Rice Festival Time

From "Three Men in a Boat" by Jerome K Jerome (a dry humor British book if you're looking for a fun read in the line of Wodehouse):

"'.... you get the grocery catalogue, George, and somebody give me a bit of pencil, and then I"ll make out a list.' That's Harris all over - so ready to take the burden of everything himself, and put it on the backs of other people."

Harvest time!

We are harvested as far as the eye can see. It was an extremely dusty year for everyone. You can see the smoky-looking dust plumes from combines for miles. 

Harrison and Phillip have been throwing the baseball. 

I took pictures through the bedroom windows...

Phoebe and Ainsley went out on the town in Jeff City the other night.

This large monarch was hanging around. He was gorgeous! 

Though I couldn't capture a picture with his wings open.

A trip we've been planning for a while ~ Harrison and his friend Silas and I heading down to Louisiana to see my parents. The traditional McDonald's breakfast after getting all the way through St. Louis.

My dad is so great ~ he gets everything ready and sets it all up for whatever adventure we plan.

Our first day, we went to Rutherford beach. It's funny ~ when we told people we went to the beach, just about all of them said, "What'd you do? Did you go crabbin'?" 

Nope. 

We went to the beach and sat on it. The boys jumped in the waves and dug around in the sand. Just beach. We watched a lot of people fishing though.

We picked up some boudin from that good shop close by the beach. I ate a whole piece and brought home another for Phoebe. It's too spicy for my parents these days, but Phoebe and I like it spicy.

Speaking of Cajun food, one of my goals in Louisiana is to get all the Cajun food I can while I'm there. I had the boudin, Crawfish étouffée (at the festival), Jambalaya (festival), Turtle sauce piquante (homemade from a friend), my mom's Taco Pie (not Cajun, but soooo good), and a fried fish taco salad. We were too busy to have time to cook alligator, but I brought some home to cook at some point. I have to say that my stomach suffered for it! But it was only three days.... I can handle a stomach ache for a few days to eat some good food.

Back to the beach.

The next day we went to Gator Chateau and the boys held the baby alligators.

Silas was surprised how soft they felt.

Then the Rice Festival. This was actually the reason we went in October this year. I miss the Rice Festival! I don't think I've been since I was a kid. 

It showered for about 15 minutes at one point, but we were under an awning. The shower seemed to cool things down.

The boys rode rides. Harrison probably rode more than he wanted to and Silas rode fewer than he wanted to. But hopefully they both had a little bit of fun.

A Zydeco band was playing (washboards and accordion), but the shower sent them scurrying and then they didn't come back. I was so sad! I love all the music they have going on at the Festival. 

The parades are so active down there! And people were saying this one wasn't as good as usual. It could be that the threat of rain sent some entrants away. There are usually more bands, and this year there were only two bands, and we only saw one of them stop and play. 

There are lots of floats with the queen and runners-up for the Rice Festival and lots of other festivals around the area. A few tractors (we have many more tractors in our Vandalia parades!). And lots of floats from other businesses. I have no idea how they do it, but some of these floats are three levels high! My dad said some of the floats are made from old buses that they cut up and put risers in. Anyway, all these people are towering above you as they pass by and they throw things down on your head! Lots of candy, but also moon pies, beads, and other toys and cups. It's dangerous! :-) But fun.

And the music. They have sophisticated sound systems on these floats. I noticed none of them played country music. They play Cajun music or some kind of dance music. And the crowd responds. Lots of dancing and cheering and shouting. 

Uncle Gerald took us out for lunch after church on Sunday since it was my dad's birthday. To me, Uncle Gerald and my mom look the most alike of all the seven kids ~ they look their dad.

I also got to see my cousin Misty at church and my cousin Dana at her mom's house when we went visiting. The three of us are probably the closest in age of the girl cousins on my mom's side. Dana has a neat charcuterie business called Lagniappe Boards and Misty works with her husband doing physical therapy work.

After lunch on Sunday. 

I took a picture of my mom's photo of her parents when they were either just married or dating. Momo was married at 16. Look how adult they look!

The boys sitting around in the rocking chairs the night before we left.

It was jam packed and we were tired, but it was a very good time.

It's about a 13 hour drive. We're home now. 😴

 

Lunatics at Large

I just started Middlemarch by George Eliot and this was a most excellent quote:

"Sane people did what their neighbors did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them."

Best be careful of veering from normal lest you be labeled a lunatic. 😅

I love when the sky has those sharp, bright clouds contrasting the deep blue.

Phillip worked on a finished driveway over the last few weeks. He had a load of gravel brought over and Harrison enjoyed running up it. 

By the way, if you want to have some motivation to start exercising, read Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. I shared a synopsis with Harrison, and he decided to do some cardio in the mornings before we started school (exercise just makes your brain work better, make better connections, remember longer).  So he runs in the mornings, and I feel it's definitely improved school time. 

That's the irrepressible Rochester sitting on the sidewalk. Crazy cat.

Phillip's been busy at work and busy after work, so he got on the driveway for half-hours at a time, in the morning, lunch break, whenever he could.....

..... because he wanted to finish in time for Mimi's siblings to come visit! 

Earl and Pat, Anita, Francie, and Roger were here last weekend, and it was just such a blessing to visit with them. We also met Seth's fiancee and saw Sara and her husband. They are full of fun!

Lanaya and Amos stopped at a bakery on their way to Augusta's wedding. Augusta is a friend of Liz's from Texas and it's so sweet that Liz could be there for it (I believe Liz made her cake and also her after-ceremony shawl).

