Goose Puzzle

I didn't do a lot of woodworking as a kid, despite the fact that my dad is an expert. I made some small things with him over the years, but my sister is the one who created beautiful furniture and other major pieces. In addition to little things I made at home, I did one year of woodworking through 4-H (with classes taught by my friend Colleen's dad). One of the 4-H projects I was most proud of was my first (and, so far, only) jigsaw puzzle. I was 12 when I made it.

I drew my design on a piece of wood, then used the jigsaw to cut it into four pieces. I glued the original piece of wood to a second piece of wood that was the same size, then sanded and painted the pieces of the goose, then treated the whole thing to a beautiful, glossy finish. I thought it was super cute and would do really well at the fair.

It didn't.

I got high marks for quality of worksmanship, but was graded way, way down for the usability of the puzzle. I was confused at first. The puzzle pieces fit perfectly with no gaps! They stayed in place. What else do you expect from a puzzle?! 

Well, it turns out that puzzles with only four pieces are usually intended for young children. And those four pieces should not be small enough for a young child to swallow. Nor should they be sharp and pointy, like the tail and the neck pieces. Oops.

Now that I'm a mom, it's obvious to me that this puzzle is completely inappropriate for a toddler. I found it recently when I was going through my childhood closet. After taking photos, I put it into the trash. Maybe someday I'll make a more child-friendly puzzle. Or perhaps I'll leave the woodworking to the experts.

MOAS Virtual 25th Reunion

Welcome to the Virtual 25th Reunion of the 1989 California delegation to the Model Organization of American States, representing St. Vincent and the Grenadines! Peter, Michael, Ron, Piper, Colleen, Sabrina, Michelle... this is for you. Can you believe it has been 25 years? Some of you I have been blessed to have in my life all that time. Others I have had the pleasure of reconnecting with recently through the magic of the Internet. I tried really hard but wasn't able to find John. I hope he will somehow stumble on this.

While I wish it were possible for us to reconnect for an in-person, life has taken us in so many directions and to different continents. We have families, jobs, responsibilities and other obligations that make it hard to meet in person. I thought a virtual reunion would be the next best thing.

I chose today for our virtual reunion because October 27 marks the 35th anniversary of the independence of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This country brought us together, so it only seems appropriate to celebrate on this special day. Our experience with the Model OAS was life-changing. There is no experience that I've had, either before or since, that matched the intensity of that trip. I've never learned as much in a single week or connected so deeply with anyone else in such a short amount of time. I am truly grateful for the experience.

Before beginning the reunion, I want to thank the adults who made it all possible. Our parents, of course, were incredibly supportive. They brought us to meetings all over the state, gave up their phones for our frequent conference calls, and sympathized each time another 20-pound package of study materials arrived. Our local leaders supported us every step of the way. Generous donors made our travel possible. Our chaperone, Carol, gave 100% to the team and was simply incredible. But none of this would have been possible without one woman. Luella Zamzow hand-picked our team, trained us, and made us a success. She was a force. Luella passed away several years ago, which was a great loss to all who knew her. It's not an exaggeration to say that in my 42 years no person outside my family has had a greater influence on me than Luella did. She is dearly missed.

Now on to the reunion! Please rise for the National Anthem of St. Vincent and the Grenadines!

Every great reunion has favors. The beauty of having a Virtual Reunion is that there are no pesky budgetary limitations! So, please accept these virtual gifts from me.

Cufflinks for the men...

Sterling Silver Cufflinks

Earrings and lockets for the women...

Button Earrings

Floating Locket

... and flip flops for everyone!

Flip Flops

We'll be dining on some Vincentian favorites, including:

Pumpkin and Coconut Cream Bisque

Black Cake

Hairoun Beer

All the while, we'll share our favorite memories from the trip. We'll reflect on where life has taken us and what role 4-H and this trip has had in our adventures and journeys. Mostly, we'll laugh and remember the amazing times we had together, 25 years ago.

Entering a Collection

Over the last 35ish years, I've entered something in nearly every non-livestock division of the county fair, with one notable exception: I'd never entered a collection. As I was looking through the entry guidebook back in the spring, I decided to finally tackle a collection. I'd recently come across my 4-H hat and about 10 lbs. of trading trinkets that I'd received during my numerous trips as a State and National 4-H Ambassador. I thought they'd make a pretty interesting and unique collection display.

