The Daring Book for Girls - Andrea J. Buchanan [35]
Slush. No one likes slush; this mushy, melty waterlogged snow is horrid for snowballs.
Ice. Snow that has melted and refrozen. Leave it alone. You don’t want to be hit by it, and you don’t want to throw it. Ice hurts, and it wrecks the fun.
Snowball Snow. Made in weather that hovers around the freezing mark. You know it when you see it. The snow is airy yet firm, and when you roll some between your hands it sets into a ball that nearly leaps into the air.
To make a snowball, scoop enough snow to fill your hands. Push in, and rotate both hands around your snowball. Pack it. Smooth it. Add more to make it bigger. It’s your choice to stockpile, or make them as you go.
After hours playing in the snow, head inside to warm up, but not before you’ve filled a pan with fresh snow. Bring it inside, where maple syrup—somewhat mysteriously—has been warmed on the stove by a thoughtful parent (to 230° Fahrenheit, if one uses a candy thermometer). Pour the maple syrup in ribbon patterns over the snow, and enjoy Snow Taffy.
Every Girl’s Toolbox
WITH TOOLS you can make stuff, and that is a powerful feeling. You can help your grandfather finish that dollhouse he’s been tinkering with for years. You can make a swing for the backyard, a bench for your clubhouse—or make the whole clubhouse.
Experiment with wood, nails, screws, hammers, screwdrivers, and drills. After a while, you’ll start to think in tools and materials, and you’ll see how screws and nails hold wood together. Then you’ll begin to come up with your own projects. Trial and error are the best teachers, and it doesn’t take long to feel comfortable.
VISITING THE HARDWARE STORE
Before we turn to the basic tools, a word on hardware stores. You might be intimidated by them, as many people are. Especially those antiquated-looking, small hardware stores, with their dusty shelves filled to the brim with unfamiliar, scary-looking objects, usually guarded by men who are burly and possibly gruff.
Fear not, we are here to tell you. Said hardware stores mark the entrance to a world in which you can create and repair anything imaginable. And the hardware store’s burly guardians? The truth is, they may look gruff, but usually they’re very nice, and they love to problem-solve and to find the perfect nail or wire for you. Ask for help when you’re matching bolts and nuts. Get their advice on what kind of drill bit will attach a wood plaque to the stone wall outside your house. They’ll show you where to find hardware store exotica, and they know fix-it secrets you’ll never learn in books.
Besides, many of them have daughters, too, and you can bet they’ve taught their girls a thing or two about what to do with a hammer and a box of nails.
CREATING YOUR TOOLBOX
Every girl needs her own toolbox. You can get a decent toolbox, with a latch and an organizing tray, for as little as ten dollars. Here are the basics to fill it with.
1. Safety Glasses
These are an absolute must when hammering, drilling, or sawing.
2. Claw Hammer
The flat side of the hammer bangs nails into wood; the V-shaped claw side pulls them out.
To hammer, grip the handle solidly, near the bottom. Hold a nail with your thumb and forefinger, and tap it in to the wood, gently, until it stands on its own. Then move your fingers away and hammer harder, from your forearm (that is, don’t use your entire arm), and keep your wrist straight. Keep your eye on the nail, and trust your eye-hand coordination.
3. Nails
The measurements for nails derive from the British custom of selling 100 nails for a certain number of pennies. Nails are thus described in pennyweights, except the resulting abbreviation is not p, but, oddly enough, d, in reference to an ancient Roman coin, the denarius.
Once upon a time you could walk into a store in Yorkshire and purchase one hundred 1½-inch nails for 4 pence, and because of that, they are now labeled 4d nails. Much of the world, it must be said, uses the metric system for a more systematic and reasonable