This little play cottage was a Christmas gift from my parents. We love it. It’s easy to assemble and –though I don’t think you’re really supposed to put it away and take it out as many times as we have (notice the duct tape patches)– it’s easy to fold flat for storage. When assembled, though, it’s huge. I’m 5’7″ and it almost comes up to my shoulder. And the best part? The kids can color all over it with crayons. 
No he never returned
And his fate is still unlearn’d
He may ride forever
‘neath the streets of Boston
He’s the man who never returned.
When they switched over to the adorably-named but far less tactile “Charlie Card,” I hung onto a few of my T tokens as keepsakes. Rubbing my thumb along the little subway train image on one side transports me to a green bench on the inbound side of the Reservoir stop. I’m looking at my watch, thinking Ok. If the train gets here in the next two minutes, I can still be on time for work. With other commuters, I can’t resist the impulse to lean out, looking far down the track for signs of movement, listening hard for the sound of screeching metal, as though our impatience will somehow bring the train faster. When it finally approaches, it looks a lot like that little image on the token.
I’ve always wanted to make jewelry from those old tokens, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it without damaging them. Now, I’ve found a way…
Silicone molding compound:
Successful mold:
The result:
Size reference (the silver shrinks during firing, so this is slightly smaller than the actual token would be):
A silver subway token necklace!
We’ve had colds going around our house lately, but it hasn’t slowed down our little chatterboxes:
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Maggie: If a baby tiger cries, the mama would come to help him.
Sam: Yeah, and she will rock him in a tiger rocking chair.
___
Sam: Why did everybody catch daddy’s cold?
Maggie: I got a cold ’cause it’s cold outside.
Sam: No, Maggie, there are two kinds of cold. There’s the cold of outside and then there’s a different cold that people get and then other people get it when they get close to the people that have colds.
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Maggie (hoarsely): I don’t like my voice!
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Sam (to his sick, slightly grumpy mama): You’re a giant blueberry with a face!
Me: You mean Madame Blueberry?
Sam: Yeah!!
[Thanks, Veggie Tales.]
___
Maggie: What would happen if a dinosaur came into your house and ate a nekkid guy?!
Sam: Psh. No. Dinosaurs can’t fit in houses.
[They saw something at the store with a dinosaur and a caveman. That's who "nekkid guy" is.]
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Maggie: Mommy I want animal crackers. [pointing to the clock] See? The six is on the snack time!
It’s been awhile since I posted kid quotes around here. These are from over the last several months.
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Maggie: “When I grow up I will dwink coffee and I will give some to Sammy… and I will dwive a pickup twuck.”
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Sam: “Mommy, what is a swagger wagon?”
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Me: “Ugh I’m so tired. My back hurts and my knees hurt…”
Sam: “I love you, Mommy.”
Me: “Aw, thanks, Sam. You always know how to cheer me up.”
Sam: “When part of your body hurts I say that.”
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[Back when we were decorating for Christmas]
Ben, pulling at the nativity sheep: “MEOW!”
Maggie: “Happy birthday to MEEEE!”
Sam: “That’s not a Christmas tree. That’s a stick.”
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Sam: “What if your eyes were on the sides of your head like a bird?” “What would happen if your car would have square tires?” “Do trees have hair?”
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Me: “Ben, who am I? Can you say ‘Mommy?’”
Ben: “Car!”
Me: “Mommy. I’m Mommy.”
Ben: “Car car car CAR!!!”
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Sam: “What are the other todays? Are they yesterday and Saturday?”
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Maggie: “When I a grown up and I a big girl like mommy I be a cooker and I will cook pizza!”
Sam: “No, you will get pizza from Papa John’s.”
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Sam, handing me his empty cereal bowl: ” I need some more wasps please.”
Me: “Wasps?”
Sam: “Yes. Cause I’m a badger cub.”
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Me: “Mags? Why are you climbing around in the closet?”
Maggie: “Um… I was just… um… checking on something…”
Me: “Checking on what?”
Maggie: “Just… something.”
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Maggie, looking at an illustration of Wilbur: “I want to hold dat baby piggy! I be vewy gentle. I not frow him!”
Sam: “That’s right, Maggie, we don’t throw pigs!”
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Sam: “It’s a good thing we have tummies! If we didn’t have tummies, then our food would just stay in our necks!”
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Sam: “Get OUTTA my WAY, Maggie!”
Me: “Sam? ‘Excuse me’ is a more polite way to say that.”
Sam: “Excuse me, Maggie. Get OUTTA my WAY!”
Well, I suppose I should tell you now that I don’t plan to post as much in 2011. I know, usually people make New Year’s resolutions to blog more, but I’m kind of doing the opposite. I’m reallocating some of my “creative time” this year. I have a growing book list that I hope to make faster progress on, and a few other odds and ends I’m trying to research. And I’m hoping to develop some of my hands-on work into something sellable. Don’t get excited… it won’t be happening anytime soon with three little kids in the house, but that’s what’s on my mind.
And on the subject, here are more shiny things.
I polished up the tiny bird a bit:
Oooh… fire.
Owl pendant:
I got a precious metal clay kit for Christmas, which is something I’ve been wanting to try for a long time. The silver particles are suspended in a binder that acts like clay. But when you fire it, the binder burns off and you’re left with 99.9% pure silver (finer than sterling, which is 92.5% pure).
Any medium that combines tiny sculpture with Ellen Ripley-style flame-throwing is definitely for me. ;) Ok, so maybe I got a little carried away with the “flame-throwing” the first time and melted my design, but the second attempt went much better. (These charms are photographed next to a dime for size reference.)
We had a beautiful Christmas this year. There was, of course, the usual gregariousness that happens whenever my family gets together. There are levels of weirdness that can only be fully appreciated by people who grew up in the same house you did. There were elf hats (I’m not sure where they came from, but the kids enjoyed them). There was loud laughter and ridiculous games and lots of food.
But I also treasured the quiet moments, reveling (I think more this year than ever) in the meaning of Christ’s incarnation and the overwhelming love that would move God to free mankind by such a strange path… by becoming one of us, first a helpless child, then a man, all dust and sweat and dirt and callouses. I can never find the right words to describe the love of Christ and the fear he rescues us from. If you don’t know that love, I hope it will find you. Sometimes those who should know it best show it least, and for that I’m sorry.
One more small thing before we leave the Christmas season and start our new year: Sam, singing one of his favorite Christmas songs for you.
