Monday, August 26, 2013

A day at Winding Creek


Hello, my friends.

I hope you are well.  It's Monday again.
It seems like those Mondays come faster & faster.

Today, I am bringing you photos from the 
event I attended this last weekend.



This is Bob Auth.  He is one of the people who put on this event.  You have to love this hat.

My parents and I 

were at the

WINDING CREEK BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL

outside of New London, Indiana.


This is my mom and her first cousin Alice Daily.

Because the festival is so close to Russiaville, 
it was like old home week.

I feel like I knew more people than I didn't know.

This is the big "O" meeting...Oberholtzer, that is.
Cory Wentz and Wayne are sitting in the back of the ambulance.


I didn't set up a booth this year.  

I brought a few paintings
to represent my work, an easel, a blank canvas 
and some business cards. 

I spent the day painting
and talking to people about 
anything and everything.




There was a nice crowd.  
The stage was set up in a shady spot.


Read & his Grand-dad had a nice visit while he set up the tent.


I need to publicly thank Read (my son) for the
 "put up" and "take down" of the tent that I loaned my folks. 
I could not have done either without him.
Sons are wonderful people.
Especially mine.  


There were people with instruments everywhere.

A breeze kept the temperature down.

There was even music wafting up out of the woods. 




I sat in the sun to begin with.  

It got to be a little much.  




I took a photo of my progress before I moved to the shade. 



Dad spent the afternoon working on a guitar strap made of Elk hide
and making sales.  


There was machine cranked ice cream.  Pretty interesting operation.  

I remember hand cranking ice cream.  It seemed like it would never be done. 


These are the folks who made the ice cream.  

What a lovely instrument.  I wish I could play one.


Another great hat.  I'm a sucker for men in interesting hats.

There were a nice assortment of vendors.  This one came in
from Kentucky for the weekend.


Doesn't get any better than this.


I saw a few of our four legged friends there.



I have no idea what the discussion was here, but I liked their body language...and the hats.




As the afternoon wore on I started to notice 
the children who were there.

I admire children who can just curl up and sleep through anything.  
I wish I could do that.  


Some slept...


some found technology....



and some just.....slept some more.




I wanted to show you some of my Dad's set up.  
As you know he sells some unusual things.  
He is a leather worker, 
but he also buys things to "refurbish".  


I would say that for the most part his dealings 
are in the Western/Americana trade.

My dad is quite the wheeler- dealer.
He could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo. 


I love taking these shots.  
I never really thought about how I held my hands 
until I started taking these mirror photos.




Who doesn't need a spittoon?
Or, for that matter a Bowie knife & sheath?
Spurs anyone?
It amazes me how much of this stuff he sells.  

Tools of the trade.
I had a really nice time at Winding Creek.  
I look forward to being there this time next year. 

If you would like more information about the Festival, 
check it out over on Facebook 
or contact me and I will get you in touch.  


The path out of the festival area.

Well, back out into the real world. 
Monday's comin' ya know.

Thanks again for reading.

Have a good week.



Friday, August 23, 2013

Screaming on the Skyway



Hello 
my friends,

I hope all is well with you.


Al and I made a "whirlwind" 
trip to Chicago this last weekend.

What a trip it was.
We drove to Chicago and back in about 24 hours.

Our reason for the trip was to watch our son graduate from college.

Of course my camera went along for the trip.
I am always looking for things to paint
and my camera 
is a very important part of that process.

The shore line view from the Navy pier.
 On our way up 65 we stopped at Fair Oaks Farms.
It is a large dairy operation that invites 
visitors to have a look at the business from the inside.

This is part of the herd going for a ride on the carousel.
It was really pretty interesting.  
The cows get on and off the carousel by themselves.  
While they are on their ride the workers stand at floor level 
and attach the milking machines.

They wait patiently to get out of the holding pen.  That bar across the top either keeps them back or moves them forward as needed. 

 I have never seen so many cows in one place in my life.

  
   We watched a cow have her calf.  This worker was ready to
   pull the calf out of the afterbirth.  Now, THAT's a job.

What a miracle to watch a new life being born.  

Freshly born.  Look at that eye seeing the world for the first time.  
We stayed for a few hours and then we were on our way on to Chicago.
__________

Could you hear the screams?

That was me as I drove over the Skyway.

You see, I don't like heights.
No, not at all.

And I was driving.

But, we made it.


We shelled out around 8 dollars 
in toll fees to get to the hotel.

Four dollars of that were on the Skyway alone.

BUT
we made it to the hotel.  

We were ready to get out of the van, so that was nice.
After dinner (twenty bucks a piece) and a little rest 
we traveled down to Navy Pier
for a look around.
Al having a "session" with Bob Newhart.
We parked in a parking garage about a half mile away 
and walked into the pier area.
To say there was a lot of people would be an understatement.
Wow.

So many people.
People of every shape 
and size.

I am sure that I looked quite the small town bumpkin, as I walked and stared with my mouth hanging open.  
We could have just sat down and watched the crowd go by and that would have entertained me for the night.


 This gentleman wore his pants so low that he had to hold them 
on his body with his hands in his pockets.  
His entire underwear covered rear 
was out for the world to see.
That was new for me.
Granted, I live in Kokomo, 
but I had never seen them worn this low. 


Dinner cruises were available.  There were three boats at the dock that night.  

They advertised dancing, dinner and a cruise. 
The lines of people waiting to get boarded were long, but happy.  

It was obvious that a good time was ahead for these folks.


This young man drives a  
bicycle "taxi".  

For a fee he will drive 
you around the city. 

There were a group of about 15 
of these guys waiting 
on fares by the 
entry gate to the pier.   


















 
What a wonderful view. 

We discussed riding this.  
We decided against it due to fear of heights.
We ate gelato instead. 

What a show.  
By the way, parking for an hour and a half was $24.00.
Oh.... life in the big city.
It just seemed that every time we turned around 
we were shelling out at least $20 for some goods or service.  
Maybe all big cities are like this.  
Or, maybe it was because we were tourists 
and didn't know how to "survive" in that environment.
How do people live were things are so expensive?
It makes me appreciate little old Kokomo.
Little old boring, cheap...Kokomo.
But it was nice to get out and see new things.
___________

The next day it was time to get ready for Ian's graduation.  

I know that I have already discussed a lot of these things on Facebook, but I think this bears repeating.  As I stood there and ironed my husband's trousers, I thought about how many of the women in my family before me had ironed their husband's pants.  BUT
I think that I am the first to do it with a view of the lake.  My life better in many ways.







We met at the Museum of Science & Industry for the ceremony.  









It was a beautiful building with very well kept grounds.  
We sat and waited 
outside for 
Ian and his Mom 
& Step-dad Craig
to arrive.  


The graduation was great.




And...he did it.

Ian & his dad.






Proud, proud parents.






One of my favorite shots. 


What a feast for the eyes.

We didn't see nearly more than one large hallway, but it was magnificent.

What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.


For a girl who didn't especially like science in school...


they made it interesting...maybe even appealing. 

We ate a nice meal together in a little Thai restaurant
and then it was time to leave for home.


No, I do not drive this way.

I drove from Chicago to Plymouth, IN.
That is where I had a wonderful Wendys hamburger.
Finally, normal burger joint food.
And then home we went.

--------------------

On the farm front

This little man was born about a month ago at the Joe Scott Farm.
He is the third foal born there this summer. 
He has very striking markings, as you can see.



He certainly is a beauty isn't he? 
As always, we are thankful that he is healthy.

Thank you for reading about our trip.
See you again soon.