Our trip to Ambridge, PA last weekend (yes, I know I’m a bit late) was very chill. We didn’t go many places; all the apartments we visited were in town; heck, we spent one afternoon just playing Civ IV, multiplayer, “hot seat” style. (“you know you’re laid back when.”) On July 4th, we lit a bunch of sparkly things on fire at a nearby construction site, and we were invited to join the other incoming seminarians to be introduced to one of the good local bars. Just the sort of mini-vacation we needed.
Our one actual outing, other than church, was to the “Big Butler” county fair. County fairs are the best – walking around aimlessly, petting animals, eating things that you never knew could be deep fried, spending unreasonable amounts of money to throw darts at something, and cringing at the clown you really wanted to drop into the dunk tank just so stop laughing like an axe murderer for a few seconds. Below are some of my favorite pictures from our evening there.
bunny
bunny
it’s a bunny
and another little bunny
half a bunny
twice a bunny
bunny
bunny
LOVE
It was lovely spending time in Ambridge while the weather was beautiful, and about ten degrees cooler than it was in Maryland at the time. The apartment we decided on is just what we need, just in our price range, and in a lovely part of town that reminds me of old Williamsburg. Apparently, it was originally founded by an uber-conservative Christian commune in the early 1800’s that had celibacy as of of their primary doctrines. Needless to say, their sect hasn’t persisted.
I did finish my silk Neckerchief while I was there, pictured here with bits of Seretha’s impressive wee front garden.
It was blocked severely once we got home, to bring out those perfect leafy shapes. You may be wondering what a “Neckerchief” is.
It’s more or less a modesty scarf. To prevent what PeaceBang calls “a festival of inappropriate sharing.” As a hopeful future pastor’s wife, I feel it is my responsibility to collect things of this sort. Thankfully, they are also cute.
Osborn Fiber Studio 
Beautiful photos!! I am a big fan of fairs of all sorts =) My favorite is the PA Farm Show – first week of January in Harrisburg. You would love it. They have a butter sculpture and a sheep-to-shawl contest.
I’m glad you guys found a good place!! It sounds lovely, and neat history. Can’t wait to visit!
(And for the record, the Dominicans, Franciscans, etc, have been around since the 1400’s – celibately. =) )
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Ooo I will have to go sometime, once I am a PA resident! For some reason earning ribbons is endlessly appealing.
oh yes quite! I guess I expect Catholics to have celibate orders. I guess the funny thing about this community is that it’s totally on the other end of Protestant! I need to go to the museum to see if they are somehow related to Catholic monastic groups. THAT would be a great dissertation, I’m sure.
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You could totally win the sheep-to-shawl. I would root for you.
Another interesting place to visit re: Protestant celibate groups is the historic home of the Shakers in New Hampshire (there are either 3 or 4 living Shakers left – I can’t remember). My family visited their historic farm last summer, it was a beautiful location and their history was fascinating. And I wouldn’t be surprised if there were many yarn stores around =)
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I didn’t know that Shakers were celibate. I thought they were related to Pilgrims somehow and thus all into the baby-making. That does sound super-neat. i hear that they are swimming in yarn and farms up there….
if it’s anything like the sheep-to-shawl contest in MD, it is a team effort, and I’d love to be on a team someday. at least at the MD sheep & wool, it’s 1 shearer, 3 spinners, and 1 weaver… and you have 3 hours. !!!
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No, Shakers were all into the “we’re brothers and sisters in Christ” thing… and you don’t marry your siblings… so…
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Yup, Shakers were all about the celibacy. We had a big settlement down here in KY, and now their former home is a historic living museum of sorts.
Also, the neckerchief will come in handy if you ever need to disguise yourself while holding up a stagecoach. Totally adorable. 🙂
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