An annual activity

Uh oh! 

It is that time of the year again!

This will be the third year!

Just as dawn started to brighten the steel grey skies, concussions of gunshots rang out. Welcome to opening day of the gun deer season.

By 10am Charlie was a wet noodle of jiggling jello and anxiety. He wouldn't even let hubby go to the bathroom alone. He sat under Rich's chair in the eating area while I put away all of the stuff I'd been working on.

The mules were not bothered by the gunshots. They've been around for many hunting seasons and they just picked up their heads and glanced around then went back to eating their hay. They are up close to the house during the gun season.

I put all of my current projects away after shooting some more photos. I didn't want to put the crystal forest away, but it was time to do our annual project.

A not so nice Wizard!!!

Wanda feeds her pet dragon....

....and after lunch, we started....

I purchased this set during the summer when I saw it on discount. I thought it would be perfect for the 9 day gun season. 

Rich still gives me a bit of grief over TOYS, but as you can see, he really gets into sorting things. 

He even puts the minifigs together and anything else he can figure out. This is a huge challenge as he has essential tremors that sometimes  interfere with his eating. 

But he works at it. He delights in separating the Lego pieces by color and then separating those pieces by type.

His doctors love the fact that he gets engrossed in these projects. They feel that it helps his small motor skills, makes him think and use his brain, and it amuses him. Sometimes he studies the book to try and figure out how things go together. 

In short, he IS engaged in an activity.

I once asked the doctors if they could prescribe Legos. They laughed and said they wished they could. So each year, I try to find a project we can do together when the days are darkest for him. 

With every noise on Saturday, poor Charlie got so rattled. Eventually, he had to get in on the action by sitting on my lap while I was trying to put things together.

I usually start the Christmas Chair project right after Thanksgiving Day. But this year I'm going to wait to decorate. That 'spirit' has not struck me at all. I've already seen enough 'Christmas commercials' to make me grumpy.

Instead, we are going to take it one day at a time and enjoy this big project.

Time for some imagination...

Her is Valda. She now appears as a key player in the Princess Sara Quest.

How is she going to fit in? 
I love making stuff up.

I may have mentioned this before but there was a time when my kids were little that we 'made up' bed time stories once in a while.

I usually started it with something like: Once upon a time there was a little boy who became a Prince and he lived in a castle. But he didn't know he was a Prince, he thought he was just a common person. 

So the story would go on for a bit and then the next night I would ask one of the boys to add to the story.

My older son would add wonderful bits and pieces to the story and expand on the characters and scenery. It was great fun.

And...then sometimes my youngest would  add great ideas to the story....OR...
do something diabolical. "...the young Prince then gathered monsters together and beheaded everyone in the castle. Theeee End." Of course he'd smile sweetly and pull his blanket up. 

Theee End.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So Valda, who are you? At first I couldn't decide who she was or how she fit into the Princess Sara Quest. 
Who is Valda?
Valda is from a Germanic name meaning: Renowned Ruler, Power, Authority.
I admit, she looks pretty tough.

Valda is one of the Wild Ones. Obviously, she has no fear and rides a dragon and at other times rides a Thestral.

I googled for a name meaning 'powerful leader' and got Valda as a choice.

Someone over on Flickr....AC...suggested that Valda was .. um.. me? You know, maybe he was right? Valda is a Wild One, a Warrior, and she gets things done. I can see that! [the name Val-da...who would've thunk it???]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back to the Princess Sara journey...

The Frog finally caught up to Princess Sara and delivered her more news regarding her Quest.

A true Princess always accepts things that happen to her with grace and Sara has done this time and time again.

Princess Sara seeks out the Little People of the Forest to hear about the Dragon's Plight and the Stolen Egg. In her pure heart, knows that this is part of her quest.

The Little People of the Forest travel to seek help from the Wild Ones. They meet Valda and explain the  situation. 

Valda agrees to help. After all she would never turn down an offer enter into a conflagration. She is an avid lover of the Dragons and would do anything to help them.

Her Dragons wait behind her patiently.

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Now~~~

Just for fun I thought that my Wild Ones and Forest People needed something other than Lego bricks to be their homes. It all started with a couple of pieces of broken birch branches and cardboard. 

This project is not my first stick build. I've done it before and had great fun creating something out of items that I had on hand.

With the help of a glue gun and some moss, I was able to create modular pieces to use in different ways.

Cardboard, sticks, glue, and moss. Easy, free, fun.

It is easier and less expensive than trying to buy bricks to make 'scenes'. If I break a stick I can replace it easily. I made the pieces in sections so I can build and rebuild in different ways.

Other adults do wonderful crafts and hobbies for entertainment. I go for the Adult Play.

Adult play boosts creativity, helps with a sense of humor, and is a major player in reducing stress. When my mind is on creating a make believe story through 'toys', my mind is not consumed by my Caregiving duties.

