I have found myself strangely drawn to a website called “Texts From last Night” as of late. The site is subtitled “Remember that text you sent last night? We do”
Basically the site is based around college, and post-college aged folks and the drunken, crazed texts that they send to one another. The subjects range from rating men and women, talking about their conquests, talking about their lives, and the such. It is like a train wreck. And I can’t stop going to the site every day and reading the latest episodes.
Mind you, I am thinking to myself all the while that I sincerely hope that my youngest son is not getting himself involved in any of these shenanigans. Though, I do know that he probably is. The child is way too much like me not to. And I am also thinking, that I just don’t remember college being that way when I was attending. Of course we didn’t have cell phones back in the dark ages. We would have had to chisel our thoughts onto stone tablets and then drop them off at our friends caves. Way too cumbersome, if you ask me. Maybe that is why we had so many parties, because we didn’t have a convenient method of communication. Had nothing to do with the copious amounts of alcohol and drugs that were consumed.
At least that is what I hear, as I didn’t do anything like that when I was going to college.
Monday through Friday in any town is noisy. People coming and going. From work, to work, to the store, to wherever. Hurry, hurry. Motion, moving, go, go, go.
But Sunday is quiet. And that is what I love of a small town. You can always tell Sunday. It is quiet.
I have been researching my family, on my Fathers side, for a number of years. And I have to admit, that most of what I have learned I learned came from two books written on our family.
Yeah, I didn’t get too far on my own. That being said, I am very interested in finding out more about my ancestors who came from England. Essex, England to be exact. And if you want to get even more specific Birdbrook Parrish, Essex, England.
Thank you very much. 1589. That was the year that my ancestor was born. I reached out to the Parrish th other day, and was informed that unfortunately the records only went back to 1633.
Unfortunately. 1633. Wrap your head around that number. Wrap your head around knowing that one of your ancestors, that you actually know about, was born in 1589.
I am completely amazed by those numbers.
Just though that you would like to know all of this.
There are times I envision myself as Animal from the Muppets.
Though I don’t play the drums. Not even when we play “Rock Band” on the Wii. The drums are not for me. But I do identify with Animal.
For those of you not familiar to Pennsylvania, in January we have a event called The Pennsylvania Farm Show. The Farm Show is considered to be the largest agricultural event held in the United States. It has been held every January since 1917.
The 2009 Pennsylvania Farm Show will run from January 10th through the 17th. Keeping Pennsylvania Growing is this years theme.
Ok. That is nice. But what about the important part? The food court. Yeah, I am all about the food court. Have to hit:
PA Cooperative Potato Growers, Inc. – This is the oldest Potato Cooperative in the United States, chartered in 1922. The money raised during Farm Show week helps to support the marketing and promotion of PA potatoes. Monies are also used to pay dues for PA growers to belong to National Potato organizations; fund research projects, and promotional opportunities for PA growers.
Products for Sale: baked potatoes, fresh cut French fries, potato donuts, potatoes and baked sweet potatoes.
Love them fries.
Then on to:
PA Dairymen’s Association – This organization is a service organization that provides scholarships, youth programs, and agricultural education programs across the Commonwealth. They also maintain the milk house facilities located in the Farm Show Complex. The Dairymen rely on the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show to fund their activities.
Products for Sale: milkshakes, milk/chocolate milk, ice cream sundaes, deep fried mozzarella cubes with marinara sauce and ice cream cones
Do yourself a favor, get the vanilla shake. It is wonderful.
Next:
PA Mushroom Growers Cooperative – This organization gives its proceeds to the American Mushroom Institute, which conducts research and supports mushroom growers throughout the United States.
Products for Sale: deep-fried breaded mushrooms, packaged fresh mushrooms and portabellos, mushroom soup, grilled portabellas, grilled portabella sandwich, mushroom salad and schroomies
My family hates mushrooms. They are closet communists. Deep fried ‘srooms are wonderful, the grilled portabella is to die for.
Moving on, ok, waddling on:
Penn Ag Industries Assoc./Penn Ag Poultry Council & Penn Ag Aquaculture Council. -
Products for Sale: fish sandwich, trout chowder and tortilla crusted tilapia, fresh bagels w/or w/o cream cheese, cinnamon sticky bun, shoofly pie by the slice or whole pies, whoopie pies with white or peanut butter icing, large cookies and cinnamon bun
The fish sandwiches here are absolutely delicious. And the tortilla crusted tilapia is something that I am going to have to save room for.
