Last weekend Kathy and I took a day trip up to visit Mom and John.  We did a little housekeeping just to give them a break, and prepared some food.  Even had some cake and ice cream as a treat.  But the real treat was taking a walk with mom through her yard.  The flowers and bushes were blooming happily and we enjoyed being outside.  I remember walking through my grama’s gardens, and I know my mom inherited the knack and love for growing flowers from her mom. 

    The roses had an amazing aroma and I was wishing the pictures could convey that. 

The rhododendron is one single bush and John says it’s been growing there for decades. 

The maple tree outside the dining room window had unique twisting of the branches and it’s also been there for more years than he can remember. 

The wooden cactus was carved by Uncle Gene  – I think everyone in the family had one.  Mine is tucked in the shed as I keep knocking it over!  But back to the flowers. 

The yard was a rainbow of colors and I know mom enjoyed being outside if just for a bit.   John had a bird feeder attached to the kitchen window and we watched a cardinal munching a mid-morning snack.

Before we left we got a good photo of Mom and John together.  This month they will be married 33 years!  A nice trip and a nice day, and so blessed to be with them.  Praying for their peace and safety and joy!

Sunday morning found gray skies and rain in the morning, but inside the church there is always Son-shine!  Always a blessing to share with my church family.  Kath invited me for lunch with her family, and again –  there is always so much food!  It was relaxing to enjoy lunch and family.  My youngest grandchild is almost 10, so having Millie (not quite 2) is a delight.  She had fun watching the bubble machine – so did I.  I think I need to get one of those things. 

Later in the afternoon I did more yard work, trimmed some shrubs and bundled them, then washed the car. Also caught up on reading some manuscripts. 

Monday I picked up Kath, and we headed to Linn Run, Laughlintown, and Ligonier.  The idea of Linn Run was to pack our new backpacks with snacks and lunch, a sweater, purse items, and water, then hike through the trails.  We got the backpacks for our Boston trip and wanted to see if we could manage them (which we could).  We walked for about an hour and a half before finding a comfy spot to have lunch beside the water.   I was hoping that the antique mall was open so we buzzed up to Laughlintown, but it was not.  We contented ourselves by stopping at the Pie Shoppe.  Even having eaten lunch, we bought a piece of pizza to share and each bought a bag of snails (cinnamon roll treats).  It was relaxing to sit on the patio and have our treats, enjoying the sun and comfy breeze. 

We parked at the Diamond in Ligonier and walked through the quaint little town, admiring the store fronts and beautiful homes. 

As we headed home I had a whim, and we swung over to St. Vincent’s cemetery.  I had not been to Bud’s burial site and really wanted to find it.  The building was peaceful and quiet and so beautiful.  It was a type of closure to me to be there, to see his name on the wall, celebrate his life for a few minutes. 

Then as is tradition for me for Memorial Day, I washed my windows.  It’s my official start to summer. 

And in addition to all of that, I felt humbled and thankful for all the displays of honor and sacrifice as I remembered those who have served and fought and given so much that we could live in our wonderful country.  God Bless America, every day, every year, and may we always be worthy of their sacrifices!

This past weekend was one of the best that I remember in quite a while!  It started for me on Friday afternoon – I left work at 12:30pm and came home to do yard work.  I cut the grass, pulled some weeds, swept everything clean, and made sure all the patriotic decorations were in place.  The house looked happy and welcoming.  I love my house!  That is mainly because of the many friends and family that gather there to share with me.  After yard work I buzzed over to the store and purchased a pair of shorts with stars on the pockets.  I’d had my eye on them and decided to splurge.  After all, from July 1st on that could be my weekly summer work outfit!  Casual! 

