Perfect Peaches, Better Butter Beans

Today's roadshow was long and hot- we started out early with a ton of stuff.  I worked on the Penderlea painting all day, and the manz did his magic with the furniture- but it was a small-stuff day.  We sold lots of table items but not as much furniture as we like to- but that's ok for there is tomorrow and Saturday to go.

Set up with us is our friends, Hazel and Tracy.  Tracy is the fellow in the hat- Tracy is a guys name down here, like Marion, Stacy, Ashley and Francis.  (Anthony is sometimes a girls name- just to let you know it works both ways).  They are the funnest friends to set up with- Hazel laughs just as loud and as much as I do.  She is a sweetheart who just returned to this area from New York (or New Jersey? one of those places) and stopped by to buy a bed frame from us.  Then she came back and eventually started working with Tracy, shelling beans and peas.  Mr. Tracy grows most of his own things- watermelons, tomatoes, okra, beans of all kinds- he also sells pie-gourds, peaches (the sweetest you can imagine) and those wonderful scuppernog and muscadine grapes that are grown here.  In the afternoon they often cut up a whatever (sometimes melon, sometimes pears or apples or peaches) and share with us.  We all look after each other, which is a good thing.

I was thinking about the Roadshow today- most people wouldn't consider it 'real work' but we work really hard at it- it's like moving house every week for several days.  It's second nature to the man, and he moves the furniture himself (he is amazingly strong), I do mainly the boxes of stuff- packing, unpacking, packing.  It's quite a workout, which I need.  Then there are the extras- tent up and down, cleaning and repairing and displaying, buying and toting back, and the never-ending challenge of storage.  And avoiding the threat of rain.   We've been lucky so far- only once (knock on wood) were we rained on so hard that it damaged some furniture beyond hope (and- adding insult to injury- we had *just* bought that furniture- literally, less than an hour before).  Today the manz made it back to Dad's barn with the trailer before it rained- it's pouring down now, thunder and lightening.  Hopefully it will cool things off.

Even though the work is hard for this- I love it.  Wouldn't trade it for the world- right now it offers us a freedom that a store wouldn't- not that we aren't still planning on having a store someday, but for right now- things are perfect and life is good.