That Ole County: Verse 1

That ole county had a fair!
E-I-E-I-O!
And in that county they had some rides,
E-I-E-I-O!
With a "bleh" here and a "whooo!" there!
Here a "blah!" there a "whoo!"
Everywhere a "BLAH" WHOOOO!!"
That ole county had a fair,
E-I-E-I-O!

Are You Going?

Are you going to the county fair?
Ice cream, pop, cheeseburgers and flies!
Remember me to a cow who is there,
She once was a bovine of mine.

Tell her to give me a bucket of milk.
Ice cream, pop, cheeseburgers and flies!
Without no cream, nor cholesterol,
Then she'll be a bovine of mine.

Tell her to buy me a hot dog or two.
Ice cream, pop, cheese burgers and flies!
Between the barns and the grandstand,
Then she'll be a bovine of mine.

Are you going to the county fair?
Ice cream, pop, cheeseburgers and flies!
Remember me to a cow who is there,
She once was a bovine of mine.

Modesty at Mass

I now present to you this past Sunday's note from our pastor. It was very good! I feel it was no coincidence that this appeared on Labor Day weekend.

My Dear People,

Recently, I came across a striking news item. Dateline: MEXICO CITY: "A priest's condemnation of miniskirts on an official church website is causing outrage among some Mexican women, who say the Roman Catholic Church is making it easier to justify sexual violence against women."

"When we show our body without prudence, without modesty, we are prostituting ourselves," wrote Rev. Sergio Roman, head of a church family values forum next year in Mexico City.

Women dressed in miniskirts and low-cut shirts have rallied at Mexico City's cathedral carrying signs that read: "Clothed and naked, I am the same".

Father Roman is addressing a very real concern among the Catholic clergy. Many of us can remember when people came to Mass in their Sunday finest. We wore "dress" clothing to show our respect and reverence for what we were doing. My mother taught us to shine our shoes on Saturday night in preparation for Sunday Mass.

This value is being lost in our day. Some take the attitude that "You are lucky I am here so don't criticize my attire." That really is not the point. We are always pleased to have you here but the importance of the gathering is usually expressed in how we dress. If it is of similar importance as going to a Mall, then where what you would usually wear to a Mall. If you see this gathering as important and sacred, you will dress to reflect that attitude.

Recently, this problem has taken another step in the wrong direction. Instead of just being comfortable in daily clothing, we now see a "very sexualized" way of dressing. Showing tattos on the lower back and displaying navels, as well as our favorite team on derrieres is distracting.

If the Pope visited our beautiful church, we would "dress up". In this way we express how important the gathering is to us. We would be there well before the beginning of the celebration. We would certainly wait for the Pope to leave the Church first. We have much greater than the Pope here when we break bread together.

Exhausted... but happy

Ahhh... it feels so good to sit down, in the shade, out of the hot hot sun. Happy Labor Day to you all! I am sure you are all having cook-outs, or swimming, or picnicing, or just chilling.

For our Labor Day celebration we just wrapped up an camp out that we had with some homeschooling families at our house. So much fun! There were nine families, 6 of whom stayed overnight. They began trickling in yesterday around three, and we set up the tents out in the side yard, cooked our own dinners - some on the campfire, some on the grill - played ladder golf and then prayed the Rosary around the campfire. Oh, and of course we roasted S'mores! I will admit though, I did not partake in the marshmellow roasting/eating, for some reason I can't eat more than 4 S'mores in a single summer. I think it had something to do with 3 years ago we had S'mores about once every other weekend, and I just got sick of them.

The nice thing about living in the country, is that there are so many stars to see! A bunch of us girls layed out in the yard, in the dark and stared up at the skies. However, lest I decive you by making it sound like we were all peacefull and quiet - banish the thought. Alas, the 11-12-13 crowd was... rather giggly. But we had a wonderful time none the less. I fufilled a dear wish by finally finding the Little Dipper.
Me: "I wish I could find the Little Dipper" *looks up* "Oh. There it is!"
Yes, it happened just like that! (Of course I squealed with excitment a little bit as well!) And now that I have found it, I wonder how I could ever have missed it! We also saw the Milky Way, Jupiter, Casseopia, and - most excitingly - SHOOTING STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I saw about 5-6, but my friend Christine saw at least twice that many! It was sooooo cool!
We also tried to find the Northern Cross, but alas! Our search was fruitless and in vain. Maybe another night.

So around 11:30, we went off to bed, and the overwhelming majority slept horribly, or so I heard. I did just fine...
So we get up the next -er, this morning - and make scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast. (The sausage wasn't scrambled!) While that was cooking, Christine and I took a lovely walk down the hill, up the hill, back down the hill and then back up the hill. Very nice.

