This darn blog site is driving me crazy! I've been trying to post for a
couple of weeks but have had zero luck. Seems they redid/updated/messed
with the site to make it more user friendly, and instead it blocked me
from posting. Aaaaaargh....So now, with the aide and assistance of my
best friend, I'm back online. I email her the blog and she posts it.

I live in Farmington Hills, Michigan, a good sized little city outside
of Detroit. A couple of weeks ago was our big summer celebration,
Founders Festival. The yearly summer festival originally was meant to
celebrate the heritage of the city--it was founded by Quakers--but
nowadays it's pretty much an opportunity for the local merchants to have
sidewalk sales, and to have a carnival-type atmosphere in the downtown
area. It may be missing it's initial intent, but it's still lots of fun.

I went on Thursday, the first day, and walked all over checking out the
crafter tables. I ended up purchasing a great looking purse made by a
young Hmong woman. The purse has reverse applique on the front in a
traditional Hmong pattern.

(Brief history lesson: The Hmong are an ancient people with origins in
Southern China. Thousands of years ago, when the Huns invaded China from
the north, there was much bloody strife and the Hmong began a southward
migration. In the 18th century, thousands of Hmong families made
historical travels down the rivers of southeast Asia and settled in the
mountainous regions of northern Laos, living as self-sufficient farmers
in remote setlements. During and after the Vietnam war, the Hmong people
had to flee again. Many migrated to the U.S.)

The Founders Festival is always noted for excellent entertainment. On
one of the evenings, the Sun Messengers performed at the downtown
bandshell. They were so good! http://www.sunmessengers.com/ They
are an eight piece showband and are, in fact, the house band for
the Detroit Pistons at the Palace. Their music had the crowd on their
feet, clapping and singing along. They played everything from jazz to
old Motown. It was the Motown that got me dancing! I ended up in
front of the stage, along with half a dozen other young women,
dancing our feet off. The band dubbed us the Farmington Fly Girls (smile).

On Saturday, the last day of the Festival, my plan had been to go to the
parade but I overslept. Darn it. The parade is one of my all-time
favorite things. I love the Shriners in those midget cars racing around!

I had tickets to the raffle party at the American Legion Hall that
evening, and I made it to that. What it is is a party where they draw
the winning Farmington Founders Festival raffle tickets. They sell 100
raffle tickets for $100 apiece. First prize is your choice of $30,000
cash OR a new Corvette OR a new GTO OR a pair of Harley motorcycles. The
other 9 prizes are cash, ranging from $250 to $1,000. Keeping to
tradition, I didn't win anything (smile). But I got a free hotdog, a bag
of chips, and a bottle of water, and a pretty fun time.

Wish you could have been there with me.

hugs--Tawny
http://www.tawnyford.com