This Weekend, the Bristol Races, my New Online Shop

This weekend was this year's first big race at Bristol Raceway. Although we live in the country, we live close enough to the track that we are affected by the amount of traffic that the races bring. Race time is always a time that the merchants look forward to; the thousands of people coming into the area mean thousands of dollars in revenue for not only the track, but the grocery stores, restaurants and various shops around the area. The antique shops downtown are among those who can generally count on extra sales throughout these weekends. The added population also brings exceedingly heavy traffic for our little area. This is something my hubby and I don't look forward to. I try to make sure we have plenty of groceries, gasoline, and the various sundry items that make up a typical weekend for us. In other words, we try to keep stocked well enough that we won't have to leave home. This weekend, I decided to concentrate on things in my studio while hubby and youngest stepson concentrated on some yard work, specifically finishing up on our tree trimming and picking up the debris I left on the ground the other day. ;-> I know that lots of people use the trash cans issued by their disposal companies and thought you might want to see how we cope with things when we run out of room in our can. No, we don't feed my stepson to the can! This is a picture of my hubby holding the trash can while stepson (David) jumps up and down inside the can. Kind of a human trash compactor, if you will. (This job belongs to hubby when stepson isn't spending the weekend with us. I've personally never stomped grapes nor trash.) Okay, now that I've shared that photo let me share with you a photo of what the race track usually looks like from a vantage point not too far from us: Granted, the LinkBelt ditchdigger thingy generally isn't there, but you can get an idea of the wide open fields between this spot and the track (big, white building in the far background). This picture was taken this past Wednesday morning. You can see where some early bird campers have already started pulling into cherished spots in the front of the field. Here's a picture of the street I was on when I took the first photo: Nice, quiet country area! Don't you agree? Here's the same area Sunday morning, during the races: And another look, farther down the road away from the track: . Remember, that I previously shared with you that my hubby's truck transmission went out and that we are temporarily sharing my van? Well, we're still sharing the van, which was holding several boxes of items ready to be taken to the Corner Nest in Elizabethton. We knew that we would probably get caught in heavy traffic on the way back home but we didn't know how ridiculous our return trip would be. Elizabethton is roughly 20 miles from here, an approximate 20 minute trip one way. Not yesterday. Here's what it looked like on the way back home: We were routed over ten miles out of our way from a point where we were about one mile from our home. Two hours later, we were still trying to get home (sounds kinda Wizard-of-Ozish, doesn't it?). Well, one picture can still say a thousand words: Note the difference in daylight? Now, I don't blame the fans, although I do have to wonder what the thought processes are for someone who pays over $100 a night for a camping spot just wide enough to pull a vehicle into. You can actually stand away from the many campgrounds in the area and see a haze lingering above from vehicle exhausts. That can't be either healthy nor comfortable for the campers that are jam-packed into those fields, jelly tight. But I digress... No, I don't blame the fans. I believe every police officer in the county, city, surrounding towns and local highway patrol was on duty yesterday, trying to direct traffic away from Bristol and toward the interstates. I blame whomever is responsible for mapping out the detour routes. I think it's wonderful the the races bring in so much revenue for the area. But I don't like the way that the needs of people living in the area year-round are pushed aside to accomodate our guests. I think it's ridiculous that we have to be routed so far away from our property and that it would take over two hours to travel from the point we were first detoured to get to our home, especially when, at that point, we had less than two miles to travel. Okay, I've said my piece; thanks for putting up with my rant. Now, back to my normally upbeat blog! :-) If you haven't already, I hope you click on the link for the Corner Nest. There are lots of new things in the works, including our new little cafeteria area. Here's a glimpse: Robin will still have the back area of the shop open for special luncheons, receptions, etc. This area will be for those wanting sandwiches, ice cream, etc. The shop continues to grow and to do well; I'm so glad we made the decision to hop on the ol' bandwagon to be a part of this!

And here's something new for me - I've decided to sell some of our antiques online through Ecrater. I'll also be listing some of my artwork, trash to treasure items, etc. Here's the link: http://oldtimestudios.ecrater.com/ . I'll be adding things through out this week and hope you check back. You'll probably also be able to tell that I'm not quite finished setting up but you'll get the idea. Right now I only have three jeweled bottles (one is vintage) and an old milk can with a spigot listed. The milk can is cool. If I had a place to keep it, I would. I can only imagine the ones with spigots are few and far between, as this one is the first and only one I've seen.

I'm also happy that so many of you enjoyed my story about my cousin finding me! I'm thrilled and am flattered that they searched so hard to find us. I love you, Annabel! I promise, I'll get an email to you tomorrow!!!!

Thanks again, everyone, for stopping by!