One of my favorite groups of people is four-to-five-year-olds. My youngest grandson is four. I love how he pronounces things. The subject of skunks came up the other day. He went on and on with his knowledge of what “stunks” are and how they act. He was very accurate. I like his version of the name.
Youngest Grandson also loves Thor: Nagornack. You know, the one with *sigh* Chris Hemsworth.
Husband and I took him and his older brother to the Smoky Mountains a few weeks ago. We spent some time exploring the river bank and watching for wildlife, but the highlight was the visitor’s center with all the stuffed real animals of the park. They were so excited seeing creatures they had heard about but never seen. And Older Brother kept saying, “Nana, did you see the owl?!?!”
His new favorite animal is a wolf. This is a big shift from tigers, which hold the record of being favorite for 3+ years. Cheetahs held the title for about a year. We bought him a toy wolf at another visitor center in Townsend and youngest got a bag full of plastic animals. His choice. I tried to buy him a stuffed toy but he loves making landscapes full of small animals, so the plastic toys were very well suited to his personality.
The funniest thing Youngest Grandson said that day, though, was, “Nana, somebody threwed trash in your hat.” This statement came from the backseat while we were driving home.
I thought hard for a minute and asked, “What hat?”
“This one back here.” Well, I should have known that.
“What does it look like?”
“Ummm, it’s big.” I do have a large head, but I still don’t remember having a hat in the car.
“What color is it and where do you see it?”
“It’s black and it’s right here by my feet.”
“In the floor? That’s a trash can, honey. It does kinda look like a hat, though.” A stovepipe hat without a brim. Hahahahahaha. I explained how it was a collapsible trashcan for the car while my mind played with visions of me wearing the “stovepipe hat” and making speeches from a caboose. Carrying an axe. In a suit coat with tails over a long skirt.
On another note, I’ve been busy, but not necessarily with creative pursuits. My health seems to be improving a little. I actually had a polyp removed from my vocal cords today. It doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it would, although I had to be knocked out for it. I hope that it will take care of the periodic loss of my voice and constant hoarseness. Now I’m on total voice rest for at least 5 days. That means that I can’t speak. I’ve done it before when I’ve had laryngitis, but then it hurt to talk. Now it doesn’t hurt much and occasionally I forget. And Husband forgets and asks questions. We really are getting old.
I did have a commission for a denim newsboy-style hat for a lady who had one when she was a teen or twenty-something. It had a zipper in one crown piece. I think I got pretty close. I added zippers and pockets. She was a very happy customer.
Denim hat lady loves hats as much as I do. She even knows the series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. The costumes on it are phenomenal. We are kindred spirits. She bought the darker hat. The lighter one is at Locally Grown Gallery in Oak Ridge. I have got to make one to fit me. And not allow anyone to put trash in it! I’ll let Youngest Grandson guard it!
