This year for Gwen's third birthday party we combined her party with her best friend's party. Hannah is the daycare director's daughter and her birthday is a couple weeks before Gwen's. So we got the room for free and split the cost of the creature teacher. He has a slew of animals he brings. Most of them he lets the kids touch and he explains a little about each one. The kids seemed very interested and most were excited to touch every animal.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Camping
We went camping this summer in Sturbridge Ma. Yes, that is where Old Sturbridge Village is located. Every local school child went there on a school field trip. Its a museum based on a village from the 1830s. They have many old buildings, the staff dresses in period clothing but sadly the gift shop and restaurant do not charge 1830 prices. 1830 is before the civil war but a whole generation after the revolution. At this stage the U.S. has clearly established itself as an independent country separate from England.
We lucked out because many of the trade shops like the lumber mill, grist mill, and black smith were around and operating so we could talk to them and see how they did their job. I asked the lumber mill guy how they dealt with the saw jambing and he said it never jambs. "Of course it jambs" I said "I was asking for the benefit of the kids. You would use wedges and a mallet to spread apart the logs which un jambs the blade." The guy rolling his eyes said you are right, but this particular saw has never jambed on us.
The cooper (barrel maker dude) was not around, but you could see his shop. I was showing Morgan how to operate the clamp to make the stays (wooden pieces). Basically the clamp holds the board so you can put an angle on the edges with a very sharp blade you pull towards your crotch. Safety was not a high priority. Another example. To smooth a beam you would use an adz which is like an ax with the blade turned 90 degrees like a hoe. You stand on the beam and swing the adz towards your feet. If you miss the beam you will likely take out a toe or your shin. In fact the term half assed is derived from half adzed which is to mean the beam is only half done - most likely because the operator injured himself half way thru the project.
Morgan seemed very interested in how they made clothing. We found women dyeing yarn and they explained they used all sorts of herbs, bugs, and what not to make different colors, but a key ingredient in the process was ammonia. I asked where they got it and they really didn't want to answer which is when it hit me. The only source of ammonia they would have had at the time was urine....Yuck. Anyway since Morgan showed an interest in the whole process I thought I might take her to the Lowell mills museum. Its a couple of mills which highlight how cloth and clothing was made in the latter half of the 19th century in Lowell Ma. I believe they focus on young girls horrid working conditions. Anyone who is anti union and anti government regulation should check it out. History repeats itself if you forget it.
We lucked out because many of the trade shops like the lumber mill, grist mill, and black smith were around and operating so we could talk to them and see how they did their job. I asked the lumber mill guy how they dealt with the saw jambing and he said it never jambs. "Of course it jambs" I said "I was asking for the benefit of the kids. You would use wedges and a mallet to spread apart the logs which un jambs the blade." The guy rolling his eyes said you are right, but this particular saw has never jambed on us.
The cooper (barrel maker dude) was not around, but you could see his shop. I was showing Morgan how to operate the clamp to make the stays (wooden pieces). Basically the clamp holds the board so you can put an angle on the edges with a very sharp blade you pull towards your crotch. Safety was not a high priority. Another example. To smooth a beam you would use an adz which is like an ax with the blade turned 90 degrees like a hoe. You stand on the beam and swing the adz towards your feet. If you miss the beam you will likely take out a toe or your shin. In fact the term half assed is derived from half adzed which is to mean the beam is only half done - most likely because the operator injured himself half way thru the project.
Morgan seemed very interested in how they made clothing. We found women dyeing yarn and they explained they used all sorts of herbs, bugs, and what not to make different colors, but a key ingredient in the process was ammonia. I asked where they got it and they really didn't want to answer which is when it hit me. The only source of ammonia they would have had at the time was urine....Yuck. Anyway since Morgan showed an interest in the whole process I thought I might take her to the Lowell mills museum. Its a couple of mills which highlight how cloth and clothing was made in the latter half of the 19th century in Lowell Ma. I believe they focus on young girls horrid working conditions. Anyone who is anti union and anti government regulation should check it out. History repeats itself if you forget it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
