Together On Tuesdays-TRADITION! Tradition!

So, you are supposed to imagine me singing, "TRADITION! Tradition!" If you don't know where that comes from you need to listen to Fiddler on the Roof. They sing an entire song about tradition. Today's Together On Tuesday topic is about a an event, that we either currently participate in or one from our childhood and how this has shaped us into the person we have become. 

This topic was a little bit difficult for me. I felt like Winnie the Pooh when he's sitting there with his hand on his forehead saying, "think, think, think!"I was able to come up with a couple of things that our family does annually that I would consider a tradition. So, here we go.....

For the past couple of years, I have made the trip up to Goshen, Indiana for the MCC Relief Sale. The Mennonite Central Committee, or MCC, holds relief sales all over the United States and Canada. If you would like to know more about the relief sale here is the MCC site http://reliefsales.mcc.org/ and this is the site specifically for the Michana Relief Sale (which is the one that I attend) http://mennonitesale.org/.

Here is the deal with the relief sale, Mennonite churches donate items.....it can be quilts (there is a huge quilt auction that is amazing....those quilters sure have a lot of talent), baked goods (personally, my favorite part is buying breads and sweets to take back home), or random items, like antiques, that can be sold in an auction. The money that is raised from the items donated goes to help those suffering from natural disasters that happen all over the world. And, it's not just selling the items listed above, there are tons of other booths set up around the Elkhart County Fair Grounds selling handmade items, food (a lot of the local churches will sell yummy food that we look forward to every year....mmmm, apple fritters!), and there is even a booth that sells delicious cheeses (that's always another spot that I hit up). 

Also, before the relief sale, churches do something called Penny Power. They collect pennies and that also gets donated for disaster relief. It's amazing how much money is collected from just pennies! It just shows that if everyone donates a little bit, we can make a big difference. 

We have gone to this as a family and Georgia and I have gone with friends. We are able to meet up with folks from church who have also made the drive up from Indy, college friends that either drive in for the event or that still live in Goshen, and we get to see Nolan's family that lives in the Goshen area. It's a fun day and the best part is knowing that the money I've spent is going to help someone who really needs it. 

Another tradition that we do always as a family is go to The Covered Bridge Festival. Nolan, Georgia and I go with my parents and last year my brother's family joined us for the weekend. The festival is always in October, so sometimes the weather is amazing and sometimes is bitterly cold. It's always a bonus when we have sunny, warm days. 

First, we usually leave on Friday and head to my parent's cabin in Clay City, Indiana. We usually just hang out there for the evening, cook dinner together and have a good time sitting by the camp fire, playing games and talking. On Saturday, after a big breakfast, we head to Bridgeton for the festival. This is the smaller of two festivals that go on in this area. All along the way, there are garage sales to stop and check out. That is the best part for me. I love to look at other people's junk. I find it so interesting to see what other people have collected over the years. Sometimes there are great finds (one year I found an antique vanity and bench for a reasonable price) and other times there is just a bunch of junk. 

Once we get through the garage sales, we turn down this winding country road and head to the festival. Once we get there and park it's usually lunch time. I always get the same thing, a hot ham and cheese sandwich. This sandwich is made with real ham, not just deli meat, Colby cheese and thick slices of bread. I usually end up sharing this with someone because it's so huge. After lunch comes the shopping. The festival has tons of booths set up selling all sorts of goods. Usually these are handmade items or antiques, but there are several places just selling cheap crap like 10 pairs of flip flops for $5 or something like that. I'm more interested in the handmade items. In addition to loving other people's junk, I also love to check out what people can make themselves. 

Before we leave for the day, we make sure to stop by the Amish booth and get some Whoopie Pies...a box of chocolate and a box of pumpkin, please! If you don't know about Whoopie Pies, you really need to check them out. They are so good. And the Amish also have a homemade pretzel booth. These are the BEST pretzels ever. They are not like the pretzels you get at the ballpark or the mall. You actually see these young Amish ladies making the dough and rolling it out into pretzels and then baking them to perfection. Preztels are another thing that I adore. I know, I like food! 

We head back to my parent's cabin, tired and weary. Sometimes we are all so tired that we just turn in fairly early and other times we stay up laughing and talking. Either way it's fun. 

Sunday we make another big breakfast. After our feast, we get to work. It's the perfect time to close up my parent's cabin for the winter. We get all the linens out to take home and wash, we sweep the floors, and my dad and Nolan usually do something to the water lines so the pipes don't freeze over the winter. Another cabin season has come and gone. 

Those are a couple of things that I do with my family, what about yours? Do your traditions involve as much food as mine? Remember to check out what Danielle, Michelle, Charlotte, and our newest blogger to join our group Sarah have to say about their traditions.