Where does your imagination come from?

I've always made up stories. As a kid it wasn't making up stories for attention, but we'd play we'd pretend. There was the time my sister and I got permission to wander into  Uncle Stanley's forest...

...but were told to keep an eye out for Uncle's Bull. Apparently the bull was not privy to humans. We crossed the barbed wire fence and picked berries. While we were eating, my sister and I kept a sharp eye out for the Bull. I don't think he was in the same area as we were. I really think if Uncle had a bull he'd have been be kept with the cows which were in a different section of land. I think my mom and grandmother were pulling our legs.

But as young kids, we didn't know any of that.

So my sister and I scouted out a tree or two that we could climb in case the Mad Bull [as we called him] showed up. We timed each other from the tree through the barbed wire fence to see how fast we could run it. We practiced climbing the tree quickly.

And then we sat in the tree on sticky summer days eating what berries we could find and told stories of encounters with the Mad Bull. My stories would get more elaborate with each visit to that pasture. In one story, I had the Mad Bull breathe fire and chomp down the tree we had escaped to. That ended our forays into Uncle Stanley's woods for the rest of that summer.

We built Troll Houses out of sticks stuck in the ground. Anyone recall the original trolls that were all the rage in 1960's? We had one troll each. Eventually we had a few more. But our first trolls had black hair. We loved them and I rubbed my little guy with soot from grandmother's wood stove to make him look more wild.

We played all summer with those trolls. Everywhere we went, they went with us. I'd narrate what my troll was experiencing. We preferred them naked or if we could find a piece of scrap material, we'd make them loin cloths.

The point is, even on a car drive, I'd look out the window on family car trips and imagine a story to go along with the travel. In my mind's eye I could see a unicorn, Pegasus, or dragon alongside the car racing up and down the hills and through the trees. It was a way to stay quiet and busy on long car journeys. 

As a kid in school I often got in trouble for day dreaming. I'd look out the window of the classroom and be transported to another place [much nicer! ... not doing math, history, or spelling!]

Sometime around 6th grade I started to pay more attention to school. My parents were happy and my grades went to straight A's mostly. I still played but stopped the day dreaming in classes. Doing well in school was more important than my 'daydreaming' world was.

Summers at the cottage started in June and went to Labor Day weekend. We stayed in a 2 room cottage with cold running water, no TV, and an old radio. No phone. Imagine that? My grandparents had a phone across the way at their house. 

We worked the 'truck' garden with my grandparents and mom. We visited our cousins. We read books and we learned to entertain ourselves with just a few toys [like the trolls]. We truly were 'disconnected' from the world in the summers.

My father was a huge influence in my life. I didn't think so at the time. But I recall during the school year when he'd take me to his office on school breaks, I'd get to see how HE worked. He wrote ads for television for Leo Burnett in Chicago. He wrote the fun ones. I recall one time when I was in his office after lunch. Dad said he needed a new idea for a commercial.

He shut his office door and laid out on the floor and shut his eyes. I had a drawing pad, so I just kept quiet and drew some things. [I was not much of an artist]

After about 15 minutes he opened his eyes and got up, he made some quick notes on a pad of paper and said he found his new story or idea for another 30 second spot. His method was quirky. He didn't think of anything and then suddenly some idea would pop into his head. 

When doing photography, he was very detailed with the light meter, film speed, f stop, and framing. I think that was his way of relaxing and letting his brain go on chill mode. Often he'd let me do the metering for him and I'd guess at the f stop. I didn't realize what I was learning at the time.

What I learned was that dad was spontaneous in his creativity and imagination.

On a visit to Virginia in 2000, we stopped at a pull out along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Dad pointed to a rock and we both started laughing with the same idea. Dad walked over to a huge rock and said, "Make it look like I am pushing this boulder."

I did. I shot the photo and he walked back to me brushing his hands on his pants. "Well, it was good we stopped here so I could straighten that rock out!" 

We laughed. He was a fun partner for my spontaneous adventures.

In 2001 on our final trip together, I had him ham it up for me more than once. He didn't feel silly sitting on a bench and engaging in a conversation with a statue. 

Dad said they had a very nice conversation.

Of course you did Dad!

I still find myself daydreaming. I'll be doing something important like doing chores and I'll turn my head and see something ~~ an idea pops into my head and I'll get an idea.

That's just how my brain works. 

Rocks and sticks can be fun...especially on very hot days or very cold days.

I suppose some people arrange flowers...

I arrange ... fantasy and imagination...

