Monday, August 31, 2015

Dawns The New Day....




Getting There......

It was just another Morning in The Cloud Palace, Dear Readers, with the Rising Sun shining into the Sitting Area and giving a soft glow to all it touches! But Where is Everybeary, you are wondering? Well, it seems that they have all found things to do this bright sunny morning! Except for Tiny Bear, who is always a little bit Nervous when he is in the Cloud Palace. He is afraid that he might fall off The Cloud if he strays far from the chair he is sitting in, and because he can't Fly.... well, it makes him very Nervous, so he sticks to his chair! But as you can see, Lady Lavender is enjoying the morning sun by checking on her newly washed and Deliciously Lavender-scented Laundry!

She thinks that there is nothing better smelling 
than laundry washed in Lavender and dried in Fresh air!

And Sweet Pea and Brother Beorn have gone up to 
the newly-constructed Tower Rooftop Garden area 
to check on the Magical Plants growing there!

Of course it will have a protecting wall around the edge when it is finished... 
but for now it is a great location for the ever-growing collection of Magical Plants!

She and Brother Beorn are already planning an expedition 
to search out new and little known species for their collection!

And Sir Orion has taken the opportunity this Lovely Morning
for a ride on his faithful Steed Thunder....

It is such a Glorious Morning and they race across the Meadows together,
feeling the Wind blowing in their fur!
And it seems they are not alone in their Wild Ride.....
Hamish Harry has gone out looking for Supplies and has spotted them down below!

He swoops down on his Trusty Cloud-cycle....

And calls out "Ha ha, Me Lads...! It be a Great morning for a bit of a Wild Ride!"
"That it is, My Friend..." replies Sir Orion cheerfully.
"Would you be wanting to see who is faster, You, Me or the Wind...?" he called out.
"I was just going to ask you the same.." called Sir Orion in reply!

And just like that they were off racing like the wind!

But they were not the Only Fairy Bearys who 
were out Adventuring this Sunny Morning, Dear Readers!
Buttercup and Marmalade had awakened at The Folly
after a Wonderful and Dreamy sleep...

And they stepped out onto the Porch to greet the New Day!

It was just Amazing how the Beautiful Fresh new day 
felt so Fresh and New and filled with Possibility!
"Perhaps we will find the Cloud Palace today" said Marmalade.

"I had a Dream about a Cloud Ship...." said Buttercup....
"It flew us straight to the very cloud the Cloud Palace is on!"


"I wonder which cloud it is....." said Marmalade 
looking up in Wonder at the cloud filled sky!
"Perhaps we should just start...." said Buttercup.
"And maybe we will find somebeary 
who knows the way," she added hopefully.
And so they set out, and before long 
they found themselves in a very overgrown Garden.

It was really almost more of a Jungle than a Garden.....

"Perhaps we should Fly up into the branches 
and have a look around..." suggested Buttercup.
And up they flew onto the nearby Garden Angel Statue!

"Oh, this is a much better view..." said Buttercup.
And then she gasped in surprise..."Oh LOOK!" she cried!
"It is the very Dream Ship I saw in my Dream!"
"Ooooohhh....." breathed Marmalade... 
"Let's go.....!" she declared. 
And without a second thought
they flew up into the ship as it floated over the Garden.

(And who should be at the Helm, but Mr. Dreamy himself!)
It really was a Dream come True!

And off they floated into the sky.......!

Way Way Up into the Clouds!

Higher than they had ever Dreamed!

Flying on the Dream Ship 'Flying Cloud'!
And from way up above, Blue had been 
keeping watch in her Tower!

She saw them as they neared and rushed down to greet them!

"Oh My!"Declared Marmalade.....  gazing on the Palace.
"It is even more Beautiful than I had Imagined!"

"Welcome to the Cloud Palace..." said Blue!
"I am so Glad you have Arrived at last!" she added.

Lady Lavender and Sweet Pea heard that the guests had arrived
 and hurried down to greet them too!

"Here, you must be tired from your Travels..." said Blue. 
"Please sit and have some Tea and Cupcakes..." she added politely.

"Did somebeary say 'Tea'?" said Marmalade.
"Finally!" she added and heaved a big sigh of happiness.

"Oh, and Tiny Bear is here too!" said Marmalade, 
noticing him sitting quietly in his chair.
"We wondered where you had gone..." she added.

