Tea with Mrs. Nesbitt: Camp and Pottery

Maddie had a great day at Camp FCY. I know this because this is the entire conversation I had with Maddie throughout the entire day, via text:

Dad:

Having fun?

Maddie:

Yup!

Which is fine, of course. We didn't want to be too much helicopter, and besides, we knew she was going to be having a safe and fantastic time at camp. Below are a few pictures from the church site. Maddie is in the group shots, somewhat left center and up... tough to spot, like a "Where's Waldo?"

The day had plenty of action, and perhaps she can insert her own thoughts and memories here or there. There were outdoor "Tribe Wars" that continued, plus indoor messages and services, plus the meals, plus the pool party late, plus the After Party for Seniors and Juniors. It was a full day at camp, and did she have a great time?

Maddie:

Yup!

Mom and I had a good day too, of course. We traditionally head up to the Sautee Nacoochee Pottery Festival, and that's what we did today.

We did go through the museum, but also the art galleries too. The museum was nice as always, with different examples of pottery from the local potter families over the many years.

Ah, the ugly face pots! These are a big deal here for the local potters. We saw plenty of these, and some day maybe we'll even make one ourselves!

You can see above there was a potter doing a demonstration within the museum, so we shifted our schedule to see him in action for a bit. He was answering questions and talking about the North Georgia clay and how he digs it up himself and just showing off a bit of the tool he was using, which was not an electric potter's wheel, but rather one with an extension that you kick to get it moving.

Outside there was the usual large area with vendors and their pottery and sculptures. We saw this one from "Nightmare Before Christmas" that caught our attention. But there's also a soap vendor that we go to now for three years, one that has a fragrance, "Sherlock's Study." We go to this lady to get this particular fragrance, and now I'm stocked up with soap and a bar of shaving cream for a good bit. We picked up some other items too for Christmas presents.

We went through the larger room with potters and their exhibits, and we looked around the history museum as well. Actually, we did a good bit. We got ourselves some barbecue from a truck, and then sat down for one of our favorite parts of the day: bluegrass music.

Musicians just sit there and jam for a bit, and it's wonderful. It's shaded and relaxing, and there's no huge coordination - just musicians gathering to jam together for a bit with all kinds of instruments. It's all day, with some musicians joining in later while others take a break, with banjos, stand-up bass, fiddles, guitars, and even one of those small dancing puppets that pops in, sort of tap dancing to the music.

Ah, the lemonade stand! This was a funny sign advertising for some lemonade for a fund raiser.

Some very attentive pottery in the larger pottery auditorium.

This pot is a bit worried about that large spider. I would be too!

Mom and I voted for this pottery in the competition. We noticed a lot more pottery faces with cigars this year. Maybe they've always been like that. It's not a huge amount, but when you see one, it suddenly pops out at you like, "Hey, he's smoking a cigar!"

The forestry service was there doing some demonstrations too, and there was a blacksmith as well - you could hear the hammering and smell that blacksmith smell.

We made a few stops before heading home, the first of which being right next door at the Old Sautee Store, which we learned was built in 1872. We bought a few things there, including some unique flavored sodas and perhaps a helpful item for our stomachs. We just like stopping by this place every time we're here. We love the front of the store, preserved to look as it did so many years prior, going back over a hundred years.

Afterwards, we stopped by a new spot on the way home. It's been there a while, a place called Tomato House Farms. Look at this wall of hot sauces!

It was a big produce place with lots of unique jellies and sauces and of course all kinds of produce. We got some corn and other items while there, and it seems probably we'll be dropping by again with future trips this way, as there was lots to look at, and lots of fun flavored things to pick up.

It turns out Joey was with us today, apparently. I didn't realize he was along for the journey, but sure enough, there are a few pictures on the camera of Joey, enjoying his day.

Joey listens to the bluegrass music at the Sautee Nacoochee Pottery Festival.

Joey at the Old Sautee Store.

Aw, isn't that sweet? I mean, literally. Joey got Maddie a Cotton Candy soda for when she gets back!

Joey listened to the piano at the Old Sautee Store for a while - we got a quarter amongst our change, so that was perfect to put into the mechanical piano there.

We had a good afternoon, chilling the rest of the day at home, and getting ready for tomorrow somewhat. It was the last day of August! We made some plans for the future, did some cleaning up, but mostly did some resting. We have another fun day tomorrow, and it all starts out at KidPak. Maddie is having a great night tonight at Camp FCY, and they're gearing up for another unforgettable day tomorrow.

Here below are some of the many pictures she's taken today while at camp - she's having a pretty awesome weekend!