Tourist Moments #4

 

When in Copenhagen….you’ve got to check out the LEGO!

Everyone in our family is an enthusiastic LEGO builder and player!

So, on my brief layover in Copenhagen last May, naturally, I was always on the alert to see where LEGOs would pop up.  Particularly since it’s a long-lasting classic toy originating from Denmark.

On an evening walkabout, when most stores were already closed, I spied this brightly lit up store and spent some time looking at all the LARGE and well-constructed LEGO creatures, such as the dragon above.  It boggles the mind, thinking of the planning and then constructing that went into these amazing structures.

 

 

My friend, Josh, stood beside this LEGO guard in order to provide a comparison perspective to show the size of these LEGO people.

 

 

On one wall were the various LEGO logos designed over the years.  LEGO logos – say that a whole bunch of times real fast!  Haha!

 

 

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And imagine my surprise when at the airport the next day, there was even a LEGO store there….in among the usual clothing and electronics stores.

 

 

Certainly not a small store – given it’s at the airport – and filled with a large and varied selection of different types and sizes of LEGO toy boxes.

Here’s a closer look at the LEGO playing table….laid out so invitingly for sitting down and playing.

 

 

Near the entrance stood an almost life-sized LEGO traveller, complete with pith helmet, tropical shirt, and an assortment of cameras.

Imagine how long it took to put that fellow together!

 

“Song Titles”

The theme for this week’s photography assignment was “Song Titles.”  It’s a fun exercise in that it encourages to look at photos from a different and newly imaginative angle.

The following four were my submissions:

1)

Song – “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (by Randy Newman)

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2)

Song – “Downtown” (sung by Petula Clark)

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3)

Song – “Sunrise, Sunset” (from Fiddler on the Roof)

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4)

Song – “The Rose” (sung by Bette Midler)

When Music is a Racket…

….as in a tennis or squash racket?

But yes, here is another example of, well, when there is no limit to what the human mind can conceive and construct with which to create cool music.

Check it out!

Unique Mailboxes #2

 

Quiet country lane,

A honey of a mailbox!

Do they sell some, too?

 

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On a Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago, as I was driving the back roads up to White Lake, I spotted this cute little, yellow mailbox.  As I took pictures of it, I wondered how many times I had driven by this spot and NOT noticed this eye-catching mailbox before!    Haha!  I have to confess – many times!

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Then there’s this one that a friend mentioned to me last Sunday, so I went looking for it on my drive back home FROM White Lake.

This fish looks surprised!

Instead of worms, it gets mail;

Just biding its time….

 

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It’s fun to see how creative people can be with their mailbox designs!

Mail delivery workers must get to see a great variety of inventive boxes, don’t you think?

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If you missed my first post on Unique Mailboxes (posted June 16, 2016), please click here

 

 

 

 

Rainbow and Cloud Watching

Last Tuesday there’d been a large grey cloud in the sky, followed by a good amount of rainfall.  Then the sun came out again, which always encourages the appearance of a rainbow!

First I saw the left arc of the rainbow and, then further along, I saw the right arc of the same rainbow…

The rainbow lasted for a good length of time and looked colourfully vivid.

 

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Then I realized that I had forgotten something and had to turn back.  Good thing, too, as then I noticed the striking cloud formations on the left – so much detail! – I can see trees and animals all in that one cluster.  And if I look again, the image transforms into something else.  The dramatic effect of the sunlight and the different shades of dark and light blue….

 

I always love the perspective of seeing the size of cars and trucks, and actual trees, along the road in contrast to the vastness of the sky.

In this next photo, the clouds look so big!  As if they could crush those “little” trees and that hydro tower.

What swooping, flying creatures are these?  With fluffy lightness on top and for their snouts?

 

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P.S.  Quite some time ago, as AJ and I talked about the clouds he posted and how we were both keen cloud watchers, at his request I promised him some cloud photos from around my home.

