Celtic Festival & Highland Games, Independence Days Challenge, Fall Is Coming!

                                                          Scottish Hammer Throw, 16 lbs.
Celtic Festival & Highland Games-
Being part Scotch and Irish I love bagpipes, and things Celtic. Every year I seem to miss the local Celtic Festival and Highland game.  Luckily I got a postcard and marked it on the calendar! I mean- who can't love a man in a kilt throwing telephone poles? These are called Heavy Sports.

Scottish Stone Put, 16-22 lbs.

Turning The Caber, pick up, then throw & flip it over

We wandered around and listened to several live bands and watched the dancers. I bought tea and scones to take home from-

 I had English style fish and chips, wonderful! Made to order, cod, thin crust, great fries. From a local food truck -

Dave had a Scottish beer, not bad considering I don't like beer. I bought a lovely traditional Scottish pin made of pewter and glass beads-

Lots of dancers, some with wigs that almost fell off. Pretty funny!

        The famous Boise Highlanders marching band, wonderful formation and music!

A wee one with her foam sword, too cute! The photo doesn't do her justice

While there was no Haggis for sale, here's a recipe if you're strong of heart and bowels!

1. Plant Something-
Nope.

2. Harvest Something-

Eggs, compost, collard greens, kale, lemon cukes, tomatoes, peppers, yellow squash, eggplants, basil, herbs. Cooling of but veggies still going well.

3. Preserve/Store Something-

Canned goods for fall. Wine for a nice special something.

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep-
Did a little inventory of the freezer, to see what's there. Helps with menu planning. Stocked up on supplements and vitamins at Costco.

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe-
Bought a local Papa Murphy's pepperoni pizza, then took it home slathered it with my fresh basil, tomatoes, and goat cheese. OMG, it was wonderful! Had leftover roast beef, so I used it for hot sandwiches, grilled with cheese and horseradish. Delish!

6. Build Community Food Systems-

Selling eggs, got some free melon from a friend. Bought some homemade tamales from a woman who sells them at our office. I got pork, pretty good, made traditionally from scratch.

7. Recycle/Re-Use-
Got some free software from a pal. Did more thrifting today. Bought a new cotton fall sweater, and a like-new, blue cast iron oval dutch oven. It has a World Market stamp on it. $6.00 at a thrift store. About $65.00 online. Kind of matches my round one! A knock off of this Le Creuset-

8. Skill Up-
Learned how to alter wedding dress straps! Went to a local wine shop with my daughter to expose her to some choices for her wedding. I learned some things myself while there.  I bought a bottle of an Australian wine- Nugan Estate Pinot Noir 2010 for a nice dinner. The sales lady raved about it, and not bad at $14.00 a bottle. I'll save it for our anniversary maybe. I used to be a bit of a mini wine connoisseur in my 20's then along came marriage, kids and I lost interest. Didn't have the disposable income either. I'd like to start having a glass once in a while, maybe. I know from personal experience it's way too easy to start self medicating with alcohol. A close family member was a severe alcoholic, and so I rarely drink. Learned about Scottish heavy sports, oh my!

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something-
Learning how to re-do some work related paper work.

Fall Is Coming!
Finally! We hit the mid 40's the last 2 mornings. Go out the polar fleece jacket, and put an extra blanket on the bed. Getting some fall work clothes out of the spare bedroom closet. Starting into high's in the 60's with rain off and on. They're talking about the first mountain snows too. Nice yesterday, mid-80's. High 70's today, then 60's tomorrow. What a relief. Time to drag out some fall decor and get ready....