This weekend, we ventured across the lake (Lake Pontchartrain, that is) to go to the Three Rivers Art Festival in Covington, Louisiana. Southern Mom and her two little ones joined us, as did the eponymous Pontchartrain Pete! Driving over was quite peaceful–SM’s kids watched a movie while Sun napped. As a sign of a long friendship to come, Sun and Amber held hands for the whole 40+ minute drive:

The festival did not disappoint. There were many artists and a nice area for the children to roll up their sleeves and show their artistic side. Most exciting to me, Trish Ransom was displaying at the festival. Her business is called debris, and her inspiration comes from found items–bottle tops, driftwood, nails, springs, roof tiles, leather straps from old watches. . . . She is truly finding treasures in what others would consider trash. Here’s a turtle I could not resist:

And here’s an armadillo we bought from her pre-Katrina:

What’s especially nice about this piece is that the top, right nail swings open. So you need to be sure to keep the “gate” closed lest the little fella gets away!

My only angst about the day is that I bought for myself only and did not find anything that grabbed me for the folks still on my Christmas list. And this was the perfect place to find handmade gifts. Guess I’ll be at the next art market scheduled soon in the NOLA area.