Late last year, I asked for your advice regarding what to make for my first granddaughter’s first Christmas gift. The response from you all was tremendous — both in the quality and the quantity of suggestions that you offered. I truly appreciated the wisdom and thoughtfulness in your emails … which makes it all the more difficult to explain, not to mention embarrassing, when I have to admit that I totally ignored them all and made Maggie Lu a truck.

The idea came to the fore as I was babysitting her one afternoon. She was totally ignoring the panoply of toys scattered throughout the living room, and spent most of her time pushing my dogs’ food bowls back and forth across the floor while making vroom-vroom sounds. That did it … so an open-backed truck full of small blocks (for throwing and chewing) was made and delivered in time for the big day.

But don’t think your ideas are lost to me. Her birthday is at the end of January, and so I will be back in the shop with a mission soon. (More on that later.)

Rob Johnstone, Woodworker’s Journal