The Barbie Movie

 Well I love how this movie has caused so much angst with some politicians. For what? Culture wars?

I'm not going to go into any of that. The movie was fun and thought provoking and a real look at ourselves as humans. The world is not perfect, we are not perfect even if we want to be. 

The most telling scene is with the old lady at the bus stop. Barbie turns to her and says, "You're beautiful!"

The older woman turns to Barbie and breaks into a great smile and replies, "I AM beautiful!"

The scene is short and touching at the same time. How many 91 year old people ever get that sort of compliment? 

I am me. I am beautiful but not to Barbie Doll standards. 
I may have wrinkles [yes so many!] but they belong to me. What is even better? There isn't anyone else quite like me.

Too often we judge others just by looks? 

Gloria's monologue got to me. When I got home I had to look it up and reread what I'd heard. I will leave it at that.

My favorite character was Weird Barbie. I would have preferred a Weird Barbie to the perfect one I had. The definition of a Weird Barbie is one that has experienced overzealous play. She definitely fit the bill.

I had one Barbie as a kid. A friend of my parents gave one to my sister and I. We did terrible things to our Barbies and often they'd end up in the arms of our full sized G.I. Joes.

Years later, Barbies forgotten, my neighbor's boy decided to take one of his Barbies and create a likeness of me.

They called her Val-Barbie. I suppose a version of Weird Barbie.

After I admired and had a lot of fun with Val-Barbie, along came Rich-Ken.

What can I say?

These for sure are originals!

And they still are around today.

I still find them hanging out together.

I guess I can say I have a one of a kind Weird Barbie and a one of a kind Weird Ken!

Excuse me while I go out to play with my dolls...

See you later!

Domestic Goddess

Good grief and good lord!

What have I done?
I found myself looking up recipes on line for bread. It all started because I thought it would be nice to have a 'Bread Machine'.  I watched the videos on how to use certain ones and then Rich and I decided that since the machines were big and my kitchen is still small, that I'd try it the old fashioned way.

I haven't been a fan of baking or doing any cooking for years. Simply put, I didn't have time and I didn't have the space in my teeny tiny kitchen. With the new kitchen [which I love!] I did do more.
However it wasn't until I wasn't working those odd and strange shifts back to back and all over the map, that I decided to actually put my 'new' kitchen to use.

This summer found me canning jellies, tomatoes, making salsa, chili starter, and dehydrating everything I could get my hands on. Rich commented one time that he would have remodeled the entire house if he'd known I could cook like...this!

Ugh. When the weather is warm I prefer not to cook. But when it is cold? I guess I am finding it ... not so terrible.
I took Morris for a nice long walk, we did nearly 3 miles on the gravel road. Yes, Morris was bouncy and happy to sniff and mark anything he could. I was surprised at the amount of coyote droppings on the road.

So, when we got back, I helped with chores and then began.
Rich stood behind me watching in awe and subdued wonder.

He kept pinching himself and then me to see if we were dreaming. I threatened to toss flour in his face if he didn't stop with the Peanut Gallery comments.

I found out that I haven't forgotten how to make the bread. My hands remembered it well. I used the quick rise yeast to make things a bit easier and had pulled a basic bread recipe off from Fleischmann's website. I was concerned that it would hurt with the painful arthritis in my fingers and wrist. The kneading wasn't bad, the clean up was painful.

However I do have a devious plan.

Rich really went crazy for the fresh bread. He attacked the smaller loaf with a hungry vengeance.
If I get him 'hooked' on fresh breads, he would purchase the smaller of the bread makers. Well, he may.
The only drawback is I do like the hands on approach. And I don't want to keep an appliance like that on the counter all of the time.

It gets worse.
I am looking at making cheesy dinner bread for this weekend and recalling with great fondness how I used to make cinnamon and sugar bread so very long ago.

How long?
1978. That long.

I may even break out those mixing type things with little measuring type thingies I found when unpacking the boxes from the remodel.

This could be a wondrous thing.

But shhhhhhhh
don't tell anyone!

It would ruin my reputation.

Pictures of self.

I dislike taking a shot of myself and I dislike the camera aimed at me.

My father loved the camera lens from both sides. But dad always took a great photo.

I however see age creeping up on my face in harsh lines and freckles. I guess that is what surprised me the most. Those lines.

Friends of mine that are interested in having some fun in photography and I have formed a group where we share photos each week. Each week one person picks a theme and we eagerly try that theme out.

