Hi Sugar !! Below is an explanation by way of our Crown84 on what is going on with the Pines, Carl and the whole thing!!!
"OK.
I'll try to review the history of some of the more -- well -- interesting characters and places mentioned here in our countdown thread.
First, of course, there is Carl.
Ah, Carl! Our 3-humped Coffee Camel.
Born about 5 years ago over at Christmas.com, he came about as part of the long-running interplay between Binger and myself in regards to coffee vs sleep.
(Carl's third hump stored the finest blend of coffee which der Bingster coveted.)
Originally, Carl lived with me and was a frequent over-the-shoulder commentator when I posted the daily count.
After a time, he began staying with willing thread contributors who agreed to be his host for short visits. After each visit, his antics were duly reported by the host for all to read and enjoy.
Over time, the humor wore a bit thin so Carl was mentioned less frequently. Eventually, he was dropped from the thread for several months until one of our members (Auntie perhaps?) inquired as to his whereabouts. At that point, it was revealed that Carl, owing to his unique ability to talk, had been offered an undercover position with the military on a secret spy mission in Saudi Arabia.
On his release and return, he accepted the position of activities director at the Shispering Pines where he remains to this day.
Carl's personality traits: He's fun-loving, talkative, experimental (primarily with coffee blends of a questionable nature) and -- yes -- a bit vain to the point of narcissism.
But under it all, he has a heart of gold and a guaranteed position at the 'Pines owing to his unique talents (and the fact the resort's business has tripled ever since his arrival).
That, of course, brings us to the 'Pines. The Shispering Pines, that is.
Name-christened by our own Jayish after a typo which was supposed to read "Whispering Pines", our thread-resident resort eventually took on a "Holiday Inn" (meaning the 1942 movie) like flavor, especially after Carl's arrival and his tremendous love for Christmas in general and that movie in particular.
Each Wednesday is open house day, where the first glass of sweet southern iced tea is complimentary along with the first Fired Twinkie (and now the newly-introduced Fired Twinkling derived from crossing Merry Carey's Kinklings with Carl's own Fired Twinkies).
Which in turn brings us to Fired Twinkies. That's right - FIRED Twinkes as (opposed to "fried").
Again, a typo was to blame. (Believe it was Binger this time.)
But our unique thread treat has endured, especially after becoming the official confection at the Shispering Pines.
Well, there you have it. A thumbnail sketch of an explanation as to what is going on here. "
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