winter break at the Lego Table

The Holidays are here. And here we are. Hours and hours every day at the Lego Table. It is rather peaceful…shared connection, creativity, togetherness, intimacy…just what the holidays are all about. The big boy and his pa have been here for at least 2-3 hours every day during the break making trucks. And I am here, too…usually making something out of the pink bricks. And baby girl busies herself finding heads and hats and walking them over to me to put them together for her. Everyone sits on little stools, sometimes in conversation, sometimes in silent concentration and we all make stuff. The four of us around the old train table. If my memory had a camera set to remember the feeling of the best of days with my young children, I’d hope that it would remember these days…precisely because they are so forgettable. These hours are our abundant currency. Not much really happens for all these hours. There is no drama..no melting down…just plain-old grade A contentment…almost boring, really. read more

sneak peek…



Here is what I have been working on. They are my original designs for pillows. Casitas de los Chuparosas (Little Houses of the Hummingbirds.) Stay tuned for more and you will soon be able to purchase things in my new virtual commerce division. Here is my little dream shop. O.K., so I made it out of Legos, does that count as “bricks and mortar?” read more

LEGO sewing machine

The reality is, we spend most of our hours at the LEGO table..at least two hours a day: Lately, I have been making gardens—carrot trucks, flower vendors—anything natural—because LEGOs are so completely unnatural. I like the contrast. Big boy has been making vehicles. He tends to be more into movable creations than static ones—everything is on wheels…or pontoons…or is a spaceship…or floats…or is made of ice. These days it is all about the little LEGO people. Today, he asked me if I would be the husband. I agreed. I am sad that he now says “wife,” because for the longest time he said it “life.” “I’ll be the husband, you be the life.”

So, while I was there today safeguarding baby girl from ingesting the ten thousand eatable things, I made this sewing machine. Notice the throat plate and feed dogs? And then I used the inside of the smallest wheel for the flywheel- it really turns. There is a spool of red thread on top (I like that it is sitting loosely on a tiny black car antenna…as if the tensioner would adjust the tension just like on a real machine). And one tiny grey light makes the bobbin winder. But the best part is the needle/presser foot—it actually looks real—it is a tiny upside down hammer. The LEGO people have tiny tools. I think it is a Bernina activa 220- what with all the buttons and the computer screen… read more