bearbits by ginger brame

This is the first post that Sebastian and I are writing together. I think I am in charge of the facts and Sebastian is in charge of the fervor. Sebastian’s contributions are in teal.

Pixar has a new movie coming out in June called Brave and its heroine is Merida. We were lucky to meet her in the Magic Kingdom today.  Isn’t she lovely?

Some characters just have their own special way of impressing you and I would say this one was one of the nicest, most patient ones we have met. I’ll agree with that – she was really nice.  Really nice.  Really, really, really nice. Isn’t she lovely?

We don’t know her story completely but Sebastian is already asking for posters to hang on the wall. I think he’s got a bit of a crush.  Be still my heart.  Hey what are all those other people waiting for?  It’s still my turn!  Isn’t she lovely?

Did he fall for her accent or was it her lovely red hair? Perhaps it was the way she paid him special attention and introduced him to her bear companions? I wonder if she needs an extra bear?  I don’t eat much. Isn’t she lovely?

All I know is that no rides, no sweets, and no glowing, spinning, mechanical toy compared to meeting Merida. You all go ahead and ride Space Mountain.  I’ll just hang out here with Merida.  Isn’t she lovely?

Now he’s got the calendar marked for when we can see her on the big screen. I have a feeling he’s already planning when he can come back and say hello to her again. Isn’t she lovely?

Travel is an interesting thing. One day you are a few miles from home enjoying some Impressionists inspired sculptures and the next day, you are a few hundred of miles away and

your beloved teddy is being precariously dangled in mid-air by a Stormtrooper.

That’s the way it goes some days – especially when it’s Star Wars Weekend at Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.  There were lots of bad guys

and lots of good guys.

It was fun seeing Minnie dressed as Leia too.

We went in a lot of different directions at Hollywood Studios – choosing to do our favorite things first. One of which was the Toy Story Mania Ride. It’s not just for kids. Okay – so maybe it IS just for kids, but big kids (like us!) are welcome.

I really like the way giant toys and games decorate the queue.

Remember the game of Candy Land? Imagine it much, much larger – like wall-sized.

We also took some time to look at the model for the new Fantasyland. It’s amazing how much detail they put in these things. Can you see the twin Dumbo rides? It’s going to be really cool.

Then we headed to EPCOT to see the Flower and Garden Festival and the World – uh, the World Showcase. Sebastian agrees with me about travel being interesting. He says to tell you one day you can be dangling mid-air at the hands of the evil empire and the next you can be cuddled by a Moroccan beauty.

I guess in his mind it all balances out in the end.

Hang on Sebastian. I’m getting to your bit after this quick explanation.

Today we ventured downtown to see something extra special. By we, I mean the three of us - my husband, Sebastian, and me and by extra special, I mean The Impressionist Garden.

The garden consists of eight life-size bronze sculptures inspired by or based on famous impressionist paintings.

They are instantly recognizable characters if you are even just a tiny bit familiar with artists like Manet and Renoir.

What is cool about them is not only do they bring dimension to famous figures but they are also touchable.

Of course with Sebastian in tow, we had a great time taking photos of them all.  I had an even better time providing captions for the photos I took of Sebastian posing with them.

“I can’t look. Is he still there?”

“Oh no! Now he’s on the other side! Will this madness ever end?!”

“Darling, that is a very big bearie on your chapeau.”

“Don’t tell me it looks ridiculous. I was told this is the latest thing in top hats.”

“We all have our weaknesses. Just be thankful yours is a teddy. It could be much worse. My penchant for strange hats is my undoing.”

“My dear, don’t look now . . .

but you have a bear on your bustle.”

Now it’s your turn. Choose one of the photos below. Write the number of the photo and your caption in a comment. Let’s all have a good laugh!

One of the best things about doing what I do – creating teddy bears – I’ve said this so many times before – is meeting fantastic and creative people along the way.

If I were to quote myself, it would be this. “I have met some of my best friends through teddy bears.”

Recently, I had the good fortune to be able to create a special bear for a very creative individual.

Her tatting work is very different from mine but I can appreciate the time and patience it takes to do what she does. 

In fact, I’d love to learn to do it myself one day, but right now I have my hands full with teddy bears.

You know how teddy bears can be a handful. Well, one can be a handful. More than one – is that handfuls or hands full?

Anyway, it’s lucky for me, she wanted a bear – an artist made bear. I was more than happy to oblige because this little bear is going to keep her company while she creates. Lucky bear.

She sent along some samples of some of her work which I think are quite exquisite.

I readily admit to knowing nothing about tatting but I can see how tatting and teddies could go hand in hand. After all they begin with the same letter, right?

Anyway, here’s her little bear all finished. Say hello to Matilda.

While we were at the beach, I heard something about a ballgame. I had never been to a ballgame. So I asked “What kind of ballgame?” And I was told it was a baseball game.

You know where they have fans in the stadium seats, a pitcher on the mound and a batter? It all sounded exciting!

Then they told me I might be able to play. Me? Play baseball? I was very confused. That is until I found out it was a pinball baseball game.

Since it was all new to me I had to watch a couple of times to find out how it works.

