We Are Community 173
Well show season is officially over for 2023. It began in Paris, MO. in March, 3rd Sunday Market in Bloomington, Spoon River in Smithfield and ended with Stoneware Convention in East Peoria. Well guess it is not quite over as I still have a van load of stoneware to unload!
Its amazing just how much can be packed into three days. I am on the board of COIPS, Collectors of Illinois Pottery and Stoneware, and just got home from the Stoney Creek Inn in East Peoria where we held our annual convention. We had two board meetings, a social, a show and sale, room sales, a banquet, a slide show, two 50/50 drawings, one of which I won, an auction and more. The slide show was given by Chris Jonus who just wrote a two-inch-thick book on Macomb potteries and their stoneware. Our group also had its first Annual Macomb Swap meet in August and the 2nd Annual Macomb Swap meet will be Aug 3rd, 2024 in Chandler Park. In between events there was a lot of catching up with friends and eating. The weather was lovely so there was also a bit of sitting in front of the hotel enjoying the sun shine and looking at stoneware for sale in the parking lot of the hotel.
My best friend from college lives in Peoria so I called her to tell her I was in town and she met me for lunch. Had not seen her for a while and it was good to catch up. When I called her, she said “well we are both still alive”. Sometimes life does feel like that. Was good to catch up once again.
Seems like I drive the same roads to many events. Go through Pekin to Bloomington and went through Pekin to East Peoria. Have a free lunch coming from a restaurant in Pekin but don’t seem to ever go through there at lunch time. There is also a big solar array close to the Pekin turn off and I always like to see which direction it is facing when I pass by as mine do not rotate.
Anyway, it was a great weekend. Saw friends, did I mention eating, bought a LOT of stoneware and had a safe trip over and back.
It was a busy week as I just came off Spoon River and that meant unloading my van so I could reload and go to East Peoria. An awful lot of work for this “little old lady”. The van was packed to the roof and I think there were 16 banana boxes to unload and put back into the store in the proper places as well as lots of other items to unload then load 4 boxes with stoneware and some larger crocks. Did get it all done eventually and headed out about noon on Thursday. I even got the book work finished from Spoon River. I love book work; I get to sit down!
The corn field was combined so went to my favorite spot to take sunset photos only to remember that the sun has moved too far south to be properly framed. We have really had some great sunsets lately and sun rises too but I often miss them because the sun insists on rising before I do.
Attended the meeting of the “Antiques and Collectibles Club” which is held at the Macomb City Hall at 7 pm on the 3rd Wednesday of the month. I think this will be a great and interesting group. Why not join us. Free to join and lots of interesting conversation as well as a program. The one on Wednesday was on match covers and the next one is on mechanical toys.
As mentioned, busy week. Hope yours was good. Will be good to get back to church. Pray for your neighbors and for the world situation. Scatter kindness and Love. If we all loved, there would not be the “world situation”.