Who knew a rooster could be so friendly...

Petting the miniature horse.

Last weekend, my daughters and and I enjoyed the Sheep to Shawl event at the Atlanta History Center. During a prior visit to the museum, one of the docents convinced me that it would be a great event for the family but I had no idea what to REALLY expect. I had no idea how hands-on the event would truly be. I really enjoyed myself! Makenzie took a few of the items that she made to school to show her classmates. The event is only once a year, so mark your calendars for next time.

She didn't want to just pet the rooster she wanted to hold it!

 

 

Since we are members, we had the opportunity to preview the petting zoo earlier than others, which was cool. As we walked through the petting zoo, in my mind I had already guessed which animals both of my girls would be excited about independently based on their personalities. For Payton, I knew she would enjoy the miniature pony and the rooster. Makenzie is a big fan of rabbits and cows, that is exactly where she spent most of her time. Mak would love a pet rabbit but our dog, Coco Chanel, is too territorial for another pet to come into our home. After all we have had Coco for almost 9 years and I can respect that.

The wool was very smelly!

After enjoying the petting zoo, we moved on the main event... the sheep shearing. The whole purpose of the exhibition is to learn how about all the steps involved from cultivating the wool from the sheep and the by-products of the wool on a plantation. So we gather around the barn to watch the shearing of the wool from the sheep. I have a new respect for my wool clothing items. The process is very labor intensive. The farmer sheared the sheep then he passed out the wool to the children in the audience. At this point, we took the wool to washing and carding station where we met women dressed in clothing from the 1890's. Remainder: the wool is fresh off the back of a live sheep. Translation: this stuff is smelly! There were several basins to wash, rinse and card the wool.

Payton carding the wool.

Carding the wool involves two large brushes that we used to soften the wool and remove any matting and twigs. Then from there the wool is spun using a spindle. We didn't actually do the spinning but the was a demonstation of how it is done. The final fibers can either be dyed to whatever color and then used by the lady of the house to create a shawl, towels or blankets.


 

One candle after 9 dunks in wax and water.

The girls also had an opportunity to enjoy making pottery and candles. Let me talk a little about the whole candle making process.... So considering that there wasn't electricity during this time, plantation families had to make their own candles using animal fat. The docent tells the crowd before we make our own candles that the family would make all the candles that they needed for the YEAR in ONE day! That figures roughly includes 400 candles so that is just about 1 candle or so per day. Here is the punchline, to create one candle, the wick has to dipped in the wax and water 400 times. Huh?! My girls only dunked their candles in the wax and then water a total of 9 times and they were worked up because the candles was as thin as PJ's pinky finger. Thank you Edison and I won't complain about the GA Power rate hike again.

All things GA or bust!

Recently, we were sitting around talking about our weekend plans and I realized there are so many places that we haven't been to in Georgia considering how long we have lived here. We have been married 9 years (that is another blog post for another day) this August but we have been here longer if you include college. So we decided that we would theme our excursions as "All things GA." This essentially means we are going to use our weekends and other miscellaneous down time to enjoy everything that Georgia has to offer. We have seen majority of the "mainstream" attractions here in Atlanta but not very many attractions off the well-worn tourist path. It is actually a bit pitiful that we have not been more places that speak on the rich history of GA. I can't count the number of weekends that we have complained that we had nothing to do! I can spend a whole afternoon talking about other states and countries that I want to visit but I haven't even played in my own backyard yet. What a shame?

So in order to get prepared I had to acquire a map (of course!) that included all historical landmarks and State Park and I printed a list of museums and other attractions. We made this pledge on New Year's Day and so far we have visited the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum, Callaway Gardens, Atlanta History Museum during to the last 3 weekends. Let me just say, I have been pleasantly surprised (to say the least) at each place that we visited. Next on our list will be Sweetwater Creek, Panola Mountain, Etowah Indian Mounds, Red Top Mountain, Amicalola Falls and Tellus Museum. That list should keep us busy for the next 6 weeks. I need weather contingency plan for the outdoor activities just in case we get rain, which is not a surprise here in Georgia.

Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum

So this past weekend, I wanted to go somewhere new. We researched some ideas and decided to go to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. I have lived in Atlanta since 1997 and I have never been to the Jimmy Carter Museum. I have really been missing out on a jewel because the place is beautiful. The design and layout are impeccable. There are picnic benches outside of the building surrounding a small lake and wonderful gardens. I plan to experience that fully once the weather warms up.
First off, children 12 and under are free and adults are $8. After paying a nominal admission price, you are encouraged to enjoy a short 15-minute documentary covering the life of former President Jimmy Carter, which was very insightful. Upon leaving the auditorium, we moved into the museum portion that charted Jimmy Carter's life chronologically from birth, to his time in the Navy and all the way to the White House and beyond. The best part of the whole exhibit, outside of the breath-taking rotunda, was the Oval Office replica. As an added perk to Carter's biographical exhibit, we had an opportunity to enjoy a small temporary exhibit on the research and life of Dr. George Washington Carver. This was a real treat for Makenzie because she just learned about him at school.
With all that being said, I highly recommend the visiting the museum, it definitely exceeded my expectations and I am a little upset that I hadn't visited sooner. So, what are you waiting for? Go find out for yourself...