It’s no secret to anyone who knows me even just a little bit that going to Philadelphia and getting ‘historic’ has been on my bucket list almost forever!  When Kathy and I finally decided that 2018 was going to be the year for that trip, we started looking up what we wanted to do and making an agenda.  We had no clue, however, as to where to stay or how to plan!  Aunt Joan suggested that we contact her son Perry and his wife Anita, who live in Newark DE, mere ‘miles’ from Philly.  We called them one evening to get suggestions and information, and before we were even 5 minutes into the conversation, Anita (and Perry, of course!) offered us their spare rooms.  Safest place in miles, she assured us!  And not only that, but since they are both retired, they could drive us into the city and we could all be tourists together!  The next thing we knew, Anita had put together a spread sheet (sample)

of our top 10 choices, added some ideas of her own that she had researched, and we were set!  In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined the wonderful time we would have had on this trip, and the gracious hospitality, fun, and laughs that we shared in those five days. 

Tuesday morning – up and out for my walk early, and came across this little guy in the neighbor’s yard.  What a beautiful way to start the day!  Estimated Departure Time was 3:30pm, and we pulled out about 10 minutes early.  We snacked in the car on the way down the turnpike, and when we exited to Route 30 and pulled into a gas station in Lancaster, we were greeted by an Amish horse and buggy.  And although there were plenty of ‘real’ Amish driving and parked all along our route, this one was just for display. Pretty sure horses do not need Speedway gasoline! Anyway, we took 896 South, got lost in Newark, found our way again, and pulled into their driveway a little before 9:30pm, tired and hungry but very happy!  Anita made a fresh salad, garlic toast, delicious lasagna, and strawberry shortcake.  A great way to end the day, and we went to bed excited about the adventures ahead of us in the morning! 

To be continued…

Today was an especially important day in our church history:  we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first service of the Hempfield Church of Christ.  Out of the 100 original charter members, seven were in attendance this morning, and three others who attended that first service but were too young at the time to be members.  Our family became members shortly after the charter membership closed, but had been attending from very close to the beginning.  I stopped to think about it, and I am the third generation of five who have attended HCC. The first few years, services were held at the Jr. Mechanics Hall in Greensburg (there was more of a name to it than that, but this will do!).  Raldo Cook was our minister and served there from 1958 until 1970.  I was eight years old. Our current minister, Mike Hazelton, is the 7th.

One of our former ministers (Bob Berry and his wife Sue, who by the way sang a touching duet for us!) came back to Hempfield to be a guest preacher this morning, and had some memories of his own to share.

The pulpit on stage was the one that was hand built by a charter member, Joe Blanset, as the Mechanics Hall did not have anything to serve in that capacity.  It came out of storage for the occasion!  After the formal worship and music services, we enjoyed a pot-luck lunch – and there was way more food that could even begin to be consumed!

And the desserts were actually dangerous!  The tables were decorated to enhance the theme of the 60th anniversary, which is Diamonds, and to also reinforce the ‘Church on the Hill’ as HCC was called in the early days, sitting as it does high above Route 30.

It was so fun to see Ailene Wirick (she’s married now but can’t remember her last name!) and Janie Close Ball – both of whom were close friends in our high school youth group.  Several people shared memories of those early years, and what the church family has meant to them as they grew up and established homes and families in the area.  Our church family is very precious!  The last thing on the program was a game of Jeapordy, in which Kathy Earnest Heckman, Carole Means Ryder, and myself were the contestants.  I was convinced that I would completely lose and not even have any points at the end, but it was a very close race up to Final Jeapordy.  Kathy snaked ahead with the right answer, after having wagered her entire ‘winnings’.  We all made a good showing and there were a lot of laughs and memories shared. 

I was thinking as I was driving home, though, that I wondered what the next ten years would bring, and I hoped that we could get back together and do it all again.  As Dianne Enyeart Gresham is our church clerk – and has all the records of dates and events – I’m sure she’ll be up for the challenge.  And right now, I want to take this opportunity to send a huge thank you out to her as she picked up the reigns from her father (Dr. Harvey Enyeart) as historian and recording clerk, and let her know that we absolutely couldn’t have gotten this far without her!  Thanks to all who made this celebration a fantastically fun and hugely successful day!

