Monumental
Construction may be slow in the rest of the country but Atlanta is getting its bit of Paris and so am I. Well not quite Paris but a bit of European architecture.
In the spirit of July 4th and in the wake of oppressing humidity, my neighbour strolled over for a chat. As we were sitting and talking about mindless things, Tom mentioned the Millennium Gate. He read about the project in the paper. I had not heard about it but you can read about it here and make up your own mind. Evidently the placement is less than ideal and it frames an IKEA. Well, they tried.
Since the day was slow Lisa I had the bright idea to build our own monument. I have been the proud owner of 3 boxes of Anker building blocks that I brought back from Germany in 2001. These blocks have a long, colourful history and are based on the father of kindergarten, Friedrich Froebel's, wood blocks. I purchased these thinking that my son would enjoy them but I m the one who secretly plays with them. To me they are a box of happiness from the moment I slide back the lid and inhale the first blast of linseed oil. I never cease to marvel at the precise order each box is in, all the pieces in their place according to the drawing on the lid.
The stones are still made in the same moulds that were used in the 19th century using an original recipe of quartz, chalk, linseed oil, and natural pigments. Unfortunately the stones are a little fragile and if dropped, they chip.
The plans, although accurate, are not always easy to follow. This makes for quite a challenge. We chose to make the guard house out of all the pieces in all three boxes. We started out on shaky ground. The Portico was tricky and fell apart on the first two tries. Once we had the roof going, the rest came together. It took us a good hour construct our monument and we cheered when the last block was in place. Now I'm ready for box 10A. Santa, baby, I'm putting this on my on my Christmas list.
Waving right back at ya! Happy 4th, and love the monument!
Posted by: Christy | July 04, 2008 at 06:18 PM
Awesome architecture, swallowtail and Klee. I'm going to have to keep an eye on you!!!
Posted by: Maria | July 04, 2008 at 06:22 PM
You amaze me! What talent..
Tomorrow..9ish...I will be there, but I have no Knitting Needles. Can you loan me some for tomorrow? I will bring the yarn gifted to me.
Posted by: Jana | July 04, 2008 at 08:37 PM
What a great block set! Nice work, too. Enjoy your holiday weekend.
Posted by: Ruth | July 05, 2008 at 12:45 AM
what a great idea! it looks fantastic & happy fourth of july!
btw: the ice tea is so delicious and i´m also a huge fan of the peaches-flavour =)
best
kiki
Posted by: kiki | July 05, 2008 at 01:24 AM
That's fantastic - what fun. Looks like those blocks were the inspiration for those 3-D jigsaws you can get now.
Posted by: Mandella | July 05, 2008 at 05:42 AM
It's looking good. Really good!
Posted by: Opal | July 05, 2008 at 02:26 PM
Wow, very nice, I have never seen those kinds of building blocks before.
I still play with my kids legos. Unfortunatly I'm the only one. They are to busy with computers and what not to play with legos these days. It's one of those toys from their past that I can't get rid of :). Have a great day.
Posted by: Kris | July 06, 2008 at 08:53 AM
I like yours better than the Millenium Gate!
Posted by: Nina Rubin | July 11, 2008 at 09:31 AM
I didn't know that was being built here. Boy, am I out of touch! I really like your building.
Posted by: Beth | July 16, 2008 at 11:37 PM