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Last weekend I had several visitors, including my eldest sister, my nephew and his wife, and my niece. My nephew also brought his 2 dogs, who were delightful. We had a wonderful visit.
My niece, Carol, is only 3 years younger than me, and we grew up more like sisters. She has visited often since my husband died, and I am so glad to have been able to grow closer to her. She had to leave early because her daughter and son-in-law had come to visit her and were upset that she wasn't home. When she got home she found out why--she's going to be a grandma!
Carol and I spent Saturday at the War Eagle Fair. War Eagle Mill is located a few miles east of Rogers, Arkansas, and for many years has held semi-annual craft fairs which are now among the largest in the state. There were actually 2 craft shows going on, one on either side of the river.
Myself on the left, Carol on the right.
The Mill, and the bridge crossing the river. The bridge was alternatively pedestrian and vehicular. The river was high due to a rainy fall season.
The mill wheel turning. It is a functioning mill, and inside you can buy stone ground grains and baking mixes. They have a website where you can buy them also.
http://www.wareaglemill.com/gift-store/
On one side of the river, the Sharp's craft show set up in small individual booths. It was extremely crowded, but not as bad as the other side.
A close-up of the mill, along with the food vendors, which were set up all over the grounds.
I didn't buy much, but a few things did catch my eye. Prices were a bit high, though. I love the sleeve treatment on this re-designed sweatshirt.
The bird feeders and rain chains made of vintage glassware were really beautiful! I heard someone say the bases of the feeders were chick feeders.
Carol really liked this "chandelier" made of a wire basket and electrical insulators.
Carol is into home canning, and bought this tin sign to hang in her kitchen.
The other side of the river is the site of the actual War Eagle Craft Fair. The exhibitors are located in these huge tents.
My choice of lunch was a build it yourself taco salad. Carol had an Indian Fry Bread taco.
Chairs were at a premium, but we managed to find two and enjoy the view overlooking the river and the mill.
The weather was perfect and the trees were showing beautiful colors. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, despite getting sore feet from all the walking!
One funny thing--when we had been there only a few minutes, I asked Carol to help me watch for a thumb piano, or Kalimba. She was unfamiliar with them, but agreed to keep her eyes open. Unfortunately we didn't find any.
People in the area were taking advantage of the unusual traffic load by setting up garage sales, yard sales, and craft booths along the highway for miles around. We decided to stop at a few of these on the way home. The people were friendly and interesting to talk to. We were strolling around a small area of craft booths, when what should we happen upon but a guy selling thumb pianos! I was thrilled, and purchased this one, simply for my own amusement.
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I had seen this mug in the Connecting Threads catalog, and really thought about buying one, but because of the price I decided I didn't actually need it. The company had a contest on their website: http://www.connectingthreads.com
To enter you had to show a photo of a work in progress. I showed the photo below, of the patio door cover I had just finished that very day. I won one of the mugs! It came yesterday. I love an oversized mug for my morning coffee.
I made this quilt to cover the door at night to "keep the dark out." But I think it is even more beautiful during the day when the sun shines through, making it look like stained glass. I'm really pleased with it. The pattern is by Susan Guzman for McCall's Quick Quilts, Oct/Nov. 2014, p. 8-10. She calls it "Makes Me Happy" and the name fits. I enlarged it to fit the patio door.
I hope to have more photos to post next time, as I am planning a day road trip for this weekend.
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