Neon’s A Doll A Day… Again (2020)

[dargosmydaddy]

I don't know how anyone does a picture a day, quite frankly. Your stamina has been very impressive!

But yes, don't abandon us completely... maybe you could create the new "a doll a month" category? Or since you're swearing off any kind of photo challenge, an Oddwickshire story (or check-in) a month?

[Alliecat]

Aww
I'm sorry it hasn't been fun and has turned into a chore. Fun hobbies should never turn into that. But you even found a creative photo idea to ex-press it! Perhaps doing photos just when you feel like it, and doing something different with the photos, will light up a little more fun for you. I can understand wanting to stay off social media (except here )... so much nonsense.... I had an angry had-enough break from a local facebook page cos I couldn't stand the idiots anymore... I try to mostly look at nice, funny, interesting things. And I get heartily sick of hearing news from "the outside world " too!!
I hope you'll have some fun with your other hobbies, and I hope you'll visit us here too, and still join in and post photos when you feel like it. Maybe enter the challenges! -- they're somewhat infrequent these days.
Anyway, we'll miss your ADAD, but hope we won't lose you completely.

[Elfy]

You have to make the decisions that are best for you. I love looking at your pics, and its become part of my daily internet routine, but I do understand how after a period of time how having a self imposed deadline can become a chore and suck the fun out of it. I know Lejays struggled towards the end of ADaD the year she did it. I am pleased to hear that you'll still be taking photos and doing creative things. I definitely want to hear how Oddwickshire develops and hope that you can share that with us over the coming year.

[Lejays17]

If it’s not fun any more, and other things make you happier, then that’s the right choice to make.

You know, it’s been over 1000 days of doll photography in a row - no wonder you are drained & unmotivated by it. And being off-line is also good.

I hope that you do post bits of your Oddwickshire lore sometimes, I really enjoy reading about your world that you’ve created.

The doodle is cute, with all the little creatures gathered around the gravesite.

[Lejays17]

Both beautiful aeronauts. Eos looks like a more hands-on flyer than Beatrix. And Beatrix is a perfect airship captain.

[neon_jellyfish]

Thank you for your support and understanding, everyone!!!

Don't worry, I won't disappear, I'll be checking your threads and commenting in them, plus, I still have a lot of stuff I do want to post, just not in form of challenge or anything with regular schedule or required total amount I'd have to keep up with. I want to post any new dolls I might get, and I want to participate in the Sewing Project monthly themes on DoA - not all of them, just the ones I like, so it wouldn't be enough for a monthly challenge, which I want to avoid anyways, but the months I do participate, I'll cross-post the photos here.

I also want to keep celebrating Oddlidays (do you remember the first Oddliday we talked about? You don't? Good, don't go looking it up! Keep not remembering, so that I can post them all again next year (and we still have more this year - the one that was on 1st and one more). And when I have more Oddlore ready, I'll share it with you (yes, I will, shut up, people-eating village! Seriously, some places just don't have any manners).


Day 313

My knee still hurts and my head hurts again, what a synergy.

[Loona]

Cute and creative photo! And the poor jellyfish - aww... I want to hug them! Though on a second thought, that would probably be painful.

...having deadlines for a hobby sucks.

This, exactly. As someone who has ex-perience with killing hobbies by letting deadlines of any sort get into them, I know how this can be poisonous. My worst example is beadworks: it started out as a childhood hobby, then sometime in high school/university it became something that also brought me needed money, but due to the deadlines associated with it it also turned into first a chore, then a pain, and in the end, a thing I was longing to drop as soon as I no longer needed the money it brought me. Which is exactly what happened - pretty much completely though, not just the money-part: I'm certain one hand is enough to count how many times I touched beads to do something serious in the 10+ years that has since passed. You do not want this with something that you otherwise enjoy.

Other than this, I agree and resonate with the whole post TBH. Any hobby should initially be about you, and if it doesn't bring you joy (even more so: it starts to bring you negative feels), you should not do it. If you feel that you would like to bring in, or even prioritise another hobby, that's also exactly what you should do. And about spending less time online, I think most of us could benefit from that - I certainly know I could

That said, I echo others in saying that I hope you'll still have moments when you'll feel like taking photos that you will then share with us - I'll be looking forward to see them, whenever and however often they will happen

[dunneh]

Catching up on some pics due to hiatus. I Loved your Halloween pics. Both the filtered and the non filtered ghost pics are really great. Great poses! I really love your set ups, and the backdrops too. Little jellyfish portrait was love.

