Spread the Joy Advent 2025, Day 18

Today's charity is one that I became aware of thanks to my goats. Well, the farm in which my goats are housed actually. It's called Ornaments 4 Orphans. For Christmas, the gift shop at Spring Haven Farm are selling felt ornaments of chickens, pigs, doggies and of course, goats. They are a part of O4O's Nepal collection.

Ornaments 4 Orphans 'collaborate with global artisans to create jobs, fight poverty, strengthen families, empower communities, and ultimately prevent vulnerable children from becoming orphans.'

You can also purchase ornaments made in Uganda, Peru and Kenya. The ornaments reflect the art and culture of the region in which they are made; along with the animals. For example, the Kenya collection contains ornaments depicting elephants whereas the Peru selection contains a llama decoration for your tree. 

Don't need any more ornaments for your tree, O4O also sells hand crafted bookmarks, key chains and nativity scenes that reflect the rich artistry of the country in which they are made. 

As they support fair trade and wages, it's important to note that this is a for-profit organization. However, the profits are used to buy more supplies, educate, train and empower families and to help keep orphaned children in their communities and with extended families. 

And yes, I did post a link to Spring Haven Farm in this post even though they are not a charity. My goats are my babies and I support and volunteer there like a parent might support their human child's PTA. Plus, the farm has taken in injured, abandoned and elderly animals, like everyone's favorite, Annie Donk(ey). So if their supporting a charity, I will support it as well. 

If Ornaments 4 Orphans sounds like the answer to your Christmas shopping list dilemmas, check out their website and store here...

The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun

Prisoners of the Sun picks up where The Seven Crystal Balls left off. Professor Calculus was kidnapped by members of an ancient Peruvian cult. Dressed in ceremonial garb, the cultists were recovering artifacts that an expedition team had removed from a sacred temple in Peru. Along the way, they find Calculus committing a blasphemy by wearing a consecrated bracelet the professor found. Kidnapping the professor, the worshipers head back to Peru, where they will ceremonially kill Calculus for his sacrilege. 

On their tail is Tintin, his faithful pup Snowy, Captain Haddock and the bumbling detectives Thomson and Thompson. Upon setting foot on South American soil, the rescuers are immediately on their own. But when Tintin defends a young boy being harassed by a pair of rough looking tourists, the young reporter makes a new friend who just happens to know the location of Professor Calculus' prison: the Temple of the Sun!

When I reviewed the previous book, I commented how Herge added all this extra stuff that unnecessarily stretched out The Seven Crystal Balls into a two-parter. Though I wanted to read the rest of the Tintin books, I was afraid that despite the variety of locales, each book was going to be a carbon copy of the previous edition. Prisoners of the Sun eased those fears. 

A trek through the Andes. Misadventure with astronomy. A mysterious plague. Mummified Peruvians. What more could you ask for?! Yes, Thomson and Thompson are the comic relief as usual. But they manage to up their buffoonery game each book. The absent-minded nature of Professor Calculus can get really annoying (Just ask Capt. Haddock.) But at least he's only in this thing for a few pages. 

Another fun adventure. Thrilling. A good length with a new character that I hope makes a return!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Seven Crystal Balls

Members of an expedition to Peru and Bolivia are falling ill from a mysterious malady. One by one, the men have contracted a sleeping sickness. Even more odd is that every day at the same time, those slumbering patients cry out in agony and then resume their sleeps.

Meanwhile, Captain Haddock is having trouble adjusting to his new found wealth and fame. The absent minded Professor Calculus has settled in at Haddock's lonesome estate, conducting experiments. But otherwise, the two gentlemen keep to themselves.

As more members of the South American expedition succumb to the sleeping sickness, Detectives Thompson and Thomson recruit Tintin to help investigate the mystery. There's a lone clue found at each of the victims' places of residence: broken glass. As Calculus knows the last remaining member of the team to stay clear of this sickness, the professor is tasked with introducing everyone and establishing a guard around the final survivor. Haddock comes along to provide added protection.

One night, the mystery deepens when an intruder dressed as a Peruvian native holding a glass orb, terrorizes the house. A series of hi-jinks ensues and the final explorer succumbs to the sleeping sickness when the invader smashes the crystal ball releasing a strange knockout gas. Meanwhile, a member of the team has gone missing and their disappearance will see Tintin and crew heading to Peru!

The Seven Crystal Balls was another Herge triumph. However, I felt like instead of this book ending with a cliffhanger, Herge could have cut a couple of superfluous scenes and completed everything in one nice package. Take out the scene at the opera. Eliminate all the slapstick at the mansion with the intruder. Just have him knock-out the last member of the expedition and let that be that. Plus, when the teammate of Tintin gets kidnapped, instead of throwing some red herrings at us, just have Tintin and company head over to Peru and go from there. 

So this is a good story. It's just excessive. 

Herge wrote 24 total Tintin adventures. And thanks to this one and Red Rackham's Treasure, the previous tale, I do very much want to read them. I just hope that there's not too much of a  formulaic plot to the point that each book is a direct copy of the ones before. That kind of thing could get boring real quick. 

I guess I'll just have to keep reading to find out. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.