You know how we all have days where everything seems off, not clicking, missing the mark and frustrating? Today was the exact opposite of that day. Gloriously, everything fell into place all day long. I think that it is because we went to the cutest town in the world today - Fawn Grove, PA. The adorable quotient of this town is so high that it leaks out to everything and everybody surrounding it.
Team member, Miriam and I were ahead of schedule this morning, so we took a fun, twisty over-land route to get to our school. The sun rose beautiful and golden over the rolling hills of frozen farmland. We saw 2 really, really shaggy llamas in their winter coats. Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" was on the radio and, jeez, who doesn't love that song? [
sure it kills any musical credibility you might have, but just TRY to listen to it with out going Sweet Caroline - BUM, BUM, BUM at the top of your lungs; it's gotta make ya smile, shameful or not]
We roll into town and notice that the street sign have little deers on them
(
many tiny PA towns have little icons on their street signs) but on closer inspection we realize that they aren't just any deers, no they are indeed wee fawns -
the cutest fawns ever
(
of course they had a "Mill Street" - what tiny town doesn't?)
Being 40 minutes EARLY for set-up (
how did that happen?) we drove around town (
took about 7 minutes from corner to corner to corner to corner, including stopping to take the sign pics) and noticed this intriguing sign:
crafts, coffee and aerobics? In the same place? yep. There is yoga and dance as well. A couple who grew up in the town and own the house across the street bought the old hardware store after the owner dies and converted it into a coffee house and a dance studio. The owner was there with her 3 month old son; she talked to us while we drank our tea and ate homemade muffins (
keep in mind that we are being PAID during this). They tried to keep as much of the cool old tools and things from the hardware store, using them as decorations. It was truly charming as opposed to "bought on E-Bay" charming. As we are talking and laughing and admiring her handsome baby, "Sweet Caroline" comes on CD player. I kid you not.
Feeling warm and tingly from all of the homespun-ness and tea we left for our school (
about 2 minutes away, if you catch the traffic bad) which was ready for us and had a custodian standing by to direct us to the correct door. Circling the building, we turned right into the sun and had to pause for a moment -
BLINK,BLINK; BLINK,BLINK; is that a snowman in front of our door?
yes. yes, it is.
Sure, there's no snow on the ground, but that won't keep the cutest town from having a snowman with bottle cap eyes and penny buttons from waiting to greet us. Still don't think it is the cutest place, ever? The arms aren't just branches, they are branches from a pussy willow. really.
Miriam and I are so filled with adorableness at this point that the thought of setting up to do shows is jarring. Luckily, the MPR (
multi-purpose room for those of you who don't live in elementary schools) is Candy Cane Lane (
sorry these 2 are so dark; i can't put my editing software on my new computer yet)
Still decorated from the Winter play or something we had cheerful elves to acclimate us to the real world. Of course it was hardly the real world since all of our classes had less than 20 students each. And the kids were cute, polite, smart and on-task.
I swear i spent the day in a Frank Capra movie. It was nice.
I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I still snuck in layers, like the bunny over the fence over the grass in the back
but generally, the whole thing is pretty straight forward. It was great to take a little break from really complicated. Besides, what's better than a wee birdhouse ON a wee birdhouse?
It really makes you think about your own mortality.
(or perhaps -like me- it just makes you giggle)
She made a nice French-Canadian tortiere (meat pie) and people brought chocolate creme, pumpkin, maple syrup-walnut and cherry pies to go with. Of course there was vanilla ice cream to go a la mode if you wanted. (and who wouldn't want that?) We played games and ate pie; a good time was had by all.
It may be a day late, but that shouldn't stop you from having some pie - mayhaps, a chicken pot pie and a nice coconut creme. Enjoy.
Voila - the pins are done and i'm pretty happy with it.
(many tiny PA towns have little icons on their street signs) but on closer inspection we realize that they aren't just any deers, no they are indeed wee fawns - the cutest fawns ever
(of course they had a "Mill Street" - what tiny town doesn't?)
Being 40 minutes EARLY for set-up (how did that happen?) we drove around town (took about 7 minutes from corner to corner to corner to corner, including stopping to take the sign pics) and noticed this intriguing sign:
crafts, coffee and aerobics? In the same place? yep. There is yoga and dance as well. A couple who grew up in the town and own the house across the street bought the old hardware store after the owner dies and converted it into a coffee house and a dance studio. The owner was there with her 3 month old son; she talked to us while we drank our tea and ate homemade muffins (keep in mind that we are being PAID during this). They tried to keep as much of the cool old tools and things from the hardware store, using them as decorations. It was truly charming as opposed to "bought on E-Bay" charming. As we are talking and laughing and admiring her handsome baby, "Sweet Caroline" comes on CD player. I kid you not.
Feeling warm and tingly from all of the homespun-ness and tea we left for our school (about 2 minutes away, if you catch the traffic bad) which was ready for us and had a custodian standing by to direct us to the correct door. Circling the building, we turned right into the sun and had to pause for a moment -
BLINK,BLINK; BLINK,BLINK; is that a snowman in front of our door?
yes. yes, it is. 
Sure, there's no snow on the ground, but that won't keep the cutest town from having a snowman with bottle cap eyes and penny buttons from waiting to greet us. Still don't think it is the cutest place, ever? The arms aren't just branches, they are branches from a pussy willow. really.
Miriam and I are so filled with adorableness at this point that the thought of setting up to do shows is jarring. Luckily, the MPR (multi-purpose room for those of you who don't live in elementary schools) is Candy Cane Lane (sorry these 2 are so dark; i can't put my editing software on my new computer yet)
Still decorated from the Winter play or something we had cheerful elves to acclimate us to the real world. Of course it was hardly the real world since all of our classes had less than 20 students each. And the kids were cute, polite, smart and on-task.
I swear i spent the day in a Frank Capra movie. It was nice.
Also, she let me pick through the pile for the dump. I love antique store trash; it is always stuff just screaming to be remade into something else.
Goodbye to the old store; i'll miss you.
and that we could make our own lip balm. Yum!
The one thing that always makes me giggle at these events are the robots. They aren't working robots, mind you; instead, they are models made from trash that the kids have imagined what they could do, if they were real. I don't understand it, but it makes me smile.