I'm sorry its burning you out. I don't blame you... I find it hard to even just check the forums sometimes because time gets away from me. I can't imagine if I had to do a pic a day or a week. For what its worth I really enjoy what I've seen so far from you (I came in a bit late and I haven't quite been able to go back and catch up). I myself am trying to limit doll stuff to once a week, but I still fail at that.

If its not fun, don't force yourself. Definitely take a much needed rest to recharge and see if you can get your creative juices flowing in other ways. But just know your art and pics are wonderful, so is your writing. So if you ever think, 'no one cares' know that this internet stranger really really enjoys looking your photos and they make a difference to me at least to see them. ♥ But you're the most important thing you gotta worry about. And life is too short to do stuff that is making you unhappy. If you wanna share when your inspiration hits, great, if not, that's ok too.

What a lovely orchid hybrid, and doll too. Very cute together!

Red trio: Love the two tone hair especially, very nice! Cute trio! And the steampunk duo looks great too.

Lastly, thank you very much for the link to the wig! I had a feeling it was Leeke, I have a couple Leeke wigs and they are great but I didn't recall mine looking so lustrous and thick. I did get mind almost 10 years ago though.

I hope you feel more refreshed soon, and your head and knee feel better soon. ♥♥

[davidd]

Perhaps, like Frankie here, you need... kneed... some new parts stitched in to replace those that are painful.

How about an illustrated Oddliday calendar? I'm only suggesting this because you know how bored you'd feel without an impossibly long list of impossibly time-consuming projects! 

Or at least a list of Oddlidays; I need to be reminded in advance so I can have cake ready.

[Elfy]

That’s a question, do ALL Oddlidays require cake, I kind of think they do.

[Alliecat]

Oh good. Glad to hear you still plan to hang out here.
A nice portrait; she looks thoughtful, contemplative... as though pondering 'where to go from here'... maybe you (subconsciously?) captured your decision-making about the photography in this portrait.

And for the record, I think any holiday worth celebrating needs cake

[Lejays17]

Verycontemplative shot of Frankie.

[neon_jellyfish]

Cute and creative photo! And the poor jellyfish - aww... I want to hug them! Though on a second thought, that would probably be painful.

...having deadlines for a hobby sucks.

This, exactly. As someone who has ex-perience with killing hobbies by letting deadlines of any sort get into them, I know how this can be poisonous. My worst example is beadworks: it started out as a childhood hobby, then sometime in high school/university it became something that also brought me needed money, but due to the deadlines associated with it it also turned into first a chore, then a pain, and in the end, a thing I was longing to drop as soon as I no longer needed the money it brought me. Which is exactly what happened - pretty much completely though, not just the money-part: I'm certain one hand is enough to count how many times I touched beads to do something serious in the 10+ years that has since passed. You do not want this with something that you otherwise enjoy.

Other than this, I agree and resonate with the whole post TBH. Any hobby should initially be about you, and if it doesn't bring you joy (even more so: it starts to bring you negative feels), you should not do it. If you feel that you would like to bring in, or even prioritise another hobby, that's also exactly what you should do. And about spending less time online, I think most of us could benefit from that - I certainly know I could

That said, I echo others in saying that I hope you'll still have moments when you'll feel like taking photos that you will then share with us - I'll be looking forward to see them, whenever and however often they will happen

 
Thank you!

No way! Beading is actually one of those old hobbies I said I want to get back into! I loved it, but towards the end of college, I developed a depression, lost all my creative juices, and then made myself busy with ADAD. I haven't touched beads since 2016, and I dearly miss them (still have my old stash patiently waiting for me). I hope to do some serious beading again next year.

And thank you very much!

Catching up on some pics due to hiatus. I Loved your Halloween pics. Both the filtered and the non filtered ghost pics are really great. Great poses! I really love your set ups, and the backdrops too. Little jellyfish portrait was love.

