STUMPY THE SNOWMAN

 

On Thursday morning, Larry went out to bring in the last trash can and found this on the porch.

It came with a note:

Mr. and Mrs. Collins,

This is Stumpy The Snowman. He was turned from a piece of wood that we removed when the lift was installed. (The grain looked like redwood, but it may be something else.) The body and hat are one piece, the limbs were taken from a neighbor’s bush, and the pipe was cut from chopsticks.

Enjoy!

Mark

We were fortunate to have had this talented craftsman and excellent woodworker contribute to the construction/installation of our lift. We got to know him and realized he was as much of a perfectionist as I am.

This little guy was a complete bonus surprise.

When I first saw him, I thought about the snowman decoration I grew up with. Ours was made of Styrofoam balls and toothpicks. I know Mom didn’t buy it, but I think she attended a luncheon and won the centerpiece.

My little brother named ours “Frosty.” Not too original, but it worked.

Frosty came out every year and was a mainstay of our holiday decorations.

When Mom sold the house, my brother took all the family decorations. Each year, he brought out everything, including Frosty.

When my brother died in 2020, we cleaned out his place. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any of my family’s decorations. I assume they were broken or fell apart over the years.

This little reminder of Frosty brought back sweet memories of childhood holidays.

Stumpy will now become a part of our future holidays, just like Frosty did in my childhood family. And he will be a reminder of Mark and his talent. I can’t thank him enough for this sweet gift.