And I love it so much that Jonathan is there with Lanaya and Amos. I love my kids spending time together! 

We saw Phoebe for lunch in Kingdom City (we had to pass some of her important papers off to her because she was starting a job).

Harrison preached again at the Farber Presbyterian Church.

Scott had some friends over to his farm to shoot skeet or skeet shoot or however you say it.

I haven't shot a gun since I was 16. And I'm not sure I'll do much more after giving it a try again. Maybe if I got over to a gun range to practice. I just can't justify the cost of bullets!

Anyway, Phillip hit a target or two. And it was fun to visit. Good times all around.

My good friend Shirley had her baby! Harrison and I were finally able to go visit. I'm so thankful for a healthy delivery and healthy baby. She is the most precious little thing....

Shirley lives not too far from Phoebe, so we of course set up to have dinner with Phoebe. We chose an Indian restaurant to try out and it was delicious. We got mild spice-wise, and it did not bother our stomaches that night. I would try a little bit spicier next time though. We just weren't sure what we were going to get.

Jonathan found maple leaves in his neighborhood.

This was fun.... 

Harrison and I went to the library in Center (which we go to maybe once a year), and as we were asking the librarian questions, I noticed my Charlotte Mason bio on the desk! They had just gotten it in. How fortuitous that I showed up at that moment! 

School has been fun times for me this year (Harrison might not share that sentiment; although he's doing so much better with math than he did last year). I tell ya, homeschooling just one child is a lot of fun. Less juggling of the brain.

 

Exciting Things Happening While We Hold Down the Fort

Firstly, my dad is living his best life at this very moment. 

He was invited to go as a helper to hunt gators at the Sabine Refuge (they've got to keep the population down). He and two other guys are camping out this week. I think they've gotten 37 alligators so far. He called today to tell me about it; he's going to get a gator or two to take home with him. So when I visit in October, I get alligator! (He forgot a cap, so he tied a shirt on his head ~ he will definitely burn without something on his head.) In the bottom picture, he's next to an alligator that's 9'9"!

Speaking of dads, Phillip's dad had a heart attack a few weeks ago. The doctor went in and put stents and he was out in a few days. Paul is back at it almost like nothing happened. 

Amos graduating from the residency program. 

He is now youth minister at the Kuna location of Eagle Christian Church. We're excited for you, Amos!

We have four little kittens under the house, and they will not come out for us. So sad.

This momma cat isn't as good as our original momma cat. Abigail would bring her kittens to us to get them used to us. And this momma, Hattie, doesn't do that. At least they still keep the mice at bay.

This was a wash stand that Paul remembers in his home from youth. He and Elayne had it in their home, and they gave it to us when they moved. That particular green didn't work in the room we have it in, so I stripped it down to the wood and repainted. There was a yellow color beneath Mimi's green and a blue in some parts of it beneath the yellow. It says Waters Furniture on the back of it, a famous store in town (sadly gone now). But some of the Waters family built this house that we currently live in, so kind of neat that a Waters' piece is back in a Waters' home.

Working on it on the back porch.

The finished product!

We tried to match the paint to the chair bottoms of the dining room set from Paul and Elayne. The seat bottom cloth is a dark green with a lighter pattern embroidered on it. So it can look like a very light green when light shines on it. But the piece of cloth I took to the paint store matched up perfectly with Mountain Moss (which I love! This color makes me happy). I wanted to get the dresser/stand done before school started because it holds some of our school supplies. 

Jonathan had friends over for his 21st birthday. They played Mafia.

Charcuterie for snacks and peach pie for his candles.

The very next day after Jon's party, we moved Phoebe down to her apartment in Linn, MO.

We girls had serious doubts about the boys fitting all of her stuff in the truck, but they really pulled it off.

The boys putting her stuff in her room.

I love this couch. It's so comfortable! 

But it was a beast to get out of the house. It may have involved taking the door off its hinges and a few chinks in the wall.

We had dinner at a pizza place and said goodbye to our girl. She and Ainsley are rooming together while Ainsley is going to State Tech. It is hard to let your kid go, but it's so nice that she's only an hour and a half away. I think we've seen her about every week since she moved.

The boys took off for a trip to Dayton, OH to visit the National Air Force Museum. They stopped in Vandalia, IL and Vandalia, OH to get pictures.

(Boys climbing trees in Jamestown, MO one preaching weekend.)

(Boys climbing trees in Jamestown, MO one preaching weekend.)

This is the CH-3E.

My dad's dad flew on this helicopter as a mechanic and then flight engineer in the Air Force. 

He was in Saigon, Korea, and was based in Thailand during Vietnam where they would do different missions including rescue missions.

Grandpa's helicopter.

The boys also saw the type of plane Grandpa died on, a C-133. 

Harrison in front of an F-15. 

They had a really good time.

Phoebe and I went to Hermann to see a group do Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. There were only 6 actors with lots of costume changes, which made it different and interesting. 

The boys built a box to hold Harrison's air-soft gun supplies.

And they made fruit gummies.

And Jon bugged his brother.

And Phoebe came over to say goodbye to Jonathan before he took off for residency in Boise.

We are so thankful he made it safely after 20 hours of driving.

And he is having dinner this very night with Lanaya and Amos in their new apartment!

For our anniversary, Phillip and I stayed in Hermann. We toured the oldest (?) house in Hermann and I snatched a picture of this blessing that hung in the kitchen. 

The English words of the Blessing.

After the Day's Toil and Burden 

and the World's Hardships

Man needs, for Rest and Repose,

a Place on Earth

Where, far from the Tumult of the World,

He can say: I am at Home.