The first Sunday of May each year is Free Museum Day in Ligonier.  This year, as part of their home school program, Kelly and Matt brought the boys up and we made a day of it.  The cloudy drizzle did not ward us off; we forged ahead relentlessly!  Matt was unsure of all this ‘history’ stuff, and of course the boys were following his lead.  But he surprised himself by having a good time.  We all did!  We started at the Train Museum, located in Darlington at the back tip of Idlewild Park.  There was a lot of information about the train wreck of 1912, including the newspaper article and a dress that one of the young ladies wore that day. The boys enjoyed the caboose and learned about the importance about the flagman stationed at the back of the train – and how the engineer relied on him.

From there we made a quick stop at the Southern Allegheny Museum of Art, looking at the displays and drawing symbols in the sand.  Chase liked watching but was still ‘protesting’ history and didn’t join in. Next stop was Compass Inn – my favorite, and I think the kids liked it as well.  There were lots of colonial games to play, and Matt kept the boys engaged while Kelly and I looked in the gift shop and checked out the blacksmith shop.

The last stop was Ft. Ligonier, and that was definitely the highlight!  The renovations (as mentioned in a previous post) were extremely well done, and there was something to entice everyone’s attention.  Here, again, we played some colonial games, walked through the fort, learned about battles and Washington and Indians. 

It was totally fun to spend the day with my family, surrounded by history and fun and food:  At every stop we grabbed chips or a piece of leftover pizza from last night’s supper!  Everyone learned something – from Chase (who decided he didn’t really like history!) to me – who knew all along that a day spent with those you love doubles the pleasure! 

The Hempfield Area schools are winding down for another year, and with it comes activities and concerts to share the student progress with parents and friends.  Last night I went to Harrold Middle School for their band concert performance.  Chrissy plays percussion and did a great job last night on several different instruments.  She was in the back so we didn’t get a clear view of everything but could see drum sticks flying around during their one song.   I know she played the triangle and the cymbals in the first song.  It’s amazing to hear these guys play, to see the way their talent grows each year.  But now, since the concert is over, for Chrissy it’s on to other things:  She just finished football camp, loved it, and can’t wait for the team to get out there on the field!  Diversity –  I guess that’s the secret!  You go, girl!

Last week I decided that the lilac shrubs needed cleaned out – they were too thick and too tall.  Got them thinned out, but didn’t want to cut them short until after they had bloomed.  So on Sunday night I started whacking.  I was only on the first shrub when I saw a bird’s nest snuggled in the branches.  There were no eggs and no bird close by, so I left the nest untouched and trimmed all the branches away.  It was totally exposed to the elements but I didn’t think it was occupied.  Well, on Monday I noticed a robin zipping back and forth and settling on the nest several times.  Still no eggs, but definitely a bird. 

By Tuesday morning there were 3 tiny blue eggs, and by evening there were four.  I feel really bad that this poor little bird family is totally exposed, but Ms. Bird seems undaunted. 

This evening I was able to get pretty close to take her picture.  I’ll keep watching to see if she hatches them out.  I’m going to have grand-birds!!!

Last week I had the pleasure of attending Hempfield High School’s spring choral concert.  I haven’t been in the high school auditorium since Nate graduated from High School!  But Autmn was in the chorus and I was not working that night and could attend.  I really enjoyed the songs and the performances, especially the Jersey Boy’s medley – I was singing along the whole time!  Autmn looked so grown up in her black dress and heals, standing on stage with the choir.  Can’t hardly believe she is in 9th grade! Don’t think I even want to consider the future.  I’ll be like Scarlet O’Hara –  “I can’t think about that today; I’ll go crazy if I do!  I’ll think about that tomorrow!”  Well, maybe I won’t…..

