Reformation Day Faire

Even though our Reformation Day celebration comes a week before the official anniversary this year, we celebrated with gusto again this year with over 400 participants.

I know this is last year's image, but the sign really hasn't changed, so the only difference might be the number of leaves on the ground.

One new feature this year was the temporary wall we built around the entrance to the church building. I think it would have been even better with sentries and archers behind the battlement. The knight with the cell phone in the doorway kinda spoils the effect in this shot. For that matter, this may be the only castle you'll see with handicapped parking so close to the door.

Charlie Zahm provided musical inspiration on Friday and Saturday. You can find Mr. Zahm in several videos on YouTube that demonstrate how powerful his voice is.

On to the Town Square on Saturday where the chessboards stayed busy with impromptu matches. Here, two generations of Degenharts take on the world. Rumor has it the elder Degenhart simply used the chess matches as a diversion while he stole his opponents' money bags from under the table.

Prince John, aka King Castle, demonstrates the time honored skill of candlemaking over a Coleman camping stove. John's costume was so impressive one naturally addressed him as "your majesty."

Not to be outdone, Princess Grace knights Sir Emil before the Battle of the Boffers. No, Sir Emil was not allowed to use that sword during the boffer war, and yes, he does have an earbud and microphone on his left ear (presumably so his comrades can warn him of a surprise attack behind him).

The checkerboards were just as busy as the chessboards as the young men sought to sharpen each other's critical thinking skills.

Never one to miss an opportunity to pick up some pocket change playing for tips, our lonely piper was back again this year. Unfortunately he was unable to bring the junior corps along, contrary to my expectations.

Karen appears to be delighted about something as she readys herself for her next customer at her wheat weaving booth.

Lily and I trying to stay in our "happy places" while we thread needles and tie knots at Bag End, our felt bag making booth.

Princess Elisabeth showing me her best courtesy. One is humbled to receive such an honor.

Gretel reluctantly modeling her new gown that Lily created for her. I say "reluctantly" because there were at least three people in the sanctuary that may have been watching while we took this photo. Sometimes a dad just has to be firm.

I'll close with this image of Sir David and Lady Annette from the kingdom of Bull Valley.

My photos are not representative of the entire celebration as we had several lectures by Douglas Bond, Marcus Serven, and James McDonald that composed the real meat of the weekend. You can purchase audio of the weekend at Resounding Voice, and watch videos on YouTube courtesy of Douglas Bond and others.

Ancestors of mine?

Someone commented the other day that I look like one of the Smith Brothers of Cough Drop fame. A Google image search confirmed that the Smith Brothers have excellent taste in facial hair.

I've also been compared to Sam Elliott, but I haven't found a picture of him with a beard, only a bushy mustache. Soon, my bushiness will have served its purpose, and my face will take on a new form....

Construction update #34

The weather forecast indicated that today may be the last good day for outside work for awhile, so I took the afternoon off work and crossed a few projects off my list. One project that didn't get finished, but saw some progress today, was the trim on the barn.

We're adding white cement board trim around the doors and windows and on the outside corners. Even though all the trim is not finished, everything visible from this angle is complete (minus caulk in nail holes and joints). The car doors are almost ready for judging, but not quite. Stay tuned, as I'll need everyone's help in making the door decision in the near future. Thanks for visiting!

Stubble in the backyard, week 1

October 18

Even though the stalks looked pretty dry before harvest, you can see a faint tinge of green in what remains of this one. It should be exciting to see how the stalk stubble of this plant decomposes over the next seven months! Thanks for visiting!

Trip to England - Part 11

Our last day in England started off with Mom and me walking over to the rest of the group's B&B to wait for the private coach. Thankfully, this time the trip was downhill. ;-) After loading up the bags and saying goodbye to those staying on, we enjoyed a beautiful drive through Wiltshire (I have decided that Wiltshire is the loveliest county) to Lacock Village. Lacock is a village dating from the 13th c. and absolutely filled with adorable old houses! It has also served as a set for many movies including "Pride and Prejudice", "Emma", and "Cranford" and it's no wonder why! The whole village is so quaint and picturesque, it seems too perfect to be a real village. We were able to spend the entire morning there, and found plenty to keep the camera busy! I will refrain from commenting on each one as I think you'd get tired of hearing endless "cute"s, "adorable"s, and "charming"s! ;-)

The main street and the first glimpse of Highbury, er, I mean Lacock...

This cat looked almost exactly like our cat Bingley! Yes, this does officially make us weird cat people...

By far the most charming telephone booth we saw in England!

Is this the cutest store ever, or what?!?

Yet another street brimming with old houses!

*sigh* I want a doorway like that....

Even the gate to the church was charming...

This hilariously photogenic cat saw us get out our camera to take a picture of the building, and immediately went into the pose you see. Once Mom took the picture, he got down! I have a feeling that he's a little too used to getting his picture taken.... ;-)

The Village Hall- I want a village hall like that!!

The letter hole on this door (and all the others in the village) is very reminiscent of Cranford....

Our lunch spot: The Stables Tea Room

Look! It's a stile, just like in "Persuasion"!! :-)

While we were wandering around, a fellow tourist came up and asked me, "Why are you wearing that?". Ummm, because that's what I put on this morning? I can only guess she thought I was dressed in historical clothing!

The flowers matched my dress perfectly!

We like to call this "Bird in Flight"

We call this one "Charming Country Village Sans Giant Manic Birds"

Pity that parking is allowed! I'm sure the residents would beg to differ, though....

After tearing ourselves away, we got back in the coach, drove back to the airport, and boarded our planes. After the day that wouldn't end (literally! Our day was 30 hours long, and I was awake for at least 22), we arrived back in reality...

Sadly, I'm afraid that this is the end. I hope you enjoyed reading about it, I will say that I'm kind of sad to be done; that means that we really aren't there anymore! :-( As Mom half-jokingly described our time since we came back, "Three weeks very dull indeed". ;-) On a positive note, these posts have drawn the biggest crowds in the history of our blog! As I told Dad, that means we have to go back....