Another Day, More Time to Play

I am back in the north lands for a couple of weeks, hoping to get a few things done around the house here. I've got some tinplate to get cut so that I can take it back for a Christmas workshop for our Fort Yargo Living History Society. We are in the planning stages for a workshop that I will be able to use for demonstrations and classes in the future! I spent a Saturday out there a couple of weeks ago, by myself, demonstrating for whatever public wandered by and just enjoying the beauty of the area and the fort. The next weekend was our Thanksgiving feast, and it was a wonderful success. Many of the members got to see my work for the first time, and I am grateful for their kind words of encouragement, It was noted that I not only prepared dishes for the meal, but also the dishes used to cook those items. My food preparation was for "timbales of macaroni and Shenandoah cheddar," aka mac-n-cheese. It was baked in the clay bake oven and turned out well.

I had a young man, a second grade student, show enough interest in tinsmithing that he and I made a candle holder that he could take home with him. He was looking forward to the show and tell that he would be able to share when he returned to school. Seeing a face like that one light up is one of my purest joys.

One of the benefits of being a member of the FYLHS is having access to the 1792 block house and other facilities we have. The outdoor hearth and bake oven are both functional, and the siding should be on the smokehouse by the end of December. There a four or five rope beds in the block house, and they recently gave us a porta potty that we are working to disguise. I am hoping to find a time to invite some friends down for a weekend at the fort. This place is helping to make my move to Georgia a very rewarding one. The state park where the fort is located has also asked me to be their man in the red suit from the North Pole this year. I am looking forward to that as well.

I've also been busy working at our new online book shop, Big River Books. It's an Amazon company, and we are listing books and media materials that have too much value to simply recycle. It is rewarding to know that the landfills get less each time we sell or recycle these items. In my spare time I have stripped down the main bathroom in our GA house and have begun to remodel it. My goal is to get it back into operation before Margaret and Jeremy come down for Christmas. The house if progressing nicely and the interior should be completed by Spring. It has been a challenge to get a handle on landscaping, given the fact that the seasons are somewhat different and the current drought situation has reduced the interest in outdoor landscaping. Maybe tin roses and daisies would catch on.... lol