I started by going through all my trading trinkets and setting aside any pins, buttons, or other items with the 4-H emblem or name on them. I selected one from each state. It wasn't a complete collection of all 50 states, but it was close. Paired with my 4-H hat with all my awards on it, it looked pretty good. Most importantly, odds were very slim there would be another collection like it at the fair. It's not something you can just go out and buy.

According to the entry guidebook, the collection display boxes were three different sizes: 1' x 3', 2' x 3', and 3' x 3'. The small size was perfect for my display. While I was working on my display, Trevor was working on his own display of his Perler Bead art. He too decided that the smallest size would work best for his collection. We measured out the exact size on our dining room table and practiced setting up our stuff.  

When the entry delivery day came, Trevor and I made sure to be the first ones there. The display cases were first come first served and we both wanted one of the small ones. I helped Trevor check in, then left him on the Youth side of the building setting up his collection. I headed over to the Adult side and started mine. 

It was immediately apparent something was very wrong. I'd cut green craft foam to exactly 1' x 3' to serve as the base for my display. It didn't fit AT ALL. Not even close. Turns out the alleged 1' x 3' display case was actually about 8" x 46". My base was too wide and too short. It looked terrible.  

I called the Exhibits Coordinator over and showed her that my base, cut to the exact size specified in her entry guidebook, did not fit. She was very apologetic (though offered no explanation). She said that I was welcome to use one of the other sizes. This was not a great solution, as I didn't have any extra foam. I tried out the other two sizes (neither of which were remotely similar to their advertised 2' x 3' or 3' x 3') and settled on the medium-sized one. It left a large border around my display, but at least everything fit.  Here's my finished display:

   

Backing up, you can see that there's a lot of extra room in the case. That upper shelf is the alleged 1' x 3' space that I rejected. Hopefully whoever uses it didn't cut their base to size.

Here are some close-ups of the display:

My sign reads:

"I was a member of 4-H from 1983, when I was 11, until I aged out in 1991. My 4-H experience was amazing.  There's no doubt in my mind that 4-H was instrumental in making me who I am today. All these years later, when I look back on my 4-H career, I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunities and experiences I had. I was the State Winner in Breadbaking in 1988, served as an Alameda County All-Star in 1988-1989, earned my Emerald Star in 1989, represented California 4-H at the Model Assembly of the Organization of American States in 1989, was a California Diamond Star in 1990-1991, and served as California's National Ambassador in 1991-1992, just to name a few of the highlights.  

By diving into everything that was offered and constantly striving "To Make the Best Better," 4-H opened many doors for me and exposed me to the world beyond my city, county, state and country. Through 4-H, I had the opportunity to travel extensively. I attended conferences and trainings throughout California, as well as in Washington D.C., Chicago, and New York City. At each of these events, we were encouraged to bring pins, buttons, or other items representing our home to trade with new friends from around the world. There isn't a display case big enough to show all the interesting items I was given over the years, so I've limited this collection to trading items from different states (and Canada) with the word 4-H or a clover on them. Putting this collection together brought back many fond memories."  

.....

Meanwhile, over in the Youth area, Trevor was having the same problem I had: his carefully planned display, measured to exactly fit the dimensions given in the entry guidebook, did not fit the actual space. He ended up moving his display to the medium-sized area also.

His sign reads: 

"This is my collection of Perler Bead designs I've made. These aren't all of the Perler Bead designs I have. I still have other ones I haven't shown. I picked these ones because they are my favorites.

I've been making art with Perler Beads for a long time. First, I started making easy patterns by following instructions. Then, I made harder 3-D designs with instructions. Then I started making up my own designs, like the Ninjago characters, the robots and my name. Now, I'm even making my own 3-D designs, like the 3-D bunny!"

The fair opens in a little over two weeks. We still have to make and deliver our baked goods, but all of our non-perishables are there already. Once the fair opens, I'll let you know how everything does!

MOAS

I've promised several times to explain my connection to the small Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It's not easy to explain, but I'll try.  

Back in 1989, I was 17 years old and very involved with 4-H. I wasn't just sort-of involved. I was VERY involved. One of the most prominent leaders at the state level, a powerhouse of a woman named Luella Zamzow, decided to gather up a group of the 'best and brightest' 4-Hers from across California and groom us to participate at the Model Organization of American States (MOAS) in Washington D.C.  

