Hello Everyone,

Another two weeks of God's grace has gone by. Please stop to count your blessings.

But don't count the photos.

Please.

2011 Farm Show

Notice a theme?

The John Deere skirts are interviewed by the Lancaster Farming.

When all the John Deere talk (and all the coats) started to get to Mr. Raine, he threatened to go buy a Case IH shirt.

So we steered in the direction of the John Deere display...

...which was conveniently close to the Turkey Hill stand.

A fellow ice cream and John Deere fan.

Mr. Raine, won't you please help the poor girl solve her Rubik's Cube.

(Mr. Raine was once a four-state Rubik's Cube champion.)

Opening Ceremonies of the Farm Show

(The opening prayer was asked in the name of Jesus Christ - an unexpected blessing.)

Rodeo begins.

Woah! That'll be hard to beat.

The next rider lowers her visor - well, okay, maybe not.

But a helmet might not be a bad idea.

Helmet or no helmet, that's one chivalrous cowboy.

No, it's not a gingerbread house. Well, it is but - I mean - it's more: it's a gingerbread mansion!

Some Random Stuff

I was going through some files from earlier this year. I found this Margaret O'Brien style photo of Mercy.

Also, I found that the posting of Mom's birthday photo had been delayed. I must have figured I'd give her two extra months of being 42.

Phares is still ruminating on books by the way.

That's it for today: the cap hasn't been off the lens much lately.

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God Bless.

Carmen

P.S. How many came up with eighteen?

Bonjour Everyone,

If I were in the habit of titling my posts, this one would be... "Of Foods and Fashions"

Sophisticated fare such as freshly brewed tea and gourmet cheese with a little custom-made crocheting thrown in - that's the order of the day.

I found, when preparing this post, that I don't appreciate these delicacies enough. Tea was described lovingly by one author as "liquid wisdom," while reviewers raved over the "wet earth aroma" of Vacherin Fribourgeois. Leave it to the Brits and the Swiss to come up with this stuff! (And leave it to me to make fun of it.) Here we go.

A Tea-Party

Hosted by our dear grandmother...

...and attended by her eager granddaughters.

(We got to use the front door! And the doorbell!)

I defy C.S. Lewis's opinion that "Tea should be taken in solitude," and suggest that there are few better people to drink it with than my grandmother and cousins.

(Of course, his grandmother and cousins may not have been so nice.)

Adria elegantly nibbles a cookie...

...while Alicia indecorously analyzes her tea dregs.

The cultured indication that no more tea is required.

But we're not done with those pizza bites. No sirree!

(That's our vulgar American taste for you.)

To Grandpa go the leftovers.

"A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards." -A.A. Milne

If memories are the measure of a proper tea, then this one takes the tea-cake.

On to Cheese

"Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese." -G.K. Chesterton

All right, Mr. Chesterton, I'll give it a try.

There once was a man, Gary Martin,
Who tried a new cheese on his kin.
Twasn't new; it was old,
To the point of being bold,
And smelled of dead animal skin.

"Now smell it," he said, "and I'll tell you
All about it after you're through."
Twasn't nice I'll just say.
(For that people pay?)
In the future no more, no thank you!

It appeared to give Mom a headache.

Faith appeared to fear a stomach ache.

And to eat or not to eat was the question we all had to face.

We tried it for novelty's sake (and for Dad's).

Vacherin Fribourgeois

(known less reverently around here as the "stinky cheese")

Got to give Dad credit: he usually has good taste in the cheeses he brings home. Here we're looking at Brie - good stuff!

But to me the ultimate cheese is something like this homemade cheese ball.

We'll wrap up this cheesy series with the indisputably healthy carrot. Now there's a subject worthy of a ballad or two. Okay, okay, not now.

You'll be Hooked

Disclaimer: The following set of photos is neither an advertisement nor a portrait gallery.

What is it then?

Good question.

Kristen came over one snowy day. We didn't plan the snow even though it was ideal for trying on Kristen's cozy crocheted commodities (tongue twister isn't it?) and taking photos of them for her Etsy store.

The Little-Green-Riding-Hood look.

The save-me-I-beseech-you! look.

Button up for winter in this wool neckwarmer...

...or just be inspired to get out your own hook.

With this photo we turn our backs on this advertisement masquerading as a portrait gallery. Or wait, was it a portrait gallery in the guise of an advertisement?

Whichever it was, my sister made a beautiful subject and model.

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Wishing you a wonderful fortnight with many refined moments.

Okay, let's make that a little more American: Have a good one!

God Bless.
Carmen