Here it is the end of summer, and school is starting all over the place.  Kelly is home schooling the boys, and they began classes last week.  It’s hard to take first day of school photos when they don’t actually leave for school, but she used her natural creativity and captured the boys doing what they like to do best, adding inspiration in the form of scripture verses. 

Peyton likes to be outside and help with everything.  He does more than his share of mowing for Ma (his grandmother), which she truly appreciates.  Logan likes to keep moving, always looking for something to catch his attention.  Chase is an inside kid – mostly – and would watch TV or video games all day long.  Now, into the second week of classes, they are doing well with their lessons and even have MORE time to help around the house and yard. 

Autmn is at Hempfield Senior High School this year – she can’t be a freshman!  She was a little nervous about such a big move – a very important milestone! – but was ready and smiling this morning for her first day.  Christina started her first year at the Harold Middle School – 6th grade! – and she too was a little intimidated by the move to a new building. 

All five of my ‘grands’ are smart, kind, motivated and ready to take the next step in their young lives.  Love you all, kids, – have a super great year!

On Sunday, when I went back to the Civil War Event at Hanna’s Town, I had Autmn along with me.  She was my photographer and did a good job of it!  She also took a video of the skirmish in the field between the Blue and the Gray, but it wouldn’t transfer from my phone. 

She took a very good photo of the soldiers, hanging out with the cannon.  She also climbed down where the original well and spring house was, and did some exploring.  I took over taking pictures as I captured her in the stocks and hanging out with the corn in the garden. 

She loved the mock battle, and learning from the field surgeon how they used a wooden door from inside the nearest house as an operating table.  The surgeon showed her how they amputated limbs, and even let her in on some of the inside ‘tricks’ to make it look so authentic.  She loved it!  Check the previous post for pictures of the field hospital and the pile of discarded arms and legs.

It didn’t take her long to pick up the information that we all were recounting when people stepped into the tavern or over to the stockade.  Before long she had kicked off her shoes and was taking people through the building, giving tours for all the world like she’d been doing it her whole life!  Joanna (educational director) was impressed and said bring her back any time!  I think she’s hoping for a future volunteer for the site! 

I was proud of her, and she had a wonderful time.  She had a way with the little kids who came, explaining things simply and making sure they didn’t touch anything.  Here’s to the next generation of tour guides! 

This weekend at Historic Hanna’s Town was the first annual Civil War encampment.  I was so excited to be a part of all the activities! 

The day started with a parade of all the regiments and the reenactors.  There were activities for the kids, and games, and junior soldier brigades.  There was also a lot of firing of guns and cannons.  Collections and demonstrations and encampments were mostly interactive.

There were three authors with their books, including me. I was very excited that I sold four Letters to Mary books and one Fields of Blue book. Mary’s wedding dress and Lydia’s church dress got a lot of attention.  The food and bake sale tables were very welcome – especially with warm temperatures coupled with  cold water bottles! There was even a little green larva crawling up the tree – aspiring to be a moth!

One of my favorite displays was the field hospital.  For my research for Letters to Mary I read about several soldiers who had lost limbs in a battle.  There was a wheel-barrow piled with discarded arms and legs.  Although it was party repulsive, it was also very informative and compelling. 

I met several interesting and entertaining people, and enjoyed the mock battle in the open field.  The cannons were very loud, and the soldiers from both the north and south died admirably!  Of course our side won the battle.  But I ask you:  Which side is ‘our’ side??? 🙂 

Tuesday was a very fun day for me!  I was blessed to have Kelly and the boys come up and spend the day.  Jen brought the girls over a little before lunch, and the cousins could have a great time together. 

After a chilly start, the day turned warm, and we walked over to a little rock pile and picked several dozen flat (mostly!) rocks.  The kids scrubbed them and set them to dry in the sun while we had lunch.  Then the fun really began!  Each of the kids picked out several rocks.  We put newspaper on the deck and the card table, sat out a box of brushes and paints, and got to work.  There’s a game that you can play with these painted rocks – putting a name and a hash tag (#) on the rock and hiding them, then tracking them on the internet.  I don’t think that will happen with MY rocks, but I think Kelly’s family will do it – maybe even for a school project!