Our family plans for Mother’s Day this year were very low key – which was happily fine with me!  After church, Chrissy and I stopped at Aldi’s to pick up a few items.  The store is closing for a massive remodel until the end of June and I had to grab my ‘stash’ before they closed.  As we both had plenty of breakfast (Panera Bread bagels and snacks!), we weren’t even thinking about lunch.  She was getting ready to start football camp and was hoping to be in shape, so I talked her into taking a walk with me.  What I DIDN’T tell her was that we were going down to the Five Star Trail.  We parked at Buncher Park near Youngwood and headed toward Midway.  As we walked, I told her stories of my growing up on Shady Lane, and we veered off the trail to walk up the hill past my childhood home, and through my old neighborhood.  I told her about our Mysterious Trestle Club, Cole’s pond, playing ‘jail’ with the neighbor boys, and having horses in the back yard.

We stopped for a quick photo shoot, and she contented herself by doing a selfie on my phone in the car.  It was her gift to me, even thought she didn’t realize it — going back again to those carefree days of youth and taking my precious Chrissy along for the trip!  We finished the evening with Jioio’s Pizza and Sun Chips.  It’s the little things….

I decided I would work backwards – I am behind 3 or 4 posts and will try to catch up quickly.  But I’ll start with this past weekend, as Kath and I took our monthly journey up I-79 to visit Mom and John.  It seemed to be a little trickier to get everything done this time, but we did it.  The weather mostly didn’t co-operate, but we had plenty to do inside so the outside work can wait until another time. 

We took mom to get her haircut, and although I think it’s a good cut and easy to care for, it was shorter than she liked.  Hoping it will grow out soon enough for her to be happy.  It’s hard for her to care for her hair by herself.  But she and John were smiling and comfortable enough to suit us. 

After lunch it warmed up enough, with the sunshine shining on the gardens, that we went out and played in the yard for about a half an hour.  Kath decided that she would get married in May so she could have a hairband of bridal wreath. Trouble might be – dear sister – that you are already married and have been for well over 40 years!  We did take time to smell the flowers, lilacs to be exact.  Mom has the three types:  White (most fregrant), dark purple (French), and the common (COMMON????) light purple. We placed a vase of lilacs on the dining room table by the little cup and saucer Mom got for Mother’s Day.  I liked watching their little colorful windmill spin and twirl in the afternoon breeze. 

After a morning of cleaning and laundry and errands and lunch, we sat down to a snack of carrot cake and ice cream before heading back home.  The hours fly by, and we are always planning the next trip as we travel back down I-79.  Look out, June, here we come!

Winter was a real bugger this year – overstaying its welcome and pushing spring much further forward than anyone liked.  My normal mid-March agenda got pushed into the end of April, and still was sporadic.  Who wants to do yardwork and landscaping in cold, snowy, wet, windy weather? (Sorry Gen – I know it’s your job!). 

But finally I began to attack the yard and the flower beds trying to right the wrongs of winter and late fall.  And thanks to Ron, some of these projects went better than I could have hoped for.  One of the main focuses was the bed in the front yard.  It was out of control, and I decided that I wanted to pull the fabric up, dig out the plants, and seed it for grass.  THAT was a chore; the fabric was rooted (literally!) into the ground and so heavy that once it was up we could barely move it.  We managed to get it into a pile and my trusty cousin Paul came and hauled it away.  I also dug up the small section at the bottom of my driveway and will seed that, as well.  Lots of stones in that one, and I was determined to finish despite the cold windy wet day.  Success! 

Second on the agenda was to weed and thin out the flower beds in the front and side yards, as well as the herb garden and by the driveway.  The section under the deck had stone steps that I had constructed back in 2000 when I had Tazz-pup.  He kept tramping through the flowers and the mulch so I made him an easy-access route from the door up to the top yard.  So Ron and I dug out the stones and began placing them so they looked nicer and were more sturdy.  The little pile of river pebbles beside the house (to deflect overflow of water down the hill) also got dug up and repositioned. 

Then on Sunday afternoon we moved stepping stones from behind the shed and placed them in the little section between the herb garden and the hill flower beds.  I placed a few solar lights there and it made such a wonderful difference!  And while I was weeding out the herb garden, Ron repainted my rusted purple bistro table and 2 chairs, making them look new and appealing. 

I couldn’t have done these projects without you, Ron – invaluable.  Not to mention fun, playing in the dirt, talking and laughing.  I promised that once my yard was finished we’d go over and start on his yard.  He did warn me, however, that he has several weed beds.  I’m REALLY looking forward to that, I can tell you!  But we’ll have fun, cause we can do it together!  Many hands make light work! 

