Happy Birthday Laura

Posted on February 7, 2020 by vanbraman

Today was the anniversary of the birth of Laura Ingalls Wilder, so I am thinking about her tonight. Laura was born on February 7, 1867 in Pepin, Wisconsin.

Laura Ingalls wilder, little house books, little house in the big woods.I have a special shelf where I keep my hard back copies of the Little House books as well as other related books.

I always enjoyed these books while growing up.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy, books, WisconsinOne of my favorites is Farmer Boy. One of my ancestors lived near where Almanzo grew up in New York.

Old Barn, Rome Wisconsin, Orsamus Braman, Family HistoryMy 3rd Great Grandfather Isaac Braman lived in Rome, Wisconsin in the same Township where Ma and Pa Ingalls were married in 1860. They most likely knew each other, although Issac was about 10 years older than Charles Ingalls.

In the picture above is a small barn that was built by my 4th Great Grandfather Orsamus Braman.

Libertatians on the Prairie, Christine Woodside, Laura Ingals Wilder, Rose Wilder LaneI also like to read books about Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Libertarians on the Prairie: Laura Ingalls, Rose Wilder Lane, and the Making of the Little House Books by Christine Woodside was an interesting read. The author attempted to show how Rose Wilder Lane inserted her Libertarian beliefs into the Little House books.

It has been a very badly kept secret that Rose Wilder Lane helped write the Little House books along with her mother. The only question to me has been how balanced the collaboration had been. This book along with others I have read in the past couple of years have provided us with a lot more information.

Biography, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House Books, Yona Zeldis McDonoughLittle Author in the Big Woods: A Biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Yona Zeldis McDonough is a biography for young readers. Of course, the Little House books were mostly autobiographical. However, there were many things that were changed to make for a better and happier story.

Lots of memories tonight…

Steven

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Stacking Stones

Posted on February 6, 2020 by vanbraman

Tonight I watched the first episode of the new series LEGO Masters.

While watching I thought about Ankerstein.

Building with AnkersteinBuilding with Ankerstein is one of my hobbies, although I will admit I have not built anything for quite some time. Maybe because my build table is full of book stacks 🙂

I discovered Ankerstein about 16 years ago during a trip to Jena, Germany. They had an exhibition at a shopping mall.Ankerstein NF10 - Anchor Blocks - building Blocks - Stones - Architectural ToysThe Ankerstein system is pretty cool. You start with a Basic Box and then add Extension Boxes to build progressively larger structures.

Ankerstein NF10 - Building Blocks - Manufactured stones - Anchor Stones - Boxes of Blocks As you add additional sets the variety of stones increase and new stones are introduced. The complexity of the buildings increase with each box.

Ankerstein Chapel - Anchor Blocks

Here is a chapel built with just the first box. Set 6

You can see that it is pretty basic.

Votive Church - Ankerstein - Anchor Blocks - NF20 - Building BlocksHere is a church building that I build with the eight boxes of stones that make up set #20 (6 + 6A + 8A + 10A + 12A + 14A + 16A + 18A).

The building is definitely more complex.

Ankerstein Convent with GardenThis structure is a church with an attached convent.

Ankerstein Town Gate - Anchor Blocks

Here is a Town Gate.

The boxes come with layer plans for building different structures, but many builders come up with their own designs.

The stones can be used over and over again as they are simply stacked on top of each other. Sometimes it takes a really steady hand to place the blocks, and I have also had a few collapses when I have bumped the building or table.

There is no big Ankerstein Masters competition, but there is a worldwide club of Ankerstein builders. See: Mededelingenblad

I may need to clear off my build table and build something now  🙂

Steven

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