Continued IAAPA pics

Yesterday, Cynthia and I drove out to Jay's forge far far away.  Took and hour to get there and you know how I hate to travel more than 5 miles from my house, but I really wanted to see his blacksmith shop and try my hand at a piece.  Good thing he's not closer or he couldn't get rid of Cynthia and me.  She just jumped in and started making pieces for her new bamboo breeze piece.  She stuck her metal pieces in and then pounded them while I looked in every nook and cranny.  Tools, he has tools.  So many are hand made.  He says he's not into making tools, but you pick up one, ask about it and he made it.  He has a mig welder that looks like the grandfather of mine.  Close to it he has a piece he's working on.  I love looking at Jay's welds - the most perfect.  I doubt he ever grinds them, why grind perfection?

Yesterday was so cold.  Cynthia and I were bundled up and the forge going, but still my feet were numb.  Lynne stopped by.  Remember Lynne?  She and her son Evan made Big Tex's sewing kit for their totem at the Fair.  Then some other friends dropped by.  Jay fed all of us hot dogs (on a grill he made of course), beans and gumbo.  Delicious.  

I made the beginning of a door handle for our front inside door.  Took a square metal 5/8 rod and twisted it after heating it.  If I ever get back outside with decent weather, I'll be welding pieces on the rod and maybe adding glass.  I looked at the big door when I got home.  Before I put the new handle on the door it needs to be sanded, painted, etc.  The door has needed sanding and painting the entire 15 years it's been our door.  Maybe this will motivate me.  Course if I sand, paint and put a great handle on it, the enclosed front porch will look shabby.  That's what I hate about a little fix up - makes surrounding areas look old and sad.

Oh, the reason we drove out there - Jay wants to do a calendar.  George isn't doing a calendar for TSA.  Jay and I were both in his last one.  I was Miss October and told Jay I had to be Miss October in this one.  This one is clothes ON.  Jay said bring cameras and we will take lots of pictures as we work.  Miss FLASH forgot hers.  I was lucky I even made it out there. We had Pat Green at Billy Bob's and Vicki's still out with her broken toe.  So we were at Billy Bob's till very late working the night  before.

So since I forgot my camera yesterday, here's more amusement park convention pictures.