Breakfast was followed by Fusion Tag, which was followed by Blind Man's Bluff, which was followed by a water balloon contest. We have a 3 person slingshot - two people hold the handles and the 3rd person pulls it back - and so we went out the the pasture and had a contest. The pasture is about 1-2 acres in size, with the road right by the end of it. My team won!!!! The first round we got it very far - further than any one else, and the second time around, we got it all the way on the other side of the road at the end of the pasture! Gladly for us, no one was able to duplicate that feat... because all the small water ballons were gone.

The festivities were concluded by running through the sprinkler, packed up all the tents, ate lunch and waved as all the guests drove away.

So now, I am relaxing in front of my computer - well, that is, my dad's compuer - until *sigh* my mom wakes up, and then we shall have to go work on our Fair projects.... so life goes on!

Have a great holiday!

Questionaire

My "niece" Delaney had this on her blog, and since it looked fun and I had nothing else to post, I thought I would do it as well!

1. Time: 1:56

2. Name: Amanda

3. Nicknames: Lady Rose, Rose, Mamma Rose, Evil Henchman, nut. (You know, as in "you are such a nut!" =) oh... and Captain Fox Turner!

4. What is the most recent movie you've seen in the theater: Prince Caspian. Yikes! So long ago, and then, only once! Alas! But there really hasn't been anything else worth seeing.

5. Eye color: Brown

6. Place of birth: a hospital. ;)

7. Favorite NEW foods: Same as Delaney... what in the world are NEW foods? I suppose food that was made today? As opposed to old food that was made a week ago? Well, in that case... grilled cheese. We made it 1/2 hour ago.

8. Ever been to Africa: No. Much rather go to Middle-Earth.

9. Been in a car accident?: No, thank goodness!

10. Croutons or bacon bits: Bacon bits

11. Favorite day of the week: Sunday. A day of rest, quiet and religion.

12. Favorite restaurants: Ooh, this is a toughie... wait, no it isn't. Greek Islands!

13. Favorite Flower: Pansies. My childhood sweetheart.

14. Favorite sport to watch: Football. It's the only game where I know what is happening.

15. Favorite drink? Root beer, and water. Water is good. "What about port?" "I prefer rum. Rum is good." "No! MAKING port, where we can get rum." (Doncha just love pirates?)

16. Favorite ice cream: cookie dough! Without chocolate chips. Then, vanilla.

17. Disney or Warner Brothers: Eh, Warner Brother's is better, I suppose. But then... Disney helped make Narnia! And Pirates! And Enchanted! And National Treasure?

18. Favorite fast food restaurant: Wendy's

19. What color is your bedroom carpet: Off white. Bleh.

20. Which store would you choose to Max out your credit card this week? Am not in the possesion of a bankruptcy-debt card (aka credit card) but it would definitely by Barnes and Nobles! Or any bookstore for that matter.

21. What do you do most often when you are bored? Sigh. And sigh. And sigh some more. And walk around. And sigh.

22. Bedtime: 9:30 PM, approx.

23. Favorite TV shows: Little House on the Prairie

24. Person you are going to have dinner with: My family, with the addition of my cousin Cinderella, and the subtraction of my two brothers.

25. Favorite Car: Isabella. Our little car. Or if you mean brands? Er, how about a mustang? Or a Ford?

26. What are you listening to right now: My sister, "Camel Dalma" reading to Rosebud and Cinderella. (No those are not their real names! Security code, wot wot!)

27. What is your favorite color: Blues, greens and purples, but purple only because I would scandalize people if I didn't say that.

28. How many pets do you have: Pets? No pets. Just pests.

29. What are you doing this weekend? Going to my cousin's 5th b-day party, and hosting a Labor Day campout at our house!

30. Favorite book: Currently? Oh, this is hard... er, either Gods and Generals or Martin the Warrior or Black as Night.

31. What is your middle name: I am sorry, I can't give that info away. Computer security, doncha know? ;) *calls over shoulder* Is that better?

32. Who is your favorite author(s): J.R.R. Tolkien, Jeff Shaara, Jane Austen, Regina Doman, Alexandre Dumas and Brian Jacques.

33. Favorite music to listen to (artists, style, etc.): Country! Josh Turner, Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, Alan Jackson, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Kieth Urban, others whom I can't remember right now. I like soundtracks as well: Gods and Generals, Gettysburg, The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Phantom of the Opera, Pirates of the Caribbean, Miss Potter. In other genera: I like Celtic Women. Josh Groban is fine, but I don't listen to him, because I have none of his CD's, George Winston is good (pianist.) Anything dramatic I love, which is why soundtracks are my favorite genera for non singing listening. When I feel like singing.. nothin' beats Country!