I am sorry for such a delay in having some photos to show you, AJ7alok .

 

 

Wouldn’t it be funny, if…?

 

Those Easter Island head stones are mind-boggling to me – their size, the carving of their faces, their origins, their meaning – a wonderful riddle that a civilization of ancient peoples left for us.

Every time I see them, usually in photos, they capture my imagination and sense of wonder!

And now this humorous touch…. 🙂

Street Art

 

I’ve been noticing all kinds of cool street art these days – notably lots of it in Iceland, which I just recently visited – hence, no new blog posts from me over the past several days.

It’s great fun to see the variety in subjects and different styles used; it adds another layer of interest to small towns and bigger cities.

Once I have organized my photos from my Iceland trip, I will be posting more of this eye-catching and enjoyable “wall” art.

This one of the young boy I noticed on my way from band practice on Sunday (in Arnprior; a town about a 35 min. drive from my home); it had been placed in behind various stores and the music school, where the larger parking lot is located.

What a pleasant surprise!

 

 

 

Make a Costume, Have some Fun!

 

Become someone else

In a world of fantasy,

And travel in time.

 

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For Saturday I was invited to join the local Pathfinder group (Girl Guides) on their special trip to the Con – ie. Comic Con – which was taking place in Ottawa.  The leaders and girls got dressed up, and I did, too.   I gathered various specific clothing items (including borrowing one of my daughter’s costume wigs) in order to become a character from a Disney animated series that was a big favourite of my kids and I when they were younger. Can you guess my character?

 

The lady in the hat – my friend, Christy – had assembled her costume design in the spirit of Steampunk, and her daughter, Katey (with the blue hair), was a character from an animé series.

 

There were definitely lots of people at the Con with so many dressed in costumes – it seemed as if every fourth person was dressed up – from simpler outfits to ultra awesomely detailed costumes.  There were people dressed up as characters from Star Wars, Dr. Who, Super Heroes, Star Trek, and animé.  In addition, there were guest appearances in designated rooms, along with a myriad of workshops offered on a variety of topics, as well as browsing through the hall of vendors and the artists’ area.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the costumes, AND another highlight for me was to be introduced to the world of Steampunk, which is so cool!   And where the imagination knows no bounds, as people get incredibly creative, for example, blending the worlds of the Victorian era with futuristic science.

At one point, one of the girls, Katey, and I went roaming for a while.  We explored some of the vendors’ booths – the t-shirts, the origami one, the animé ones, and others.  When we came to this Back to the Future spot, the lure of the DeLorean was too strong for me to resist. I just had to go for a “spin!”

With hover board and hanging onto the car – great fun!

 

 

Note:  Of the two DeLorean photos, the one at the top was taken by the photographer who was running this Back to the Future booth….and the bottom one was taken by Katey.

 

Flights of Imagination

Ahhhh…..where the imagination goes off to, when you’re given a glass of white wine late on a Monday night, while your son decides to play a game on the xbox 1.
Looking through the glass at the TV screen……ooooeeeeoooo!

 

 

Photo #1 – Funky pattern – mostly thick lines of varying colours reflected in the wine glass….

 

Photo #2 – Ooohhh….a stormtrooper. And looking through just the glass, the images are clear…..

 

Photo #3 – Going for the image of the stormtrooper from the screen to show up through the wine in the glass.
See it?

 

 

Water Mirrors

 

Water smooth as glass;

Up is down and down is up?

Symmetrical lines.

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I love water reflections, don’t you?

With peaceful, calm waters, you see what’s there and what appears to be there and inverted.  The inversion looks so real, that it often fools the eyes into seeing extra worlds……and our imaginations go wild!

A bridge appears to burst into geometric shapes.   Trees, flowers, and docks along the shore transform into a modern painting.

I think nature is the original artist with her always perfectly arcing rainbows and her bold or pastel sunsets and sunrises, her cloud-filled skies, her sculptured mountains, and all those mesmerizing water scenes.