Saturday morning my sister picked me up and we went over to our cousin Deb’s for a brunch/shower.  Deb’s niece is getting married in July and it was a great occasion to celebrate!  Deb and her daughter Emily hosted the shower for Miranda  (center). Again, friends and family… 

Kath dropped me off about noon, and I got into the Skunk Hollow gear and began to get the house ready for cousin company.  There were nine of the eleven present(we missed you Karen V & Susan!), and from about 1:45pm until well past 8pm we had a great time!  We heard about Connie’s foster granddaughter and about Gail’s brand new husband, and caught up on everything going on in each other’s lives.  And of course we ate!  There was so much food we could have stayed for three days! Most of us shared a little about a romantic moment in our lives, and encouraged Gail to share her courtship and engagement story with us. 

Even after six hours I was sad to see them leave.  Beth said she was so comfortable at my place she could just curl up on the couch and watch a Hallmark movie!  I wish they all would have done that!   Beth left a little guardian angel for me, which will cheer me from the deck every day.  Thank you, Beth!  It was a very fun two days!

The last concert of the 2018-2019 school year has come to an end.  Harrold Middle School had their band concert on Thursday night, including Jazz band, Wind Ensemble, 6th grade, and combined 7/8 grades.  The theme was ‘trains’ and was prominent throughout the evening.  Chris was in the 7th grade section of the program and played a few different percussion instruments.  We were sitting close to the front and Jen got some very good pictures of her on the xylophone.   Of course her dad had to embarrass her by calling her name while they were setting up.  We enjoyed watching her play, hearing her part (great job, Chrissy!) and seeing the joy on her face with a job well done!  So glad that even with our busy schedules we have time to stop and smell the roses — ah, er, hear the music! — of these kids who worked so hard to get it right.  Next year she wants to try for Jazz band and/or Wind Ensemble.  She’ll do great, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

One of the many fun things about the fact that my daughter home schools her three boys is that I can go on their field trips!  Families welcome! Such was the case last Monday when Kelly and the boys came up to stay with me as their destination was closer to my house than to theirs.  So early Tuesday morning we set off in the damp, chilly weather of a Western Pennsylvania May day.  It only took slightly under an hour to arrive at Ft. Necessity where the school co-op group was waiting.  The staff was ready for us and very accommodating.  The first thing we did was to watch the movie about what had happened there, and at nearby Jumonville.  George Washington established himself there as a valuable asset to whichever army he would be attached to – which at that time was the British.  We walked around the museum part of the visitor center until it was time to split into groups.  The older group went with one guide and the younger ones with another.  As Logan and Peyton would be together in the older group, we asked Chase who he would like to have with him in his group.  I was pleased and surprised that he chose me over his mom!  Our group started with the inside activities, learning about who was settled in which areas of North America (French or British) and how the Native Americans played a part.  We learned about planting gardens, identifying animal tracks, prepping a musket, and trading with local Indian tribes.  I’m sure I learned more from being with this group than I did two years ago on the adult tours.  It was a whole new perspective.  Once we were done with the inside activities, the groups switched places and we went outside to the fort.  It was cold and damp and windy and not everyone was dressed comfortably, so we huddled into the small log cabin at the fort and learned about supplies, why the Great Meadow was the best place for the fort, how the tree line came into play, and actually practiced loading and ‘unloading’ muskets . Our guide was very knowledgeable and informative and great with the younger ones.  My favorite parts were how to trade with the Indians (Beaver pelts were the most valuable commodityd- more so than deer!) and how they planted a garden:  corn in the middle, beans around the corn, then squash on the outside.  It was planted in a circle. We met back at the visitors center lobby to eat our picnic lunch before heading to Laurel Caverns.

The view from the parking lot of the cavern’s visitor center was amazing, and even Chase liked it.  We took Logan and Chase’s picture standing by the railing.  On a clear day you can see Pittsburgh, but it definitely wasn’t a clear day! Again we were in two groups, which had been decided ahead of time.  Anyone eleven and up could elect to go on the ‘uncharted’ tour if they wanted to be more adventuresome.  The rest of us took the traditional tour, which was a little over an hour.  As we descended into the ‘bowels of the earth’ I wondered if I would feel too closed in but that was not the case.  A few passageways were very narrow but none were scary.  We walked a half a mile down through well-lit passage ways, often with colored lights shining on interesting formations or smaller cave openings.   By the time we reached the lowest part, we were seventeen stories down. (I’m hard to see, but I’m standing by a purple rock!) There were places we could hear water running, where the walls and even the floors were wet, and even a section of writing on the walls (which is illegal now).  The most fascinating place was where we stopped to study our perspective.  It was what appeared to be a sloped raining going upwards from left to right. 

