Favorite Things: Jeweled Trinket Boxes

Posted on 01/13/2013 by chick

I keep several collections. Some I have already mentioned on this blog, like my ocarinas and my glass candy containers, but I don’t think I’ve ever shown you any of my jeweled trinket boxes. They are small metal boxes shaped like animals. They are decorated with enamel and imitation gems.

I don’t have the money to add to my collection often, so I rarely shop for new items. Every once in a while, though, I happen across one that I can’t resist. I found this adorable blue crab last year and put it on my 2012 Christmas Wish List. My mom was kind enough to buy it for me. Then, using some Christmas cash, I bought the smaller one to be a companion. I thought they’d look good together. And they do, don’t they?

Crab 3Crab 2Crab 1
My collection is small (a snail, a lizard, a seahorse, a fish, and a bird), so getting two new ones is very exciting, and that’s why jeweled trinket boxes are some of My Favorite Things today.

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Train, Train, Don’t Go Away

Posted on 01/11/2013 by chick

Dear Marshall,

One day we went to the library and they had a wooden train set on an activity table. You fell in love with it. You would have played with it all day, and I felt so horrible when I eventually had to drag you away from it. After that, you wanted to go the library every day.

What you didn’t remember was that you had a similar train set of your own. It was from your Uncle Eric. According to your grammie, your cousins loved that train set and played with it for years, long after the age at which you’d think it could still amuse them. Your uncle decided to pass it down to you rather than leave it in his attic to gather dust.

We didn’t let you play with it right away, though, because it seemed like a recipe for disaster given Livia’s bad habit of putting everything in her mouth. Magnets can be particularly problematic when there are young toddlers around, and of course these trains connect with magnets. But when you fell in love with the set at the library, I asked your dad to get yours out. It turns out that he had stashed it in the attic at the apartments. I asked him to bring it back, but he kept forgetting.

One day your grandparents came to visit. Your grammie didn’t see the trains, so she asked you where they were. You replied, “Daddy took them to the library.” Ha-ha!

Your father did finally bring them home, and you loved them, as expected. But a seed of worry started to grow in my mind. This gift from your uncle has strings attached. He wants us to give the train set back when his kids have children of their own. I see the potential here for much unhappiness. What if you destroy the set? You certainly are hard on them. And what if you love the trains as much as they did? How will you feel about giving them back? And if you don’t give them back, how will your cousins feel? Sometimes people get very attached to their childhood toys. Some adults have been known to spend enormous amounts of money trying to buy the same toys they had in their youth.

If there’s anything people shouldn’t fight over, it’s toys. So, just to be safe, your grammie and I bought you some trains and tracks of your own. This will give you the option of keeping some of the trains when and if your cousins ask for theirs back. And in the meantime, you have more trains than you could possibly ever need. Enjoy!

Love,

Mom

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Favorite Thing: Ridiculously Expensive Footwear

Posted on 01/06/2013 by chick

Hiking Shoes

This is the most expensive pair of shoes I have ever owned. I bought it (as well as two pairs of the most expensive socks I’ve ever owned) using a gift certificate from my dad. I was feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse the next day, because I probably don’t hike enough to justify spending that much. Maybe I should have gotten a cheaper pair and picked up some other handy things.

Then I wore the shoes for a hike in 15-degree weather through ankle-deep snow. I stopped to listen to the babbling of a little stream. The snow was concealing the edge of the stream and I stepped right into it. My foot slid between two rocks and into the water. Thanks to ankle support in these boots, I did not twist my ankle. Thanks to the waterproofing, not a drop of water penetrated the shoe. I would have been very unhappy trying to trek back through all that snow with a wet shoe and/or twisted ankle.

That’s why ridiculously expensive footwear is one of My Favorite Things.

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Pronoun Pro and Other Stories

Posted on 01/05/2013 by chick

Dear Livia,

Here are some random stories about you.

  • When you can’t quite pronounce a word, you use stand-ins like “dada” and “nana.” Marshall, for example, is still “Dada.”
  • I had a cut on my thumb, and I put a Band-Aid on it. You wanted a Band-Aid of your own, so I found a small one and put it around your finger. You were so excited that you couldn’t wait to show Marshall. You ran over to him and said, “Dada, I have a nana!”
  • You do the most wonderful monkey impression. You smile and slowly wave your arms around, saying, “Ee, ee, ee!”
  • You aren’t even two-years-old yet, but you use pronouns like a pro.
  • You love to wear clothes that are too big for you, particularly our shoes and hats. You found your dad’s winter hat that other day. You put it on, and he said, “Hey, that’s my hat.” You pointed to yourself and said, “No, my hat!”
  • You like to dance with your dad when there’s music on. You monopolize him by holding both of his hands.

Love,

Mom

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Foiled Again

Posted on 01/04/2013 by chick
Mojo's Escape

Escape Attempt #143
Method: Hiding in the Recycling Bin

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Acquisitions

Posted on 01/03/2013 by chick

The Friends of the Library always have a small selection of used books for sale in the main library, just in case you miss their Thursday and Saturday sales, which I almost always do. I was at the library returning a very overdue (oops!) book yesterday when the used books started calling to me. I obediently browsed through them and then bought four that looked interesting.

  • Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (because it’s on the Top 100 Children’s Books list, and if I borrow it from the library, I’ll probably end up returning it late, so why not just pay the fifty cents up front?)
  • Hatchet by Gary Paulson (same reason as above)
  • Heidi by Johanna Spyri (because I remember enjoying it as a child)
  • The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall (because I remember owning it as a child but not reading it)

While writing this post it occurred to me that it is Thursday today. That means the book sale is on. If I go out today, I might just have to stop by and see what other books they have for sale. I’m in a book-shopping kind of mood.

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Time and Talent

Posted on 01/03/2013 by chick

There are plenty of people who have got lots of talent. This world is lousy with talent. The idea is to work that talent and try to get to be the best person that you can, given the limits of the talent that God gave you — or fate, or genetics or whatever name you want to put on it.

A lot of people have suggested that the stuff that I do may be second-class because there’s so much of it. My response to that is: I’m going to quit and be dead for a long time. This is the time that I’ve got, and I want to use it to the max. I really want to try and mine everything that I’ve got.

—Stephen King

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A Walk in the Snow

Posted on 01/02/2013 by chick

I went for a walk in the woods yesterday. The snow was still thick on the ground but not undisturbed. Many other creatures had been there before me. Their tracks were everywhere, zigging and zagging and crossing.

Crossroads

Critter Crossroads

Some creatures were easily identifiable by their tracks.

Deer Prints

Oh, Deer

And some not.

Mystery Print

Mystery Tracks
A Bird Perhaps?

And some were not made by critters at all.

Snowball Print

Tiny Snowball Prints

It was a beautiful day, with frosty clouds veiling the sun in one direction.

Council Rock

View of Council Rock

And blue sky in the other direction.

Blue Sky Something about that dead tree compelled me to look closer, and I’m glad I did. The colors and textures of the weather-beaten, lichen-covered wood are so beautiful.

Lichen Wood

There is an area that I call the Icefalls, because when there is snow and it starts to melt, icicles form along the rock edges. The icicles grow and fuse until they resemble a frozen waterfall. Because the snow is so new, the icicles have only just begun to form and the giant rocks are still fully visible. They have their own beauty. This one looks like some ancient, lumbering beast.

Ancient Beast

Rocks at the Icefalls

But few of winter’s sights are more beautiful than icicles. They are winter’s answer to fireworks—sparkling and awe-inspiring, but frozen and cold and quiet, like the season itself.

Icicles 2 Icicles 1

Ice Closeup

Icecomb To take these pictures, I had to leave the path and its relatively safe footing. Off the path, there are trip-you-up sticks and foot-grabbing crevices lying in wait beneath the snow. I managed to stay on my feet, thanks in part to my handy ski pole, but I was caught off-guard by the dangers that lurk above the snow. Too bad Marshall wasn’t there to see these “prickers and thorms” that grabbed at my legs. He would have been impressed.

Prickers

Ouch!

By the time I got home, I was soaked, cold, chap-lipped, and ankle-twisted. And I was practically jumping for joy. There is nothing I enjoy more than walking in the snow!

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Thoughts from 2012

Posted on 01/01/2013 by chick

It was not a great year for the blog. I probably wrote fewer posts in 2012 than in any other year since I started blogging. But just because there were few posts for the year doesn’t mean I shouldn’t look back and try to enjoy what I wrote. So I’m going to highlight one thought from one post for each month of the year.

January
Never underestimate the cheering power of a cup of cocoa.

February
For now, we just need music, because music is fun.

March
I suppose everyone needs to keep a few secrets. They give one an aura of mysteriousness.

April
In my experience, cats and kids tend to like best those toys that you can make at home for free.

May
The way technology is advancing, who knows what will be possible when you grow up. Maybe you will be able to go to the moon. And that goal is as good a place as any to start building your dreams.

June
I honestly do not understand why a lawn of grass is more appealing than one of clover and violets.

July
Sometimes I just want to marvel over talking trees, or feel reassured by the strength of Frodo and Sam’s friendship, or vicariously shrink in fear from the Ringwraiths while I snuggle safely in my own bed.

August
Sometimes your mind is the only thing you have to change to move forward in life.

September
To have done anything 1000 times is worthy of notice. Every little thing, from sneezing to opening the refrigerator door, could be interesting on the 1000th time, if you knew it were the 1000th time.

October
There is something inherently awesome about a purple pair of shoes, don’t you think?

November
Fall is a particularly pretty season for hiking.

December
Just the smell of old paper stirs stories in my mind.

I always think I’m going to write more and then I don’t. There comes a point when you either need to accept the way things are or set about finally changing them for the better. Let’s hope that 2013 is the year when I finally kick Procrastination’s ass and get more writing (and other things!) done. And whatever your dreams for the year, may they come true, too. Happy New Year!

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Reading in 2012

Posted on 12/31/2012 by chick

I read 42 books this year, which is not as many as I would have liked, but still pretty good. I’m glad that I finally read some books that had been on my to-read list for quite some time, including Broken Music: A Memoir by Sting, Summerland by Michael Chabon, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, and American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Though I read many wonderful new books, I think I enjoyed my rereading of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde the most. I’d be perfectly happy to pick it up right now and read it again.

For 2013, I want to finish my Roald Dahl challenge and more of the Top 100 Children’s Books. And of course, by the time I’m done I’d like to have reached my annual goal of 52 (one per week).

Wishing everyone another great year of reading,

Chick

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