"Hullo..." said Tiny Bear. 
"I didn't mean to worry you..." he added. 
"Thistledown, the Fairy Horse brought me here. 
He caught me when we fell off the Dragon!" he explained.

Well, Dear Readers, In all this excitement, I suppose you are wondering 
Where Sir Orion and Hamish Harry and Brother Beorn are?

Well, Sir Orion and Hamish Harry have spent hours
 racing like the wind across the meadow and moors...

Sometimes one takes the lead and sometimes the other....

And it is late in the afternoon when they finally return to the Cloud Palace!

It seems that neither one is willing to concede Victory to the other!
And when they arrive they find All the Bearys gathered in the sitting area....

Even Brother Beorn has come down form the Garden Tower at last!
(He was heard to explain that he wanted to give 
the Lady Bearys time to have their Tea and gossip...)

Sir Orion pulls up a chair to join in the Story-Telling.....
And Hamish Harry is counting how many mouths he needs to cook for now!

As for me, Dear Readers, I spent my day adding 
"rocks" to the walls of the Guard Tower....

It is an amazingly Slow process when each "rock" 
has to be cut and fitted to the space.

And at the end of the Day I figure I had added 
about ninety-five "rocks" to the inside walls 
of the Guard Tower sleeping area. 
Between the cutting and fitting and gluing, 
I estimate it takes about five minutes per "rock".
Hmmm.... that's twelve "rocks" per hour.....
No wonder it seems to be taking "Forever" to build this Tower!
But you know what they say, Dear Readers,
That Getting There is half the Fun! 
And with the Dawn of each New Day....
There is That much more fun awaiting!





Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Little Pieces of Time





Treasures....

I am Hoping you will understand, Dear Readers, if I take a minute to explain that I have neglected to show you a Wonderful Surprise gift I received earlier this Summer! My excuse is that I was waiting to find the right moment to sneak it into the Story that has been taking over this blog! That moment came last Sunday when the morning sun was shining and Lady Lavender took a moment to do some washing for the Cloud Palace! Do you see the Marvelous folding wire clothes rack that she has used to hang the cloths to dry? It was sent to me as a gift by Remco, who paints wonderful little models and has made these tiny functional folding racks as gifts for several blog friends! He sent me one for being a follower of his blog! It is so delicate and beautifully made! Thank you Remco for sending it to me! It really is a Treasure! As you can see, it will be well used at the Cloud Palace!

And while Lady Lavender has taken a moment to do some washing, 
the Lads have been enjoying the Guard Room of the Cloud Palace Tower....

Although they only seem to be guarding the cakes...!
I also wanted to tell you that I have finally decided 
to "lighten up" the rocks in the Tower.....
I added a few washes of pale gray paint 
to make the rocks more uniform in type and color.
And then I scored lines in the ceiling to resemble boards....

And I glued them in place!!!
This means I can begin the structural work for the next level....

Where the "Bear-racks" and the Loft will be!
You can see that Brother Beorn has come to have a look at the Loft...
This is where his bed and his Herb storage will be.

And once I had made a little more progress
 on the bed frames and the window frames....
Hamish Harry came to see how it was shaping up...




Of course, the picture is a bit dark because the sun is setting so early now...
It is hard to find the Time to take pictures in Daylight!
 
And Meanwhile, I am Sure you are wondering, Dear Readers, 
What has become of all the Little Travelers that we left scattered on the Winds?
Well, you might recall that Buttercup did not realize right away 
that Tiny Bear had fallen from her shoulders when the Dragon dumped them off!
As soon as she realized he had fallen, she went looking for him....

She spotted the building below where they had been flying and thought she should begin looking
there!
She thought she better have a look inside, just to be sure he wasn't in the house......


"Halloo... Is anybody home?" she called.
"Tiny Bear.... are you here?"
But there was no reply.
 
She looked in the kitchen, but it was empty.

She even went upstairs to see if he was up in the bedroom.
But it, too, was empty.

She went back outside to have a look on the other side of the house...
She thought surely he must be somewhere nearby!

At the side of the house she noticed a huge old Tree stump....
And she thought she could see lights twinkling at her from inside the Tree!
"Helloooo..." she called.
"Anybody hooome?"

Suddenly a little creature appeared at one of the holes in the Tree Roots....
"Oh, Good evening, Sir" said Buttercup.
"I am looking for a friend of mine, 'Tiny Bear'" she added.
"Have you seen him anywhere around?"

