Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Toys

When I was a child growing up in London, I yearned to possess a doll house such as the one my friend owned.  It was a large, three-storied wooden house with furniture and lighting and I was green with envy.  I was too young to understand that my parents couldn’t afford to gratify my craving for such a lavish toy and when they did eventually buy me a small, metal 4-room house, I can remember the feeling of bitter disappointment which I hope I managed to hide. Perhaps this is why now, as an adult, I can’t resist the occasional urge to buy a wooden dollhouse and splurge out on fixtures and fittings or gaze longingly at really fancy houses and miniature furniture in museums such as those pictured below at the Stephenson County Historical Museum in Freeport, Illinois.

I’m currently renovating an old house that I bought at a thrift store and every time our granddaughter visits she looks to see how far I’ve got with the decorating, her little fingers itching to rearrange the furniture.  I want to tell her that this is not the kind of toy that you play with. This is just for looking at, not for touching, but then I remember the house that I longed for when I was her age and I have to relent. “OK kid, but be careful.”

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Teddy Bears, Dolls, Toys

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Halloween Challenge – Tricks

Jennifer Nichole Wells’ Halloween Challenge today calls for tricks.  Have you ever tried getting a prize from one of these machines?  There’s definitely a trick to it!  The claws never seem to close sufficiently to get a grip on anything.  For more on Jennifer’s Halloween Challenge go to https://jennifernicholewells.com/2016/10/16/jnws-halloween-challenge-tricks/

One Word Photo Challenge – Crane

OK!  So I had to improvise a bit for Jennifer Nichole Wells’ One Word Photo Challenge this week.  I’ve never actually photographed a crane (bird) and I’m not likely to during the coming week.   Cranes (mechanical) don’t feature much in any of my photo files either but luckily we have a room full of toys that we keep for when the grandkids visit.

For more on Jennifer Nichole Wells’ One Word Photo Challenge go to https://jennifernicholewells.com/2016/09/27/one-word-photo-challenge-crane/

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Small Subjects

Introducing the incredible Billie; probably one of the smallest toys ever made. I was only very small myself when I was given this little guy, which makes him well over 60 years old.  Billie and His Seven Barrels, manufactured in the UK by Kiddiecraft from 1945-55, was designed by Hilary Page who was possibly better known for his design of the original interlocking building brick which later became famous as Lego.

According to the packaging, the toy consisted of “Seven colored plastic barrels which unscrew in the middle and all fit into the largest barrel. In the tiniest barrel is Billie.”

Sadly I no longer have the barrels but amazingly Billie is still with us. This diminutive fellow survived the move from London to the suburbs when I was yet a child. Mum kept him safe at home when I emigrated to the US in the early 1970’s and brought him with her when she and Dad came to live with us ten years later. Here he remains, a small but very important reminder of my childhood.

A Japanese anemone, one of the smaller flowers in our garden, blooms in spring and later in the autumn.

A little sparrow making the most of a mild day in October at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to http://ceenphotography.com/2015/10/15/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-small-subjects/