A Crisp, Fall day for an Old Fashioned Picnic

The picnic was a small gathering of families whom we knew, and it was a delightful day--we had so much fun! Here are a few snapshots:
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Table setting

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A young lady dressed for the occasion
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We had simple decor--everyday things from the cottage. One family brought a CD player & so Mozart was played as delightful background music the entire time :)
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I don't have an upclose picture, but this blouse is an Original shirtwaist from the late 1890's! I bought it off Ebay for a bargain price, and *love* the authentic look! It's interesting--The cotton material seems to have a firm/tighter weave and has a unique feel compared to modern cotton blouses. I'll be washing it by hand only.

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The ground was dry (it had rained the night before) so we decided to spread out the blankets/quilts and picnic the old fashioned way! After the prayer, we ate together and had really good fellowship...At one point my dad asked us, "what event or invention can you share about that happened in the 1800's?" This sparked fun conversation :)
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Beautiful Bonnet

(Her grandmother made it for her)
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Another Badminton game :)
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These two went exploring for Mica rocks

My Mother and I

Nearby Woodlands

My sister knitting--Her hands are always busy!

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The weather stayed at around 70 degrees & was partially cloudy--perfect for today! I didn't capture everything we did at the picnic, as we also had other fun games and even bubbles for the younger ones {ok, I'll admit I loved the bubbles too! } There was a wedding at the stone pavilion, and a few curious guests seem to enjoy the picnic scene/music/us running around in hats swinging badminton rackets lol. They even tried to discreetly take pictures from their cars!

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After we packed up everything to make the journey home, my Mother commented saying, "What made this unique is that its something we've always wanted to do, and done in a way we always pictured an old fashioned picnic to be like (compared to old-fashioned=grilling out, BBQ potluck etc.)" And for me, I really appreciated that everyone took the extra step to dress in attire that reflected the theme!!

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Last Thursday

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About a week ago, our family was out shopping, and stopped in an antique mall. We really enjoyed ourselves, and before we left, we were approached by an older gentleman. He said he was encouraged by our family because we were all modestly dressed and could tell we were Christians! He talked with my dad for a while, then invited us to his home & exchanged contact info before we all parted. So on Thursday, we visited their homestead! They live way out in the country, and it was so beautiful!

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Their sons are in the Dairy business, so there were dozens of cows, one of which gave birth right before we came! They showed us the garden and orchard, and offered collard/lettuce plants for us to take home!

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Butter crunch & Red leaf Lettuce

They've been homesteading there for over 30 years and own many acres of land, so it was simply inspiring to ask questions on self sufficiency and fellowship with the family!

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A Trip to Town

On Friday, my dad had the day off, so we all got ready to plant the lettuce & collards. Well, to make room, we'd have to dig up a few sweet potatoes...and we didn't have a pitchfork! So we spontaneously jumped in the car, even took the dog with us, and drove to "town" to visit the local hardware stores. We drove into the super small town 20 mins away, compared prices, then purchased the tool needed. Dad took long, scenic roads back to the cottage! What made it fun is how focused/purposeful the trip to town was-- we drove all that way for one tool!
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Here's one of the potatoes we uprooted...Most of the potato plants we'll leave alone until mid-November.

These are ready to be planted!
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Dew drops
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Planting...
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"Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour" 1 Corinthians 3:8