Today's Adventures
Apr. 24th, 2026 08:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithToday we went to the Spring Fest in Charleston. It was drizzling, but not enough to discourage us.
Already hungry, we started looking for food. They had a lot of food trucks and booths this year, maybe 8 to 10. I got a corn dog. My partner Doug got a pulled pork sandwich. Then we got mini-donuts with strawberry sauce for dessert. We ordered 6 and the tray came with 10 of them. :D Few things are as delightful as unexpected extra donuts! Also the strawberry sauce was particularly good.
Then we walked around the vendors. Some were outside, others inside. There were several ceramic artists, a bunch of jewelry makers, some folks selling clothes, and so on.
The first thing we bought was a ceramic grater from Simply Stoneware. It's a plate with a rim, and the flat part of the plate has a scaled pattern. Part of the rim also has herb-stripping holes. These are slab construction and the scales are stamped on with a special mold. Ours is mostly a brownish tone with a bright pale blue ring outside the scales. It came with a garlic-peeling sleeve and a brush to move the grated material off the scales so you can use it. This looks easier to use than punched-metal graters and a lot easier to clean. It works on a range of things including garlic, ginger root, and parmesan cheese. Simply Stoneware also offers other things like garlic keepers and platters. I love the quote on their website: "We believe that a home should be filled with beautiful, durable handmade objects that make everyday life a little easier." Agreed.
One booth had freeze-dried candy. Doug picked out a bag of Bit'o'Honey. I tried a few; it was much better than the previous batch of that I sampled -- better flavor and melting texture.
I bought a tie-dye T-shirt and matching socks from Tie Dye by the LB. He does a variety of patterns, some random, some mandala, but a lot of kaleidoscope designs that are quite different from what I usually see. Also, he puts designs on both front and back, whereas a lot of T-shirts are either dyed the same all the way through (most spirals or zippers) or only have the fancy design on the front (most mandalas). You can see a bunch of pictures on the website.
Soul Fire Arts was one of the metalworkers, doing some really cute upcycled figurines. He had an anglerfish made from little scraps welded together -- unmated, I've always kinda wanted to see one sculpted with the male stuck on somewhere.
Then there was the planetarium, which was an inflated dome with a projector inside. It was difficult to squeeze inside (imagine an airlock made from two giant vaginas, which was less fun than it sounds) and there were no real chairs inside, only a couple of ottomans. Some people just stretched out on the floor. I'm fairly sure the film was designed for a full-size dome rather than the small one, because it was really hard to see things and the rotational effects were dizzying more than cool. But there was a meteor shower effect that was really awesome. Still, if you spot an inflated planetarium ... think twice about how much you want to see that show.
On the whole, we had a fun trip.
Already hungry, we started looking for food. They had a lot of food trucks and booths this year, maybe 8 to 10. I got a corn dog. My partner Doug got a pulled pork sandwich. Then we got mini-donuts with strawberry sauce for dessert. We ordered 6 and the tray came with 10 of them. :D Few things are as delightful as unexpected extra donuts! Also the strawberry sauce was particularly good.
Then we walked around the vendors. Some were outside, others inside. There were several ceramic artists, a bunch of jewelry makers, some folks selling clothes, and so on.
The first thing we bought was a ceramic grater from Simply Stoneware. It's a plate with a rim, and the flat part of the plate has a scaled pattern. Part of the rim also has herb-stripping holes. These are slab construction and the scales are stamped on with a special mold. Ours is mostly a brownish tone with a bright pale blue ring outside the scales. It came with a garlic-peeling sleeve and a brush to move the grated material off the scales so you can use it. This looks easier to use than punched-metal graters and a lot easier to clean. It works on a range of things including garlic, ginger root, and parmesan cheese. Simply Stoneware also offers other things like garlic keepers and platters. I love the quote on their website: "We believe that a home should be filled with beautiful, durable handmade objects that make everyday life a little easier." Agreed.
One booth had freeze-dried candy. Doug picked out a bag of Bit'o'Honey. I tried a few; it was much better than the previous batch of that I sampled -- better flavor and melting texture.
I bought a tie-dye T-shirt and matching socks from Tie Dye by the LB. He does a variety of patterns, some random, some mandala, but a lot of kaleidoscope designs that are quite different from what I usually see. Also, he puts designs on both front and back, whereas a lot of T-shirts are either dyed the same all the way through (most spirals or zippers) or only have the fancy design on the front (most mandalas). You can see a bunch of pictures on the website.
Soul Fire Arts was one of the metalworkers, doing some really cute upcycled figurines. He had an anglerfish made from little scraps welded together -- unmated, I've always kinda wanted to see one sculpted with the male stuck on somewhere.
Then there was the planetarium, which was an inflated dome with a projector inside. It was difficult to squeeze inside (imagine an airlock made from two giant vaginas, which was less fun than it sounds) and there were no real chairs inside, only a couple of ottomans. Some people just stretched out on the floor. I'm fairly sure the film was designed for a full-size dome rather than the small one, because it was really hard to see things and the rotational effects were dizzying more than cool. But there was a meteor shower effect that was really awesome. Still, if you spot an inflated planetarium ... think twice about how much you want to see that show.
On the whole, we had a fun trip.