While working on some methods of light reflection today I thought I'd try out our new theme.
Self Portrait.
Not a selfie.

Ohhhhh nooo! Eeek gads! Cover my head up! Can I use Val-Barbie as my body double?

She is much better looking and she even has a Morris just her size! She never minds the camera pointed in her direction!

Me? Not so much. I did this one against the new bright white wall in the kitchen. But my ugly t-shirt was hanging out.

A bit more glamorous I think. Yes the hat suits me, and I wear it as often as I can.

Even if I get strange looks while shopping.

I'm not going to hide the fact that I have ... wrinkles and lines. I look in the mirror and can't deny it any more.

Probably all those years of abusing my face by not putting on creams, yet hiking in the extreme cold, gardening with a baseball cap and no sun screen. Being out doors and mistreating my face.
Well I didn't worry much about it to tell you the truth.

And now I am stuck with this face.

I am finding that it does make for an interesting 'self' study though.

Moody. No glasses and bounced lights off the ceiling in the spare room.
Cracked textures added to make it look a bit abandoned.

Harsh black and white.

Then I got very creative. How far could I go with my own 'self portrait'?
How far do I dare go?

So I went very far....

The photo is interesting and I took a lot of liberty with my edits.

Original:

All of these photos were taken in RAW Nikon files and processed in ON1RAW2017 pre-release.

I'm pretty impressed with this program and love it...hands down it is easy to just do a straight forward process, or you can get as complicated as you want.

After today I don't think I'll be as uncomfortable in front of the lens.
I think as long as I am taking the shot!

My Still Life for today:

I'll be selecting this one for some cards I'll send out.
Backround glitter was provided by cardboard covered in tin foil ... slightly crumpled.

A bit of Fun with Toys

The world news and political news is so glum along with the flooding in our area, I've decided to go ahead and have some fun.

#TheDoeStory has been something of an evolving story that includes other kids who assist in making parts up.

The story doesn't really make much sense but is a small bit of fun with toys here and there. The stories are snippets of whims while hiking with a handful of small toys and a camera.

The last piece of this adventure was created with some kids who assisted in both the story and with the Dinosaurs, thank you Carson, Allie, and Logan. Doing the stories wouldn't be have the fun without you!

A week ago we found Dino who is one of Doe's Suitors, deciding to build a rock house in the Gully.

Fawn and Doe decide to go looking after him after a horrible heavy rain pours waters down the gullies in the form of flash floods!

They don't search long because the waters are running over all of the rocks in the Gully.

Fawn gets quite worried about Dino and decides later to go looking for him after the flood waters have receded.

He finds Dino who is just fine.

He explains that his rock house indeed was washed away and it was a "worrisome time when the waters swished his house away". However, he had some new friends that would help him build a new rock house.

Fawn meets Dino's new friends.

Dino explains that they were stuck in an ice cave all of these years and the last flood released them from ice! And now he had dinosaur friends also!

Dino assures Fawn that they won't eat him.

Fawn goes home to report to Doe.

Doe is not easily convinced so she decides to travel to the Gully to check on Dino.

Dino meets her at the Little Falls of Water. He says building in a Gully is very nice because he can just step into the falls to take a nice cold shower.

Fawn and Doe are taken to Dino's new house.

T Rex shows how strong the house is by standing on it. Dino is so proud that his once frozen pals have helped him build a house.

Fawn steps back and wonders if building in the Gully again was such a good idea.
What if it freezes into ice and traps Dino and friends?
What if it rains hard again and washes them away?

This sounds like something that Val-Barbie should come and see.

Val-Barbie looks things over and then sits on Dino's house and pets a yellow snake while she thinks things over.

It appears that she now has a bunch of Dinosaurs to look after too.
She sighs.

If she'd just stayed a regular Barbie she wouldn't have to worry like this.
She could have sat on a shelf and just worn pretty dresses.

However she smiles and pets the yellow snake. Things are nice in the Gully.

And so it begins...

Let me start by saying I love photography and quite a few years ago I started experimenting with Toy Stories.

First it was Morris and his toys that had adventures. It was a daunting task getting Morris at times to pose with his toys in the woods and convey a story. But it was fun.  And we'll more than likely do another story this fall. Morris is getting up there in years, but that doesn't mean that he has stopped being playful.

A couple of years ago my Grand daughter Ariel and I had some fun during a Christmas get together that involved My Little Ponies and photography. That morphed into #TheDoeStory. Adventures with a toy doe.