We all had favorite rocks once they were done. Chase liked his emoji rock.   Logan liked his shark.  Peyton, his Steeler rock.  Chris, I’m not too sure, but I think the sparkly one.  Autmn liked the green one with her name in silver sparkle.  Kelly liked her pumpkin and Christmas tree (so did I!).  My rocks were all pretty funky – not in a good way! – and I didn’t really like any of them.  Maybe the flag one, but Kelly’s was nicer!  Autmn got the idea to paint a bunch of small round rocks to look like M&M’s, with a few oval ones for peanut M&M’s!  I put them on a dish on a table outside the door.  They are very cute!  After we cleaned up the rock project, we walked down to the playground where the kids played a rousing but confusing game of softball.  We ordered Abie and Bimbo’s pizza for dinner, and Nate was able to join us.  We missed our Jen – she was at work!  (Sorry, Jen!)  I ended the day by going with Kelly and the boys over to Walmart to get them trapper-keepers.  They are home-schooling in the fall and won’t need traditional back-to-school gear like I bought for the girls on Sunday. 

It was a great day, one that doesn’t happen nearly often enough, but I was happy to have everyone here even for a little bit.  Already looking forward to the next one!  Love you guys!

This has been an adventurous 10 days for me!  According to my uncle, I have sort of gotten myself ‘stuck’ in a rut, and I have decided to climb out.  So, step one and step two, accomplished!  And even a pre-step before that! My first big step was that after 10 years of longer hair, I got my hair cut, about shoulder length.  I really like it shorter, and the style is much easier.  Whew.  On the right track!  For even longer than that, however, I have been ‘threatening’ to get a Snoopy tattoo.  Just a very small one, I said.  On the back of my left shoulder, about quarter-sized. 

Well, Nathan has been getting a few tattoos, and finally called me one afternoon and informed me that the appointment was made, the tattoo was paid for, and the two of us were both getting Snoopys!  My part in this part of the adventure was to pick out the Snoopy picture I wanted and print it out.  He’d send it – along with his picture choice, to Johnny at Unique Ink in Greensburg, and we’d be all set.  I picked a simple, Snoopy-hugging-Woodstock picture, and fifteen minutes after arriving, Snoopy – about 2 inches tall – was tattooed on the inside of my right ankle.  I figured if I was going to all that pain and trouble, I wanted to be able to see him! 

For 10 days I gave Snoopy a soft-soap bath and rubbed him gently with a clear cream.  He and Woodstock are happy and healthy – and it was not as uncomfortable as I expected.  I’d much rather get a simple tattoo than go to the dentist (Sorry, Dr. Lane!).  Too bad that’s not a life choice.  Nate got a Harry Potter Snoopy on his left bicep.  Both Snoopys are doing well….  

Tonight after work I stopped at Julie’s Hair Salon and got the purple stripe put back in my hair.  So, I’m all set.  I have a class reunion-picnic on Sunday, and I feel pretty confident about that!  My only concern is, what adventure will I find and conquer next????  🙂

Saturday was our annual Spring (a little late….) get-together of the Skunk Hollow Girls – all cousins, all friends.  We started the day by meeting at Historic Hanna’s Town, where I was able to give the girls a ‘deluxe’ version of the standard tour of Hanna’s Tavern and the town, including the history of the area.  My favorite bit of information about Hanna’s Town was that in 1775, Hanna’s Town and Pittsburgh were the same size.  Pittsburgh flourished, for obvious reasons, including the three rivers. The stop at Hanna’s Tavern would have been a day’s ride out of Pittsburgh on Forbes Road. If you’ve never been there, I recommend it!  There are lots of very knowledgeable guides at the site.  For information, check it out at www.westmorelandhistory.org and click on the Hanna’s Town tab.