I'm sorry its burning you out. I don't blame you... I find it hard to even just check the forums sometimes because time gets away from me. I can't imagine if I had to do a pic a day or a week. For what its worth I really enjoy what I've seen so far from you (I came in a bit late and I haven't quite been able to go back and catch up). I myself am trying to limit doll stuff to once a week, but I still fail at that.

If its not fun, don't force yourself. Definitely take a much needed rest to recharge and see if you can get your creative juices flowing in other ways. But just know your art and pics are wonderful, so is your writing. So if you ever think, 'no one cares' know that this internet stranger really really enjoys looking your photos and they make a difference to me at least to see them. ♥ But you're the most important thing you gotta worry about. And life is too short to do stuff that is making you unhappy. If you wanna share when your inspiration hits, great, if not, that's ok too.

What a lovely orchid hybrid, and doll too. Very cute together!

Red trio: Love the two tone hair especially, very nice! Cute trio! And the steampunk duo looks great too.

Lastly,  thank you very much for the link to the wig! I had a feeling it was Leeke, I have a couple Leeke wigs and they are great but I didn't recall mine looking so lustrous and thick. I did get mind almost 10 years ago though.

I hope you feel more refreshed soon, and your head and knee feel better soon. ♥♥

That's very kind of you to say that, thank you very much!

Perhaps, like Frankie here, you need... kneed... some new parts stitched in to replace those that are painful.

How about an illustrated Oddliday calendar? I'm only suggesting this because you know how bored you'd feel without an impossibly long list of impossibly time-consuming projects! 

Or at least a list of Oddlidays; I need to be reminded in advance so I can have cake ready.

Oh, I wish I could have a collection of spare parts to change whenever I need. I can see it - a lovely set of jars with extra heads peacefully floating in them, aaahhh...

Actually, an idea of classic old-fashioned almanac for Oddwickshire - with dates and tips for farming/gardening, magic work, list of Oddlidays and other events, stuff like that - did force its way into my mind, but I quickly ex!pelled it, that would be a suicide. Plus, I still don't have enough lore for that.

That’s a question, do ALL Oddlidays require cake, I kind of think they do.

Well, not all Oddlidays require a cake, but all Oddlings do

Most Oddlidays feature special treats (not always cakes, e.g. Lianora's Cookies Day), but even on Oddlidays that don't have a specific treat associated to them (two so far, one I didn't post due to migraines, and we have one more left where I'm not sure yet, that would be two or three out of eleven, plus, one only has typical drink, not sweets), most shops will still offer some Oddliday-inspired menus, so even when there isn't a traditional cake/sweets or at least a drink associated with that particular Oddliday, there's always some cake.

Add to that personal things like birthdays (and friends' and family members' birthdays), and you get a neverending chain of cakes to enjoy. It is worth noting that Oddlings don't put on weight or have problems with cholesterol and diabetes like we do, so do be careful.

Oh good.  Glad to hear you still plan to hang out here.
A nice portrait; she looks thoughtful, contemplative... as though pondering 'where to go from here'... maybe you (subconsciously?) captured your decision-making about the photography in this portrait.

And for the record, I think any holiday worth celebrating needs cake  

Thank you!

Well, I'd extend the list of treats to more than just cake, but basically, I agree

Verycontemplative shot of Frankie.

Thanks!


Day 314

I seem to be going through a B&W-crazy phase.



I finally finished the text for the Oddliday from the beginning of November, sorry for the delay, guys. My head is still out of order, so there are probably many egregious typos and bad grammar in there. Sorry.

---

Fog Day

Fog Day is observed every November 1, and comes in two flavors, tranquil and crazy, depending on when October’s full moon was. This year, there were two full moons in October and the second one was on October 31, the day before Fog Day, and the magic madness wave caused by it won’t be over until after this week (the new moon puts an end to it), so it was a heck of a crazy fog day.

Oddwickshire is shrouded in thick fog all year round, but November brings even thicker fog. Oddlings love their fog, so they celebrate it each year.

The Fog

The fog in Oddwickshire isn’t quite the same as our fog. To a certain degree of density, it behaves normally, but in some places, like small valleys deep in the woods or near lakes and brooks, it grows thicker and rather interesting. After a certain point, it becomes thick enough to serve as a habitat for several kinds of quite peculiar critters, and when it grows even denser under the the influence of October’s full moon, it forms sentient clumps. This increased thickness usually only occurs in the woods and the mountains, but in November, the fog thickens all over the land, including the towns.

