by Anura Guruge
on December 21, 2023
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The train set is coming along nicely. Heavy too. Has HEFT.
The Christmas tree. This is fiddly. Needs MORE assembly!
Ornaments from the wooden & box calendars hung up on a LED tree.
Not sure WHERE the chocolate calendar is. I suspect it is ALL GONE.
Love the train set. Wow.
She has some work to do. But, she is busy with the lights, the trees & decorations.
I will keep you posted.
Merry Christmas!
by Anura Guruge
on December 1, 2023
Six, from what I remember, is probably the MOST we have done for ONE KID! Smile.
Well, I believe you can’t have ENOUGH, but 6 is all I could manage. Plus, SHE has to assemble the Lego ones and that takes time. Smile.
I will of course show you the progress as we go along.
The train one should be fun. I wanted IT, but was realistic. As she says, I can watch it take shape. What FUN.
Merry Christmas!
by Anura Guruge
on December 1, 2023
Click image to ENLARGE and enjoy here. Amazon link.
Well, the title is very self-explanatory.
Quizzes — a total of 255 Christmas-related questions.
Yes, of course, this was a spin-off from the research I did for the 1st book. It was crazy not to utilize that.
Back cover from paperback.
Merry Christmas!
by Anura Guruge
on November 29, 2023
These two are the ones that I have to load (i.e., fill) with presents.
Got 3 Lego (& compatibles) to go with these two. But, I don’t have to mess with those. Ready to go, out of the box. I like that.
So, FIVE (5) parallel Advent calendars this year. Ooops! Sorry. SIX (6). I bought a cheap (i.e., $1.25) CHOCOLATE one too. That is a throw-away.
Yes, you will see more pictures.
Smile.
Merry Christmas!
by Anura Guruge
on October 29, 2023
Advent, of course, comes BEFORE Christmas. So, I have to make sure the Advent Calendars are well in hand by the 2nd week of November. This is a start.
I have TWO that I will have to get items to fill. So, need to get cracking on that too.
The Nutcracker figures were just TOO CUTE. I had to get one.
I have a few more kits on my radar.
Wow. Christmas is not that far away.
One that I have to get stuff to stuff.
by Anura Guruge
on March 22, 2023.
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3 from Christmas NOT counting the 2 Advent Calendars.
Two of the three Lego kits from Christmas, NOT counting the two Advent Calendars, have yet to be built. The Tree House got built pretty quickly.
So, given the backlog I didn’t want to get another BIT (expensive) set.
It was somebody’s 17th birthday today & Legos are ALWAYS the BEST presents for her.
I looked around. Saw this. Though she is not into ‘cars’ as such, this looked special. I was RIGHT. She likes it. I do know what she likes.
I get a feeling that she will start building this one this week. SMILE.
by Anura Guruge
on January 14, 2023
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The three BIG Lego sets she got for Christmas
not counting the Advent Calendar & a small kit.
It didn’t take her long — but then again it wasn’t that big & as such have as many pieces. [Nice touch by Lego: they provide BOTH green & orange (i.e., fall color) foliage. How cute. She opted to go with the green (because that better matches the colors in her room).]
Not as fancy as the $400 ‘Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle‘ she got last Christmas — but this is what she wanted this year. The TYPEWRITER was a surprise & she is itching to build it. I want her to do the flowers next ….
by Anura Guruge
on December 25, 2022
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Two or three years ago, for the first time in well over 20 years, there were NO LEGOs under the Christmas tree (or trees, given that we have two big ones each year). The kids didn’t want any. I was visibly upset when it hit me — NO LEGOs under the tree.
Since then, luckly, things have changed. Legos are in demand again, & I am delighted to oblige. They are a great ‘investment’. I consider Lego money well spent!
So, these three Lego kits this year — NOT counting the Lego Advent Calendar.
by Anura Guruge
on December 16, 2022
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December 16th — 16 days into Advent. Only 8 days left!
As you can see much progress has been made on the 2 ‘Legos’ & a LOT of rocks & fidget toys have been uncovered.
She is enjoying it. Has liked all the rocks & fidget toys she has received so far. So I am happy. It was a fair amount of work pulling this off. But, I love it.
by Anura Guruge
on December 15, 2022
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I am guilty than most when it comes to gifting CHOCOLATE Advent Calendars. This year is the first, in well over two decades, when I did not buy ANY chocolate advent calendars. The chief recipient of my chocolate advent calendars, who would get a FEW (i.e., more than one), so that she would not be limited to just one chocolate per day, is now lactose-intolerant & as such didn’t want chocolates. Some of the other recipients also declined saying that they are watching what they eat. So, I didn’t get any this year. But, we still had 4 other Advent Calendars going in parallel.
Like with so many things to do with religious holidays, Christmas supposedly one, we have lost sight of many of the old beliefs, customs & tradition.
People were expected to fast — & even give up sex — during Advent!
Dairy & sugar products were particularly frowned upon. So, it is ironic that we now have chocolate advent calendars — the antithesis of fasting or restraint.
Funny how the cookie has crumbled so to speak.
If you are wondering the FIRST Chocolate Advent Calendar dates back to 1958.