However, when you places a golf ball on the railing, it rolled uphill to the right!  The guide explained that we had nothing to base the angle on as we didn’t have the horizon to anchor us.  The railing was actually going DOWNHILL from left to right.  Near the end of the tour we saw a light show set to music, ‘Appalachian Spring’ – it sounded to me very much like ‘Lord of the Dance.’  The multi-colored lights flashed in tune to the music as it highlighted different sections of the caves.  At the very end they turned all the lights out and you could literally not see the hand in front of your face.  What a scary place to be lost in, but thankfully that was not an issue.

While we were having fun tramping around the sand and limestone well-lit pathways, the older more adventurous group was crawling and climbing over rock formations and through tight openings in a very unlit section of the caves.   The entire depth of the caverns are over forty stories down.  The explorers were instructed to wear long pants, long sleeve shirts, a hard had, solid hiking boots, and to bring two sources of light.  Peyton (second from the right) had several flashlights and a head lamp fastened to his hard hat.  Their tour was well over two hours long, and I totally admire the adults that braved that tour!  Several moms txted Kelly that evening saying that if Peyton wouldn’t have helped pull them out of holes and through openings they would still be stuck there!  He loved the whole thing and wants to go again and do the three hour tour.  Sounds a little like the S S Minnow to me….

We all had a good time (even Chase, who is hard pressed to get too far from his X-Box and Switch) and worked up an appetite.  We ordered Abie and Bimbo’s pizza on the way home and ate most of it in record time.  Thanks for including me in another Hancher family adventure.  I loved being the ‘Grammy’ on the school field trip!

This afternoon our Ladies Ministry hosted a cake decorating demonstration at the church.  Shelagh Robertson was our expert, with the help of some cupcake baking by Dianne and Amy Gresham.  There were about two dozen of us watching the demonstration, and about half way through I knew it was something I would never conquer. 

But it was very fun to watch, and to see a triangular bag stuffed with pastel icing come out the other end looking like hydrangeas and roses! Mine looked like blobs of icing. (The purple flower on the top was pre-made, and not by me!!!) After one attempt I asked Jessica Kintigh if she would be kind enough to decorate my other two, which she did.  Shelagh (and most of the others!) made it look so easy that I was frustrated that I couldn’t get anything even closely resembling a flower! 

But I do have to say, regardless of what it looked like, it sure tasted good.  We learned how to remove a small ring in the center of the cupcake and insert filling, then replace the center.  We had orange flavored cupcakes with a whipped pineapple filling.  There were chocolate cupcake with 3 kinds of filling (including a chocolate chip mousse – need I say more???).  And a vanilla cupcake with whipped cream, diced strawberries, and freezer jam filling.  I sampled the orange one; the other two are in my fridge. 

Now that you’ve seen my cupcake (???), here are the samples of the other ladies.  We had some pretty quick learners in the group.  It was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon – not to mention tasty.  Thanks, Shelagh and Dianne for putting the program together!!!  

This past week Harrold Middle School and Hempfield Senior High School performed their spring chorus concerts.  Chrissy’s concert was Thursday night, and she was in both the 7th grade chorus and honors chorus.  The band director was lively and creative and really brought a good time to the stage.  It was obvious that the kids enjoyed participating and the audience enjoyed every song. I was proud and excited to be there. My favorites were “What a Wonderful World” by the Honors Chorus and “Cripple Creek” by the 7th Grade Chorus. They ended the program with the 8th graders singing “We Go Together” and they left the stage in pairs.  This was their very last program at the middle school. Can’t wait to see what Chrissy’s class does next year!