Crazy Fog

The sentient fog clumps I mentioned are rather unpredictable and not always safe, so it’s not recommended to get close to them. It is rather rare to encounter them in towns, but this year there’s quite a lot of them. Some of them just like to sing (it sounds more like ghostly wailing with a bit of melody to it), but some confuse people, and can lead them to dangerous places, or posess them and force them to do all sorts of stuff (it’s a real spectacle when they leave the host, usually through nose and ears). Some will fill shops or cafés completely and make them inhabitable for a few days. Some behave more like animals, and they bite. Fog bites don’t bleed, they grow cold, and slowly spread the cold through the body. They are impossible to warm up by usual means like sitting near fireplace or taking a hot bath, and if left uncured, they can freeze one to death from inside. They need to be healed with magic or a special tincture involving some magic herbs, cinnamon and orange zest.

Deaths from fog bites don’t really happen all that often, there are a lot of Oddlings who have enough magic to deal with them, and even if they don’t, they usually don’t have to walk for more than ten minutes to find a sufficiently capable witch, so it’s more annoying than dangerous.

Fogfish and Other Mist-erious Creatures

In the fog that has grown thick but not crazy, you can find what looks like corporeal ghost versions of all sorts of aquatic creatures. They mostly look like small fancy goldfish, but are white and translucent. The further from civilization you go, the weirder ones you’ll find. For example fogfish versions of anglerfish, all sorts of jellyfish, and seahorses and seadragons. There are also a few quite rare ones, like fish with butterfly wings and turtles with shells that look like glass covered in ice patterns (and sometimes even frost flowers - it seems to be related to the age of the turtles). They usually stay in their fogspots, but during November, you can come across schools of fogfish and fog seahorses in towns. Most of these creatures are bioluminescent.

Including the whales, it would seem.

Beatrix was on one of her rescue missions (searching for a beginner witch who lost control over of her broom due to the magic madness wave) and she almost bumped into a whale. That was the first recorded sighting of a fog whale. Luckily, fog creatures are all very slow, and The Rowdy Scuffler was built to handle some swift maneuvering.

We don’t know much about fog animals, not even what they eat. Eteri thinks they might simply soak magic from the fog (which in turn soaked the magic leaking from underground), as she never saw them eat anything.

The Treats

Oddlings would never miss an opportunity to stuff their faces with something sweet, and Fog Day is a fine opportunity. Whipped egg whites with sugar are the name of the game on Fog Day, whether in form of meringues, pavlovas, cannoli fillings or cake frostings. Most Oddlings enjoy them with a cup of Oddwick Fog - basically the same thing like London Fog, but various cafés offer different spices, and this year, ginger milk tea variant seems to be just as popular as the classic Earl Grey one. One typical ingredient you won’t find in our London Fog are special crystals that give the drinks the same fog effect like dry ice, but they’re safe to drink. When the Fog Day isn’t too crazy, most cafés, tearooms and restaurants will put some tables and chairs outside so that customers can watch the fog critters swirl around.

***

This year’s Fog Day was kinda dangerous, next year will be still somewhat crazy, but not nearly as much, and 2022 should be perfectly safe. For now, treat yourself to a pavlova or a meringue pie and avoid thick fog until Monday!

[davidd]

Her Manic Majesty's wire hoop skirt looks particularly antique-ish in monochrome.

(Interesting eBay link for your amusement: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pullip-Doll-P-0...4146227397 )

I am fairly certain I once lived in a place where a trace of Oddwick Fog seeped through in to our world. It was in Hawaii, where fog is rarely seen. Rarely, except in this one place, a low hollow in the middle of the pineapple fields, near a group of large stones that were said to be both powerful and haunted. Often, early in the morning or late at night, this hollow was filled with fog so thick it was nearly impossible to see through it. I am sure that fog fish would have felt right at home in this hollow.

The entire description of Oddwickshire fog is quite fascinating and fun... and a little bit scary. I shall henceforth be extra careful to avoid fog-bites when venturing out in to the mist.

[Elfy]

Any excuse for a pavlova will do. I think I'd prefer a tranquil Fog Day to a crazy one. They sound far more relaxing.