The Organization of American States (OAS) is an international body similar to the United Nations. The primary difference is that member-states are all from the western hemisphere. But the function and purpose is basically the same as the UN. Each year, the OAS conducts a Model OAS (just like a Model UN) for high school students. Typically, each country is represented by a top-notch school (often a boarding school) from the east coast. The students selected for MOAS take preparation courses as part of their schoolwork. In most cases, it's a two-year program of study before they're allowed to participate.  

The idea of gathering a group of California 4-Hers, strangers who attended different schools from across the state (public schools, at that), and expecting them to do 2 years' worth of preparations, outside of school, in only a few months? Ludicrous. It's a testament to Luella's reputation that we were allowed to participate in MOAS with the elite prep schools who had been doing this for years. Luella was positive that we 4-Hers would shine. It was a lot of pressure. Luella was someone you didn't want to disappoint. 

To tell the rest of the story, here are a few of the pages from my 1989 scrapbook about my experience with MOAS.

My journey with MOAS began during the summer of 1989 when Luella selected me as a delegate. Preparations began immediately. My assignment was to learn everything I possibly could about the OAS, each of its member states, and our assigned country: St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I hadn't even heard of it before, but I dove in and spent the summer researching and studying.

The nine of us who would comprise the St. V & G delegation (as we affectionally came to call it) met for the first time in late October. Most of us were strangers or vague acquaintances, so a good portion of the day was dedicated to ice breakers, team building, and determining who would work best together. We shared our research, developed strategies for moving forward, and received a ridiculous amount of material to memorize before our next meeting.

We met in person once more, this time about 4 hours in the opposite direction of the first meeting to make it fair for all participants. After that marathon meeting, I would regularly get packages in the mail of more paperwork to read. Here are pictures of me with 19 lbs. of material that arrived one day for me to read. This was, of course, on top of all my schoolwork. I was still attending high school full-time with AP and college-prep classes.

Our trip began on 12/2/89 with an early flight from San Francisco to New York City. Of course, we couldn't relax at the airport or on the plane. We spent the whole time working in pairs drafting position papers or reading more material. Once we arrived in NYC, we had the rest of the weekend for sightseeing, museum visits, shopping, and other fun together, including seeing the Rockettes' Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall.

On Monday morning, we went to the Permanent Mission of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and met with Counsellor Myron Dellimore. We received a very detailed briefing on everything about the country.

We spent the next two days seeing and doing everything we could in NYC, including the UN, Rockefeller Center, the New York Stock Exchange, and going to the top of the World Trade Center.

We arrived in Washington D.C. on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, we had briefings at the USDA and at the OAS. We spent every free second on the floors of our hotel rooms going through our draft resolutions and improving them with our new information.  Each had to be typed (manually, as this was long before laptops were common).  

Finally, everything was ready and the Model OAS began.

The conference was really intense, but incredibly fun. Our group did exceptionally well and earned a lot of respect. We were just as well-prepared (if not more so) than everyone else. Our participation was a huge success.

As you might imagine, when a person spends every spare minute for five months studying a particular country in order to accurately represent it at an international conference, you start to feel a strong connection to that country. We weren't just California 4-Hers... we were Vincentians.   

Our MOAS experience didn't end when we returned home after the conference... far from it. We had numerous obligations after the trip. We had several marathon meetings at locations across the state to plan the conferences and trainings we'd be conducting with the information we'd learned.

Here we are at a weekend-long Citizenship conference, introducing younger teens to global issues through a series of activities. We dyed our own t-shirts to look like the flag of St. V & G.

We conducted several of these workshops throughout 1990. In the fall, we hosted a 2-day training for the team that had been selected to represent California 4-H at that year's MOAS.  (I was a freshman in college by then, so I wasn't eligible to go a second time.)

Here we are, conducting another training.

When I was a sophomore in college, I received an interesting call from Luella. What did I think about getting together a team of former California 4-Hers to participate in the MOAS for university students? Once again, we'd be the only group that wasn't from one particular university, making study and preparations that much harder. It didn't matter: I said an enthusiastic yes. (Even if I hadn't been keen on the idea, I probably would have said yes. When Luella asked you to do something, there was no question whether you'd do it or not.)  