Friday night was the high school program, and Autmn was in this one as a sophomore.  There was a marked difference in the performances from middle to high school.  Each equally wonderful but the high school numbers had a fairly high degree of professionalism and for the most part were serious.  The one that seemed the most fun was “Toon Tunes”, which were snippets of the theme songs of several popular cartoons, including the Peanuts Theme.  I could see Autmn eyeing me up, knowing I’d love it.  I almost turned on my ringtone so it could play along! 

It’s so great to see the girls perform, and see the dedication and joy and pride they have in participating.  I love these two girls!  Way to go, chick-ies!  Good job!  Love you!

This past week I was invited to do a workshop on memoirs at the McKenna Senior Center.  Although the original workshop was focused on WRITING memoirs, this one took a different turn.  We talked about the importance of sharing your story, your memories, and your life with your family, friends, and community.  And it is important.  As far back as records go, our history is based on word of mouth stories passed on from generation to generation.  It is taken from diaries, journals, letters, and publications, written by one person, seen from his/her point of view.  What we have seen and lived in our lifetime is our future, the record of our family and country.  We need to share these memories. 

But first we have to remember those things, and that was the focus of our workshop.  I has story boards with hand-drawn maps of my neighborhood while I was growing up, and one of the area around our family cabin, 60 miles away.  I had a time line drawn, photo albums, yearbooks, my journal, and lots of examples of how to unearth those forgotten and hidden events. We talked about M&M’s, ice cream, friends, events, music, and even cousins. 

It’s one thing to remember something that happened, and quite another to remember the five senses associated with those things, and how what happened made you feel.  It was a small but mighty group, and I had great responses.  But unknown to me, there is a memoir group that meets twice a month and several members were there. So we spent about twenty minutes after the workshop discussing memoir writing and sharing stories. 

I really appreciated the opportunity to share my workshop, and hope those that attended enjoyed the afternoon as much as I did.  Thank you, Mary, for the invitation!  It was great fun!

It wouldn’t be Ligonier Free Museum Day unless it was rainy and cold.  It’s tradition.  But it didn’t stop us from tramping through the puddles and muddy roads and wet grass to see the sights and hear the history. 

Our first stop after church was the Lincoln Highway Museum.  Kelly and Matt and the three boys (Peyton, Logan, Chase) along with Chrissy and Autmn and I met Kelly’s friend Amy and her group.  This was the first time I had been in the new part and was excited to see it.  But we started in the ‘bike’ room – Chrissy and Autmn both made calls (??) from the phone booth.   It’s funny to think that a phone booth was a common sight when I was growing up – I used more than my share when I was younger.  But it’s an anomaly to kids now.  Chase was the first one to try the bike – the further you rode the more lights lit on the board until you made it all the way from coast to coast.  I was really impressed with the diner and all the displays in the new museum including the original Serro’s Diner.  I especially liked the little motel room, which was very quaint and inviting.  The diner was offering free samples of apple pie, which we all agreed was COMPLETELY delicious! 

The next stop was the Railroad Museum.  Amy’s kids and Chase road Thomas the Train before walking through the station.  The favorite was the caboose, especially the top seats.  We all had wet,  muddy shoes by the time we got back to the car and tramped through the field at Compass Inn. 

That is one of my favorite stops, and this year they were actually giving tours.  My friend Carol was there (I had worked with her in the kitchen yesterday at Hanna’s Town – a lady of many talents!), and she gave the first part of the tour.  From the kitchen and serving room we went to the parlor.  I loved the cradle with the little socks hanging over the side.  Upstairs we learned about chamber pots and straw mattresses and wool blankets and quilts. It was crowded but fun. I loved the view of the Dogwoods out the beveled glass window. (Thanks to Amy for the photos at Compass Inn.)

