Hotel

she was beautiful in her prime ,but the drilling and the mining stopped and there was no one to love her .

River view

Neglect

 It once was a town of beauty . Nice hotels overlooking the river and snazzy restaurants with live music and beautiful patrons .This town was built on oil . Coal mining had a foot in this town as well . The biggest employer was a pottery company that made toilets and other sturdy ceramics . All that digging kind of dried up for a while . The while is over , oil and coal are coming back and they are drilling and digging deeper . This is one of the bridges we drove over .

sideshow diva

My life just got what I call busy .I am not ashamed to admit I like to do one thing at a time and be thoughtful .However last week I had the opportunity to be the side show barker , I don't know if that is the correct term . I was filling in for Gene . This activity added almost 3 hours a day of talking !   Anyone who really knows me , knows I love a good chit chat .I like to talk and I like to listen, I love peoples stories . So this bit of extra came up pretty quick and my thoughtful blogging writing time got taken away and we were in the Amish mountains of Ohio , which is AT & T Internet free .
As I ramble on I will add Ohio is beautiful state , we have many lovely friends . It makes the journey from town to town so nice when you know you will see Dick K and Forrest T and many more .. Big O little o has the most picturesque , very storybook towns..slices of Americana .
In one town we met this firecracker named Mary Pollock .She is a collector of Merry go Round Organs and anything musical



We made a new friend named Kerri , she is a friend of the circus and a lover of elephants .A very welcoming person ,she brought us fresh tea cookies and we bought her hardly used wii !! I have a happy teen !
Steve has a new duck , he is now a two duck family.. Her name is Polly and she is adventure-ish .She tried to nibble my red toenails
Steve and Shelby ..
 

bridges and dogs and daily things

Today John Moss made us a bridge so we could get to the tent and not be knee deep in chiggers and mushy , actually the show uses these pieces of wood  for any kind of ground that could be unfriendly


We have the cutest dogs and they entertain us endlessly


Www.ctownpizzaco.com

Yesterday was a very special day . JRN2 and Katherine arrived and the whole show was treated to pizza ! If you are lucky enough to go to the Charlestown pizza company , I recommend the mashed potato and bacon pizza , words can not describe its loveliness !!!

This morning we had to be at the town du jour by 6.45 . I am very thrilled to be doing laundry before tent raising . Fresia is sickish . We are on asphalt because it might rain .

Sad and broken alternator pulley thing part

the next few iPhone photos are mostly of Black Beauty as she undergoes some kind of injury..I need to quit thinking ,talking and documenting the episodes of doom surrounding this pretty but high maintenance truck ..

Sorry state of affairs

dead belts

Naked

guts of our truck without belts

Costume fitting

The Statue of Liberty llama has a lot of costumes and is always having fittings. This is a masterpiece of Carolyn's .Top secret ingredients..

the nerve

some mechanic took a short cut and cut the round thing that houses our clutch fan.. I am taking names

highs and lows

Another day, another drive..we arrived in the town and when I walked in the trailer I could smell the melted plastic and brake in the truck..It was that strong of a smell .Really ? Are you serious ? It was Fresia's birthday ! There was shopping , many things to prepare and hoping the weather would be kind because Fresia's lovely friends and I were throwing her a surprise party !! First things first I did my tent raising tour and a radio talking thing because "the platinum voice of the circus , John Moss " was broke down !! fuel injectors gone rogue in the old shop truck !! I did very great radio , I will admit ..
Next stop off to Ford !! I am sad and cry about this . How the f___ are we supposed to live and work and save if money we don't even have has to pay for these things ? You know why people turn to crime and do desperate things  ? They do this because they are at the end  of their rope . I am just going to seriously commit to playing the lottery because that is the only solution . However , on the bright ( and I use this word comically ) side .My truck has a class action lawsuit against it ,the 6.0 liter truck is in trouble !! I might get $12.00 .I am going to do my own lawsuit . We are sort of victims in this world of big oil . If I tried to sell a product that was this crappy I would end up in jail ,but Ford just makes a profit..
On the extremely bright and shiny side of our  day was Fresia's surprise party !! it was her people and a great fun messy time was had by all !!! Thank you everyone !! especially the "clique" !!
She had a very wonderful time , was very happy and said it was a great birthday party . At the end of the day when your child and or loved ones are very happy  isn't that all that really matters ?
 lovely ladies
 happiness
 guys
 grown ups
 cake love
confetti love

frozen jello ,windmills and what life throws at you as we begin the 86th day of shows , 56th town and show 187 ish

It seems like it has been a really long time of crummy internet , allergies , mud and distractions . We are a 2 computer , 2 iphone ,1 phone phone  family and Fresia uses the "good " computer for school .. I am not an iphone blogger..well not usually..so here I sit 30 minutes of thoughtful time.
Tomorrow is Fresia's birthday..She is such a teen , she thinks her parents know nothing about current cool trends,  and she is ready for a zombie invasion!! She is into working out and running and has discovered or perhaps invented drinking water and sit ups ..she "found" the same workout apps that I have been using for 2 years and ..she invented that too. She describes herself as a hipster and is quite proud of her dad the hipster . I have been instructed when I shop for her to tell the sales associates my daughter is a size oo or a 1 and she is a hipster..Some days I am a mom and she needs me to do real mom things...I was a teen once..being a teenager is a very intense time.

Yesterday the cook made jello for desert and I froze mine !! looks so pretty tastes so boring..the great part about jello is the texture .

Today we drove 77 miles , mostly highway , I had good radio and it went by fast .When I arrived I spied windmills . I remember many moons ago trying to get adults interested in mass windmills for a power source . They blew me off . I was a teen . Teens do have some great ideas !

Last weekend we were in a lovely Amish town , Fresia and I walked to town early in the morning before I did tent raising .We found a cozy restaurant and had a tasty breakfast .The best part of a walk with your kid is sharing the sights .This town had sweet gardens and the sidewalks and yards were littered with beautiful petals . The circus was parked on asphault because of the mud ,shocking !! We were in the front yard next to the cookhouse and had a pretty view . For some crazy reason I work bionic when it is cold and rainy and if there is mud..there is no stopping me

show me a kindness

Every once in a while life takes over and sitting at my computer writing about things seems indulgent .We are doing circus in the flooded Illinois and Missouri plains . Some times lots are under water or so muddy that  it is impossible to show on them . You see we work for 38 weeks , about 210 different towns , 245 days of shows and 508 shows . It isn't like we play 10 or even 15 towns for extended periods , we travel and show all over the country . We are self sufficient , we are not " non-profit " , there are no huge corporate donors or underwriters . We are traditional circus earning our way with ticket and popcorn sales . Back to the mud and finding alternative grounds or making alternative circus .I lost track of the challenges of the week..the highlights were performing in the open air ,one day we parked on a hill/road and all walked and walked to the tent .Not getting stuck is always nice . We have had to use wreckers to move the big big rigs (cha ching $$ ouch ) ...When life is perfect after a slight hardship we relish in "normal". We showed every day and didn't miss .I have been taking snapshots of some backstage camaraderie as the days roll into each other ..We are lucky little ducks that we  get to live our  lives in this Americana Fellini-esque magical existence.
 the green mile

 web sweeties
 Fresia and Uncle Sam
 waiting for one's cue
 Carolyn and the gang , 4 dogs, 2 llamas and 2 goats
 some of the rest of the gang
working on the enchanting
dentist ,teeth and Ike the dog..