Valentine’s Day is one time of the year when we show love for one another. One way to show that love is through communication. Communication between parent and child is important. To get along with your child you must communicate.

Listening is a big part of good communication. Give your child a chance to have a say. Let your child know that you are willing to listen. Listen to every work. Try listening without saying anything. You can have your say later. As a parent, you have the final say anyway.

Of course, communication also involves talking with your child. What can you talk to your child about? Pretty well anything. many young people like to talk about music, sports, movies or friends. Talk about things your child is interested in. If you don’t know what your child’s interests are, just ask.

Don’t wait for a problem to happen before you talk to your child. Everyone feels good about comments like, “You look really nice in that outfit,” or “You did a great job washing the car.”

If you find it really hard to talk to your son or daughter, try writing a note. A little piece of paper tucked into a coat pocket or an exercise book can work wonders. What could you say on the note? Say something nice, of course. How about “I love you”?

Dan and Karen Walters started making crafts as a hobby in 1991.

Dan first started making traditional Newfoundland wooden pieces such as dories and sawhorses. He gave them as gifts to family and friends. Dan decided to turn his hobby into a full-time business called D and K Crafts. D and K Crafts is located in Petley, a community on Random Island.

Most of their crafts are made from moose antlers and local wood. Dan says, “Antlers are easy to work with and have a beautiful finish when polished. The look like ivory or bone.” Dan and Karen make key chains, candlesticks, pendants, brooches, earrings, and hand-painted Christmas decorations from the antlers.

In 1995, Dan began carving Newfoundland themes from the antlers and birch. They plan to make crafts from slate later this year.

The phone number for D and K Crafts is 709-547-2551.

Dear Editor,
I read your December issue of First-Time Readers and enjoyed it except for the column, Have a Laugh, by Ed Smith. He explained his problem with cutting the right Christmas tree. He says sometimes he cuts enough trees to load a pulpwood truck. I think that next Christmas he should buy an artificial tree for his wife. We don’t need to waste our forest that way. Hope he finds something different to laugh about.

Best of luck with your paper.

- Laura Hancock

Dear Editor,
Your December issue of First-Time Readers was the first time I saw the paper. It was interesting but I am appalled by the article, Have a Laugh, by Ed Smith. What has the man to laugh about - that he is destroying our forest? People like him make our world a poor place to live in. People like him cause laws to be passed that will soon stop us from getting our own trees.

In my younger days I used to get a tree for the family. I would pick one that was the right height and as good looking as possible. I would pick another one that was smaller with nice branches. At home we would make one tree from the two by using the branches from the larger tree. We would drill holes and insert boughs into them.

We would never waste a truck load of trees and leave them to rot. You should have printed that article under the heading Have a Cry.

- L. Erger

Dear Mr. Erger,
The editor of First-Time Readers has passed your letter of December 13 to me in case I wanted to reply, and I do.

First of all, I want to thank you for taking the time to write. Many people do not like what they read. But they never take the time to do anything about it. You did decide to express your concerns, and I appreciate that.

The second think is that you are right. No one should go around cutting down tree after tree just to get a Christmas tree that looks ‘just right.’ I hope you believe that I don’t do that, either. My intent in writing that stuff is to make people smile, and sometimes you have to exaggerate a bit to do that. It’s like telling a ‘tall tale’ where everyone has a good laugh over the story but no one believes all the details. We do have a hard time finding the right tree, but we never cut more than one or two at the most.

I’m sorry you found the column a bit upsetting. As I said, it’s intended only to give you a chuckle. Perhaps you will enjoy the next one a little more.

Thank you again for writing

-Ed Smith