Gifts in the making

Oh my, sitting home most of the evening on the computer yesterday reading blogs and I forget to post? My goodness.
Here is my new toy and what I’ve been working on recently.


During their visit here my daughter went through the Consumer Reports book and web site and declared several of the Thomas trains we had just purchased for E were unsafe to use. Even though the ones we had were specifically NOT listed she still didn’t like the concept. So we had to withdraw some of the items, which of course a two year old would notice. So for several days we were subject to ‘where is the red caboose?’ questions, as she did play with it for a few days before the decision. I don’t argue any more, it’s not worth it, I just say OK and walk away.

In order to avoid such discussion over Christmas gifts B and I decided it might be best to make our own gifts, which hopefully will be deemed safe. (we’ll find out sometime in late December). I made some wooden toys for our youngest a long time ago, and thought that I could do that again. So I went online and searched for plans, and ended up spending $6 for some nice plans for an arc filled with animals. E likes playing with little things, especially a plastic briefcase filled with jungle animals we got a while back. I’ve posted pictures of her in the swing with her menagerie. Of course, not wanting to cut out all of those curvy animal shapes by hand this entailed a trip to the big hardware supermarket (guy’s Disneyland) and purchase of a new electric jig saw. Lowe’s had a nice one on sale, with a rebate on top of it! Home Depot has really cut back on the large tools that they carry, no more table saws and such at our local one any more.

The above photo demonstrates the results of the saw activity – a couple of dozen wooden animals, that B is now in the process of sanding and finishing. (the elephant is about three inches long) We’ll probably just use a clear spar varnish and avoid the color hassles. I still have to cut out the pieces for the arc and put that together, then ship it all. It will be about two feet long when done and should satisfy the small one’s play desire. Next year – Barbies!