I can do both things at the same time. I can create play while in the house giving care. It is a welcome relief to drop into a world of imagination for just a bit.

And the animals come in....

I believe this herder was supposed to be taking care of his small flock of critters. However, it looks like he had a bit too much wine and didn't properly put his farm animals away...

In the early morning, it seems they pushed open the door and decided to help themselves to whatever the herdsman had in the house.

This is a building was from FunHole Wood-Cabin set. It is a Lego like build with the same sort of bricks. It was the very first 'build' I did over a year ago. It has two floors and came with lighting that integrates with the bricks. 

It was a difficult build and the bricks don't fit as tightly as Lego bricks do, but I enjoy using its detailed inside once in a while to have some fun. It has a kitchen, a wood stove, and a bathroom complete with a tub, sink, and mirror. The upstairs has a bedroom and a desk. There is a ladder that goes from the first floor to the loft.

I've used the outside of the building and porch for other photo scenes and I've taken this room apart and rearranged it several times. My favorite part is the wood stove that actually lights up. Most of the wiring and the contacts do work on this build but to my dismay or ineptitude, not all the ones do.

I took the roof and the upstairs off. Under the first floor, there is a circuit board with wires that runs through the bricks and lights things up. The porch lights, stove and bathroom lights work in this shot. There is a battery box in the lower right side of this photo.

I used a warm light [which actually looks green in this shot] to shine on the partially open front door.

I used another tiny Ulanzi light in a warm color to light up the interior.

And lastly, I stuck the face mister and turned it on so it would make the open door glow like morning sunlight. It also made the wood stove light glow. [I put it in the bathroom and opened the door!]

The herder kept falling off the couch so I had to use a tiny piece of sticky tack to hold him in place.

I had several tries before I was partially satisfied with a shot. Contrary to popular belief, this isn't so easy and it takes a lot of adjustments!

This was another idea I had just pop into my head Sunday morning while I was waiting for our company to show up. I couldn't go out in the heavy rain and winds to work on Princess Sara's story, so I had to fill my 'waiting' time with something else.

I ended up using a 30mm lens with a smaller aperture to try and get all of the animals in focus. 

It was not a one and done. I had to really experiment with settings and lights because I kept getting things too dark, too light, or too many harsh shadows. I had to be careful with the mister also especially when I let it run too long and everything in one photo had droplets on it!

And then! Yesterday the sunshine in the morning was brilliant and beautiful. So I could take Princess Sara out....

and begin another part of her wandering story...

How Lego Minifigs Saved Christmas

There sure was a deep freeze going on after the Big Snow. Santa's big red truck had gotten stuck and of course so many helpers showed up to get him going again.

Then Mz. Clause came along and helped everyone celebrate just outside the Christmas Village.

After the party, Santa and a couple of his elves decided to go for a walk. They ignored Mz. Clause's warning about the cold cold weather and told them to behave and stay home.

Of course they never listened and they went out. And they got a bit cold!

Thank goodness there was Bobba Fett and some elves that came to the rescue.

Even the Mandolorian came to help with his lazer gun.

Happily, Santa and his helpers were rescued from the ice.

Mz. Clause came by with her newly rigged up - super powered- sleigh.

She had convinced a Thestral to assist her flying reindeer.

Santa had a better idea. You do know that Santa was originally from Iowa and had a huge farm right???

I mean, who doesn't know that?

His solution?

Well. He paraded his new John Deere all Wheel Drive Flying Tractor and Spreader through the Village with Mz. Clause in the back.

And....

...that is how Lego folks saved Christmas.

Don't believe any other stories you've heard.

I know this one is true, I photographed it.

Christmas Eve

I usually write something fun and witty around Christmas time. There is the story about how I was convinced by Grandma Pearl that all animals talk at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve.

I'm not going to be a Debbie Downer so here is some of the action we've had at the bird feeders that past few days while we've endured the Artic Blast and subsequent winds. 
Thankfully, we are in the woods and in a hollow. While doing chores I could hear the winds roaring on the ridge.

Olive texted me to say that the cold and the wind chills were so intense that one of her sliding glass doors cracked. Can you imagine that?

Doing chores...Insulated pants, layers, coveralls, and an insulated flannel over the coveralls. Mask, fur hat, goggles and -- no glasses to fog up --. The wind chills were ... well -39? Let's just say that I knew bare skin would frostbite in less than a few minutes outside.

I did walk to the ridge to get the mail after chores as there were some meds for Rich that were delivered.

I walked up along the woods to watch the winds gust and blow snow across our road. My neighbor Olive, lives on that corner on the ridge and it is Wide Open. She told me it sounded like a freight train was idling outside her house. I didn't try to take pretty pictures, just a quick one of the road.

I was protected from the fierce winds by the woods but when I looked east across the ridge, I could see a haze. It was blowing snow that looked like it was a fog!

