31 Days of January

January 31st

2009-01-31T01:32:00.000-08:00

What can I say!

This wasn't the photo I was planning on taking. It was meant to be my husband playing with a Christmas present from his son, a mini remote controlled helicopter, but the batteries were flat and then we lost daylight.

These Christmas lights hadn't been put away so I started playing with them and when I saw the rubber chicken in the spare room (doesn't everyone have a rubber chicken in their spare room) I remembered Ice Bunny's bondage chick. Here is my final photo of the challenge and a tribute to Ice Bunny!

It was mostly great fun and I am going to miss it...and am all ready looking forward to the next one...I am now enjoying going back and commenting on some of those I missed...

January 30th

2009-01-30T00:44:00.000-08:00

James

This is my favourite and well loved bear, James. I got him around the time my brother was born, I was almost three. He has been cuddled so much his fur has worn off twice. Years ago (pre 1976) when we realised his fur was wearing thin my mother contacted the makers Wendy Boston and asked if she could buy some material to patch him with, they sent us a piece for free all the way to NZ from UK. It was enough to cover his ears and arms and chest. I love my mother, she also made him a red pair of corduroy trousers.

I had high expectations for this photo, I was going to wear my teddy bear winter dressing gown and take my own photo holding James. I don't have a remote and although I had a two second delay I couldn't get the focus right and after the first photos at 29 Celsius inside I couldn't wear my dressing gown anymore.

This was the best I could get. I think it looks like I am holding a young child instead of a 40 something bear. LOL!

January 29th

2009-01-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

Every year the staff at the Fabuland Resort have a staff photo taken.

These critters were popular in the 80's and were some of the earliest lego sets my eldest and I played with. They had a series of Ladybird books written about their adventures.

January 28th

2009-01-27T23:26:00.000-08:00

If we had these in New Zealand!

I wouldn't be taking photos out by the woodpile. My daughter bought this cute snake back from a trip to Australia with her father when she was about 10 years old.

January 27th

2009-01-27T02:21:00.000-08:00

Powerpuff Girls!

This is Buttercup one of the Powerpuff Girls checking out the Tui Brewery high rise apartments for hidden villains. My kids all enjoyed watching their adventures on TV. I bought her last year at McDonald's (she has eyes that light up), before I even heard of the 30 Day Challenge. I have been carrying her around in my bag since, when we had a camera club meeting tonight I found this great background bar leaner. My friend got some blue-tac from the bar and voila!

Buttercup is now safely back in my bag with attached blu-tac waiting for her next photo opportunity. The snake I had photographed earlier in the evening will have to come out tomorrow night for another session.

January 26th

2009-01-26T00:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Australia Day!

It was so hot here today that my three Aussie friends went outside for some fresh air. I asked them to pose for me in the tree and although it wasn't a gum tree they agreed.

The little koala is about 50 years old. She was a gift from my Aunty, who still lives in Australia, to my father before I was born. The platypus is Finns and the wombat I acquired recently to keep the others company. LOL.

January 25th

2009-01-25T00:58:00.000-08:00

Lighthouse

I have spent much of the weekend out in my workshop fixing old PC's and sorting out toys! It has become a dumping ground, when tidying up I found that half the cardboard boxes only had packing material in them. I am looking forward to rubbish day.

Anyway while I was waiting for an old PC to install Windows 98, I started doing this 3D lighthouse, it was great fun and a different challenge to the usual flat jigsaw. I had to take a photo of the finished article, it was taken on the top rail of our deck and I had fun adding the lighting effects in photoshop. If I had got less of the jagged right side I thikn it would almost look real. In fact my husband did ask me where I had taken it...LOL

January 24th

2009-01-24T00:45:00.000-08:00

A Merry Man!

Does anyone know which merry man this is?
Fisher Price toys were very popular with my kids and I still have some of them. But not much longer, Lol!

