Revision [28144]
This is an old revision of Christmas1868 made by BillHamilton on 2013-02-14 15:23:36.
Related Events: Christmas1867 Christmas1869
<#ann: Celeste has presents for the children. While learning to play chess she started trying to whittle pieces of sticks and kindling wood to make chess pieces. While it will be another year or so before she is good enough to actually make a chess set, she's not hesitating to use her "skill".: Callahan: A wooden ring that looks like a crown Deco: She's saved her schoolwork papers so that he can draw on the backs. Valerie: A handful of feathers she's found. Shawn: a roughly whittled king chesspiece Erin: a roughly whittled dolly Minnie: also gets a doll Jeanne: a wooden frog and a wooden fish Cole: a roughly whittled Knight chesspiece (Cole knows that this is her favorite piece, and wouldn't be concerned that Shawn got the king) Ollie: a whittled cat Jefferson: a wooden spoon#>
<#court: Jeanne is delighted with the wood carvings. She also has gifts for the other children, and is excited to give them out. For Celeste, she has a charred piece of wood wrapped in moss, explaining that lightning-struck wood is a surefire way to cure toothaches, and moss is a good way to staunch bleeding. For Minne and Erin, she has made cornhusk dolls out of simple corncobs and scraps of pretty fabric. For Shawn and Cal, she gives homemade jacks, the jacks made out of wiry twisted grasses and the ball a rubber ball that has clearly seen some wear ("I found it down by the river.") For Jefferson, she has written down the recipe for a ploye, what she made Ollie on his first day. For Cole she gives a rag. Upon closer inspection, it's a strip of Confederate flag. ("It's a blindfold. Have you played blind man's bluff? Do you want to play?") For Deco, she has a small pouch of berries to use for color. For Valerie, she has a glass eye ("Found it buried in one of the garden beds."). For Ollie, she has a fish ("Food for the new cat upstairs," she whispers). #>
<#bill: Cole is excited by the gift. The knight he puts in his pocket and starts carrying around with him like his harmonica. When he plays chess from then on he always replaces one of the regular knights on his side with this carved knight. It also becomes clear that he hates to lose that piece in the game and will maneuver to protect it - as a result his playing starts to suffer.
Cole also thanks Jeanne for the blindfold. "No. Yes!" Later that day she teaches him the game, with most of the other kids joining in. Cole then stores the blindfold under his bed and it comes out periodically not only for blind man's bluff, but also when someone needs to be blindfolded for other reasons (surprises).
After the others have given their gifts, Cole gives out his own - pulling them out from beneath his bed one by one. Deco: An Indian Paint Rock Callahan: A playing card - the King of Spades (story about finding it) Shawn: a piece of a broken cannonball (story) Valerie: another old coin Erin: a dried chicken bone with some gouges cut into it. Cole explains that "Abner says that Marie Laveau (the local voodoo priestess) says it brings good health if you sleep with it under your pillow." Minnie: A piece of paper with her favorite bible verse carefully written out and illustrated with drawings. Jefferson: Another promise to peel/skin 100 potatos/carrots. Jeanne: an empty flour sack "In case yours gets full." Ollie: a speckled bird egg with a cracked shell (it's clearly old, and not going to hatch) Celeste: an empty perfume bottle, though the top is missing (story).
I thought about having Minnie react very negatively to the gift to Erin since it's "unchristian." Anyone have thoughts on that? How that might go? #>
<#ann: I like the idea of Minnie being a bit sniffy about Erin's gift from Cole. What is the story behind my present? #>
<#bill: I don't actually have one...that's just my way of saying that Cole has one. I can create one if you like, but I don't think it's of any major significance beyond it's how he found the bottle. #>
<#ann: Okay, I thought maybe you had some important idea expressed in that story.#>
@PCs - Is there a reason the Christmas events end at 1968? There should at least be a 1869 one for Ella to have her first one.
<#bill: @Kel: I don't know why...I just assumed we hadn't gotten there yet. I've created a page for it now.
Also, did you have feedback on Minnie getting mad about Cole's gift to Erin?#>
@Ann - Jefferson gets left out of all of your gift paragraphs it looks like.
<#ann: Not on purpose! I was using the first one as a template. I will go back and add Jefferson's gift. #>
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