2010 Advent/Christmas

Ever since I was in first grade, I have had a very strong interest in swords. I amused myself for years making small wooden swords by nailing two pieces of wood together in a cross shape. I had a ball with these for about five years, but soon I started to want make a sword that was made of steel. Last summer I was finally able to make one. I owe it all to a friend who shares the same interest of sword making. He showed me a special tool called an angle grinder, that will grind and shape steel into almost any shape you can imagine.

“I want to do the mustard,” Renzo said.

“No,” Emilia said. “You can watch.”

Emilia was helping Nana make Christmas dinner. This dinner wasn't a
turkey with stuffing. It was sandwiches -- a whole table full! Emilia
was in the kitchen in the church basement, making a free Christmas
dinner for homeless people.

First Nana laid rows and rows of bread on the counter. Emilia put
two slices of turkey on each slice of bread. Nana put two slices of
cheese. Emilia squirted mustard. Nana squirted mayonnaise. And
Emilia put another slice of bread on top.