The MacLoose's Saturday Morning

Got Haggis?That was just one of the clever t-shirts we saw last Saturday at the Utah Scottish Festival & Highland Games. This event occurs but once a year at Thanksgiving Point and for some reason my daughters are in love with the Scottish culture so they have always attended with some of their Scot-crazed friends. This year Brittany gave us some passes so the Master and I decided to go see what all of the fuss was about. We soon found out, there is plenty of fun to be had!
To begin with, the clans all gather.

 

There is the sound of bagpipes everywhere,

 women in kilts, kids in kilts, babies in kilts, and men in kilts!

 These two men obviously did not take P.E. from Miss Jean Spray at Kino Jr. High School in Mesa, AZ. She taught us ladies how to bend over in a skirt!

 (I have it on good authority that one can get her eyes burned looking a men in wind blown kilts!)

The first item of business was attending the Wicked Tinkers concert

under the big tent. Rachel was positively giddy! She has seen them every year since high school and in like, a Wicked Tinkers manic fan!

That one in the middle? That's C.J., one of the drummers. After watching him for just a few minutes I could tell why all of the girls love this group so, so much. Ahem...sleeveless t-shirt showing off hunky arms. Cute faux-hawk, tight-waisted kilt.

Here they are beating out a rollicking tune on ancient drums and bagpipes. See that tall thing on the left that looks like a branch? That's a didgeridoo. The bass, tribal rumbling that came out of the thing was amazing! Poor C.J. got a bit dizzy afterward. Our altitude gets him every time, he said.

It was so much fun! There was lots of clapping in time and folks in the crowd spontaneously dancing a Highland Fling or two!

This one's for Aubrey, Sarah S., & Rachel!

Heard later in Vendor Alley:

"Mom, this is a real Master Sword. Mom, this is the sword Legolas uses in the Fellowship of the Ring. Ooo! I want one of these! William Wallace had one like this."  Where did this girl of mine come from? Funny thing is, The Master knew them all too!

It is a well known fact that the Master has a humongous head. There wasn't a Tam that fit him! He was able to wear his Scotland shirt that Sarah brought back to him after her visit there.

I am not sure how P.E.T.A. and the Scots would mix...just sayin'. Mr. fox had a happy life in the Highlands until one day....

There was also a booth where the little guys could put on their armor and try to slay the giant! It was so fun to watch these kids take it so seriously!

 

I think a big part of being Scottish is trying to be scary!

Hey! Who copied my husbands tosro here?!

They are also pretty funny! We saw a lot of "Certified Kilt Inspector" shirts too!

There was a booth where you could look up any surname and find the official Coat of Arms.

This is one of several I have seen in my life for my maiden name of Ellsworth.

While I am not sure that I have any Scottish blood in me (purely Norman and English), the Loose's have some Perkins in their blood AND they are related to Long Shanks who I think was the bad guy in the movie Braveheart. Yikes! 

That makes it official. We can attend the festival next year in kilts!

Thankful

I have been very sick. The doctor thinks I have bronchitis and we caught it early. I have spent the last week feeling guilty for not taking care of Thanksgiving like I always do. Yesterday I slept in and showered before I came downstairs. I had hoped that the warm water would wake me up and I would be miraculously cured. Not so. It was around 10:00 in the morning when I finally made it to the kitchen. The turkey was still in the sink thawing out. there were no pies made. The rolls had not been started (this alone would have sent my mother into a downward spiral of panic!). I printed out this free Thanksgiving banner a few weeks ago to hang up for our holiday decor. I never got around to hanging it.  I didn't see all of the things that weren't done though, I saw this...


My sweet family had hung my banner for me! The kitchen was spotless, as was the family room. It took me back a moment and warmed my soul. I am so very blessed!

Dinner was wonderful. It happened at 5:00, much later than usual. I slept most of the day but when I was awake I was so grateful for my family. I admit I shed a few tears yesterday. They were selfish tears because I missed Nick, Diana, Sarah, and little Lucas. It was quiet and kind of lonely at our table but we will see them all very soon. Christmas is just around the corner! (Now I am starting to panic!) To Dee, Britt, Rachel, and Richard...Thank you from my heart! I love you all!

Busy, Busy!

So, I have been missing in action lately. I have been keeping up with all of you and your blogs but to actually sit down and have time to write anything of my own has been a challenge. I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive and have been very busy doing this...

The Farmer's Market at Thanksgiving Point is why I have been sewing like a crazy woman. It's been a busy, complicated summer and I don't feel as prepared as usual. My inventory is low but my little sewing machine is working her heart out. Last week's market was fun and successful. I hope to do about the same today. If I sell as much this week as last I may have to take a week off just to build up the supply again! Not such a bad this though, is it?