Our reputation in the high school MOAS was so strong, that we were granted a very high honor, that of representing the United States at the university Model. This was both a blessing and a curse. It required a lot less study (since we were already very familiar with the US and its policies), but even the slightest error would be unforgivable. Every country would interact with the US (unlike St. V & G) and we would have a major role in all of the action. Then Luella shocked me by naming me as Head Delegate. I would lead the US team and be the face of the team for all public addresses. It was, as you can imagine, an amazing experience. I learned so much and had a great time.  

It's been almost 25 years (!) since I was introduced to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but all these years later, I still feel as connected to it as I did back then. I'm proud to represent them in our Family Olympics and I swell with pride to see their athletes competing at the Olympics every four years.  First and foremost, I'm American... but there's no question that in my heart I'm a Vincentian too.

The Stories of my Life

At the beginning of August, I shared a page from Kidding Around, the art journaling class Trevor and I were taking together. The page was titled, "10 Cool Things About Me." (Click here to see it.) I can't tell you how many people asked me about two items in particular: the time I found a baby and the time I was interviewed on MTV by Pauly Shore. Time to finally tell the stories!

As it turns out, I'd included those stories and a few others in a mini book I made in 2011 for a National Scrapbook Day challenge.    

Here's the title page. That's me at 8 months and just before I turned 39. As you can see, it's the same picture that I'm using here on the blog. I still look the same, but I probably should update it one of these days.  

This story is about starring in an instructional video.

"Not too many people can say they've starred in an instructional video, but I have! I had done a lot of work with the Lawrence Hall of Science before, testing new kits and having my class photographed for one of their books. When they approached me to star in an instructional video, I jumped at the chance. It was really cool- a wireless mic taped to me, stage directions to follow, and a director telling me to say a certain line. Too bad I woke up with a 102 degree fever the first day of filming! I wasn't going to miss the opportunity, so I came to work really sick and managed to make it through. I'm glad I did."

***

The next story is about meeting Pauly Shore.

"When I was 18, I was a California 4-H State Ambassador (Diamond Star).  I traveled all around the state giving speeches and acting as an MC at events.  I gave the keynote address at the annual convention of the California Women for Agriculture (held over Veteran's Day weekend) on the topic of “What Is a Veteran?” despite the fact that I knew nothing about agriculture or veterans. I worked the Junior Grand National Rodeo (again, knowing nothing about rodeos or livestock) where I was approached by Pauly Shore. He was conducting interviews for MTV and wanted to know why I was the only person there wearing a suit. The interview appeared on MTV, but I never saw it.  He's the first famous person I'd met. He was such a jerk that I didn't want to flatter him by asking for his autograph."

I'm not sure why I didn't mention that my friend and co-Diamond Star Piper was with me for both experiences. She actually saw the MTV interview air and said it was painful. It must have been a bit weird to see two teenagers in suits at a rodeo, but that's no reason for Pauly Shore to have been so incredibly rude. (Go here and scroll down to 1990-1991 to see a picture of my team in our suits. I'm the third person from the right.)

***

Here's the story about finding the missing baby.

"When I was 25, I was walking with my then-boyfriend in St. Helena. We saw a young toddler pushing a stroller, with no parent in sight. He was too young to talk, but clearly had a destination. We followed the baby for awhile, hoping he was headed home. Suddenly, he turned and darted into the busy highway! I leaped over and grabbed him, as horns honked and people yelled at us what bad parents we were! As we headed to a phone to call the police, a frantic woman rode up on a bicycle and grabbed the baby. She explained in broken English that he had opened the front door lock and headed out while she was in the bathroom. She was extremely grateful that we had found him and gave us a $50 reward."

***

Here's a story about my medical abnormality.

"My heart is rotated 90 degrees from normal. It might have happened when my lung collapsed at age 10, or I might have been born that way. When I was about 21, I had chest x-rays done. As I was waiting in the exam room, I heard a doctor outside the door telling a colleague to come look at some x-rays. The second doctor asked, 'When did the patient die?' The first doctor said, 'She's in the exam room right now!' 'Really?' he asked. Ten seconds later, in walks my doctor with my x-rays. No mention of the fact that his colleague thought I should be dead."  

