ROKR Wooden Mechanical Locomotive: Merry Christmas to Astrid

It's hard to believe it was only 2 weeks ago that I showed you the ROKR pendulum clock I made.  As I said back then, we don't usually give gifts to each other on birthdays or Christmas, saving our money for the trips we like to make.

But this year it was different, when I couldn't resist these wooden mechanical "puzzles."  They are so totally up the alley for us both.  So the clock was for me and the locomotive was for Astrid.

These 3D puzzles are true challenges,

not for the faint of heart.  HA!

My clock was 170 pieces; Astrid's locomotive was 349.

The manual is fairly straightforward, if you can follow instructions.

It tells you where to start and step-by-step thereafter.

I got excited with every new addition as Astrid made it take shape.

All the gears inside would make the train run once wound up.

At least that was the hope, as with my clock.

It was time to give it a try.

There on her hands and knees, she let her rip....
(pay attention to her fisherman's sweater).

Hallelujah!  It would have gone farther if  nothing had stopped it.
SUCCESS!

Just call us two peas in a pod!
And now which of us will do the tractor...with only 135 pieces???

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Speaking of Christmas gifts, look at what Astrid made for ME, finished on our 2nd Christmas Day, 26 December.  

It's a long story about how my mom made me a fisherman's sweater back in the 80s,

but how it got lost in the condo fire of 1994 when I was with my then partner, Jo.

Astrid had made herself a fisherman's sweater out of Texel wool 20 years ago,
which I admired (did you pay attention to the photo above with her on the floor?).

When she asked if I'd like her to make one for me, she didn't have to ask me twice!

I chose the color and she did all the rest, finishing it in 3 months.
(But as she told our FB followers, NO, she doesn't take orders.  HA!)

It doesn't get any better than that.

Merry Christmas...and Happy New Year!
Here's hoping we're all off to a good start in 2019.

Hailey's First Christmas, 2018

It so happens that our Christmas meal with family here in the Netherlands goes back-n-forth each year between our house and their's.  Last year we were with Eva and Jeroen when we got the surprise news that they were "in a family way."

Talk about a Christmas gift!

This year it was our turn, which means Hailey's first Christmas was at OUR house! And that, TOO, was a Christmas gift!  And did I mention that Jaap, Astrid's ex-husband, joins us each year!

Family.

Papa and Child.

I'm lucky if I can ever get Hailey in focus when Jeroen is holding her.  HA!
(I keep forgetting to set the camera on shutter priority!)

Mama and Child.

The lights.  The wonder...even at 15 weeks!

Oma and Child.

Hailey in her Christmas outfit!

Oma and Child.

Half an outfit is better than no outfit at all.

I didn't mention that Oma Astrid had two surgeries on the 18th and wasn't allowed to hold Hailey...so no photos with her or with Opa either.  And did you notice that I took no photos at all of the Christmas meal!  

So it is, that this was all that was important to me this year...the wonder.  It will be a different kind of wonder next year, I'm sure!

And now we all wait in the dash between the bling-bling:  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year