Those are not my tracks. Those are tracks of a deer.

We spent the day indoors of course and the birds were very active. I am glad that I ignored Rich telling me that feeding the birds was a waste of money. He often watches them and discusses what they are doing at the feeders and in the trees around us.

Enjoy the birds, we did!

It's Christmas Eve so I'll be making a special meal for us and we will open Charlie's present and Rich's gift.

Rich's daughter came Tuesday with her hubby and our grandson. She spent the day cooking her father's favorite meal and we had a really great day.
It was a great surprise and it made Rich smile all day and into the next when he got to eat Prime Rib and all the fixin's as left overs!

His daughter also sent him a Lego John Deere Technic Lego Tractor and spreader to work on! 

From our place to 

yours...

Meanwhile back in Lego land....

MOC

...it stands for Make your Own Creation. 

I'm not good at this. But I keep looking at the bricks and pieces and after making the last build of the Elf Clubhouse...

I thought, wouldn't it be fun to make my own thing?

I'm not brave enough quite yet to start a big tear down and rebuild. However...

I am not adverse to changing things up with my Lego minifigs [minifigures lingo!]

I mix sets and minifigs without sticking to the sets. I trade heads to get expression that I want.

Back in the Christmas Village some things started to happen....

First was a Baby Blue Velociraptor showing up for breakfast at the Elves house! What do you do? Offer it tea of course!

This woman showed up at the Elf place with a box of...OH No! It looks like she brought a case of...wine??? And a Christmas Office Party ensued at the workshop.

She may be a bad influence on Santa and the Elves? 
or....
is she taking over at the North Pole?

Maybe Santa needed a new CEO. She certainly looks like she is taking charge.

Perhaps she is saving Christmas? 
Looks like she sure is organizing things.

It even looks like she will be refitting the sleigh with afterburners....

I built this workshop from other bricks I had on hand just for using in photography. I had fun figuring out how to 'shoot' through doorways and windows. 
What did I want to appear behind the characters? 

Some of the items are from other sets, I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to Legos. I'll mix and match to make a story fit to where my 

imagination

takes me....

Oh wait. Hubby says the guys in the white coats are coming....

yeah....

The Chair and Creative Play

When I get into the Christmas/Holidays Funk, I read what I wrote last year which was a Satirical Holiday get together for a family much like mine called Unrealistic Expectations totally made up!

I can't help but chuckle when I read it. 

In 2013 I used an old chair combined with a partial Christmas Tree in order to decorate our tiny cottage. This was before the remodel in 2016. The first time I took photos of it was in 2014 when I did it a second time. 

Even a small fake tree just took up too much room in our home. I improvised and found that it was much more fun doing something out of the norm.

This year I am changing things up a bit again. I have to admit that each year when I decorate an old chair it ends up being quite fun and never the same two times in a row. That is probably a good thing for me. The chair gives me a flat spot to continuously change up what is going on. I can walk by it and take a tiny Santa Claus and have him conversing with a dinosaur or perhaps a unicorn.

That old table that I brought in from the porch turned into a Legoland Table. Why not? Rich and I had so much fun over the past month or so building these 3 D puzzles that I decided to use them much like others would use a collection of Christmas Village houses.

The Wood Cabin build was really tough and very detailed.

The Lego Lady Contractor
shows off the Cabin Kitchen

Some of the build was extremely frustrating as the lights and wires really were difficult to work with. We found that we were missing a few pieces and the quality control was sucky at times. 

However, if I hadn't built previous Lego 'Expert' builds [The Gingerbread House], I would have given up. The roof bows and won't fit tight...but I learned a lesson. Lego Bricks Rule. I will probably dismantle parts and re make the house eventually.

The Sasquatch Family has no issues with it at all. They love it. They celebrated Thanksgiving in it before the roof was attached!

The Happy Sasquatch Family

They were so pleased when they got moved into the Lego Village.

Then the serious stuff started. Ol' Man Rich decided to take his ornament Champion Cruiser and find some Christmas Trees.

[When I told Rich that this Lego Person was him, he actually started to enjoy it. He really digs this car ornament and even pushed it around the kitchen table. He checks on what the Ol' Man Rich is doing each day. He denies enjoying it of course. But the smile on his face tells me otherwise.]

And by golly he did! He talked other friends into hauling them to the village!

Even the strange snowperson and the Polar Bears were pleased....

Having Christmas Trees in the Village would be awesome!

And every one rejoiced. I think the Lego

lady with the hair in a bun

was imbibing a bit too much?

Oh it looks like silly play doesn't it? Wasted time. But think about it. When a person decorates for any Holiday they are using their brain to create something beautiful, right? Create. That is play.

When a person knits or crochets, paints, draws, photographs, or does anything creative...they are playing. It keeps their minds active and engaged.

Play is good for the mind and soul.

Now.

If I can only think of cooking and baking as Creative Play. 

meh....