Right after Christmas last year we all got together via email messages and finally chose the weekend of April 27/28 for our 2018 Dillweed B&B Skunk Hollow Women’s Fest event.  We had not been to the B&B in a few years, trading it in for bonfires in Beth’s back yard.  But we were able to see the virtue in moving the event from fall to spring, and made it happen. We love the Dillweed (Innkeepers Kyra and Corey Gilmore), with all the quaint little nick knacks sitting around. Out of the eleven of us, Susan was the only one who could not attend due to minor dental surgery.  We sure missed her!  It just wasn’t the same without our Sue!  Beth committed to driving up a little early so she could get the keys from Corey and Kyra before they left at 5pm.  Kath and I got there a little after 5 and several of the girls were already there, sitting on the porch enjoying the evening sunshine. 

By the time everyone arrived and all the luggage and food were inside, we were definitely starving, so we sat about getting the food ready.  Gail and Connie drove the five minutes to the pizza place and we had a feast.  Although everything was yummy, my favorites were Beth’s Charleston Cheese Dip and Holly’s triple chocolate brownies.  My friend Gen from New York sent us a goodie box which she ordered from Michigan, containing cherry salsa, huge cookies, chocolate covered cherries and trail mix.  It was her way of being part of the group and we appreciated the goodies. 

As we ate, we sat around the parlor and talked about anything and everyone.  We sometimes got off on tangents, such as bucket lists and life regrets.  There was a lot of laughing – which is super good for the soul! – and also a lot of commiserating with the regrets.  We all had them.  Holly shared that when her mom was so sick, she told Holly that she wished she would have bought more dresses.  My aunt and uncle were very frugal, and it was her way of saying that she needed to let go a little and do fun things.  So our slogan for the weekend – and probably a permanent for the group! – is ‘Buy the Dress!’  My friend Ron saw a sign in a window today and txt it to me :  Say Yes To The Dress.  So there you go.  It’s official.  It doesn’t pay to be careless but it’s good to let go once in a while.  Buy the Dress! Karen V had to leave about 10pm as she had another commitment early morning 🙁   I had two essays to read aloud – one about my dad’s horses, and one about going Home (meaning Home PA, where we all connect). We munched and talked and stayed up until almost 1am.  We had free reign of the whole B&B so we walked around in the gift shop, looking at all the neat items, figuring out what we were going to purchase in the morning. I really loved this sign, and almost said ‘yes…’ but practicality won out in the end.  Soon we were all settled in an ‘herb’ room – Kath and I had Parsley.

Kath, Holly and I got up at 7am and went walking 2 miles on the Ghost Town Trail, which is adjacent to the B&B.  We also took a stroll around the herb garden. By the time we were all up and dressed, Kyra had breakfast ready.  As expected (and as always!) it was delicious!  My favorite, though, was the chocolate chip scones.  Kyra was kind enough to share the recipe, and I already bought the ingredients to make them – soon!  Connie had a 50’s event to attend and left a little after breakfast – but she looked cute all dressed up in her wig and poodle skirt and saddle shoes!  Checkout time was 11am, but no one said anything when we sat in the front room and talked until almost 1pm.  It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, and we already have another event out for consideration.  Destination Albion – September 2018!  Hugs to my fellow Skunk Hollow Girls – see you all soon!

Explanation of photos:  Welcome at the front door

Angel on my dresser

Mini tea set in the dining room

Karen O, Kathy, and Marge standing; Gail sitting in chair

Colleen, Connie, and Holly on the swing

Karen V, Colleen, and Connie

Kathy and Marge standing on the sidewalk

Karen O and Kathy standing

Holly and Karen O on swing

Marge Standing; Gwen sitting in chair

Yes to the Dress!

Sign I really wanted to buy!

Herb rooms and herb garden

SCONE!

Kathy Marge and Connie sitting on steps

Bottom to top:  Connie and Gail bottom; Karen O, Holly, and Gwen – middle row; Colleen, Marge, Kathy and Beth on top.