Fire and Fireworks: Part II

July 4, 2012 was a bright, hot beautiful day. Even with the fire that had raced up the mountainside the day before, there was no smoke in the valley. The poor residents of Heber City and Park City had to deal with it as the winds took it east.

We continued a new family tradition, packed up a picnic dinner, and headed for Electric Park and Thanksgiving Point. The fireworks are free and it is just a lovely afternoon and evening in the park reading, napping, visiting, card playing, and people watching. Dee's parents, Bob & Felicia were with us this year. They were excited to see the fireworks show that Brittany had helped plan and put together. We were the lucky first riders of the "Grain Train" too!

Steven & Emily waving "Hi!'.

Papa taking advantage of the tight seating!

Me and the Cutest Coach at BYU enjoying the ride!

There was picnicking and lounging...

 

 

...and lots of card playing!

Don't ask why these otherwise normal people are putting cards on their foreheads. It's a family thing!

While there was a glorious sunset in the west...

Most of us were looking east as the fire flared up again. It did its best to steal the show as the night got darker. Orange flames ran up a few of the ridges but my cell phone does not do night photos.

In the end, the show was glorious & Britt's soundtrack was inspiring.

I am grateful for men and women who have endured a different kind of fireworks to give us the precious freedoms we enjoy.

 GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Time Travel Tuesdays~Eat Like a Pilgrim!

Today we travel back in time to last night. Lame? No! Pretend it is the year 1621 and you are attending the first Thanksgiving feast in Plymouth Colony. That's what we did last night! We were time travelers in the Show Barn at Thanksgiving Point as we attended "Eat Like a Pilgrim".

We entered the hall at 6:00 p.m. and saw this lovely sight, tables all set with real pewter plates, mugs, and goblets. "Pilgrims" escorted us to our seats and then invited us to walk about and see all that was there.

The Master met a nice Pilgrim lady who is actually a teacher with the Alpine School District and a historian as well. They had much to talk about as you can well imagine! She invited him to travel to Plymouth and Jamestown with her group in 2 years. (Not unless I get to go too!)

There were Pilgrim games to play and exhibits of artifacts to see.

Soon the dinner bell was rung and we all gathered. (The pilgrim boys here were having way too much fun!)

The men were instructed to wear their large muslin napkins in the proper way.

Men were considered more "active" eaters and therefore had to drape themselves, messy guys!

We were served a lovely salad of greens, cheat bread (basically sour dough), roasted turkey & pork, corn pudding, and stewed pumpkins and squash. I liked it all! We had only a knife and large spoon because that is what the Pilgrims ate with. Governor Brewster reminded us all that the Good Lord gave us all "10 good fingers with which to eat". Most of us could not bring ourselves to eat our meat with our fingers, and minus a fork we all got creative! Using the knife for the meat was fine as Richard demonstrates, but eating salad greens with a spoon was a challenge.

Our final course was dessert! We were served a yummy berry cobbler.

There was no whipped cream. Pilgrims thought cow's milk was unclean and preferred goat milk.

 Some Moms might like a set of these in the backyard!

 This is sweet Jupiter, the goat Brittany loves!

 The lady in charge of the evening looking a bit harried. Kami can relate, we are sure!

As the dinner progressed we were roused form our seats for a tug of war between the English and the Natives. Nick helped the Englishmen take down Squanto's team! There was dancing. The Master and I were the head couple in our group. Whew! What a great what to burn off that cheat bread and cobbler!

There were also many Pilgrims placed into the stocks for various violations.

One poor man had a wife he could not control. She had things upon her legs that only a man should wear and her head was not properly covered. Shame! I do like the fact that HE got the punishment!

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I Wish I Had Some Minions

If I had my own minions today I would not be so tired. They could do all of the running around, house cleaning, etc...that I have been doing to get ready for my carpal tunnel surgery tomorrow. Instead, I have been on my own and I am running out of energy fast! It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't been awake, I mean WIDE awake, since 2:30 this morning.

On the bright side, my sister Gena and my mother are zooming their way here from Denver today to help me out tomorrow and through the weekend. Mom will stay on for a few weeks. I am looking forward to some quiet days relaxing with my Mommy while everyone else is out of the house for the day!

So...I do have one minion. It is probably because I spend my evenings crocheting things like him that I am having this surgery tomorrow, but I just can't stop! Isn't he cute?! He is a special order for the sweetest little boy who comes to my booth at the Farmer's Market every time I am there. He is my biggest fan. I am glad I finished his minion before my hand is out of commission for a few weeks.

Oh! See that little link button on my blog, just to the left of Mr. Minion? That's what else I have been working on. There are no prices up yet as I will not be able to sew anything for awhile. I'll let you know when I am up and running. Check it out and tell me what you think!

I'll be keeping up with all of you...just not typing anything for awhile! See you soon!