A few leaves scattered on the table would help blend the table top into the background....

Some pine needles scattered throughout the tiny campsite, help tie it into the forest background..

The sky cleared, as they headed south. ​

"It's been a fun trip, but it's so much busier than when it was just the two of us."

And that brings us to the end of their trip.
The entire story is in Favourite Photos 2023, and can be revisited at any time - 
​Autumn Balloon Adventure

The dragons decided to take a break and just relax around the campsite for a few days.

"Anyone want to go for a hike in the woods?"

"We do!!"

'We do too!"

"Well, just be careful, and stay together."

So off they went...

When the children returned to camp, Winston wanted everyone to pose for a group photo...

...and then it was time to pack up and move on.

The balloon basket had magical properties, and was a lot bigger inside than it looked. All their toys, food, and camping gear fit nicely inside...

"I think we are almost ready to move on..."

The dragons and the twins continued north along the shore of Lake Superior, which is the largest fresh-water lake in the world.

The twins were starting to get a bit restless, crammed in the balloon basket.

Saphira suggested they all stop for a rest.

"I know the perfect spot," said Winston. "It's over that way."

So they followed him...

"It's over there...in White River..."

White River was where Winnie the Pooh came from, and there was a park with a statue of him, ​and Winston thought the twins would enjoy seeing it.

After I took some photos of Matias with his leg armour...

I decided it was way too 'chunky', except maybe in 3/4 views with just the tops showing....

It was really bugging me, and even though I really didn't feel like sculpting another pair, I knew I would never be happy leaving it as it was. The big problem was that I'd sculpted the armour over his boots, and they were already hefty boots to start with.  I wondered if there could be a way to make narrower, better scale looking leg armour. Then I remembered I had two pairs of Peter Pevesie boots.  They were a lot smaller and finer than his SartoriaJ boots.

Building armour over the much smaller black boots would result in armour roughly the same size proportionate to the bigger, brown boots. So I sewed Matias some long black socks to hold his pants tight to his legs, put the black boots on him, wrapped him back up in plastic wrap, and set about redesigning the armour boot pattern and making a pair out of card stock.

But that's as far as I got. We went for our Covid booster shots a week ago today, and the very next day I came down with Covid. Coincidence or what? They say you can't get Covid from the vaccine, and I had no idea where I might have picked it up. The next few days were rough, and I did nothing at all. Then just when I started to feel a little better, Jan came down with it as well.

​Anyways, once I started to feel like doing something again, I turned my attention back to Matias' armour. I started work sculpting the lower sections of the armour boot. I was hopeful that with the smaller boots and his pant legs wrapped tight, there new set would turn out much better.

Work was slow, and I didn't feel all that great, so it took two days just to get the bottom sections done....

The next day I finished them....

I was starting to think maybe I'd made them too long, and when I posed Matias into a sitting position after they'd cured, sure enough, I'd made them much too tall....

 But the lower parts were nice and slender, and the perfect size...

So I asked Jan to cut the tops off, and I'd remake them AGAIN.

So I made new card stock sections and glued them in.  The new tops would end up at least a centimetre shorter, and I hope the third time they'd be better.

Yes!  Finally leg armour the right size!  Although I didn't like the way the tops dented inwards, so added a bit more Apoxie to round them out. The right one was already done, and the left one still needed some rounding out.

The new, sanded leg armour with one from the original pair. The new ones are a lot better shape. They are narrower, and with a much better shaped 'boot'.  I wasn't sure about the more rounded tops on the new pair, thinking I preferred the flatter more pointed version on the very first pair, but I really wasn't going to redo them a fourth time. 

After sanding, I glued in all the tiny bead 'rivets'. You may wonder why I glue the beads in afterwards, instead of inserting them into the uncured Apoxie. After all it would seem a lot easier.  But I need to be able to sand the Apoxie. It's not the easiest to get nice flat edges, so I rely on doing the final shaping by sanding after the Apoxie has cured, and the beads would stick out of the surface, and prevent smooth sanding. So they have to get glued in afterwards.

And then there was just one more final paint job. Every time I had mixed up Apoxie, there were always some leftovers, which I then shaped into chicken or mutton legs, and roast potatoes. They all needed to be painted. I find it's always better to have an actual item to match colours to, instead of guessing. Real food often is quite a different colour than what you assume it is.  

So two weeks ago when I first started on the armour, and started making 'roast potatoes' out of the leftover Apoxie, I had saved two pieces of actual roast potato to colour match. The real potatoes had dried and shrivelled up over that time, but they had still stayed their original colour.

​So I painted the Apoxie potatoes to match. It's always a challenge to paint a 3-D object, since you can only paint one side at a time. Then, eventually, after I was done, I'd apply some satin varnish, and sprinkle some real pepper and garlic powder on them. I figured real spices would look infinitely more real than if I tried splatter painting 'spices' on. Plus the real spices would provide texture. Then after the varnish dried, I'd go over the spices again to help seal them in.

Then I painted all the meat....

So now with his armour almost done, Matias will soon be able to go gallivanting about, doing his knightly thing, while also staying reasonably well fed.

On the way home Eden stopped at the Trading Post. He realized the trip had been a challenge for Yvette, but in the end she had tried, only to have twisted her ankle.

So he wanted to get her something....

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry the trip didn't turn out quite as you had hoped."

"I really love you."

"I did have a pretty good time. It's really beautiful out in the wilderness. And even though an RV is not a luxury hotel, it definitely beats roughing it in a tent."

"So, you'd be open to giving it another try sometime?"

"Yes, I think so.  But how about in the summer....when it's a lot warmer?"

Yvette had apologized profusely for her behaviour at dinner the night before, and had promised to put her phone away and make a more concerted effort to participate in the activities Eden so clearly enjoyed. It was a lovely morning, and considerably warmer than it had been up until then, so Eden suggested a walk to enjoy the fall colours.

It was a beautiful morning, and the trees were ablaze with colour....

And they were both enjoying the crisp autumn air, and all the gorgeous fall colours.

Eden turned to see Yvette had fallen behind....

She seemed to have a problem....

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know."

"I think I may have twisted my ankle."

"Looks like I ruined yet another of your favourite activities."

"This isn't your fault.  Accidents happen.  And at least you tried."

"So let's get you back to the RV, and we can put some ice on it."

And he helped her slowly hobble her way back to the RV....

Then after icing her ankle, and making Yvette comfortable, Eden decided to head for home.

"They all want to know how our trip is going."

It was definitely not as well as he had hoped, Eden thought.

Eden was disappointed. He had hoped Yvette would enjoy being out in nature.

At least his dog seemed to be enjoying it.

"Yes, it is."

I discovered that today, November 26th, is Shoemaker Day, and that brought to mind a story from 2021.  Story here - New Shoes