Cool and damp, but hopefully another clear day. Yesterday started cool, but got unpleasantly hot in the sun by later afternoon. It was still cool in the shade, but I was sweating when the sun shone…
I had planned to do some carpentry, and replace some support posts for the porch of the dockhouse. Instead we went to the local small town USA Christmas Festival. And it was exactly what I hoped and better than expected. It’s the kind of thing my family would go to all over southern Illinois and Indiana back in the day.
Close the streets around the town square and courthouse, have some vendors selling homemade stuff,and trinkets, and have food vendors-lots of food vendors with different meats on a stick, and of course funnel cakes. Mix in a small stage with a band or guitar player,and a bunch of local churches and charities doing stuff to raise money and you have small town USA celebrating.
In this case, there were several different biker groups raising money, one was cops, one was witnessing for Jesus, never figured out what the other was doing. County Sheriff was raising money for new radios, Search and Rescue was there, along with the local ham club, and all the churches and charities. I lost track of the number of gun raffles after 12. Very popular fundraiser apparently. I have a half dozen tickets… no one called yet.
The vendors were mostly local people doing some sort of craft as a side hustle or retirement project. Lots of little crocheted stuffed animals. Lots of artisanal soaps. Several woodworkers with cutting boards, or laser etched signs. One guy with a bunch of CNC’d plaques with various subjects. Hand made jewelry. Supposedly hand made knives. One guy with rocket stoves,which were very well made, and a sturdy design. Lots of food.
One interesting thing was a couple of guys with 3d printed objects for sale. They’re local and doing it as a business. They’ve got a couple of lasers too. Resolution of filament printers has gotten so good the little toys and knickknacks looked traditionally manufactured. D2 bought an articulated dragon about 18″ long that was printed in one run. Really neat, like a spiky plastic snake.
We spent a few hours walking around. Meatspace baby. It was an interesting crowd too. Mostly white, but normal proportions of blacks and hispanics. A couple of asians, and surprisingly two different food vendors from the subcontinent. Lots of older folks, but a large number of young couples and families too. Wiry young men with wives that made me think “modern homesteading”. BIG men with BIG wives that made me think “skilled trades” for the men, loudmouth trailer trash for the women. One stick figure woman with meth sores on her face and some bedraggled kids. Mostly people looked happy, and healthy.
No Biden supporters visible, but one or more vendors selling Trump merch, and other MAGA stuff, like FJB hats.
All in all, a nice afternoon.
Then it was home to work,but since it was late I decided to work on replacing the man door in the garage. Got that 90% done, shot some pool with the wife and kid, then we played cards for a couple of hours. It was pretty late but my fishing buddy called and he came by with his wife to give us some deer meat. He got a buck and doe last week. It’s a half dozen meals worth, and I’m looking forward to eating it.
The result of all that was an early night without the fire I’d laid in the pit, or a tiny little fire.
Today I’ll get the posts replaced and maybe the door of the dockhouse too. And finish unloading and putting away the stuff I brought up this time and last.
Always be working to improve you situation. And stacking, that has to continue too.
nick