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WELCOME to the Take Joy Society. We are a group of ladies who first met because of our love of Tasha Tudor's art and lifestyle. We are broadening our focus to include other artists/writers/people of interest who embody Tasha's philosophy to Take Joy in all the good that life has to offer. Here you will find a record of our get-togethers and resources to help you see that the gloom of the world is but a shadow so that you, too, can Take Joy by Creating Joy in your life!

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Waterford Fair Get-Together- October

This month, on the 6th, the Take Joy Society attended this year's Waterford Fair in Waterford, VA .  Click on music link to hear Donna Nomick, one of the vendors at the Fair, play "Si Bean Locha Lein" and come back here to read along with the music.



Only Cindy and I were able to make this get-together so we brought our husbands along and met at the Fair.  Ken and I took the back roads whenever we could for the 35-minute drive, passing lovely farm scenes like these. . . .


Waterford, VA was first settled in 1733 by the Quakers.  Since 1943 the Waterford Foundation has ensured that the small village would remain just that--a small village--helping to preserve the historic houses and open spaces. . . .

Several colonial entertainers and costumed crafters were on hand. . .
Plunkett & Tremolo: Old World Clowns
Terry Bender: Organ Grinder
Sunnyland Band:  One Man Band with helpers

The school children of Waterford are given the day off, but they have assignments such as interviewing the crafters or taking turns being taught as part of the demonstration at the one-room school house.  The little girl on the left was thrilled to have her photo taken. We heard her say as she passed by that I was the SECOND person to take her photo! . . . .

This crafter was making one of her very intricate paper cuttings called Scherenschnitte. . . .


Cindy and her husband, Andy, watch the Blacksmith. . . .

A crafter making jack-o-lanterns from gourds. . . .

Creations using copper pipes and flashing . . . .


The hooked rugs were works of art. . . .

More gourds made into bird houses this time. . . .

The smaller ones are Christmas ornaments. . . .

Copper flashing was used on this birdhouse. . . .

Lots of fiber arts, too. . . .

I barely touched on the many crafts available!

Not looking very happy with all the hubbub in the village this cat was biding its time in the yard of one of the tour houses. . . .

The children would stop to pet his beautiful dog that was waiting for its owner outside a shop. . . .


I wonder if this chicken escaped its pen. It was the only one I saw in the village. . . .

There are four different houses open on each of the three days of the fair.  The first one we toured was the Charles Merchant House, circa 1906. . . .


This was one of the several log houses in the village. . . .

This stone wall with the hedges caught my eye. . . .

As did this view between houses. . . .

An interesting entrance. . . .

And a cut-out design on a window shade. . . .

The Mahlon Schooley House on the tour was built in 1817 as part of the "New Town" development in the village. . . .

Views from the back porch. . . .



The path up to the street. . . .


The log cabin across the street was built from two Maryland cabins salvaged in the 1970s/80s. . .

Interesting architecture abounds. . . .

Even for the bird houses on the old telephone pole. . . .

This house was nestled in a long row of rowhouses. . . .

Climbing vines on a stair railing. . . .

My favorite house on the tour was the Francis Pierpoint House.  The left section was built circa 1795.  In 1809 Samuel Pierpoint purchased it and the house next door and operated a dry goods store in that one.  In 1844 Ann Taylor Ratcliffe, a Quaker widow with four young children bought both houses and operated a fabric shop on the lower level and lived upstairs. There would have been an outside porch with a staircase to the upper floors.  It wasn't until 1950 that an interior staircase was added and the porch removed.  More additions were added in 1960 and 2005 to make it a lovely home. . . .

We entered the house through the back yard. . . .






This is a view of the other side of the house.  You can see the smaller 1960 stone addition and the larger 2005 addition. . . .

John Wesley Church. . . .

I neglected to photograph the front of the last house on the tour, Tanyard Hill.  This photo is from the website. . . .

It was only built 22 years ago and made to look old, but once inside it just did not feel old to me.  This is a garden in the side yard. . . .

As we walked up the lane back to our car there was another log cabin.  I remember touring this one years ago.  It was cozy and charming. . . .

You can read more about these houses and the others on the tour on Saturday and Sunday HERE.

If you would like to browse the photos again, watch the slide show. . . .

                       

You can also watch the slide show I made in 2014 of our visit when we were the Maryland Tasha Tudor Museum Society HERE.  Plus, YouTube has more videos like this one produced by Visit Loudon.  I highly recommend watching it!

❤️Take Joy❤️ 

6 comments:

  1. I wish I could have gone with you and Cindy this year, Cathy! Years ago Doug and I performed with a Scottish Country Dance group at the Waterford Fair.

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    1. ❤️ I wonder if it was a year I might have gone!

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  2. I enjoyed the relaxing music & all of the photos!

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    1. I glad you enjoyed it. I always get the music when I go there.

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  3. Cathy, if I got a list of all the fairs & festivals & craft shows & art shows etc etc that I want to go to, would you & Ken just go to them for me & blog about them here? Of course, you'd never be home - and Poetry & Gabriel would have to go live with one of your boys - and your own home & garden would be horribly-neglected & eventually fall into disrepair - and you'd rarely get to see your boys and the grands etc. But do you think you'd do it? Pretty please? LOL! No kidding, you are SO good at this. I always feel as though I'd gone right along with you - and without the small [sometimes not so small] discomforts of long car trips, standing for hours in lines, heat, humidity, insects, storms etc. I remember when I first decided I wanted to follow your blog all the time. I had wandered over from Susan Branch's list & you were writing about an ethnic festival you attended - I think it was connected to the Smithsonian - and it was Hungarian or Lithuanian - sorry I can't remember exactly - some part of Eastern Europe that's in your family. And it was SO interesting. I read everything - watched all the videos - perused all the links you included. And I think it was 2-3 hours later [!!!] when I finally looked up from my computer! I couldn't believe it. Like today, I felt like I'd been right there with you. So anyway, think about it, huh? If you & Ken say Yes, I'll start working on getting that list right away! You could have quite a future ahead of you, my friend. Got any color down there in Maryland yet? We have very little here for October 10. But we had a rainy Summer - maybe wet Summers aren't great for Fall color? I can never remember which is better - a dry Summer or a rainy one. Anyway, have a great week! Peace... 🍁

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    1. Well, thank you, Janet! If I ever need a job, I'll let you know! The Smithsonian Festival was on Hungary, which you are correct about it being my heritage, so I was especially interested in it myself. Not much color down this way--at least not on my mountain. I have seen a bit elsewhere. For us I think it's been the heat and drought we had in September. It was actually colder in August! And we, too, had a wet early summer.

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