13 Made by Hand

CHAPTER 13 MADE BY HAND Well, so much for peace on Earth... back to the cash register, and I'm way behind. It's cash or crash! Miss Swamp, the art teacher, suggests that we make presents for one another. That sounds good to me. OK!

YUM! But Penny starts whining, "I already spent five dollars plus tax and my present better cost at least that." Somehow I think we've lost the spirit of Christmas here. Then I have another idea. They say time is money. So if I spend five hours—at a dollar per hour— making Penny's present, we'll be even. SUPER! NO WAY! COOL.

When I get home, I get to work. I get papier-måché and make a doll's head. I paint on two blue eyes and two pink lips. I use yellow wool for hair and my other gym sock for a cap. I make a body out of a pop bottle and cover it with a piece of cloth, sort of like a dress— more like a sarong. I hope it's not sa-wrong dress.

I lose track of time and work the whole weekend on it. I take the boots off my G.I. Joe and glue them on the bottle. Then I tie on a hair bow, and I'm nearly done.

Finally I wrap the doll in pink polka-dotted paper and make up a poem on a card.

PENNY, PENNY, I DIDN'T HAVE ANY MONEY FUNNY BUT I MADE THIS DOLL MADE EVERY PART (EXCEPT FOR THE BOOTS) FROM MY HEART TO YOU MERRY CHRISTMAS, HUBIE I put the present on my dresser, and that night I count reindeer instead of sheep to fall asleep. Then visions of sugar plums dance in my head. Well, they don't actually dance, they sort of roll around.