Oh, crafty me!

No Afton Station today, and it's way too rainy (can you say "cats and dogs"?) to go out running around, so I made one quick trip to a craft store and came home to finish a long-postponed project. Some time ago I bought a cheap 6' long gray runner to be put in front of the door at the Station. Today I turned it into a road! Believe me, there was nothing complicated about this little project, and it required nothing but the ability to cut stencils. Since I've stenciled walls for years (and staircases and floor cloths and placemats), I know how to do it, and I have the proper stencil brushes and knives. So, the rug took about 45 minutes to create. I'm aware that the paint will wear off after about a month of people walking on it, but I can just redo it if I feel like it. It felt good to actually do something with my hands for a change. Here's the rug, drying on the kitchen floor.

I've been working with a current member of the OK Route 66 Association Board to have a monument erected at the foot of the 9-foot alignment on the Afton end. She's coming to Afton tomorrow to show me drawings of the proposed monument (provided by the company that will be making it). It's similar to those which our Association has put up in the past at a few other places along the Route. When she arrives, we'll go and pick the exact site for it. I've spoken to the county folks up there, and they've given their blessing. About half of the $5000 cost has already been pledged, and the Board is talking about procuring the other half by holding a "$66 for 66" campaign. More details about that later. I've felt for a long time that this historically significant portion of Route 66 needs to be marked, and since it's in Afton, just one mile from the Station, I feel it will do a lot to call attention to an otherwise somewhat dismal little town.