"I am afraid I can't help you..." said Samuel Whiskers nervously.
"I don't know any Bears..." he said.... 
"Yourself excluded" he added, not wanting to offend.
"Er, yes", said Buttercup. "I am 'Buttercup'."
"I am Vegetarian." she added politely.
"Ah!" said Samuel Whiskers, relaxing just a little.
 "I am Samuel Whiskers."
"We don't generally get any Bears in this area..." he added.
"You might try over at the Castle...." he suggested.

"We were just over at the Castle...." said Buttercup.
"But the Dragon dumped us off as were were 
flying over the house and Tiny Bear got lost...." she added with a sigh.
.
Meanwhile, Dear Readers, 
you must be wondering where Marmalade has gone?

Well, she has been looking all over the castle for Buttercup!

The Owls in the Guard Room couldn't tell her anything... 
so she decided to look upstairs.

And you might recall that Lady Athena had gone 
to talk to the Wizard about the Holes in Time...
"We cannot continue with these Trespassers...." she said.
"You must find the Key and close the Gaps!"
"You know as well as I..." replied the Wizard, 
"That I cannot control the Actions of Any..."

 
"I can only Influence the Energy 
that Flows from one Moment to the next...!"
 "Well, then you must 'Influence' more Precisely...!" 
she declared and then turned and swept from the room.

Marmalade did not see her pass through the door even as she entered it...
They were not standing in exactly the Same Time!

And when she poked her head in through the doorway, 
she was almost surprised that the room was Not empty!
"Oh," she cried "You must be the Wizard!" she added excitedly.
"We have been looking for you..." she added... 
"Or rather, we are looking for the Cloud Palace... 
But someone said we would need your help to find it...." she said all in a rush.

"We....?" asked the Wizard.
"Er.... I seem to have become separated 
from my Friends..." said Marmalade apologetically.
"I was looking for them when I found you here..." she added.
"But we all arrived together at the Castle 
so I am sure they are here somewhere!" she declared bravely.
"Ah...!" replied the Wizard thoughtfully.

"I can see that you are very Brave..." he said 
as he looked directly into Marmalade's eyes.

"You have strayed Deep into the Past..." he said.
"Your Friends are no longer in the Castle.... nor are they in this Time."
"I will give you this Timepiece....." he added, 
holding out an ancient watch.
"With it's Guidance you should be able to Find your way Back!"


"But remember this...!" he said sternly, 
"You must Master Time or it Will master you!"
And he handed the Old Timepiece to Marmalade.

"Er... Okay..." said Marmalade, taking the Watch.
"Thank you for you help, Mr. Wizard." she added.

And she turned to leave, 
not entirely sure she understood what he meant!

"I will just go find my Sister...." she thinks to herself.
"I don't know about the 'Past'... 
now is Now" she decides.
"I will just take this Little old 'Piece of Time' and see where it leads me!
And she set off once more.
Soon, she too, was soaring above the chimneys and roof tops....

It seems it was not too difficult to find her Sister......

She arrived to find Buttercup talking to a small creature in a Tree.

"Oh there you are Marmalade!" says Buttercup happily.

"I seem to have lost Tiny Bear..." she added sadly.
"I was just asking Samuel Whiskers if he had seen him about."
"Well, the Wizard gave me this 'Piece of Time'" 
said Marmalade, holding up the watch.
"And with its help I easily found you."
"So maybe it will help us find Tiny Bear" she added.
 
"The Wizard...??" said Buttercup, astonished.
"You saw the Wizard???" she added, forgetting all about Tiny Bear.
"Well, I was looking all over for you..." said Marmalade...
"But the Great Hall was empty... and..."
"The Great Hall was Empty...?" questioned Buttercup.
"I flew all around it... it was full of furniture... and dogs!" she declared.

"Not the Great Hall I was in....!" declared Marmalade....
And so it went Dear Readers, all the way inside and up the stairs....
And before they knew it the two Sister Bearys 
were tucked into the bed in the Folly Bed nook!

And just between you and me, Dear Readers, 
They were so tired, it only took 
A Tiny little piece of Time to fall asleep!
Treasure those Little Pieces of Time!
(But somehow, I don't think they will ever 
agree on what the Castle looked like!)
 

(Ah, yes... to be continued!)