what a holiday weekend! Part one

Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2014    Daddy and Cole

Our fourth of July holiday weekend was full of activity! It started Thursday evening when DH and I went to meet a blogging friend traveling with her family from NC. Her name is Susan from the Bored Zombie and she is a charming as I suspected she would be. Again it's great to meet internet friends in person!
On the Fourth we went to a friend's house for games and fireworks. On Saturday we wanted to go back to the Folk life Festival for a few more shows and Cole asked to come along.

 It was overly stimulating for him! All the music, the people, the dust and heat.
He  thoroughly sniffed  the drums made with real animal skins, from African animals of course.

 After that  he settled down with Dad to watch from tree shade  while I went into the tent to hear the terrific story with song by this woman...

 She was so engaging and charming that I motioned to Drew and Cole to join me to see her face. Cole took that opportunity to fortify himself with doggie equivalent to popcorn... a mix of kibble and cookies, some of which smelled yummy enough to tempt us!

 After this show, we traveled back to China where I got to use the hot wax tool and make marks in wax for a batik. It was a simple tool, but really worked. You need a bit of practice but it made quite a fine line and I wish I could have dyed it after. The artisan never understood my question about mordants for the plant based dyes, and I tried. I asked three times in different wording but the interpreter never got it, so he didn't  either.
I returned to my quilting friend, Jin Yuanshan, to give her a small art quilt I made to mark the occasion of our meeting.

At first it seemed like she thought I was giving her my purse!! Yikes! Awkward!! I found the little quilt in the purse and presented it with both hands as a friend told me was polite. She was so appreciative, she gave me a lovely little flower she had made. She has taught at the Houston show, so maybe I'll see her again.

We walked back through the gardens again. Look at this monster plant!! Many people stopped us to take pics of Cole. Really! The paparazzi are everywhere!

One woman asked who groomed him, and when I said I did it, she said she loved his cut. And she's been grooming dogs for 30 years!! Wowie!

We all came home again, tired and hot but we spent the day together! We finished the day with a bit of porch sitting where we are reading a book aloud to each other. Ahhhh, all that and a glass of wine! The holiday story will continue in the next post.
LeeAnna
you might also enjoy the first three posts on Folklife Festival   find them here