Maybe you’d like to know too? Here I’ll give a short tutorial. First you have the ‘PITCH’ button. When it lights up you push it and the pitch is thrown.

Then there’s this little lever that you flick to hit the ball when it is released. You have to be fast. Very fast. If you hit the ball to the right places, the hitters ‘run’ around the bases. I love that part. The other people there looked at me like I was crazy when I cheered them on.

Turns out I had a good reason to cheer. I got 19 runs for a win! Well, I had a little help.

But a win is a win right? Turns out I’m a natural! Maybe one day they’ll make a movie about me.

We had an opportunity to enjoy (key word!) a visit to the newest location of a cupcake place called Sugarland. It is close enough to visit but not so close as to be a constant temptation.

I could not resist taking some photos while I was there. Luckily, I had my camera in my purse. Not something I have been carrying lately but that may change due to the fact you never know when a lovely cupcake might present itself.

The cupcakes and other delicacies were so very colorful. In fact, they were nearly inspirational.

Now while I do believe presentation has a lot to do with how successful something might be, you really can’t sustain a cupcake business on appearance alone.

I have been to one or two that are more hype than substance to tell you the truth and it can be a letdown especially if you have been ‘good’ all week so you can enjoy a fabulous dessert.

It must have taken me at least 5 or more minutes to decide which one to try. I picked something called Black Velvet.  See below. ↓

It was good but I think my husband’s was better – Butterfinger! Next time if they still have the Chocolate Covered Strawberry, that might be my choice.

Or perhaps the Peanut Butter Blast . . .

or the Chocolate Caramel. Gee, maybe if I can make up my mind now, like have list of first and second choices, it won’t take me as long to decide and I can get right to the savoring part of the visit.  Okay, it’s time for me to stop drooling and get back to sewing.

My fantastic idea had some humble beginnings. And I think that’s where I’ll start. You see when we went to the beach, I had some tan lines. You can see them in the photo below. I thought it was time to eliminate them by getting some sun.

There I was in the beach chair just lying around waiting for the sun to work its magic. I began to remember what it was like to be a king or at least wear a crown like one. This is me when I went to meet the princesses.

Then it got to be rather boring very quickly just sitting there. Instead of dreaming of being a king, I really wanted to be one. I am nothing if not a bear of action. That’s when I got started on my grand project - to build my very own castle.

Every king has to have a castle right? It’s not perfect but it’s all mine and it works.

People came from far and near to see it – well, sort of. See those people in the distance; I think they were intimidated by my royal presence. So while they really wanted to say hello, they were too much in awe to get very close.

Here’s a picture of me next to my castle. I’m sitting on my custom made throne.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering where my royal crown is. You are so funny; as if I would bring such a valuable jewel encrusted thing out on the beach!

As in any fairy tale of a king and his castle, there is always a big bad sea monster that wants to stomp on the kingdom and for a minute I thought I was a goner.

Then I realized it was only one of my loyal subjects and after I recovered from the frightening shock of her ginormous shadow, I made my first decree. “Clean up this mess! And - if you do a good job, I’ll let you bring me a chocolate chip cookie.”

Apparently, a king can be removed from the throne with very little warning – and no cookies either.

We’re at the beach for the weekend and I thought I’d share a few sights. No, that’s not one of the Seven S’s. Here we go:

Sunset

Sea

Shells

Sand

Supermoon

Sea oats

And, last but not least,

Sebastian

He has some very important stories to share but alas, I have taken all the space for Saturday, so he will be back another day. He will make sure of it.

Sebastian here just popping in to say a quick hello and to introduce you to my new pen pal. Kind of. I don’t think he knows what pen pals are so technically speaking we might not yet be pen pals.

I think you have to start with being pals first and that’s what we are – pals. We can add the pen part later.

I don’t think he knows how to write but you never know. He might learn sometime or other.  He’s very good at hive fives though. I taught him that.

I’m the official hugger-good-byer and waver-off-er. I take my job very seriously. If a bear leaves here without his or her hug and wave good-bye, they have to come back and do it all over again.

Not that I mind seeing them again, truly, but it’s up to me to keep things rolling along and I don’t like to get behind in my responsibilities. It makes snack time run into dinner.

Here’s his official ID photo. He needed one to get in the priority line which means he’ll be landing just in time for dinner on the other end. I know I’m stealing from someone famous when I say this, but I always like to tell the news guys “Write if you get work.”

I have decided on a date for my Internet show which in turn gets me motivated even more than I have been lately. How exciting!

Having a date in mind, a goal if you will, gives me something to shoot for down the road. Not that there will be any shooting involved unless it’s something like, “Oh shoot! I sewed that wrong!”

It also means that I will be working towards that end all month long making various bears and hoping that I will have some nice new things to share.

Most likely a few of them will show up as works in progress here on bearbits if all goes according to plan. I’m such an optimist. According to plan – I make myself laugh!

With bears one never knows. They have their own minds about things as Sebastian has demonstrated frequently. Speaking of the little guy, I wonder what he been doing lately. With bears and children, sometimes silence is the scariest sound of all!