I'm a little slow to report, but the 25th Annual Apple Festival of Kendallville went off without a hitch last weekend! (oh, except for that attempt to pass counterfeit hundred dollar bills). I found three lost children - which wasn't really too tough considering they were all three wearing pink. I just knew where to look. Bob and I did our usual shift at the information booth, and I worked the front gate on Sunday, but for the first time, I took a turn loading buses at the shuttle stop. Now, I think I've done about every job at the festival. Above is a picture taken at the Friday night anniversary reception and special showing of Raise-a-Ruckus. It just so happened that the five of us who walked over to help serve apple crisp and cider were all past presidents of the festival. Not planned at all. Darlene, on the left end, and Barb, on the right, were given silver apple necklaces because they have both been on the committee for twenty-five years! I've been on for fifteen.









At left is a picture of most of the 2010 committee taken Saturday evening. None of us are looking too fetching, but then, most of us were standing out in the cold, off-and-on drizzle all day. I was so proud of the festival this year, listening to all the praise from out-of-towners. It has evolved into a huge family reunion, with fantastic food.











My Disturbing sharp scissors story: You know how every summer there are those college kids who, because, I guess they couldn't find any other work, are reduced to selling knives? Well, I let one into the house this summer. She was the sister of my friend's neighbor, and I thought, oh, it wouldn't kill me to listen to her presentation, so I said, "okay."


She was very sweet. I sat her up the kitchen counter, and got her a beverage, and then she proceeded to unfold some black material and produced a pair of pretty nice looking scissors. She took out a penny, an honest-to-goodness copper penny and she cut in right in half with those scissors. She asked me if I would like to have a pair like that and I told her I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I had a pair of scissors that sharp in my house. She thought I was kidding, but I wasn't.


Then she made me show her my paring knife and a steak knife. She gave me a one-inch thick piece of twisted rope and told me to cut it with my steak knife - the idea being to make fun of how long it took me to saw away at this rope compared to the way she could cut through it like butter with her super-duper knife. I tried to explain to her that we rarely served a cut of meat that was as tough as that rope, but she wouldn't listen. I purchased my paring knife in 1978 from Delbert Morgan's Sunday School class, so I don't think I have to tell you how it fared in the competition.



End of the story is that I bought a three-knife set. Yes, YES, I DID. I was suckered in by the French chef knife because of its awesome slicing/dicing capacity. They came to the house and they looked beautiful, but the first time I used one, I cut myself three times. I kid you, not. I thought about sending them back, but then it got too late. So now, they're mine and I'm trying to be really careful when I use them, and when I put them away, I hide them, so I can sleep at night. I guess some things are just way better than they need to be.