Audra Jennings

What a difference a week makes! Last Saturday was rainy and cold. This Saturday was sunny and hot. In fact, by late afternoon, it was very hot. Thanks goodness! Derrick Days in Corsicana was good to us this year. Last year, the weather was so bad Mom and Dad couldn't set up the tent without it blowing down the street, so we completely lost out. This year, the wind didn't blow until later in the day. Dad didn't even tie the tent downs until 3:00. It's the only outdoor show we have done worth the risk of the weather. The only "dog and turkey leg" event we'll do going forward, possibly the only spring show we do from here on out. One thing I do have to say about my hometown... crowds come out for Derrick Days. Dad cut a few books as a demonstration. That really wasn't a big deal, or at least like we thought it would be. However, for anyone asking how we cut them, we could show them what a scroll saw is. I wanted to try my hand at cutting a book,...

My dad is always trying to get me to go to some music performance or something I'm really not into. (Sort of like all the times of trying to talk me into going to Branson.) Most of the time, it's a "No, thank you." There have been quite a few older country legends come through our town lately. Some people you wonder, "Really, you are coming to Corsicana? That's how far you have fallen." There have been people Dad would be interested in, but he hasn't gone. This time, I had someone I wanted to see. Someone who is not nearly as old as some of the other people through town, but someone I still wonder, "Really? Corsicana?" Wynonna Judd. I grew up listening to the Judds, and Wynonna's still really, really good. I wish she had done a few more songs she did with her mom though.  Mom and I were really into it while Dad was checking the Rangers score and NFL draft. He became one of those cell phone people he hats. He said sh...

In a few weeks, we will be doing Derrick Days here in Corsicana. The Crafty Dad and Daughter is, in fact, going to be a featured demonstration booth. That, in part, is because the town is not overflowing with blacksmiths and glass blowers. We're actually going to be a great demonstration booth. Every where we go, people ask how Dad cuts books. He's going to have one of his scroll saws out on Beaton Street and show how he cuts each one. We've never done that before, so it ought to be interesting. It will also be messy. Book dust is much worse than saw dust. Meanwhile, we'll also answer where we get our books. I just got 70 in from eBay this week. They are sitting in middle of the floor because that's as far as I got them. When the first box of 34 came in early in the week, I hurt my already sore shoulder pushing them in from the front porch.  Part of the demonstrator perks is that we're supposed to get some extra PR coverage in the local newspa...

You know what happens when I stay up late working on projects? I either sell the last thing I made at the next event that goes well, or I made tons of stuff for no reason at all. We've been looking forward to the coming weekend because one of our two events for the weekend was good for us last year. Derrick Days is a local outdoor event. The forecast is for thunderstorms all day Saturday. If it's like that, people aren't going to get out to go to the indoor event either. I really need to catch a break. Let's pray the rain holds off until Sunday.

It's no secret (because I have said so here) that The Crafty Dad and Daughter has had less than stellar events the past couple of months. Events we thought would have tons of people were seemingly ghost towns.  Coupled with threats of thunderstorms, I kept my expectations for Derrick Days in Corsicana low and was pleasantly surprised! There were crowds all day long, and we had a really good day.  I haven't gone down to Derrick Days and years, and the last time I did go, the crowds weren't huge. I think there were arrests for drunken disorderly conduct, and maybe a stabbing last year.  I finally have to give the hometown some props since we had one of our best (if not the best) single day ever. At the end of the day, we had empty spaces we didn't have something to put back up in. It's been a while since we have had an event where you could see empty spaces.  Now, I have two weeks to make lots of stuff back for the Balloon Festival in Canton in two...

Each year hundreds of Corsicana and Navarro County residents flock to downtown to witness the Christmas parade. Today many did so after trying to Christmas shop while sweating profusely because the weather refuses to cool down for more than one day at a time. The Corsicana Christmas parade is sort of a redneck experience as far as I am concerned. They have it at night so that people can light up their floats and vehicles. I think it's just to hide the pitiful level of the parade. (And I apologize for the blurry photos.) It's really kind of sad, but it's something to do on a Saturday night, and you have to try to kick off the season some way. The parade had one band. The Corsicana High School band. Maybe Mildred's wasn't in it because they weren't sure when their playoff game would be. The college had a game somewhere today. The parade always has lots and lots and lots of fire trucks from the volunteer departments. They like to use their sirens and f...