Neat Discovery

So we have an old family bible that we have restored. We've kept each and everything in the bible in the same place where we found it. For example, there are pressed flowers, a peacock feather, a piece of paper for a latin lesson. We also had a calling card from John R. Becker.

We have no idea who John R. Becker is. We know of no relative named John R. Becker. Yet we know that for some reason Llewellyn Z. Gehret (Drew's Great Grandfather) kept this card. It has always seemed like a plain and ordinary thing to keep until....

...the other day Megan took the card out of the bible. The light caught it just right and she noticed a slight image was in the card and flipped. She raised the card to the light and found this hidden in the middle of the card:

So we see a man standing on the shore. One hand on his head and the other pointing to his hat floating away down the river. The phrase "Shall we meet beyond the river". And also rather strange a Copyright of K.

So now we are overly curious about these little cards. We've only see one other sample on the internet and they were called "Comic Cards" or at least we think they are. The card is placed back in the bible right where we found it, right between the 9th and 10th chapters of Exodus.

Thanksgiving 2010

So here is the short version. Over 1000 miles in five days. Lots of turkey. Lots of fun with family....and let's not forget 2010 Pie Fest!

So this year for Thanksgiving Drew's brother Ray and his wife Mary invited us up to their place in Ohio for the weekend. We left Wednesday and drove the scenic route from Virginia over to Ohio via 28/55 then 32 up to Lancaster.

Being recently settled in Virginia we haven't found any dog babysitters yet. We did find a group of nuns that offer a sitting service just a few miles from our place, yet they were closed for Thanksgiving. So....for this trip, the dogs came with us. But never again!!!

Let's just say...they don't travel well. Well okay...the one pictured above does....the younger one does not!

Thanksgiving was great! Apparently so great we forgot to take any pictures of the spread. Yet soon after dinner we prepared for Pie Fest 2010! What is pie fest you ask? Well it's 9 pies and 1 torte for about 20 people or so.

The introduction of the torte was discussed at length. For example, what else will be allowed if we allow a torte to mingle with the pies? Is torte French for pie? Does the torte feel bad after being made fun of by all the pies?

Pictured above is the ShooFly Pie, Grandpa Schmidt's favorite and the Apple, one of Grandma Schmidt's specialties. The Torte is shown as well.

The following day was cold and windy yet we braved the cold and looked at a few of the local covered bridges. Um, Virginia is much warmer than Ohio for Thanksgiving. Still is--December 1st it was 61.

There was also one musical park right near one covered bridge. Fun but freezing cold!

The dogs quickly learned to sweet talk the correct people. Especially when treats were involved.

Mary's Sister owns a Candy Store. Isn't that every kids dream? So on Saturday we ran over there and the kids were able to grab some treats for themselves.

Then Saturday afternoon we said our goodbyes and traveled over to Maineville Ohio to see Cheri's brother Brandon and his wife. We actually went out of our way and stopped at the Heart of Ohio Antique Center. This place was HUGE! We spent probably an hour there and didn't even make it through the whole place. Yet we were able to pick up a few items for Christmas and ourselves!

When we got to Maineville, Brandon and Prisicla were so kind to take us out for some excellent Sushi! Jess and Christina had a hard time leaving Uncle Brandon because—sorry other uncles—but Brandon is still the funnest uncle. Perhaps it's because he sat on the floor and played with Harry Potter Legos with them...Brandon, keep in touch!

British pub food in Virginia

Megan now has a job and busy most Saturdays. And this past Saturday was no different. Combine this with the two youngest going off to a birthday party, this gave the parents some time to go have fun on their own.

We ended up driving almost 90 miles and making a large loop from our house, north, west, out into Aldie, through Middleburg and on to Upperville. Yet this post is about the Hunter's Head Tavern located in Upperville.

You ordered food at a little window next to the bar. You were then handed a wooden spoon with a number on it. You placed this in the wine bottle on your table so they knew where to bring the order.

Even though it was almost 2:00 in the afternoon the place was still very busy. The food was very standard British Pub Food.

They actually had two menus to choose from. Yet both of us ordered the fish and chips.

And Cheri got some hot chocolate. The crumbs on the plate came from some nice warm bread that was served on the pewter plate.

The fire place was fake....but the food, atmosphere and decorations were spot on.

There was even an Aston Martin sitting in the parking lot.

Prepare thyself for Merriment! (Part II)

We posted items about the Maryland Renaissance Festival the other day - - today we have a few more things to add.

The degree of costumes was rather cool. Many of these were the paid performers but some were guests just like us.

Did we mention they had jousting? These were serious competitors that had won multiple competitions here in the US as well as Canada and overseas.

The mix of old and new was fun. Sort of like this sign.....

THERE BE DRAGONS!

And tapestries for sale. Cheri bought a pillow.

Strolling musicians.

One of the guests.....

The youngest two learned how to juggle....sort of.

One of the other guests....with his own son.

Seen at the juggling lesson area.....

And for those of you who have followed up this long.....we put a little video together. If you click on the HD button it will take you over to Vimeo where you can watch it in High Def.

Enjoy!

2010 Maryland Renaissance Festival

Prepare thyself for Merriment!

This weekend past found the Lord and Ladies of Schmidt manor attending Festival Day in Revel Grove. This was a special occasion since King Henry VIII was to be in attendance. For those of you not familiar with Revel Grove, or the Festival Day......you may want to look for something called. the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

We started our journey early since we knew our ride was long and that Revel Grove is on the far side of our Kingdom's capitol. Scores of carts, buggies and other travelers slowed our travels as we negotiated our way around the capitol district. Eventually we found the grove and an appropriate spot to rest our beasts from the long travel.

To enter the grove you must pay your toll at the gate. We feared that the toll of $70 for the five of us might be a bit steep of a tax...but the banner over the city gate read "Prepare thyself for Merriment!" and we weren't disappointed.

Proper attire for the grove is encouraged so we found appropriate clothing in our wardrobes and dressed for the day.

This being our first visit to this village we enjoyed collection of over 130 shops and artisans that lined the streets. There were blacksmith, leather workers, jewelers, book makers, wood workers, metal shops, tapestry dealers and various arts and crafts of all kinds.

We were also exposed to many strangeth creatures....including giants of various kinds.

Unfortunately as the day progressed both Lady Christina and Lord Drew found themselves in a bit of a problem with the local sheriff.

But soon after serving their time in the stocks they were free and returned to their life of lies and gluttony. Here is Lord Drew enjoying a large turkey leg.

And Lady Christina enjoying corn on the cob dipped in butter.

Early in the day we noticed one minstrel with a strange enchanted bag. It reminded of the Green Man that we are familiar and fond of, but different.

It wasn't until in the day when we discovered a shop with many of these unusual creatures.

While there we discovereth that they were not Green Men but a creature called Grichels. We acquired a few of these to decorate our manor.

At many times it was difficult to tell the locals from those visiting the village. The attire was diverse.

Lady Megan found a man that was tall, quiet and never complained.

Lady Jessica and Lady Christina painteth their faces.

FOOD AND ALE!

One of our readers mentioned that we always seem to talk about food. Well this village over runneth with food and ale. Yet since we did not partake of the ale, we can only speak of the fine food. Not only were there roaming vendors

There were vendors of all types with many fine establishments.

Until next time we bid you adieu.