Maybe it is just my way of dealing with caring for my husband.

Lego Photography, Saran Wrap, and Cotton Balls

Yipee! I finally got around to these wonderful space 'cadets' from Aurora! Since the theme for the gifts were about spring, I had to use the gift packet of Zinnias along with another seed packet for a background.

Just behind Bugsy and Charlene are Lego flowers from the Botanical Collection.

Flowers
the universal language of
love....

When I saw these two I knew immediately that they would fall for each other. After all, it is my social statement for these times. We don't have to look alike to like each other!

The cold and rain has descended on us Sunday with icy conditions overnight and then 45 degrees and sunny on Monday.

While doing medications for hubby, I had to pull out some long cotton wads from a script bottle I opened.

I walked over to where Rich was having coffee and grabbed the Green Lego Dragon off the shelf and proclaimed that the Dragon Will Breath Fire!

I dropped the cotton wads next to the Dragon.

Rich shook his head and said, "Your cr..aa... your not right.. and ... they said I was crazy!" He patted my hand and gave me that look that said he was so sorry for me.

I went back to sorting and replied. "Just wait! I'll make him breath fireballs with that cotton!"

[No, I did not light the cotton on fire!]

 Rich gave me the roll of the eyes and then stated: "The guys with the white coats, um...they will get straight coats for you...and take you away." He chuckled. He is always amused by the way my mind works.

When I get into a 'creative' mood with an idea in mind, I can close off the world around me. He went to take a nap. The rain came down in sheets outside and I proceeded to get into the 'zone'. 

Creating a project requires that I have everything else in the area cleaned up and prepped. So I vacuumed, dusted, and cleaned the downstairs so I wouldn't have any further distractions.

My little table is in a spot that also has the oxygen concentrator so I have to step around that and deal with the oxygen tubing. However... it is how things are in our tiny house, so I deal with it.

Just so you know. I don't have a 'studio' for doing my photography. My creations are done at our table...

Dragon drinking water in the forest....amazing what a laptop can do...and what some saran wrap can create for an illusion!

result:

 

or done in the living room....

This is what the set up looked like. Cotton wadding from medicine bottles stuck with sticky tack to the dragon and castle.

 

I put a Ulanzi Light behind the drawbridge door and pointed it with a snout at the cotton wadding.

 

I turned off the overhead light and used another small Ulanzi light to light up the dragon's face.

 

Both photos were shot with a Lensbaby Sweet 50 with an f stop of 4.

 

 

The cotton 'fire' was enhanced slightly with dynamic contrast in DxO labs.

 

How many times did I do this before getting a successful shot?

 

About 20!

 

I learned about using cotton balls while pursuing Lego photos in both Flickr, Instagram, and FB Lego photos.

 

The end result:

And off I go to face another week.

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.

Of Dragons and Princesses. Just for fun.

So ever since I found those cute little 3D printed dragons while shopping with my Granddaughter, I've been caught up in my love for dragons.

I did imagine the dragons needing help in some way from other dragons. I did imagine that there needed to be villains and a heroes.

But dragons can look so fearless and ferocious. 

Or they can be cute and charming.

What if. Princess Sara's Quest and Destiny is part of a bigger picture? What if her destiny as Lego Princess is to save a Dragon from Lego Monsters?  How would she find out?

The Frog told her months ago that she just needed to keep wandering and her Quest would become evident. [That was me thinking...I don't know where the h-ll this story is going, but I'll keep having fun]

Surely if the Rock Monsters steal the precious legendary dragon egg, you'd think that the dragons would do anything to get it back.

But rarely are fantasy stories ever that direct. There's always mystical magical stuff going on. Always a Quest or a Good Deed to be done. 

There is Good and Evil, and Finding Your Way through Self Exploration. The main character must be tested and tested again.

And what on Earth does a Magical Frog have to do with all of it other than he set her on her course.

[Actually, with the original post, it was all about making a build from a video that Four Bricks Tall had made about mirrors and extending backgrounds. I named it  Princess Sara and the Frog's Quest in March of this year.] 

Off and on all summer I've tried to figure out exactly what her Quest should be. I knew IF I wandered aimlessly and let my creative mind echo in my brain that eventually I'd figure out something.

I didn't mean for it to become a story in my head or in photos. But it just seems to happen.

I suppose it is a form of play and a form of learning to relax the brain.

----

I think I'm finding my way. Or should I say, the story is playing itself out bit by bit. I just have to follow it.

