5 Unusual Gifts

I don't want to give what everyone else is giving, but where do we find the unusual?

In our imaginations!

5th place in my list of unusual gifts to give:  A tire and a rope for hours of fun!
 ( rocker not included; some assembly required!)

4th Place

The Wheelbarrow

Fill this gift with fertilizer, trowel, seeds, gloves and a sprinkler and hose and get the gardener on your list dreaming of spring!

                                                           3rd in our list of Unusual Gifts

                                                                The Family Membership

         Old Sturbridge Village a Massachusetts museum  a great choice to give the gift of family membership for a year. Look for a similar museum near you get the family out  learning and enjoying the day together! www.osv.org       

           Another museum choice in the Connecticut area would be  Mystic Seaport can't go wrong either way both great adventures over and over again! P.S. a camera memory card would go great with this gift!  www.mysticseaport.org 

                                                               #2 on the Unusual Gift list

                                                                                
 How about an experience they will never forget. Bundle up for your very own "over the river and through the woods", adventure. This scene from www.blueslope.com in Franklin CT. You can find a suitable livery service, carriage rides in most states with a google search.  Sleigh Bells ring, are you listening.....

                                                  Number 1 on the Unusual Gifts List
                                   scoring high in the shop local ideology this holiday season

                                                           A Special  Performance
The perfect gift for families, relatives in a nursing facility, reunions, company get together, a school, a child's teacher, your scout or 4-H group, give a gift of storytelling or musical performance.

                              You can find a storyteller near you by visiting one of these sites:

www.connstorycenter.org    Connecticut

www.lanes.org                     New England and New York

www.storynet.org                 National

Village Smithy

                                                                            anvil

Blacksmith Stories Link:

www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/stories

www.story-lovers.com/listsblacksmithstories.html

Terminology of the Blacksmith:

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith

                                                  coal fire  and red hot

    Functional work of the smithy- today most blacksmiths do  not shoe horses, farriers trim horses feet and shape and put on their shoes. ( This big draft horse is sporting toe clips to hold the shoe on in mud and hard trail conditions) The toe clip always reminds me of the rubber fronts on my old Ked's sneakers when I was a kid.

                                                       nose to the grindstone
 Putting your nose to the grindstone is about work ethic, being sharp with calculations and steady at work. Axe and other implement blades were sharpened on the grindstone.

In the foreground of the grindstone picture is an early style toaster. The small rack held slices of bread and was put on the hearth to brown them in front of the flames. With some homemade butter Mmmmmm!

He's  full of hot air - could refer to a hot air balloon, but the blacksmith pulls the handle to the large leather bellows to send air into the coals to heat them up. Waiting around the blacksmith shop for a repair or to have a horse or ox shod would be the perfect time to swap tall tales - full of hot air!

Want to hear some of my blacksmith stories? www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.com