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....

Lego Adult Build brings a Surprise

Something very different happened this weekend.

As some of you all know, I dig Legos. It all started when a neighbor boy gave me an old Lego minifigure.

When the neighbor this summer chucked all of her childhood Legos into the dumpster we shared...well, I did some dumpster diving and it took off from there.

Over the summer I decided to add a skid steer, a 4 wheeler, a motorcycle, and a truck for my Lego folks to get around on. 
I had so much fun with the toys this summer....

Remember Squatch? He and Hobby have searched all summer to find relatives. And Big Foot and Yeti have been too shy to step forward...
Well eventually that story will be told. I've got a lot of catching up to do...

So, I knew fall would bring cold weather and that I'd be spending time indoors. I decided to break down and order a Christmas Lego Build. I ordered Santa's Visit from Lego. It comes with nearly 1,500 pieces and is considered a Lego Adult Expert Build. 
What more fun could that be? 
I'd have a Christmas Lego Set to display!

Here is the view of the box:

When I unpacked the box and showed it to Rich, he was fascinated. Thankfully he didn't ask me how much it cost. [$99.00 😲]
He wanted to know what it was all about. When I pulled out 9 bags of Legos out of the box and set them on the table, he was even more curious.

In fact, so curious, that he started to separate the pieces as I called them out for the first build of the Christmas Tree and the fence for the yard of the house.

 He even started to play with it.

In fact...
He is so engaged in searching for pieces and seeing how it is done [he can spot where the pieces go rather quickly], that I don't do any building unless he is there too.

There are those who consider something like this a waste of money. After all, what are toys? Right?

Something very wonderful happened. For 3 days now, we have been engaged together between the times he has to rest... building a Lego Set.

He actually sort of engages in laughter and play. Like when I wanted a photo of him helping, he set his inhaler on the chimney and his nasal spray on the doorway. Huh. Funny Guy!

To engage in more play. I made him his own personal Lego Person.

Here is Rich and I:

Funny. Rich decided that the Dove should go in the tiny Lego Frying Pan and he'd stir it with an egg beater.

So what can I conclude?

Rich doesn't do puzzles as they don't interest him. But this is a puzzle in 3D. 

Lucky for us I have another build waiting in the wings.

I hope this engaging fun continues. 

We even had some more fun last night when I put some other Lego figures in the set and had one Lego gal chasing another Lego person with a frying pan.

It makes me wonder if Nursing Homes and Senior Centers would ever consider something like Duplo Builds for Seniors as engaging for those who just want to do something with their hands even though they have arthritic hands?

Just a thought.

The art of play?

 A friend of mine just commented that I am Nuts, but in a good way. He is a retired IT Guy. He cannot quite understand my world of play. 

My father was a very creative and imaginative soul. My mother is also. Both were master story tellers. Dad's creativity is well known in the commercial world of the 60's and 70's. 

My husband shakes his head at me when he sees me 'messing' around with my toys. 

Some people distract themselves with other things. I like photography and I am a fan of that little strange niche of  Toy Photography. It is engaging and fun. It is similar to doing Still Life and Fine Art but with an imaginative twist.

Saturday was a play day. I painted my dollhouse furniture that came colored in Pink. Pink for mini wood creatures? Nah. 

I did keep some bright colors for my these pieces. These little wooden figures came to us in the mail from one of my childhood friends.
She sent me her childhood collection of wooden 'zoo' critters.

Of course the donkey would love that toilet!

This summer I complained about this big old trunk that I moved out of the living room and set in an unused spot in the kitchen/dining area. I put some boards on it so I could use it as a folding table, but somehow, it has morphed into a play area.

Oh wait. No, it is a decoration area. See? See the Fall sign and the leaves?

Even Groot had to get in on the things! I purchased the wooden mushrooms at the Farmer's Market. They just go along with my critters so nicely. 

Then I had a lightbulb moment. Last year BJ sent me some Halloween windup toys. Crazy and fun little things. I couldn't use some of the toys unless it was really near Halloween.

So...with a bit of help from Charlie, I set the toys up on the floor in the living room.

Charlie was fascinated by the little witch who walked and wobbled when wound up. He was startled by the teeth that clacked. Rich and Charlie were quite entertained.

I decided to try just a plain white board for the back round. Other wise you'd see the door to our bedroom and the concentrator.

That was a bleh photo and not interesting. 

So, I tried a composite using ON1's Sky Swap just for kicks.

This rocks! 

This was a fun experiment. 

I can add my own photos to Sky Swap. The possibilities then become 

boundless for doing some interesting composite Still Life work.

Just think if I'd added smoke and fog in the foreground!

Brewwww hahahahah.....