I did laundry and some household chores first thing this morning, and then talked to Kelly for almost an hour on the phone. The timing was perfect, because not only did Kelly and I solve the world’s problems (just not our own!) but it took me right up to the time I planned on leaving for Ft. Ligonier Days. I was watching the weather/temperatures and wanted to get there when there was guaranteed sunlight with the warmest daily temps. And it worked!
There was a lot of traffic, of course, but I easily parked in the BARN’s parking lot. All lots were $10 for all day – one or two included shuttle service – but I opted to walk up. The craft booths started right across the bridge from the parking lots so it didn’t make much sense to park further away and still end up in almost the same place. I decided to walk the entire festival and check things out before I purchased anything. That worked, too!
There were a lot of people but everyone was polite and careful and it wasn’t hard to get access to the booths that you wanted to see. There were a lot of wineries represented – more than I remember. And lots of food booths. I was very tempted at The Pie Shoppe’s booth, but they were only selling package goods (mostly by the dozen) and I was more interested in just buying one thing to nibble on there. So I passed on that. I finally made it up to the diamond, and spent some time at the Smail Automotive Main Stage (Gazebo/bandstand) – yes, Smail’s are still a major contributor to the festival.
The band that was playing when I got there was ‘Renegade Ridge’ – country. They were pretty good, and are described as authentic, twangy guitars spanning seven decades. My two favorite songs from the playlist that I heard was ‘Tiger by the Tail’ (a Buck Owens song) and ‘ The Cowboy Rides Away’ (a George Strait song). They did a good job on both, but the COWBOY one was way better!
Once I had walked around and skimmed everything once – including some antique stores fanned out from the diamond – I scoped out the food booths. I was craving fresh cut French fries so I walked around looking a the samples to make sure they were fresh cut. I decided on the booth sponsored by the Festival and wasn’t disappointed. The were fresh and hot and just right. I found an empty park bench by the Town Hall, sat and read and ate and had a nice break.
Here are some festive decorations in town.
I made my way back down the hill, going through the booths again. I was pretty sure I knew where the items were that I had decided on earlier. There were several so I wanted to pick carefully. I ended up with a little bucket of snowballs for my Amish village, a hand-sewn little birdie and another ear of corn (hand-sewn) for my leaf dish. I also got the cutest pair of white ice-skates (just like the ones I used to have a a young girl) but they will get packed away for the Christmas Tree. They’re about 2 inches in size.
I spent about 3 hours there, and really enjoyed the day. It was beautiful weather, not crazy-crowded, and the food lines were not long at all. It’s these little things that can make the day bright, bring a smile, and give you a different activity for a change. So glad I went – and that I spent very little money. The most expensive thing I did was to pay for parking!
October 14 – Do you remember the first movie you ever saw? Who starred in it? “I think it was an Abbott and Costello movie. I don’t remember its name. They made several. “Gone with the Wind” was the 1st ‘serious’ movie I saw. I fell in love with Clark Gable & I still like to see & read about him.” GONE WITH THE WIND was released in 1939. Mom would have been 9 years old. Not sure what year she went to see it!
Calendar inspiration – Experience brings rewards – knowledge is never wasted! Save the best of what you learn for future use.
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TOMORROW October 15th is:
- National Whole Hog Barbecue Day
- National Aesthetician Day
- National Cheese Curd Day
- National I Love Lucy Day
- National Grouch Day
- National Latino AIDS Awareness Day
- National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day
- National Shawarma Day
- National White Cane Safety Day
- National Sweetest Day
I hope you have the sweetest person to celebrate with tomorrow! It’s so important to let your favorite sweetheart know that you care about them. I plan to celebrate the fact that October is half over! Not sure if that’s good or bad. I don’t want to wish my life away — although there is a great deal of excitement in seeing the ‘room’ Jesus has waiting for me! I think it’s Victorian… God bless!
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