“Should I warn the neighbors?”
We are lighting a smoke bomb today. I’m good at this. If the wind is favorable, the smoke will travel to the top of the old, oak tree that towers over my driveway. No one called the fire department in a panic last time. The man across the street lingered in his own driveway sweeping leaves that didn’t exist just so he could watch, but we avoided the sirens and red and blue lights.
Still, it’s a dilemma. Do we alert people or not?
This time we are shooting a stop-motion video in Barbie-doll scale. The smoke bomb for this shoot is full, human-sized. I could engulf a pink, plastic convertible many times bigger than the one my Ken doll occupies. That is a lot of smoke. It should make for a good sequence of stop-motion pictures, unless I am engulfed in smoke too, in which case I will simply keep snapping and hope for the best.
We are using fake blood for this video as we did for the last, “The Fake Guy”. I know a recipe that looks convincing and has a great splatter property. It is made almost entirely of powdered sugar with just a bit of cocoa and a massive amount of red food coloring. Yes, it’s edible. Yes, it’s gross. What is the amount of blood needed for a Barbie-doll bombing accident? Last time, I mixed a cup. I needed a teaspoon. Those dolls were small. I am good at math, but I tend to overdo things.
Ken’s doll double required some post-apocalyptic mutilation. I didn’t want to damage him too much, so I used a small hammer and tapped. That was pointless. Who knew that plasti-Ken had #absofsteel? I grabbed my industrial goggles – no selfies here – and the big hammer and pounded away with all my might. An exhausted 30 minutes later, and Barbie’s beau has a few gaping wounds.
“Should I warn the neighbors?”
What would you say? “Hey, I’m shooting a stop-motion video with Barbie dolls in my driveway. I’m going to be spilling fake blood and lighting a large smoke bomb. Please don’t panic when you see the mini-mushroom cloud rising above my roof line.”
My children think I’m weird and funny. That’s a good thing. It keeps them interested, laughing and engaged. My antics also teach them to think outside of the proverbial, collective box and take creative risks. We will be all hands on the “deck” of my driveway. At least one of them will be standing by with buckets of water should anything go wrong. What could possibly go wrong?
My only real dilemma:
“Should I warn the neighbors?”
~
Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
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I don’t really see it as a warning. I’d phrase it as an invitation to witness cinematic history! You are also creating some great Mom memories!
Lol…Thank you, Rick! Smoke bomb days are always fun! We do come away with some great stories. I’ll be sharing our results next week. Have a great Sunday!
2 funny! The best of luck!
Thank you! This is the fun part. We’ve been waiting for the weather to clear to get out and shoot it. My children are more than ready. They were planning their roles last night.
I’m sure your neighbors know you well enough by now to know you do weird things. 🙂 They are probably more curious and want to play too than anything. Unless you have a crazy, grouchy neighbor. Then you may have to leave a loaf of banana bread on their porch with a note. Good luck with the video.
Excellent idea with the banana bread! My banana bread is really yummy too. I haven’t run into any grouchy neighbors yet, just a few strange stares. Most of them think I’m funny.😊
This sounds awesome! Imo, it would be more fun to NOT warn the neighbors lol But my husband tells me I’m difficult 😉
Haha…I lean toward not warning them. The closest neighbors to me love my family and are used to some of our driveway crazy by now. I figure that a bunch of smoke just keeps everyone on their toes.😊
Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
Thanks for the share! We had smoke bomb success!
Sounds like fun was had by all.
A lot of fun!
Fun is essential for a good complete life. Teaching children to enjoy life and have fun is vital.
Agreed! Have a great week.
I love your creativity! That is a great project! And your photo (swoon) what a great picture of you! Can I borrow your thick Kate Bush mane of hair please? Now you have me wanting to make diaramas!
Lol…Thank you so much! We had smoke bomb success and Ken doll carnage. I’ll be putting pictures up on Instagram in a bit, and the video will be up early next week. It’s so much fun!
I will say yes, let them know.