The Forest Dragon, Emerald has heard of a Legendary Warrior Princess who welds great powers who could save all of the dragons from extinction. Perhaps it is her destiny also to save The Egg that has been stolen by the Rock Monsters. 

That Egg has been said to hold a Mythological Dragon that can also unite all dragons and people. Cracks had formed in the Egg which meant the Dragon was to be born soon.

He spots Princess Sara in the woods and notices her incredible and strong aura of strength and perseverance.

How could he approach such a magnificent warrior woman without being slain? He knows that all almost all Princesses, Kings, and Knights regularly slay dragons! 

He must, must find a way...

Princess Sara and Joan of Knight are still trudging along and wandering the deep forest, searching for an answer to her quest.

And deeper in the woods. Emerald contacts Yoga [yes, a pun on Yoda from Star Wars]. 

Yoga promises to contact the Mystical Frog to relay the dragon's plight.

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With this play, my mind stays active and my love for photography gets challenged by having to create a 'scene' and the photos are like a story board.

What better way to keep exploring my inner sense of kid and relaxation at the same time.

Hmmm, or is it my subconscious trying to figure out a way to deal with being a Caregiver that has to stay close to home and cannot go on all the travels she had planned to do after she retired?

Stay tuned to meet a new character in the Princess Saga.

 

Crazy minds and creative thoughts...

I am not always at play.

I do have a complicated life. I run our place and am a full time Caregiver. There is always something I need to address and work on for our place.

 Thankfully, I can have great daydreams. Some would think that a person my ahem, age, shouldn't be like this. My father was a very creative and imaginative person. 
He had no talent for mundane things. His brain was always on the go. My mom was the opposite. She could plan things to the smallest of details. She is regimented in thoughts and actions.

I may be a bit of both. 

Funny how things come to you when you are mucking out a stall [Lil' Richard is the one equine won't try to tear apart our large stall.]

Sunday was MY day of stall cleaning. I filled the skid steer bucket with manure and drove the skid steer to dump the pile of old hay, straw, and shavings. Rich said he was too unsteady to climb in and out of the skid steer.

So it is my job to keep that machinery running and useful. I would much rather use the little 4 wheeler and cart to clean up stuff and dump it, but he sure loves his skid steer. 

I abide by his wishes as my 'job' as his caregiver and wife is to make his days as pleasant as I can.

Here I was dumping and spreading manure when I thought about the recent Lego build we did together. 

The Alpine Lodge build has a cute skating rink, an outhouse, and rooms to rent. It is like having a doll house to play with.

During my shoveling I thought .... wouldn't it be funny to have the Lego Batman sign in as a guest? I mean what on earth would the Dark Knight be doing at a winter lodge???

Wouldn't it be funny to take a photo of Santa Clause being interrupted in the outhouse by one of his elves?

And why would all of this occur?

Oh...And what of The Brothers Odd?

How would this fit in with the much anticipated delivery of the 9th deer for Santa's Sleigh on the MOC build??

As I refilled the bucket with manure and hay chafe, my mind skipped from one thing to another with a story line of images jumping about like quick movie clips.

Did Batman sign into the Lodge because he knew Rudolph went missing for nefarious reasons? 

What did the Elf give Santa as a reason to be interrupted while doing his morning constitution?

How would The Brothers Odd even fit in?

I drove the skid steer to the pile and dumped it, then spent time backing it into the shed to the spot where it can be plugged in on cold mornings for using. That effort took all of my brain power.

I dusted myself off and started towards the house.

What IF a Hunter chased Rudolph into the woods? What IF the Brothers Odd decided to help search for him and found Chewie?

And to think that I kept letting these thoughts engage in the back of my mind while I prepared supper and set up appointments on my calendar for the week.

All because of a Lego Outhouse and an Etsy order for a 9th reindeer.

Santa: What the $#@#$%???
Close the door and let me...
finish!
Elf: But I have important information! 
It seems we've lost Rudolph again!

Santa: Oh NO! Not again!
That foolish reindeer!

Maya is right. The more I think about something fun and creative, the more fun I have. 

Haha. My husband just came over and patted me gently on the head. He says I will be committed to the nuthouse before he goes.

Adult Activities in play...

We are working on Lego building again. I leave the Lego pieces to a complicated build in piles in pie plates. When I go to do something else, I can hear him sorting pieces as the parts clink against the pie tins.

Sorting pieces according to color and size appeal to his OCD side. He can't help himself. He has to do it and then supervise how I pick the pieces up. How dare I mess up the piles!

