and fun such as we’d never seen before.

My Little Pony – oh my little ponies, you were so much more elegant than those tubby care bears.

California Dream Barbie – you started my fascination with America.

Freewheelin’ Sindy – I knew I could never be as cool as California Dream Barbie, but maybe -if my mom crimped my hair- I could be as cool as you.

Lego – A few years ago I rebuilt with Joey the Lego city I used to build with Eva. It’s still fun!

Snugglebum – Was this from a cartoon? I have no idea, but I loved his pink mane.

Gameboy – I love you for the hours of Tetris enjoyment you gave me, and I hate you for kind of killing all the other toys and my childhood.

 

The globetrotter list

Yay! A list that matches my love for travel and satisfies the geography geek in me: list all the countries you’ve visited. I’m not counting countries if I haven’t left the airport. The numbered countries are the ones I’ve been to, the bulleted the ones on my wish list. I have yet to visit Africa and South America. We still haven’t decided where to go this year. Yes, luxury problems, I know.

Europe 

1. Austria – Vienna and a few ski resorts
2. Belgium – obviously, seeing as how we live there
3. Croatia – along the Mediterranean right before the Yugoslavian war
4. Czech Republic – Prague and the Krkonoše mountains
5. Denmark – Copenhagen, Legoland and a camping tour across the nation
6. Finland – Helsinki
7. France – Paris, the Provence, the Ardeche, the Loire, etc.
8. Germany – Berlin and all over
9. Greece – Athens and Crete
10. Ireland – Dublin, counties Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Cork
11. Italy – Rome, Florence, Venice, Tuscany and many other places besides
12. Luxembourg – Luxembourg and around, which is all of the country seeing how small it is
13. Netherlands – Amsterdam and the rest
14. Spain – Barcelona and along the Balearic Sea
15. Sweden – Stockholm
16. Switzerland – Geneva, Lausanne and driving through
17. UK – London and roadtripping in the south as far north as Birmingham
18. Vatican City – When in Rome…

• Hungary – Budapest
• Iceland – glaciers and elves
• Poland – Auschwitz
• Portugal – Lisbon
• Russia – Moscow and St. Petersburg
• Slovenia – Ljubljana
• The Baltics: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

Asia

1. China – Hong Kong; would like to see Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin and more
2. Indonesia – Java and Bali; would like to see Lombok
3. Japan – all over in ’86 but I only remember Tokyo Disneyland; want to go back and tour around
4. Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur; want to see the rest of the country
5. Singapore – early 80s; would move there for a few years if I had the chance
6. Taiwan – lived there in ’84-’86 and again in 2000-2001
7. Thailand – Bangkok, Sukothai, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui; would go back anytime
8. Turkey – Istanbul; would like to see more of the historical sites and Cappadocia

• Cambodia
• Laos
• Maldives
• Mongolia
• Myanmar
• Nepal
• Philippines
• South Korea

Oceania

1. Australia – Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland

• New Zealand

North America

1. Canada – Toronto and Niagara
2. USA – east to west, south to north, but craving to see more of the National Parks

• Caribbean cruise
• Costa Rica
• Cuba

Africa

• Egypt
• Kenya
• Morocco
• Namibia
• South Africa
• Tanzania

South America

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Chile
• Ecuador – Galapagos Islands
• Peru

\ˈfō-bē-ə\

“What are your biggest fears?” my Listography book wants to know.

Apparently common fears include fear of ghosts, spiders and snakes, heights, enclosed spaces, water, bridges and tunnels, needles, flying and driving, rejection and public speaking. More recently many people have developed fear of terrorism, gang violence, the future, nuclear war and death.

Ghosts? Seriously? Anyway. I do not suffer from these fears – despite my many neuroses. The common fears I share are fear of cockroaches (their bellies and legs are disgusting), fear of failure (this is a competitive society after all), clowns (It. Say no more) and being alone (we all want to be loved). These are among the most common fears worldwide, but it’s not anything I can’t deal with.

There are two fears I can’t deal with. They are crippling and sometimes make me socially awkward.

When I first learned the word emetophobia, I was both relieved to find this wasn’t just me and nauseated at the thought of what that word represents. This unfortunately is not a fear commonly shared. The proof of it is in the casual way the cause of this fear is portrayed in movies and television – even considered comedic! – and the random way people all around me manage to slip it into conversations. Just say you were sick. I don’t need the details. I’ve had this issue even as a little kid. Learn to get over it? Maybe I should, but reading up on the treatments sure doesn’t put it at the top of my to do list.

I am also – and this is worse – terribly, overwhelmingly afraid to lose my husband. I have nightmares about him having an accident. And I have to stop myself panicking when he talks about buying a motorcycle. And I burst into tears when he jokes about him not being here anymore. All men must die, I know, but let mine live a long while longer.

So what are you afraid of?