Can someone get me a gurney? Keep moving:
State Horticultural Association – the SHAP booth at the Farm Show is committed to raising money for the apple and fruit tree industry. One of the major benefactors of our booth is the fruit research lab in Biglerville. The center is committed to development of new knowledge and education necessary to lead and support the successful transition of the industry to new production systems and markets. The fruit centers infrastructure transformation through orchard replanting into new production systems, equipment technology development and laboratory renovations will continue to allow our field to grow and address the changes that need to be made for the future fruit farmers to thrive in Pennsylvania.
Products for Sale: apple cider, fresh apples, apple dumplings with ice cream, apple butter, cider floats, caramel apples on a stick, dried apple snacks, and apple or peach sundaes.
Apple dumplings. With ice cream. Oh. My. God.
I am done. But one last stop, back to pick up a dozen potato donuts. Get some frosted, and some plain. You won’t be sorry.
Dieting starts after the Farm Show in Central Pennsylvania. See you at the gym on the 18th.
Taking it easy this Labor Day morning. I have some major housecleaning to do, but right now I am just hangin’ and watching the news.
Took a small journey through the past, looking at what I was doing last year at this time and it seems that I was just a might bitter about having to work on Labor Day.
I didn’t have a Sheetz burger last night, I had frozen pizza, but it looks like my eating habits haven’t changed much over the past year. Nor my way of looking at things.
MLW and The Princess are coming home tomorrow. Consequently I have to clean up the beer bottles, and do the dishes. We had folks in on Saturday who painted, and finished putting up the cabinets in the kitchen. Now all we have to do is to paper the walls and the kitchen is done. That is exciting. We also upgraded the electrical service in this house finally. Now I can run the dishwasher and the microwave without popping breakers.
A journey into this insanity that makes some of us brew our own beer, and then foist it on our friends and neighbors. And a look at those who do it successfully.
It is new, but come back every couple of days and you will find things that will astound you.
Get it? Penn’s Paradise? William Penn? Penn-sylvania? Sylvan, paradise?
Sometimes I amuse the heck out of myself. Not having grown up in Pennsylvania I didn’t learn this in school. I had to figure it out all by myself.
Well, actually MLW told me about it one night when we were talking about words and their roots. We do those things every now and again. We are cool that way.
Are you living in Atlantis? According to a new video, America was the Lost Continent of Atlantis and Tampa Florida was once the royal city. Now we know! Tampa’s history goes back over 11,000 years. Dennis Brooks has matched the terrain that Plato described to that found in Tampa Florida and the Americas. See the video.
Have you heard about this? I always thought that Atlantis was down in the Bermuda Triangle. I remember reading about the various theories of who the Atleans were, and where they came from, but I have never heard of Tampa being the Royal City. This is very interesting. Enjoy the video.
Driving home the other night, yes it is another communting discussion, I drove through a what I thought was fog but actually turned out to be wood smoke. From someones fireplace, thankfully it wasn’t from someone’s house burning. Though you would know if it were from a house burning due to the black smoke that a house fire produces, and the smell from a house fire is much different than the smell from a wood burner. The smell from a house fire is much more acrid. Bet you really wanted to know all of that, now, didn’t you?
Moving on.
As usually happens to me with smells or music, I was transported. Not physically, but mentally, back to the mid-80′s. Somewhere around ’85. I lived in a small town in Michigan called St. Helen. Ok, so they actually spell it Saint Helen, but what the heck. This is where Charleton Heston was born. You know Charleton, he was the star in the movie “The Omega Man“. This was the original version of “I am Legend” that stars Will Smith. Who was not born in Saint Helen, Michigan. Enough history and movie facts.
When you live in northern michigan you usually have a wood burner. And when it is cold outside you can smell the wood burning every where. Strangely enough, it is to me a very comforting smell. A smell reminiscent of a Thomas Kinkaide painting. Brought back memories of driving through the snow going to friends house, seeing the snow on the ground, the lights in the windows of the houses, and smelling the wood smoke.