This past winter I was introduced to Val-Barbie by my neighbor and her children.
Well I couldn't let that just go, I worked Val-Barbie into the Doe Story and then it happened.

Things got well...

Complicated.

Perhaps complicated isn't the proper term. When Allie and Carson delivered this box I have to admit, what was going on now?

Oh be still my little ornery beating heart! 

A NEW goofy story line.

Perfect.

Amazing.
Before I go any further I must say that my neighbor, Lauren has an incredible knack for this. I believe she has a great imagination. She can take a doll and actually create an eerie resemblance a character. 
And this is how it all started....

So let the story begin:
One day Val-Barbie was riding her pony called Lil' Richard.
Lil' Richard got a bit feisty and bucked Val-Barbie off.

Well now.
Val-Barbie can face down coyotes and other creatures, but it isn't often that she gets bucked off from her favorite little pony.

Val-Barbie stomps through the fields to find her errant pony.

Meanwhile Rich-Ken is out for a walk when he finds a loose pony. 
He catches it and wonders who it belongs to.

The pony is to Rich-Ken's liking.

Soon Val-Barbie comes upon her horse and a stranger.

He has caught her Lil' Richard!

Val-Barbie is a bit hesitant with this bearded long haired scraggly looking dude, but her pony seems to like him.

So they stand a while in the long grass and talk.

Val-Barbie has decided that she has sort of taken a shining to ... Rich-Ken.

She mounts up and invites Rich-Ken to become a part of her story.

And so we have another fun and nonsensical story to work with.

That is thanks to my neighbor and her kids who have wonderful imaginations also.

Half the fun was taking toys out and posing them for the photos.
I know. It seems strange, but look back, I've had a long history with toys and photos.

What can I say?
Except that I am having some grande fun. And I will need a bigger backpack to include the Rich-Ken doll and Lil' Richard.

Sigh.
Let the fun begin!

Making excuses

To get out of the yard and into the woods.

Hubby decided to take his afternoon nap.  I nodded and said that I'd go look for some wild parsnip to dig down by the creek. I gathered a bucket, a shovel, and off I went.  Morris stayed home although I should have taken him with.

It was a good excuse to go wandering in the woods with my camera.  I found some really beautiful things.

Spring Beauties

The Spring Beauties were really abundant on the north east side of the hill not far down from the top of the ridge.  Of course I had to stop and look at them.  These plants are no more than a few inches tall and the flowers are smaller than a pencil eraser.

I walked further down the trail and then stopped and looked back at the top.  I sat down on the 'sitting' rock and decided to just sit for a moment and listen to the sounds of the forest.

I heard the Cardinal singing, off in the distance a Bluejay called. There were the regulars like the Sparrows, and the Robins had been in the forest for a while now.

I listened closely and off in the distance I could hear a Wood Thrush. There is nothing more beautiful than the Wood Thrush's echoing in the woods.  Just my personal opinion.

Hear it here:

Wood thrush song

The Trail view from the sitting rock, looking towards the ridge.

I grabbed my shovel and bucket and headed down the steep hill noting how dry everything looked and how crunchy the leaves were under my feet.  Even the squirrels sounded noisy as they chattered and ran.

I wandered around the creek bottom and stopped here and there with the shovel to remove some pesky plants that were coming up.  Wild Parsnip, although tasty are not plants that you want to get involved with in mid summer.  It's juices will give you a “phyto-photodermatitis”, which happens when the sap of the plant, from broken stems and leaves, touches the skin and is exposed to ultraviolet light (whether cloudy or sunny).

 Source: Wild Parsnips.

I don't want these plants in the areas that the kids and grand kids will hike with me.  We often go to an area called 'The Beach' which has very a very nice area of sand and the creek bottom is sandy as well.  It is withing hiking distance and makes for a fun place to cool off in the summer.

This is as bad as getting into poison ivy in my opinion or even worse.

Near 'The Beach'

The good thing is that the roots are tasty and edible.  I love cooking them flavored in pesto sauce.  It takes work, but it is well worth the taste.

When I got to 'The Beach', I found Horsetails coming up through the sand with wild parsnip.  

Horsetails, Mare Tail, Scour Reed, Pipes

I dropped the bucket and got to work, looking for some nice sized parsnip roots.

Nice sized roots got tossed into the creek so I could wash the sand off from them, others got carefully laid out on logs so the would dry up and die.  I stayed for quite a while digging and just being busy.  I was enjoying myself and thinking of hot summer days and dangling my barefeet into the cold creek.

