a star made from a 200 year old oak. One of the lovely presents that found it's way to spitziland. As Shish said - hopefully there was a reason to cut the tree down, or maybe it just fell down in a storm, otherwise it's a bit of a shame. But a nice star none the less.

It was back to work for me today. Because some of my work in this job involves just "being there", I get time to read things - today I read two interesting articles. One about supported communication. Apparently, the best ever thing for children who use computer-aided communication (Talkers) is to have burp and fart noises programmed into their talker. Being able to be rude and naughty is an important part of childhood and one that shouldn't be missed, even if one can't talk.
And, on the subject of childhood - I also read a very moving article about a summer camp for boys who like dressing as girls. I was totally impressed by the things the parents were quoted as saying - their total acceptance of who their sons are and their willingness to support and protect them is amazing - if only all parents could support their kids to be the person they are! The difficulties were also talked about and, also, how much easier it is if a girl wants to wear boys' clothes. Until puberty hits, of course.
With that food for thought I will now return to my food for stomach and finish my dinner....