This is Robin Hood's Forest Hideout
Description (copied from a random site): This 3-story Sherwood forest is packed with tons of fun and exciting adventures! The walls are made of "trees", green "leaves" create a roof, and the base is green as well. The 2nd story of the base is made of light brown wood-simulated planks, like a treehouse, and the bridge that connects one of the trees to this platform is collapsible! The trees, base, and roof are covered with secret hiding places, climbing vines, swinging booby traps, spinning snakes, swinging vines, and even a boulder drop on the roof! This set also includes an arrow launcher that really shoots arrows, boulders, a ladder, Robin Hood, and his band of friends and enemies. Phew!

When I find all the pieces it will make some child very happy...

January 23rd

2009-01-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

Jacks

No real story to this photo. I think they have been used for photos more than being played with.

But I do remember the children and me playing with metal knucklebones, I couldn't find any today though. I even remember playing them while I was at primary school(one of the few school memories I have).

January 22nd

2009-01-21T22:48:00.000-08:00

Cute Seal Pup

How do you make a 90cm long stuffed seal pup look interesting in the middle of Tirau?
Use Photoshop to create a pond for him to swim in...with the NZ bush as a backdrop.

I bought this from www.trademe.co.nz a very succesful NZ online auction site. I remember going into the city to pick him up from a large seafood market. My daughter loved it, but somehow he ended up down with us in Tirau and not with her at her Dads. At 90 cm long, 20 cm tall and 50cm wide he takes up a lot of room - LOL.

The funniest memory I have of this toy, is when Dans old school friend was visiting from England. We were having a small party and after a few drinks he picked this up from the couch convinced it was a rabbit and wondering where its face was. Somewhere there is a photo of Chris holding the seal upside down and back to front.

Random thought
I always enjoyed it at school when the date ended in st, nd or rd...th was so common. LOL

January 21st

2009-01-20T13:53:00.000-08:00

Finns 1964 Shelby Cobra

Ran out of time to improve this shot as I am about to head to the airport.

Finn has a small collection of beautifully detailed classic car models. This one was given to him by my brother and his wife, who are classic car enthusiasts(real ones).

January 20th

2009-01-20T01:12:00.000-08:00

Bullseye - Toy Story 2

Another McD's give away. Toy Story 2 played at the movies in 1999.

Talked to Finn on the phone tonight he is very excited and organised about his year long visit to Brazil. There are 17 young people, from the upper half of New Zealand on the flight to Chile tomorrow. They have a three day stopover then some fly onto Argentina and Brazil.

January 19th

2009-01-19T00:40:00.000-08:00

My Model Horses

Looking a bit worse for wear these are from around the early 70's. At one stage I had a stable, house, show jumps, etc.

I have given my granddaughter a model horse and pig to start her collection.

January 18th

2009-01-18T00:06:00.000-08:00

Old friends in a sunny spot.

Two weeks ago on the 4th of January, I wrote about my grandmothers toys that now live at my mothers house. This morning I took photos of them sitting in their usual spot on the window seat.

I have also uploaded a photo of Finn and me.

From Blogger Pictures

January 17th

2009-01-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

Bionicle Power!

Finn hasn't been a big collector of toys like his elder brother Daniel. Around the time we moved to Tirau in 2002 he was collecting the Lego Slizers and Bionicles. I am not sure which one this is, but I had great fun putting it together a few months ago. LOL.

A quick shot today as we are heading to Auckland to spend the weekend with Finn before he heads out to Brazil on a year Rotary Exchange. He is going to São João da Boa Vista.

**edit I have since checked and this is a Bionicle called Lewa.

January 16th

2009-01-15T22:53:00.000-08:00

Ben!

My Dad gave this large stuffed toy to Finn who was 2, the Christmas before he died.

He had a minor heart attack after a hip operation just before Christmas but made a good recovery, The week before he died he had been through a barrage of tests by his doctor who told him his heart was fine.

