Teacups and Hatchets

Sometimes the invitation reads “bring your favorite teacup”, sometimes it says “bring your own hachet”. Here’s a few photos from two very different parties I attended this month.

For her fifteenth birthday, my niece Mikayla wanted to host a tea party for her girl cousins closest in age, her grandma, and her mom’s sisters (including me). Normally, we don’t do too many birthday parties— we’d be going to several each month— but Mikayla is an only girl with seven brothers, so she got a well-deserved tea party.

Or actually, Mikayla gave us the party. “Mikayla did most of planning and cooking herself,” explained her mom, Joanne. The menu included a gelatin salad, soup, fancy sandwiches (the cucumber sandwiches were especially delicious), scones with whipped cream, and an array of lovely desserts.

All the boys except the youngest had left with their dad for the evening, so there was plenty of girl talk about hair, clothing, pets, and youth group. Of course there was also grown-up talk, such as when Brenda told us about the all the painting that still needs to be done at her remodeled house. Joanne offered to help and Mikayla and nineteen-year-old Hannah joked about how they could baby-sit all their younger siblings and cousins together, but fifteen-year-old Sarah wasn’t interested. “Not me. I’m trying to avoid aging early!”

Lumberjack Party

“Wear plaid” and “bring a hatchet” were what our church’s activity-planning committee said for Saturday’s night first-ever lumberjack party.

Activities for the evening included axe-throwing, log splitting, log carrying, log sawing, making apple cider, building fires, storytime for the children, and crafts for adults and children. The evening ended with a bonfire and hot dog roast.

Apple cider is made by chopping whole apples (cores, stems, and all) and putting them through a press. Using different varieties of apples makes better cider, and you can use seconds.

Like most of the other women I passed on most of the log-related activities, but I did join the fire-building contest. We were given a hatchet, a piece of wood, and matches and told to start a fire. With some dried leaves and twigs and four matches, I got a campfire started.

Axe-throwing is sort of like a game of darts with hatchets. It was fun to watch from a safe distance.

I hope you’ve enjoyed a glimpse into my family and church community! And whether your idea of fun is splitting logs or sipping tea, I hope you find some way to enjoy this autumn season.