I noticed as I started back towards home that it seemed time had gotten away from me.

The creek is so magical that I tend to get lost while there.  Lost in thoughts, memories, and the beauty that surrounds me.

However, I had the Val Barbie with me and thought I'd best get a shot of her and Doe for the next part of The Doe Story.

Val Barbie holds Doe close and gives her a hug.  Doe promises to come back to her friends before her birthday.  Something special will happen on that day assures Val Barbie.  "You must be with friends!"

Doe agrees.

However...

...all stories need a villain and here is the Villain Fox who overhears the conversation.  I think he plans on something evil.

Well I got home and back to reality.  I finished putting the mulch around the pine trees near the house and decided that I needed to go back to town and get some more.

I wonder what excuse I can make for getting out in the woods today?

More of the Silly Doe Story

Stinky, Val Barbie, and the Trolls have decided to look for Doe and bring her back so she can get help from the Toy Council.

After the emergency meeting at the Dynamite Box, the members of the council begin a search for Doe.  They are pretty worried as Doe is one toy they are sure that they need to watch over.

Val Barbie goes to the creek to search, but has no luck.  

Woods Troll asks Thelma the hound dog if she has seen Doe.  

"Nope."

Meanwhile Doe is hiding from her friends.

Maybe I should just live in a knothole in a tree!

Oh Doe, that is not so smart!

Wild animals live in the woods, and you should not be on your own.

Val Barbie fears that Doe may have been accosted by a Coyote.

She takes out her Tommy Gun.

The toys come back home, they cannot find Doe.  Stinky says he knows the forest best of all so he will go looking.

Stinky finds Skunk Cabbage but no sign of Doe.

At the creek Doe finds another Deer. 

They become immediate friends.

 Doe meets Dear in the creek near the little falls in the creek.  They become fast friends. 

Dear takes Doe out to eat and they talk.

Dear thinks Doe should go back and face her friends.

Hiding from them is not a good thing.

Doe isn't too sure she is ready to go back to her friends yet.  Dear says she will talk with the Toy Council on her behalf.

She tells Doe to go sit in her tree and wait until she gets back.

Will Doe wait?  Will she do what Dear advises her to do?

Oh DEAR!!!  Maybe you shouldn't leave Doe on her own in the woods!

Story Telling

Let's admit it, I am a kid at heart.  I like toys and telling stories with photography and toys.

One of my most favorite photos of toys is this one of Morris's toys riding in the Tonka Truck.  I took this in 2010.

I don't know where my silliness comes from, but it keeps occurring.

A year or so ago I started a photo/toy challenge with my Grand daughter Ariel.  We had fun thinking up photos with captions with different toys.  I started with a collection of My Little Ponies and eventually graduated to a collection of 'Wild Animals'.

Doe became my main subject.  Doe is always looking for a home.  Along the way she finds various friends to help her along.  

Stinky became Doe's guide in a way, helping her to stay out of dangerous areas.  He tells Doe that living in a parking lot is not a safe place.

New friends always appear on the scene.   There is a buck that Doe meets during Rut Season.  His name is Bo.  Is there romance involved? We can only guess.

Then a dinosaur gets into the act. Very strange that Doe would befriend a Velociraptor, but in the Toy World, anything goes.

My new neighbors enjoyed my idea and the children got involved, on a hike they brought some toys and we even made things up as we hiked.

Suddenly the story got a bit more fun.
I began to look for adventures for the toys.

My neighbor's son decided that we needed a Val Barbie. So into their collection of dolls they went and viola, the Val Barbie was created.

She comes complete with short dark hair, glasses, skunk hat, coveralls, and a lego camera and Tommy Gun.
Now how fun is that?
Of course I need to find a way to put 'Val Barbie' into the ongoing Doe Saga.

Another family got involved in the story telling and this past weekend, the kids helped me set the toys up for a few shots.

They made some suggestions, and the Doe Saga took a strange turn.

At an ice formation, the kids set up Dino, Doe, and Bo.

Suddenly Doe is asked to make a choice between her two suitors, or she thinks she does.

Doe being Doe, decides to run off and think things through.  This causes an emergency in the 'Toy World'.

Val Barbie calls an emergency meeting at the Dynamite Box.

The toys gather and launch a search party for Doe.

So I can be found with toys in my camera back nearly on every hike or walk I take.

And the search for Doe has begun.

I must admit, I am having great fun.