nixtress's Diaryland Diary

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Our little daytrip

This morning we got up early and trundled off to Malabar Farm (the farm Bogey and Bacall were married at) where they were having their Heritage Days. We went last year and enjoyed it just enough that we opted in for this year as well.
The boys had a blast. There were more involved in the Civil War re-enactment, more craft guilds and sections dedicated to replaying how things were done in the past and educating people about them. The boys learned everything from how to tamp a cannon today to how difficult it was to get one's clothing clean back in the day. We came home with a huge bag of kettle corn (stirred and popped in a huge black cauldron over an open flame on the side of a hill), home made sasperilla and cream soda, a chunk of ham smoked in the smokehouse on site and (of all things) wands and tops carved by the woodcarver there. I now have budding Harry Potters in residence, not to mention a son who's mesmerized by how long his small wooden top (carved entirely from a single piece of wood) can spin. We watched the apple butter making, and watched the way butter was churned and created. The spinning guild was amazing--I'd love to learn how to spin and weave.
The draft horses that pulled the wagons to and fro were enormous and muscled. The air smelled of woodsmoke and powder, from the muskets that were used in a practice shoot and from the cannons they shot off every now and again. It was the sort of almost-Autumn day that I love most, cool at first and crisp, but giving way to enough warmth to make a jacket unnecessary. We could hear the kettle corn popping and the thunk of a tomahawk plunking into an old wooden stump, as well as the clop of the horses hooves and the occasional song that drifted down from the singers on the hill.
Besides watching the boys enjoy themselves and just being out in such a glorious day, my favorite part was candle-making. Yep, I had a blast dipping my own candles from beeswax. They're warped and uneven and tallow-yellow but I love them. I made them with my own hands. Can't beat that.
Overall, a fun day. I worked through the evening, with Doily-Girl. It wasn't intolerable and passed more quickly than I expected it to. Laughter can do that for you.
***
Happy Saturday night. Sleep well.
N.

11:17 p.m. - 2004-09-25

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