~ THE APPLE WORKS ORCHARD ~

 Hi y’all … I’m finally back after a very long weekend!  First, thank you all for your sweet comments, and also prayers for Ian, and me!  I just spoke to him tonight, and I asked him how he was doing…he said, “okay, I guess.”   ”I guess”, meant that he is still in pain. The doctor has given him exercises to do to aid in the healing process, so I’m praying that he’ll be better soon, but I sure still would appreciate your prayers for him!  Remember when he broke that tail bone awhile back?  He said that’s just fine now, no problems with it at all … now let’s hope the same for his shoulder! 

Other than that, our weekend was great!  We had a wonderful show … the Lord blessed, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather!  The highlight was that I got to meet Deanna, a Xanga friend, from southern Indiana.  She is a very sweet lady, and I just wish we had more time to sit down with a cup of tea, or coffee, to get to know each other better.  Being at the show makes that a little more difficult to do, but I’m sure we’ll see each other again!  She was such a sweetie, and she brought me a couple of special friendship gifts … a beautiful cookbook from her church quilt show, and a ‘Ta-Da Doll’!  I can’t wait to devour the pages of the cookbook, and the doll is so sweet … it came in a really neat little jean bag … all handmade!  Thank you so much, Deanna!!  What a blessing it was to meet you!  There are pictures below … wish we would have taken more … next time, okay!   

There was so much going on at the Scottish-Highlander Festival … the music was awesome, they had two different groups, one called ‘Highland Reign’, and the other, ’Hog Eye Navvy’.  They had a history teacher there, named Lee, who taught about the history of Scotland … he is a walking encyclopedia!  He’s been there every year that we’ve been there.  My husband has gotten to know him quite well, and they sit and talk whenever he’s on a break.  When he teaches, I just wish I had a tape recorder!  He told us last night that he could start Friday morning, and talk non stop through Sunday, and still not cover all the research he has done!  Lewis is learning alot about his heritage!  He’s Scotch, Irish, & Welsh!  There were also the Highland Dancers in costume, and a reenactment camp as well.  They camp there at night during the weekend, and next year we are invited by our ‘neighbors’ to stay and have supper with them!  {The only thing … Lew has to wear a kilt!!  )  There were t-shirts that said “Real Men Wear Kilts”!  Very funny!}  They did all of their cooking over open fires, and brought us some samples of the breads they baked!  How different food tastes when cooked that way!  We had a wonderful spot close to the stage area so we got ‘front row seats’ … we had the water right behind us … we were under the trees … the weather was cool … breezes blowing … and the smell of the campfires burning!  We were so blessed!  {We’ve had to leave in the past because of rain, but not this year!}  I’ve got some pictures to share below of the weekend … they didn’t turn out as good as I would have liked … but I’m sure you’ll get an idea of how fun and interesting the weekend was! 

I hope you all had a blessed weekend!  I’ll be around in the next couple of days to answer your comments and catch up with you!  I’m also getting ready for a 3 day show this coming weekend … this one is indoors, and I really enjoy doing it … but I have lots and lots to do to get re-organized for it this week, so I may not be posting as much … it just depends on how fast I’m moving!!  In the meantime, you all have a wonderful night, and a terrific Tuesday!  See ya soon!! 

 Hugs and blessings to you all!!
~ Deborah <><



 WORD FOR THE DAY:  “In the shadow of His hand He hid me.”  What a beautiful picture of the loving, nurturing care with which God surrounds His children.  It is as though the hand of God were cupped over each of us, forming its protective shield against all danger, affording us shelter from the blazing heat of adversity.  Because we are hidden in the shadow of His hand, no foe can alarm us, no harm can befall us.  Under His protecting hand we are safe from every evil that would assail us.  The shadow of His hand affords peace and rest.  For Jesus’ sake, the hand that casts the shadow removes from us our every burden of guilt and shame.  In the shadow of His hand we find spiritual refreshment, for there we feed on His Word, and there we are blessed by His Spirit, who restores our souls and renews our hearts.  
{Isaiah 49:2}   –Anonymous

… Me & Deanna … 
  I thought of you when I saw these guys  
But I’m sure sorry they are not in ‘Highlander’ green!!

 


The special friendship gifts from Deanna!
Ta – Da !!
Thank you again for these sweet gifts!



‘Lee’ ~ The History Teacher …
and never to be seen without his ‘kilt’ on!
He kept telling Lewis he needed one!



Pat ~ our “neighbor” …  She’s the ‘camp cook’, and boy can she cook!
I love the flowers on the table … such a sweet touch!  She also read to everyone
from a woman’s diary … very interesting … not sure of the exact year, but it was long ago!



This man was so photogenic … 
he kept daring me, with those eyes, to take his picture … and I did! 
His expression was priceless, it never changed the whole weekend!
He helped with the firing of the canon.



~ Preparing for the firing of the canon ~



This was extremely loud … wonder why they don’t use earplugs?!



This man was teaching about the uniforms and weapons.



This was also loud! 
Look at the fire from those barrels!



I wish I could remember all of the history that was taught this weekend!
There was so much, and all so very interesting!




This is the group called Highland Rrrrreign! 
We met and talked with JohnAndrew …
he’s the one on the right, in the green shirt and plaid ‘kilt’ …
he was filling in with this group playing the mandolin. 
He’s a member of the new group there this year called
Hogeye Navvy below.  They were our favorite.  The lady, ‘Mac’, is his
mother, and his father is in the group also, but wasn’t there this weekend. 
JohnAndrew was very sweet, not much older than Ian.  There was a bet going
around that he could eat a whole apple pie each day of the weekend … and he did! 
I wish I had gotten a picture of that pie plate in his hand both days! 
And the big grin on his face!! 
They have excellent apple pies, of course!! 


… Hogeye Navvy … 
I so enjoyed both the bagpipes that Dimitri played,
and also the ‘bodhran’ which is the drum that Garry has over 
to the right … Garry talked with us quite a bit, too.
He was the lead storyteller, and vocalist.



This is a little better picture of a ‘bodhran’ … 
this one had a microphone attached,
making it sound deeper and richer.