A big pastime here at the moment is 'take-apart.' Frenchie, who never throws things away (sigh...), has a bunch of old, non-working things in the barn, so the kids have had their screwdrivers, wire-cutters, pliers, etc., out, and have been disassembling an old food-processor, tape deck, VCR, electric motor, and so on. It's quite instructive, especially when they try to put it back together again! (Obviously I don't let them plug things back in--in fact, I've been cutting off the plugs altogether, so that temptation doesn't get the best of them.)
If you are lucky, I mean unfortunate, enough not to have a packrat for a husband, you can usually get this kind of junk, I mean treasure, at the thrift store or garage sales for cheap.
peace
minnie
