Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Round Robin Challenge: Gimme, Gimme!

"There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your hearts desire. The other is to gain it."

-George Bernard Shaw



How fun! After a little more than two years, the challenge participation list has finally come back around to the very top. Karen was the one who came up with the idea of the challenges, as a way of cheering me up, during a time when I wasn't feeling particularly inspired. :) She is a good friend, who has been there for me. Well, she challenged me, and then I challenged her, and from there, more and more of our friends asked to join the fun. The rest is history. :) Now, we have not only got to share the challenges with our old friends, but we have made new ones through our love of photography, and creativity. :) True to form, Karen has come up with a challenge that is not only fun, but inspiring as well. She has chosen, "Gimme, Gimme" as our subject.


This one had me thinking, to the point my head hurt! LOL. I have all the material items I really want. Oh, I suppose there is always something that would be nice, or that I could use, but for the most part I am set. So, I decided to let my mind wander a bit. She said we could even imagine the possibilities in the abstract. So that is what I did. I let myself want something really unusual. Something I would only consider purchasing if I hit the lottery. What would that be you ask? Well, how about a Merry-Go-Round? :)

I have always loved Carousels, and Merry-Go-Rounds, heck, Alan even proposed to me on one at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I like the music, the beautiful, whimsical animals, and the way it feels to go around and around, until you feel dizzy inside. :) It's that dizzy feeling I enjoy. :) I had a wonderful time last Christmas, visiting the, "Holiday Lights In The Woods," celebration in the Berkeley Hills. Part of the event, is to open up the Merry-Go-Round at night. It is amazingly beautiful, with all the lights, music and holiday ribbons. I enjoyed it so much, that I let myself daydream a bit about what it would be like to own my own Merry-Go-Round. Maybe buy a very old one, and fix it up, just so it's beauty could live on.


I have a small collection of Merry-Go-Rounds, and Carousel horses. In fact, we had Carousel horses on top of our wedding cake, as opposed to a bride and groom. We thought it was a nice way to celebrate the place where Alan proposed. As a wedding present, an old family friend, gave me a snow globe, shaped like a wedding cake, with a carousel inside it. It remains one of my favorite possessions to this day. I suppose if my dream of never owning a Merry-Go-Round never does come true, I would be just as happy to own just one carousel horse. I have seen them in the windows of houses from time to time, and I think it looks lovely. So that's it, I would like to have a Merry-Go-Round. LOL. Silly... huh?


Be sure to drop by Karen's blog, "Outpost Mavarin" to see her entry. Then, take a jog about the land to see what the other participating Robins have come up for this entry. Just follow the Linking List posted below. We have some really talented and creative Robins, it's always a lot of fun to read their entries, and see their magnificent photography! If you have never played before, but would like to, hop right in. Visit the Round Robin Blog, read the ***Welcome Entry & Rules Of Play." Then, post your entry, comeback to the comment thread and leave us a link, so we can find you.

Linking List

1. Karen... Outpost Mavarin
POSTED!

2. Carly... Ellipsis
POSTED!

3. Kerrin... A New Day, A New Photo
POSTED!

4. Janet... Fond Of Photography
POSTED!

5. Vicki... Maraca
POSTED!

6. Nancy... Nancy Luvs Pics
POSTED!

7. Steven... (sometimes) photoblog

POSTED!
8. Brandon... A Visual Experiment

POSTED!
9. Gattina... Keyhole Pictures
POSTED!

Suzanne... New Suzanne R's Life
POSTED!

-OndineMonet
Holiday Lights In The Woods (Berkeley)
December, 2006
The Merry-Go-Round At Guadaloupe Park (San Jose)
April, 2006

11 comments:

Gattina said...

Beautiful ! reminds me my childhood !

Karen Funk Blocher said...

Those carousel critters are majorly wonderful - so colorful and whimsical! Love 'em! Great interpretation!

Anonymous said...

That is a gorgeous carousel!!! I love the 3rd picture down...altho horses are my favorite things on carousels, there's just something about that picture! Beautiful!

Mine's up :-)

Nancy said...

Not silly AT ALL. I just love this "gimme". It whimsical and playful and beautiful. If you got a carousel, it would help keep you forever young.
I could relate to this, as I love going on merry go rounds, even today! You just can't be sad either on one, or watching the kids on it, or seeing it lit at night. Wonderful entry...truly!

xo,
nancy

kmm said...

They are just beautiful. I've always loved them as well.
I've tried to leave a comment on Karens entry and it just will not let me. it must be all that extra gear, she should have went for the more expensive lot LOL Cheers Kerrin

MyMaracas said...

You know, every time you post I discover we have something else in common. It's getting spooky. LOL

I adore merry-go-rounds, and this is the most gorgeous one I've ever seen. Thanks SO much for posting these gorgeous shots!

Vicki

Steven said...

Love the carousel! I've never seen one with such intricately carved mounts. Art that spins :-)

volo_libero said...

Man you really don't see many carousels like that anymore! Are he figures on that one wooden or fiberglass? I think I have only ever seen one in the "real world" that still had wooden figures. Great subject!

Carly said...

Hi Brandon

The Merry-Go-Round in the top two photos (at night) is made of wood. It is very old and was restored in the last few years. The second one, (day shots) is a newer on, and I am pretty sure is made of fiberglass. Both are lovely though, my pictures really don't do them justice. :)Thank you for asking.

:) Carly

Suzanne R said...

I slipped up and didn't get in the Challenge this week -- I had intended to but I got totally immersed in the new Harry Potter book and forgot. I had figured out what I would post about, too, although it was a tough subject for me because I, too, have pretty much what I want. Anyway, it's too late now, but I wanted to stop by and see what you had posted about and I love your interpretation of the theme! Wonderful, whimsical, so almost-magical! Very Carly! :-)

Suzanne R said...

Thanks for letting me know that I could still post my entry! It was fun to play again! :-)