The Wood Guy and More Music

The good times continue here at Betty's with a visit to the Wood Guy and of course more music.  Betty also put together a trip to Cypress Bayou Casino for an evening of free food, drinks, entertainment and a bit of gambling.  A fun time was had by all especially me as I hit a nickle slot for $100.  Nanc had a big day last week when she received her first Social Security check.  Yes, Life is Good!!!!!

Betty is always working to make her little park nicer and this year she added a deck to increase the size of the outdoor seating area.  Everyone takes full advantage of it with jam sessions and just kicking back in the sun.

 

We have been to the Wood Guy, Gerald Judice, before (old post here) but we learn something new every time we visit.  Here is Gerald and his daughter, Lauren, who makes wooden pens, telling us about how he got into being a craftsman.

Gerald goes into the Atchafalaya Basin and retrieves old cypress stumps that are left from the logging that was done there in the late 1800's through 1927.  Many of these trees were over 1000 years old when they were cut.  He cuts the logs and then air dries it to use for the woodworking projects.  He makes benches, tables, swings and turns bowls.

This year we got to see him cutting some old logs into boards that he will use for future projects.  After cutting the boards he will stack them to dry for at least a year.  

His sawmill is old and requires a lot of man handling of the heavy logs.  He quickly turned this log into several boards.  This really is like taking a step back in time to when the Cajuns used all the natural resources available to survive.

Gerald cuts the thicker pieces of wood into blocks to use for making bowls.

It is amazing to watch him take one of those blocks and use the lathe to turn it into a beautiful bowl. 

Gerald is very proud of his work and rightfully so, as the finished products are beautiful.

On Saturday it was back to Touchet's for an afternoon of French Cajun music.  The weekly jams are to promote and preserve Cajun music and are a must see if you are in the area.

Here are Nanc and I at Touchet's with one of the famous people who have stayed at Betty's, Brenda Lee and her husband Rick.  Our Class of 07 mates Jim and Bobbie arrived this week for a month long stay.  Bottom are Celene and Jean Paul and one of Betty's RVers Gaetan who joined the jam to play and sing a couple of French tunes.

We had a special treat this week when Trent, right, joined his nephew Brett to play their Martin Accordions together.  This is the first time we have seen two squeezeboxes performing at the same time. 

And as you can see by Bobbie's wild applause they were fantastic.  Here is a short video so you can hear a bit of this great Cajun music.

On our first visit to Abbeville in 2008 we met Ollie, left, and we always make sure we get together every time we visit.  We saw her in Erath on Friday and were happy to see her at Touchet's with her friend Elda on Saturday.