I went to do some chores and left some of the Lego minifigs on the table that went to the Alpine Lodge build.

I came back to this.

His comment was: "Looks like there is an axe murderer chasing the sleeping lady. That fool on the skis..."

Don't tell me that Legos don't encourage something! 

We received a Lego set as a gift in the mail. We already had a Santa set but when Rich opened it, his comment was---> "Now we can add the reindeer to the other set and take that one Reindeer from the Elf set and make the Reindeer be the right number!"

He immediately searched through the packages and sorted everything out for me. Then, he instructed me on how to do a MOC [Lego speak for My Own Creation]. He studied everything and then instructed me to .... create this...👇

We are still working on making one deer into Rudolph and figuring out how to attach him in the front.

Rich then had me search the internet high and low for a replacement reindeer. Really? 
Yes, I ordered one from Etsy which will arrive hopefully on Monday. Then the Reindeer will be all set. 

This weekend is a special 4 day doe hunt in our area. So once again I am banned from the woods as the neighbor folks search the woods for deer. 

That's fine. We'll spend more time playing and building. It does bring joy into our lives to do this together.

A certain amount of play is very healthy. It releases endorphins and reduces stress. And who doesn't want that during the Holidays?

Not Weather

I intended to complain about the heat and humidity again, but decided that we all know what was going on and how nasty it was. I was entertained by the posts on FB regarding the temperatures. 

How many people took photos of the temperature reading in their cars??? Lots! Others took photos of their weather station thingies. One even posted a photo of herself with an outdoor thermometer on a tree. Hmmm.

Well.

Me? I got up early and went to CrossFit. I know. Nuts, right? But it was the coolest part of the second day of the heat dome. It was a rowing and burpee work out. Who doesn't love burpees? 

When I got home I decided to put together my fun little 'story'. 

These are the Kenner toy versions which are not very posable but very suitable for kids [or in my case??? Big kids.] 

They came from another second hand shop a good find for a couple of dollars....

I have taken an instant liking to them. Last week I carried them around on my hikes and adventures so I could look for spontaneous fun with them.

This blue one is called PZ-C4O or Peazy. I looked up what this droid was supposed to be and found out that it was a 'she' droid and she handled communications and other difficult tasks. She seems charming in a way.

I thought she should meet the other Droid I had called NED-B. Or NED for short. Apparently he worked moving shipments and off loading and loading things to ships. He also like to Bonk bad guys on the head. 
What a great Droid!

NED meets Peazy in the forest and hands her an Oak Gall. A romance ensues. I mean come on! Who saw that coming?

I'm going to explain something here. I have a very vivid imagination which I suppose one day will get me into a lot of trouble. At my age, should I have such an imagination? I don't really know.

Imagine me telling my caregiver that I want to play with my Legos or that my stuffed animals on the bed are talking to me. Right? That is when they carry me off to another ward.

~~~

The toys develop their own stories, I rarely have to think up the next progression. It just seemed natural ... that they would become good friends.

And they'd go on hikes...

And spend time quietly together talking about being droids and other droid things like ... well, who knows?

And then this happened...

Hmmm, they seem to be making a story of their own and I just am along for the ride.

Regarding 'play'.

and creativity in older adults---

I see those who are creative with cooking, sewing, knitting, crocheting, baking, drawing, singing, gardening...., just to name a few things. Anything in my mind is better than sitting and channel surfing on the couch. [These activities along with being sociable seem to keep a person younger at heart perhaps??]

I find strange joy in using my imagination in what may be called Childish Play. But my love of photography always leads me to make a story even if it is very short story.

--- It started with Morris and his toys years ago. 

The stories were written for my Grandkids. When they visited, they usually took a walk in the woods with me. On the walks they'd name parts of the forest. The Big Woods, The Big Creek, and so forth. So I revisited our walks with Morris and his toys and let an adventure happen.

The kids loved it and I wrote a few short books about what happened on their walks. The joy of making up the stories stuck with me. I used photos of Morris with his toys. Sometimes it was impossible to get a shot I wanted and sometimes more interesting things happened when Morris did his own thing and didn't follow the script.

In other words, we just let things happen and had a LOT of fun.

When Morris died, I couldn't bring myself to try anything like that again. His toys were dormant, they wouldn't 'speak' to me. 

Give me cast off toys and things seem to happen.

I go with the flow and don't think too hard about it. 
It just happens.

Our adventures were always fun and we never knew what was going to happen!

Enjoy the next few days if the heat has passed!