The Pinelands Jamboree was good fun. Alison picked me up in the K-Mart parking lot, along with "her" grandchildren, Lindsay, 4, and Lucas, 3. I was sorry Joely couldn't come, but he was sick at home. He's past his fever, but still not feeling well.
The Jamboree was piney-style. Music from country bands filled the air (it prominently featured banjos and washboards) and tables were scattered here and there with craft displays, food, and information on the Pinelands. The food booths went heavy on fat: "pulled" pork, cupcakes and doughnuts, fries, and ice cream, and so, I'm afraid, did a big percentage of the attendees. We got the kids Popsicles* and 124-pound Alison bought a bag of kettle corn for later, but I didn't indulge.
We came across a neat display of bears carved with a chainsaw out of a tree trucks and branches, each one different. Some were 3 or 4 feet high and cost 3 or 4 hundred, but Alison bought Mike one about 2 feet high. It will look great in their addition, which is well on its way. A. said she ordered the chandelier for the dining area and it's unique, but she wouldn't tell me what it looked like--I'll have to wait and see.
Right before we left, while A. and the kiddies were at the jungle gym, I fell into conversation with a woman selling photos of her own, including one of a gravestone from an African-American cemetery. As we chatted, we found we both have the cemetery/tombstone/epitaph bug. When she expressed interest in my 1000+ collection of photos on those subjects, we exchanged names and e-mail addresses and will get in touch. I've put it on the back burner recently, but still have an interest and may revive my former active pursuit of the genre.
I called Pat on the way home to see what he wanted for dinner. Of course, he suggested takeout and I picked up his veal cutlet and spaghetti from good ol' Brothers' Pizzaria at 6:00.
Finally finished labelling the additional Tricky Tray items and got them assembled into shopping bags to load into the car. Today's the big day and it should be fun, but I'm looking forward to some down-time after this.
*Interestingly, the word "Popsicle" is not generic, but a brand name.