***

My maiden name caused a few problems.

"I was temporarily switched at birth. Fortunately, my mom took one look at the baby they brought her and said, 'This isn't my baby!' After cleaning me off, they'd brought me to another woman with a similar last name- Jonas instead of Jones.  

This was only the first of many times my last name caused me problems. In college, I got a phone call from the police department, saying they'd found my driver's license. I had mine right in front of me, but they insisted- 'Cynthia M. Jones, right?' Yes, but not me. Same thing happened with a very pushy bill collector. And then there was the fiasco where the investment company switched my TSA with that of another Cynthia Jones in the STRS system. 

Not surprisingly, this kind of problem hasn't happened a single time since I've been married!"

While I haven't had a case of mistaken identity as Cindy deRosier, I have a new set of problems!

***

When I made this album, I left a bunch of blank pages so that I could add more stories. I really should do that. I have enough stories like this to fill dozens more pages. When I posted the link to the 10 Cool Things About Me post on Facebook, one of my friends commented "You're cooler than you let on!" which cracked me up. I've decided that if I ever write an autobiography, the title will be "Cindy deRosier: I'm Cooler Than I Seem."

Channeling Weird Al

Ready for another look at some of the stuff I found in my childhood closet?  This time, it's all the spirit songs I wrote when I was a camp counselor.  (Here's the first post if you missed it.)

In 1989, our camp theme was Extinct Animals and I was in charge of the Moas (along with my partner Noel).  

 

 

 

Noel wasn't particularly enthusiastic about writing Moa-themed songs, but my friend Nancy and I certainly were.  We wrote 9 different songs about Moas.  Two of them were based on Madonna songs (!) 

 We wrote two separate songs using the Flintstones theme:

 

My favorite is the one that used the theme from Rawhide.  Unfortunately, very few of our campers knew the theme from Rawhide, so as far as cheer songs go, it was a bust.

 

 In 1990, the camp theme was Ocean Animals.  Scott and I were in charge of the Dolphins.  

 

 

This song based on "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys" still cracks me up.

 

I'm not sure where the chart from my 1988 Scorpio tribe went.  Hopefully it turns up.  I remember that we had some pretty awesome Scorpio-themed songs.

Were any of you camp counselors?  Did you make up wacky songs like these?  Ah, memories! 

My Childhood Love of Miniatures

When I was 12, I made a dollhouse.  It was a 4-H project, taught by my friend Colleen's mom.  We each built a basic house out of wood during the first meeting, then spent the rest of our meetings making furniture and other things to fill the house.  

I certainly wasn't playing with dolls at age 12 (I didn't play with dolls even at the age when everyone else was), but I was obsessed with miniatures.  I loved making itty-bitty things.  I spent massive amounts of my free time making smaller versions of stuff.  (I am still in love with miniatures.  Remember the results from my Etsy Taste Test?)

While cleaning out my childhood closet, I came across some of the furniture from my old dollhouse.  And I have to say, the 40-year old me is TOTALLY impressed with the 12-year old me!  Here's a fireplace I made from construction paper, white glue, and gravel.    

 

I love this vanity.  I built the base with scraps from my dad's woodshop and scavenged the switchplate cover and screws from the garage.  (Remind me to do a post sometime about my amazingly talented dad who takes DIY to extremes.  Suffice it to say that his garage and shop are well-stocked with whatever a 12-year old trying to build miniatures could need.)  

 

The faucet is the top from a mechanical pencil!  I feel strange praising myself, but... awesome job, 12-year old Cindy!

 

When you lift the top off the base, you can see how I made the sink.  

 

Here's a cross-stitched clock for the wall.

 

I made chairs from popsicle sticks.

 

I don't know why my dollhouse had old-school flour and sugar bags, but they're awfully cute.

 

This didn't quite stand the test of time, but it's still a pretty cool chest of drawers.  

 

It's 4 matchbooks glued together, then wrapped with woodgrain contact paper.  

 

Here's my dining room table and chairs.

I spent a long time sculpting teensy food out of Fimo.  This is all that remains.  I'm not sure why this family keeps a popsicle on their tablecloth though. 

 

Two buttons glued together make a cake stand. 

 

And there was a vase that coordinated with each room.

Great.  Now I'm in the mood to make miniatures!  I do NOT need another craft right now!