He suffered a myocardial infarction while watching the final of the Americas Cup yacht race in 1995, which New Zealand went on to win, he was only 60. In the early 1970's, when he could get me away from my pony, I used to sail with him in Frostbites (a small NZ two person dinghy). We won a few trophies in local events.

Almost ten years later it was my turn to coach him when he took up riding and competed at shows and on the hunt field for a few years. During this time he split up with my mother, although they remained friends.

I still miss him and would have loved him to have known my second husband, they would have got on so well.

January 15th

2009-01-15T02:38:00.000-08:00

Another quick shot, taken early in the morning. It took me until 11.30 at night to post it!

In the late 90's Macdonalds released a large series of Snoopy dressed as different people(lol) of the world. Here he is dressed as a New Zealand All Black.

January 14th

2009-01-14T02:26:00.000-08:00

Glow in the Dark ~ Space Ball

This was great fun to put together from flat pieces. It has lasted pretty well although you can see the holes where the tags are missing.
Daniel used to have this hanging in his room, the gentle glow helped him go to sleep.

Not easy to photograph; it didn't put out muchlight so my Fuji picked up a lot of noise on the long exposure.

January 13th

2009-01-13T01:27:00.000-08:00

Dreaming of...

Do toys dream? As a young child I was horse crazy and drove my parents crazy. As a substitute I had a reasonable collection of model farm animals, horses and accessories, including a landrover and horse float, made by Britains. I still have a few of the model animals left but am unsure where they are.

When I was 10 I got my first pony - after a few years I probably looked a little like this toy horse and rider (without the top hat). 10 years later I rode in my one and only 3 day event, getting placed in the Novice section. The background photo is of me riding in the dressage competition.

I couldn't get my photo organised this evening and tried 3 or 4 different combinations of toys. Although I am not very happy with this one it will have to do.

January 12th

2009-01-12T00:44:00.000-08:00

Muppet Racers!

These must have been amongst the earliest "Happy Meal" toys we collected. They are dated 1986, when my eldest was 4. I still have Fozzy Bear and his horse on wheels but he was lagging behind these two and missed the photo. LOL!

I also have a trolley that was Kermits. Kermit has gone AWOL, he must have got tired of Miss Piggy turning him down.

January 11th

2009-01-11T00:06:00.000-08:00

A few years ago my daughter bought me this cute Golden Lion Tamarin for Christmas, more details here she also bought me the cushion it is sitting on back from a whirlwind trip to Germany, Greece and Turkey in early 2007.
The flash I used annoys me a bit as it over lights the ends of the fur, it was at its lowest setting and I put tissue over it. It was a grey day here today with little natural light.

January 10th

2009-01-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

A third of the way through - phew!

No masterpiece today - we are going out shortly and I don't know what time we will be back, so this is a morning shot taken in the bathroom.
What set of toy photos would be complete without Disney? The Donald Duck squeaky toy is very old(and doesn't squeak). When my grandmother moved into her house in the early 70's this was found in a lift up window seat. I have no idea whay I have kept it all these years.

The Goofy nail brush was a stocking stuffer for one of the kids in the 90's, I still use it when I have been gardening (which isn't often)LOL.

January 9th

2009-01-09T00:21:00.000-08:00

My grandmother bought my youngest son, Finn, this stuffed raccoon when he was a new born. I have photos of him in the hospital with him. He hasn't got a grand name just "Raccoonie". He used to take him whenever he went away. Those days are gone, and Raccoonie is left behind with the other toys.

I love seeing photos of raccoons and one day hope to see a real one.

January 8th

2009-01-08T01:14:00.000-08:00

Publish Post

Batman is still hanging on!

Over the years we collected a lot of batmen and accessories, I tried to get rid of them and even sold a bag full on Trademe last Christmas. When I sorted through some more boxes this year I found another small bag full of accessories to entice young collectors with.

I kept one Batman (cos every workshed needs a Batman), he had been sitting on the window sill in a sugar bowl (which made a lousy photo). After a few wines, my imagination kicked in and I found the perfect place for him to use his skills once again...

