A Rainy Morning, New Martinsville, and Other Thoughts

Daisy on "her" rug--her spot whenever it rains

It's a dark, rainy, cool but humid morning here. 

Larry likes to catch rainwater to use later on the gardens. His dirty clothes from weed-eating yesterday
got a wash in the rain, and the doormat is getting a rinse-off too.

A day when all the lamps are on, and the house feels cozy and restful. 

A good morning for coffee and writing, but this afternoon I have a table full of tomatoes to deal with so I will enjoy this little break and catch up here.

I am getting to a slow-down period, however, with only a performance tomorrow and one in a week or so coming up. I am excited about both--Museum Day in Marietta, Ohio, telling tales as people come by, and then the More Than Words event on August 14th. This last has me thinking and planning--a mix of poems, songs and stories, but which ones, and in what order? I like to create a flow with smooth transitions that link the pieces I perform together, and that takes a bit of planning and practice.

Yesterday I caught up with myself in a sense. We'd been on the road for several days, working in our booths, storytelling or picking up items from pickers.

A few photos from Tuesday's trip to the northern panhandle of WV for storytelling:

A favorite barn along the Ohio River. How many barns are painted this color?

In new Martinsville, we stopped at this unique cafe and pub, Baristas. The pub itself is in the basement, and has stone walls--the bar is in the center, giving the space a comfortable circular feel. We really enjoyed the place, the people  and staff were welcoming and friendly and even though it was our first visit we felt like locals. We'll be back.

A Victorian beauty in New Martinsville.

Racing the train. It was a very long train, so I was glad we got to the crossing before it did. And yes, we were driving the speed limit, not really racing!

Evening comes to the river.

Yesterday I had nowhere to go, and a huge mess to clear up in the house after we unloaded the van. The Summer Reading suitcase is now unpacked and all the puppets and other props sorted and put away. "That's the BIGGGEST suitcase I ever saw!" one little girl said, and she's right, it's huge, but it holds everything I need for my program. It's always kind of sad to put a summer's stories away. Some of them I never tell again, simply because there is no place for them in my usual sessions; others find their way into my repertoire. This year two stories will make that transition, and perhaps a third one will too. Molly Whuppie was fantastic fun to tell, and Jack and the Giant (a version of the European tale Tops and Bottoms) will add to my collection of Jack Tales. The sassafras legend may also get into the storybag. Now that I think of it, The Old Woman and Her Pig might also be a keeper.

I had bags and bags and boxes and boxes to sort through after tthe van unload. When we're on the storytelling road we often stop at yard sales and thrift shops and come home with new merchandise for our booths. And then there are the people I buy from regularly. All of that got sorted, priced and packed yesterday. The only back-up now is furniture waiting to be painted and I will get back to that next week, I hope.

The garden continues top pour out the produce. I made more pickles this week, bringing the total to about 80 quarts. So if you come visiting, expect to take a jar of pickles home! Another bucket awaits, and Larry says there are plenty more on the vines. We've never had such a yield from our vines before. I credit it to the chicken manure we added to the soil, and to the mulch we put down. Larry has been giving regular feedings of manure tea too. The second planting of corn is almost ready and we would have had beans by now but the deer got in the other night and took care of that.

Perhaps now that life has settled down a bit I can get back to regular blogging. I miss writing posts--this is my journal and it's interesting to look back sometimes at past years and see what we were doing. But I need a brain to write, and lately my brain has been too full of other things to create a coherent post.


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