The last stop of the afternoon (for us, anyway) was Ft. Ligonier.  Even though I’d been there before several times lately, it’s always interesting and enlightening to hear about our local history, and see General Washington’s pistols (gift from Lafayette) and see a section of Arthur St. Clair’s home.  The fort itself is well displayed and staffed with knowledgeable and friendly interpreters. The kids posed by the tent, then Chase found a war helmet that we dubbed the ‘Fortnite power helmet’ and had his picture taken beside it. Autmn and I took a selfie just for fun.

During all the running between museums and raindrops we grabbed snacks and drinks from the back of my car — pizza, Mt. Dew, homemade brownies, bananas, Goldfish.  We all decided as we finished up the day that next year we were putting in our order early for sunshine.  Ligonier Free Museum Day is certainly due for a spectacular weather event, and soon!  Free Museum Day is the first Sunday in May, so mark next year’s calendar now and join us.  It’s fun no matter the weather.

The cloudy skies did not put a damper on the sunny spirits of those who welcomed and those who attended the opening day for Historic Hanna’s Town 2019.  It was the maiden voyage, so to speak, for the new education center and relocation of the gift shop.   I had not been in the building yet, and although I didn’t really have any disposable time today, I did take a moment to walk up and look through the shop.  It’s bright and light and appealing and stocked with lovely items.  Joan and her crew did a wonderful job arranging and displaying.  I was in the shop twice and both times there were several people looking and shopping.  Lovely job! 

There were tours several times throughout the day and the first one to walk past had at least a dozen people, who were all well engrossed with the guide’s information and explanations.  I sort of wanted to slip into the group and hear it all again. The group was in front of the tavern by the stocks, beside the goal (jail).  One young woman was very interested in the tea (which was being set up at the time) and I was able to find her information.  I’m confident that she’ll be back with her sister in November for the fall tea!

My part in the day was to be scullery maid – working in the kitchen to prepare, organize and plate the food for the guests.  There were twenty-four in the first seating and eighteen in the second – I had the first shift.  The light meal would start out with ambrosia (a light fruit salad), then move on to scones, sugared/frozen grapes, and chocolate-dipped apricots.  That was followed by four different finger sandwiches (cucumber, egg salad, chicken salad, and date).  The sweets were tea cakes, tea-pot shaped sugar cookies, a spice cookie, and pound cake (my particular favorite).  And of course, the ‘guest of honor’, spiced tea.  The tea cups were traditional china cups with saucers.

The rooms and the porch were decorated with flowers, arranged and brought by volunteers: Lilacs on the corner shelf, wild flowers in a bucket on the school desk outside, a wreath and a vase by the door, roses on the window sill, and a floral spray flanked by candles on both mantles.  So inviting and quaint. 

Lillian, who directed and hosted the event, explained that the teas had started in 1986 by Margie Albright as a fund raiser for the Elizabeth Hanna Guild.  Lillian was there from the first tea – over thirty years! – and is the expert.  She takes great pride in seeing that everything is exactly perfect, and shares some of the history of the event and the original colonial teas with the guests.  The English were (of course) well known for hosting teas, but the residents of Hanna’s Town in the 1700’s would have none of the British ways!  They used whatever spices and flavorings they had in their own back yard or stored in the fruit cellars.  Lillian also made certain that the tea  – which was brewed for two hours – was never put in cold serving pots.  The tea pots would always be warmed with hot water before the tea was poured and served.  Just watching her face and hearing the excitement in her voice tells you how much she loves doing this, and how important it is to her.  It’s great to have Lillian and her crew – both the scullery girls working downstairs in the kitchen and the serving wenches upstairs in the tea room!  All were pleasant and efficient and equally invested in making the day fun and delightful. 

Hanna’s Town has a full slate of activities going on throughout the year.  Today was just the kick-off events.  Check out their website at WESTMORELANDHISTORY.ORG to see the full schedule, including the fall tea on November 8th.  My personal recommendation is Court Days on June 22nd and 23rd, although everything is wonderful!  Historic Hanna’s Town – Where history is present.  Come see us!