The Gift of Giving

I inherited this trait from my mom where your mind just never stops thinking of stuff to do. Sometimes it results in lots of things being accomplished, sometimes it results in disaster and/or an argument, and sometimes it just results in a sleepless night or headache. The older I become, the more like her I get. (I know Mr. Welder is nodding his head agreeing right about now.) One day while working at the Weld House on a project that is now a fuzzy memory, I had this idea of building all of Great Grandpa's descendants a memento from leftover A-frame wood and giving them as Christmas gifts. Remember when we tore down his old house here? And how we used it all over the Weld House like here and here? So I had ideas for certain family members-a birdhouse for Granny and Grandpa who enjoy feeding and watching birds, a plant stand similar to the one Mr. Welder built me a few birthdays ago for my aunt, a picture frame with something special wood burned for my cousins who are new parents, a bread box for my cousin who just started his bread man career (ha, just kidding about that one-the breadbox, not being a bread man)...and I was thinking and dreaming and building in my mind. And like all of these projects that appear like a light bulb, they usually require a lot of work from Mr. Welder. I finally snapped out of La La Land and realized I did not have to totally dismiss my idea, just tweak it a tad. I presented the idea to Mr. Welder telling him my initial thoughts, so when I presented my "that's more like it" idea, it would seem easy breezy. (Not to mention, we did not end up with much wood leftover!) Mr. Welder cut out tree shapes that I traced on a scrap A-frame board and drilled a hole through the top. I wanted to leave them rustic and simple like the A-frame was. And I like how the tree is shaped like the A-frame too. Kind of like an A-frame on a stand...or not.

I made little boxes out of recycled Christmas cards, lined them with a scrap of paper sack to cover up the "Love, Uncle Bob and Aunt Sue", placed a picture of the A-frame in the bottom, and enclosed the tree ornament and a scroll with a little poem/explanation. The poem is below.

A-Frame Lives On
There once stood an A-frame on TP & L Lake
A cozy home for Great Grandpa it truly did make
Demolition of an old, dairy barn on my Grandpa’s new place
Provided lumber to construct a home for his father to grace
Down the hill from my Grandpa and Granny’s home it once stood
Lots of hard work by my Grandpa nailing together all that wood
Rustic and simple, something I’ve always looked at with awe
Snooping and stories to help me know my Great Grandpa
Warm in the winter by the pot belly stove
Refreshing summertime baths in the cool, lake cove
Big ol’ catfish hanging in the tree
The biggest catfish they ever did see
The ending of the A-frame’s story is somewhat sad
But doesn’t the ending of most things make you miss what you had?
Demolition again occurred in the summer of 2010
Can you believe that this wood could be used again?
Holey and weathered each board has had many duties
Now it adorns our house and those spaces are beauties
I can’t help but be happy that Great Grandpa’s house lives on
It may no longer stand but may the memories never be gone
We hope this small tree ornament makes you smile
That would make our endeavor even more worthwhile
We made nine in all and here they are all wrapped up ready to give. Thanks hubby for making my dreams come true.

Merry Christmas!