Centered

When people ask where Sanford is, I always say I live in the middle of the state.  Apparently, that's a completely accurate statement.  The exact center of NC is located in Lee County.  Who knew?

We spent some time Saturday at the Alston House, also known as The House in the Horseshoe, for their Christmas open house event.  It wasn't a large event, but we enjoy visiting historical sites and this one is close to home.  You hear so much about Civil War sites in North Carolina, I often forget that there were Revolutionary War battles fought here as well.  

We wandered around for a while and talked to some of the re-enacters and demonstrators.  Met Webb the Weaver, who is extremely passionate about weaving, and boy what a talker!  He did however give me the name of a man who makes looms should I decide I want to purchase one.  (Yes, I'm considering learning yet another fiber craft, as if I don't already have enough yarn.)

It was a gorgeous day to be outside in December.  There wasn't an actual battle re-enactment this weekend, but they did have a 1 pound cannon.  We spent some time talking to the man who owns it, well, Rob spent some time talking to him, I just took pictures and listened.  As you can see, it apparently takes quite a few people to shoot off a cannon.

On the way home, we stopped at the site of an abandoned building by the river that I've always wondered about.  There's a picnic area there, so we knew it was o.k. to stop, we just never had.  It's the former site of the Carbonton Dam and the location of the exact geographic center of NC mentioned above.  It also was an operational hydroelectric power plant until 2004.  It's hard to imagine that this building that looks like it has been abandoned forever was still producing power just 8  years ago.  

Other than our historical outing on Saturday, the rest of the weekend was a combination of relaxing and getting things done in preparation for Christmas.  I've done enough of my Christmas knitting that I'm confident I can finish the couple of small things left to do.  All the gifts have been bought except for picking up a couple of gift certificates.  I just need to pack up what needs to go to TX and get it shipped this week so it will get there on time.

Not doing a lot of the usual things for Christmas since we'll be traveling, but I did make some cheese biscuits today.  No live tree this year, but I bought a small fake one, and while it's a little pitiful looking sitting on the floor and only 4 feet tall, it makes me happy, and that's what it's all about.