Today, the main office at Tennessee College of Applied Technology Nashville requested that each class provide three ornaments to adorn a school tree.

Our class brainstormed for about 75 seconds about what might capture the spirit of Building Construction Technology. There was a suggestion that we simply attach wire ornament hangers to some junk from the shop, such as electrical boxes, an anchor bolt, and maybe a toilet flange. But, in the end, we agreed it was best that we make our ornaments out of wood.

Then there was the suggestion that we provide three rectangular scraps of two-by-four with the explanation that they represent a level, a ruler and, well, a two-by-four.

But somehow the holiday spirit derailed us from the path of least resistance, and we ended up using the scroll saw to make a hammer, a saw, and a chicken, in honor of our frequent BCT Chicken Days, when we get fried chicken for lunch. Or in honor of the actual live chickens that classmate Gabby brings to the shop every now and then. (If you ever need a laying hen, let me know and I can hook you up with Gabby. I bought a couple of gorgeous Polish cresteds from her, like the one below, seen here hanging out among the bikes in my garage. Check out that hairdo.)

In any case, I delivered the hammer, saw, and chicken to the main office. We were the first ones to deliver our ornaments. And, from the looks of things, our next class assignment might be to build the actual tree.