I lucked out. It was cold, so no one was outside…Lol
It was a big smoke cloud!
Oh nice to hear nobody got in trouble, lol. Stay awesome
I will try! Thanks again, Manuel! Have a great evening.
What can I say, Tanya? You do plan some very unusual events at your place! Should be interesting to see how it all turns out. Should you inform the neighbors? Well, that depends on how well they know you. If they are the type to say “Oh that’s just Tanya up to something again” then I’d say no. But if they don’t know you, it may be a good thing to put the word out to a few of them. Leave it up to the gossip mill to spread the word to others…hehe!
Enjoy your day, you little trouble maker!
🙂
I usually do! Thanks, Steve. It was cold yesterday, so we were the only ones outside. Most of my neighbors just think I’m funny…Lol😊
Oh I don’t know much about you, but I feel I know you well enough to know you don’t really care how people feel about you and your little antics!
You just be you, Tanya! There’s a golden heart that beats inside your chest, and you are a sincere, genuine and loving person. Don’t loose that “fun-loving” side of yourself either!
Have a great day and stay warm…
🙂
Awwww, thank you, Steve! No, I don’t worry too much about what other people think. I’ve never found that to be a path to happiness. We are preparing for our next stop-motion now…Lol
I’ll be looking forward to seeing it!
😊
You have a great day, also!😊
I think the description is almost as good as the video. They certainly complement one another. Great writing in both cases. Still laughing. Made my day: I’m all shook up!
Thank you, Roger! I do a lot of serious writing, but this is a reflection of my “normal” state of being, at least according to my children…Lol
To be truly creative is to experiment with many features and formats.
Agreed…I learn every time I try something new.
Me again: I just re-read it ad it’s still hilarious. Way to go, Tanya. So good to know you! Roger.
Thank you, Roger! I feel the same way about you. 😊
I took my snow tires off on Monday and it snowed last night. Such is life. Not much down and it won’t last long, but duh!
Lol. We got a bit of snow last night, too. Most of it is gone today. Spring and summer will get here! 💐
Just drove to the bakery over the dam and on the other side of the river. 30 Canada Geese on the Keswick Flats: first I’ve seen this year and the robins are in. Thunder and a downpour. Rain so heavy we had to shout and we couldn’t hear the car engine!
The birds are encouraging. I posted a haiku for you today, before I read about the rain. 😊
LoL !!! 8)
Thank you! Glad to share the laughs. The smoke bomb was a great success and no alarms…Lol😊
I hope you didn’t let the neighbors know. you could have the firedogs show up with their lights and sirens and red trucks and there ya have it … free extras in the vid.
Lol…my strategy for the next one…Thank you, Jim!
Perhaps if you told the neighbors, they’d join in because they enjoy seeing perfect Barbie and Ken get their comeuppance. On the other hand, maybe they’ve got mint condition collectible Barbies, still in the box, taking up space in the spare room.
The safest course is probably just to let them wonder about you. 🙂
Lol…Thanks, Cathleen! We did another one yesterday. It was big! Fortunately the only one out watching was the neighbor cat, and he ran away!😊
Lol…Thank you. Yes, I have my mischievous side. It’s rarely boring around here. Have a great day!
Reblogged this on TANYA CLIFF and commented:
Green grass grows from my newly thawed yard. Smoke bombs and backyard craziness to follow…
Have a beautiful weekend, everyone! 💐🌷🌺🌼💕😎😊😉🤣
As you may remember, I love your stop-motion videos…who knew the risks and good-neighbor etiquette involved….thanks for sharing this glimpse into the extra layers of creativity 🙂
Thank you!!! I have a few more planned, but the weather around here has been uncooperative. Once it warms up, pity Ken. 😂🤣😊
Fortunately, Ken is made of tough stuff 🙂
Too tough! I needed a “bashed up” Ken for the post-explosion shots. It took several hours and a large hammer, named “Big Bertha” (I am not making this up), to accomplish the task. I tried the small hammer and couldn’t make a dent in him. 🤣😂😆