January 7th

2009-01-06T23:06:00.000-08:00

Primary Colours!
My eldest Daniel has an amazing lego collection; pirate ships, adventures and cowboys to name a few. This duplo set - Clown Parade - his younger sister, got for Christmas one year so she could practice before graduating to the smaller pieces LOL. My granddaughter loves playing with it when she visits. My brother and I had a small collection of lego in England when we were little, I mostly remember windows and roof tiles.

Last year when they came for a two day visit, while my granddaughter slept, we all spent ages sorting the lego pieces into the different colours and managed to build a few sets. Unfortunately when they left there was no room in the car, so they are still in my workshed. Next time I go to Auckland I will try and fit some of the lego in.

January 6th

2009-01-06T00:19:00.000-08:00

Bananas in Pyjamas

Living in New Zealand we get children's television programmes from all over the world. Bananas in Pyjamas, from Australia, was a huge hit with little kiwi children. More details here.

My daughter had moved to her fathers house a few years before we moved down here taking most of her toys with her, so I haven't got many of her toys to reminisce over. There are some that her younger brother inherited, such as this puzzle in a travel case - with six different pictures to put together. It is missing a cube which is why I haven't given it away. I am sure that within days of giving it away the missing piece will turn up!

January 5th

2009-01-05T01:21:00.000-08:00

Big Bird and Ernie

I can't find Bert, poor Ernie...

My eldest son, Daniel had these small toys when he was approx 3 years old. Sesame Street was on TV in New Zealand and very popular - Bert and Ernie were his favourites. When he was about 6 or 7, Finn had a Sesame Street duvet cover and pillow case, Daniels daughter Jade (3 in June) now has them.

January 4th

2009-01-04T01:42:00.000-08:00

This was my grandmothers bear.

She lived on her for many years. One Christmas (late 80's) I got him as a present to keep her company as he responded to noise, in his own language. She seemed to be happy living with him.

She had always had a small collection of toys. I remember a lovely home made eeyore donkey, a basil brush style fox and a small hedgehog. One year (1993, there is a label on her foot) my father gave her a large teddy bear. When she died aged 83, my mother ended up with the small hedgehog and large teddy bear. I looked after AG Bear, but as our house was too noisy for him to join in, I removed his talk box he has been silent for a while now.

January 3rd

2009-01-03T00:41:00.000-08:00

There was a time when we had dinosaurs everywhere!

My eldest son Daniel was besotted with dinosaurs from a young age. He loved collecting them; especially the realistic Jurassic Park models, he even had some moving ones.

This seems to be the only dinosaur left along with a small collection of much read dinosaur books.

January 2nd

2009-01-02T00:16:00.000-08:00

Some old toys today - jigsaws are not easy to make look good.
The top jigsaw is one of my mothers which she had long before I was born. The others are from the 1970's. I don't know how many times I have made them as a child and later with my childrens help.

I haven't done a jigsaw for a couple of years now, I would like to do them this year. I am hoping to get to visit some of the places in England and Ireland as my mother and I are starting to plan a trip to UK for the middle of the year. I haven't been back to England since we left when I was five years old.

January 1st

2009-01-01T00:13:00.000-08:00

After thinking about toys for most of the afternoon, I ended up starting the challenge with a photo of a new toy.

My youngest son Finnian (Oops, I owe Lizzy big apologies as she gave Dan the sheep), gave his step-dad Dan a pooping sheep for Christmas. If you press down on its head a coke flavoured jelly bean pops out of a hole under his tail. I think this explains the look on his face.

The 30 Day Challenge

2008-12-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

I worked late last night, so it's a slow start to the first day of the new year.

The 30 day challenge is to take a photo every day in January and to load it on this blog within a daily time frame.

My theme is "Toys", which could yet evolve into something else.

I thought this could be an interesting theme, for myself, as my children (22, 19 and 16) have all left home and their toys have memories which I hope to write about before I have a big clean up.