Thursday, November 5, 2009

Theme Thursday Castle



I have decided to channel my inner Cinderella, Briar Rose and Snow White to reflect on the theme, castle.

As do most young girls, I lived in a fantasy world of my own creation.  Those were the days before home movie rentals, computers, cell phones, etc. and my world derived from the books I read and the movies I went to see.  As such, I was influenced mightily by Disney films, identifying primarily with the put-upon princesses hidden away from the public for reasons that vary according to each story.

My favorite princess will always be Briar Rose, of "Sleeping Beauty" fame.  I loved her beuatiful long hair, her animal friends, her cozy thatched cottage in the woods, her fairy godmothers and her Handsome Prince.  I had a little cooking stove in my room.  It was electric with a heated oven.  I would dress in an apron, take a wicker basket and go out to the front yard where Mother's fifty red rose bushes lined our circular drive to collect rose petals, pretending they were berries.  I'd bring them in the house, dry them in the oven and serve them to my dolls...I mean, godmothers.  I did this over and over, all the while playing the movie soundtrack on my tiny 33 1/3 LP portable, powder blue record player.  I had a "Sleeping Beauty" board with stick on characters I'd move from one room of the castle to another.  The board itself was a beautiful reproduction lifted from the castle interiors by the Disney artists.  It was fantasy itself because you used the little stick on pieces to create your own story.  I loved communing with the animals in the forest.  I was often in the forest (of my mind as I lived in the suburbs) talking to the birds, squirrels, racoons and so forth.  I could do this with our chickens and our dog.  We had five hens and a rooster and one doggie.  It was sweet!

As for the castle, again, all in my mind.  My greatest concern was the chamber where I'd lie until "love's first kiss" rescued me from a deathless sleep.  It was all about draping...the chamber draping, that is.  Sleeping Beauty and Snow White lay still on a raised bed, the folds of their gowns trailing over the sides and down the bedside, beautifully draped.  When the prince would kiss them, their eyes would flutter and they'd awaken to the most handsome man ever, the love of their life, and off they'd go to live "happily ever after" in a castle.

That was my fantasy too!  I'd better remind my husband.  He still has time to make this up to me.  LOL!!!

Happy TT.

23 comments:

Michael said...

Yes, I was jsut thinkin gthe same, get your hubs to kiss you adn treat you like his still lovely princess! Wonderful.

JeffScape said...

How odd. I hadn't seen this film in years, and then I watched it the other day when I babysat a friend's daughter... and now I'm reading about it!

Ronda Laveen said...

Sweet story of childhood memories. I had one of those stick on boards too! They were so cool. Sending my luck to hubby.

Susan said...

Just keep singing "Someday My Prince Will Come" to him and he will get the message! :)

Lovely childhood memories!

Tanna said...

Let me know how that works with Cole! LOL! I may have to remind my husband, too. Enjoyed seeing into your sweet childhood fantasy. We had such good imaginations then... Where does that go?

Brian Miller said...

ah such a beautiful dream...loves first kiss..

Tess Kincaid said...

I had a Sleeping Beauty Colorform board, too!! Loved Briar Rose.

California Girl said...

Willow: I would NEVER have remembered the name of the board, Colorform. THANK YOU for that. I can see it plain as day but had no idea what it was called. I played with it for hours on end.

Kat Mortensen said...

Nice post! Mine would be Cinderella. I adored the 60s t.v. version with Lesley Ann Warren and identified with the whole the character's oppression.
I know what you mean about the draping. When I was a teen, I tacked sheets to my bedroom ceiling to get the whole canopied effect (and had a Mel Gibson "Hamlet" poster pinned to the middle of it). Talk about your fantasies! ( I did marry a Dane, just not a prince. ha ha)

Dreamhaven said...

A dream is a wish your heart makes. Ty for the trip down memory lane

Mike said...

Funny that with the theme of castle, you were the only one so far who thought of Disney! There it was all the time, right in front of our faces!

The Author said...

Funny but I was just thinking about Disney's "princesses" the other day when I was working on a short story. Cinderella has always been my favorite. I really haven't watched Sleeping Beauty in probably twenty years. I need to see it again.

Kate Hanley said...

I never got into the Disney princesses as a kid but my daughter did - her favorite was Cinderella (she was scared of the witch in Sleeping Beauty). I even made her a castle cake for one of her birthday parties. Wow, this really brought back memories - Happy TT!

Wings1295 said...

My daughter had one of those Disney Sing-Along videos when she was little, and I listened to that bit from the film over and over again. :)

Dot-Com said...

I can imagine all the Sleeping Beauty decoration. Childhood memories are priceless. Happy Theme Thursday!

e said...

Sweet post. Definitely remind husband to treat you like a princess!

Baino said...

Aw there's a little princess inside all of us I think. When we're not being bra burning independent feminists at least.

Candie said...

Wonderul post!It's nice to have a reminder that love is pure beauty!That was a lovely take on the theme!Thank you for making us dream!

New Yorker wannabes said...

Ah the fairytales...too bad they have to end...

Happy TT
xoxo

Betty said...

Heh! I used to love those boards with stick-on characters!

lettuce said...

yes, draping is important isn't it?

Megan said...

Sleeping Beauty is my favorite, too. "Make it blue!"

Jaime said...

love sleeping beauty. before i knew that i was having a boy, i went around and bought every disney movie i could get my hands on. something tells me my little guy isn't going to be too in to the princess collection...