Cider Days and Open Houses

We've had some fun "Meet the Pastors" open houses recently. At Brian and Becca's, it seems like people came and went in small groups. They had a great spread of supper/snack food. The adults visited and got to know each other on the deck. On the other side of the picture window, the little ones played, pretended, enjoyed each other, and watched some videos when it was time to wind down. They have a kid-friendly back yard, too. It was probably well used before we got there! We got there late so it was already dark. About 6-8 kids under 1 to 8 years?

Yesterday was an afternoon of apple-picking and an evening of apple mashing, cider pressing, deep fried turkey, luscious baked goods and apple desserts and lots of great fellowship in a relatively hidden shared back yard in the city. The kids joined us picking apples at the orchard. The orchard had a preschool play yard. Sitting on the back of a bumpy farm wagon staring at a dirt road 6 inches deep in muck brought back some of my own childhood memories!

The gathering yesterday drew about 50 people by the time the evening was done: Artisans, friends, family and neighbors. I'd say mostly friends and neighbors, and more kids! It was a great time for the kids to get to know each other and just play. Some of the kids who came for the first time Sunday will feel like they know someone when they come back. I counted about 12 kids yesterday. Some played inside, some played outside, some played foozeball in the garage with college students. Some of the kids interacted more with other kids and some interacted more with the adults they were comfortable with (parents close by) but it looked like everyone made new friends.

For more of our Artisan folk than I realized, this is their first October in the Northeast so it was a nice taste of fall.