the secret weapon turns 80

Today marks The Secret Weapon's 80th birthday! Happy Birthday to a true genius... the fellow to whom we say in jest "it simply cannot be done" and then makes it happen.



I am so lucky to have been blessed with The Secret Weapon as my Dad. Let me show you just a tiny, tiny smattering of the things he has created for me....

Having never attempted to work in stained glass before, he created this dragonfly motif window for the transom over my bedroom door.

I had a silly idea that I wanted rods on my staircase to hold down the carpet runner. When I couldn't find any that suited me, he made them for me. Just like that.

Along with The Fan (his number one assistant) he made this butcher style block for the top of my island. Look carefully below and you will see that he branded it - yes he made a brand! - with a dragonfly.

He fashioned a tiny, detailed metal dragonfly to be inlaid into the concrete countertops in our kitchen.

My craft room is tricked out with an amazing ribbon rack and storage!

Check this out: when he built our oak fireplace, he did a test run complete with a cardboard maquette in the true size for me to live with to see if I liked the depth and height well enough. You can see he has created several cardboard options regarding the dentil mouldings on the cardboard model above.

The gorgeous finished product, replete with a titanium dragonfly... made from the same titanium piece that he used to fashion Veto's wedding ring of.


Because yes, Dear Reader, The Secret Weapon happens to be a talented and award-winning jeweler as well. How incredibly lucky for The Fan, Loopy and I. Here, Loopy models the gorgeous tiara that The Secret Weapon made for me many years ago.

In spite of his ability to work with gold and diamonds, I keep asking him to build me fireplaces! Here, he built a cherry fireplace for our bedroom. I can tell you this story because we don't live in this house anymore: that fancy little detail is actually a secret drawer that opens with a special magnetic key that he made. The box is fireproof and designed to hold valuables... like handmade jewelry and such.

You will think me small and petty, but when we sold that house I didn't show the drawer to the new owners and I didn't leave them the key, either. It was just for me and me alone. I left a letter inside the drawer and someday, somehow, someone might find it... along with the key, which I threw inside.



He makes tiny little fireplaces too! The bear family in my dollhouse are cuddled around the fireplace that he made... he designed it with some sort of fancy electronics so that it flickers randomly, like a real fire. Details like that are important to him. Oh, and did I mention that my dollhouse has a working ceiling fan? And a doorbell? But no running water. Oh, if it only had running water. I suppose it cannot be done.

Club Little House wouldn't be the same without him. He truly earns the name "The Secret Weapon"... figuring out how to make these tiny Birkin bags:

Or the now-famous ironing boards?

Now is the time to avert your eyes if you are a member of Club Little House this round and don't want to have your surprise ruined... of course he helped me with this:

The world's tiniest pink iPod! Yes, it plays music. I can't tell you how we did that, because even "The Secret Weapon" has secrets.

It was The Secret Weapon who concocted those tiny headphones in just the perfect scale. His studio/workshop is a maze of activity... he had everything on hand to make just what we needed.

Here he is, wondering just what sort of project I will get him into next. The Festival of Trees? Charms for a bracelet party? He wants to teach me how to make "real jewelry"... but for his birthday, let's give him the day off! Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Oh, and if you want... I can dig out some photos of other things he has made. It is fascinating.