Anyway, I took nine ‘skunks’ on the tour, and we had a great time together.  Thanks, Beth, for sharing the photos!  After a few hours of history, we drove back to my house where we had a great lunch which consisted of more food than the population of the original town could have consumed!  Thanks to everyone for bringing all the yummies, as we had chips, brownies, candy, pie, icecream, cheese/crackers, fruit, veggies, ham BBQ, pasta salad, potato salad, and cold drinks.  What a feast.  As tradition dictates, we always share an original essay about something closely connected to one or all of us.  This time it was about a skunk invasion – but one that was very unwelcome!  It’s fun to share and laugh with people so close to our hearts.  Don’t really know what I’d do without these girls!  But attached are photos of the town and grounds, the last one is a field of flax.  If you go back to the home page, and click on the tab for ‘Skunk Invasion’, you can read the story for yourself.  It was a super great day, and we’re all looking forward to the next adventure of the Skunk Hollow Girls!

We had a very lovely time yesterday celebrating the pending arrival of my niece Sarah’s baby in September.  It was all things PINK and elegant as we enjoyed sharing our love, time, and the showering of gifts on the Owens family.  The banner on the staircase welcomed little Amelia Jane (Jane is my mother’s middle name!), and the cake had alphabet blocks (which was extremely yummy, by the way!). Huge sugar cookies trimmed in pink were shaped like onsies, carriages, bibs…  Those, too were very tasty.

As part of the decorations, my sister had hung up three little dresses.  The first was a dress made by our grandmother for our mother, Dorothy Jane.  The second was a dress made for Kathy by our mother.  The third was a dress made by Kathy for Sarah.  That was my favorite part of the whole shower!  It was wonderful to be there with family and friends, to see the joy and wonder as the gifts were opened, and to truly celebrate a little life that is coming into the best of families. 

Congrats, Sarah and Kyle.  Can’t wait to meet little Amelia in September!

This weekend was Court Days at Historic Hanna’s Town.  Westmoreland County Historical Society – with a huge array of volunteers – present life as it was in the late 1700’s, right down the road.  And I loved it!  To give you an idea of the venue, several antique dealers set up tents in the field across from Hanna’s Tavern.  There was also a food tent with basic sandwiches, snacks, and a bake sale.  Those cinnamon rolls were absolutely YUM! 

But that’s just the beginning.  There were kids’ craft activities, Colonial Dance (courtesy of Miss Joanna), needlework demonstrations, crafters, Frontier garden interpretation by Miss Debbie, Proctor’s Militia (and a few other reenactors), several native Americans, tours on the tavern and outbuildings, and of course, court case re-enacting. 

I spent a good part of the day as a docent in the tavern, talking about the Hanna family, 18th century taverns, money exchanges, and even sweeping floors!  The court cases were acted out for a very lively audience, and were based on actual court cases in the 1770’s and 1780’s.  There was a paternity suit, a drunken thief, a rogue who was dating two sisters at the same time, and a young horse thief. They were all delightfully entertaining! 

The day ended with a skirmish between the town’s citizens and the combined British/Native Americans.  In the actual attack, the British won and burnt the town; in our version, however, the citizens triumphed and the Redcoats were scattered dead across the battle field.   Yea!  I was particularly interested in the teepee- type structure and the animal pets in the ‘Indian’ Village.   It was so nice to see my friends again – it’s been a while! – and to hear Augie’s recitation of ‘himself’ as a 10-year-old, watching his home burn.  He did a marvelous job. 

A huge thanks to Augie, Lisa, Joanna, and all of those that volunteer and made this day amazing!

I have mixed feelings about the birthday that I just ‘celebrated’.  It’s wonderful to know I am loved and appreciated, but my heart was a little heavy with so much concern over my parents.  Although they are doing very well, John – at 96 – is struggling to deal with his broken shoulder, and Mom – at almost 87 – is trying very hard to care for this giant of a man who towers over her petite self!  We are all helping (A huge thanks to Barb – no one could do this without you!) but it will be a slow road.

In the meantime, I did enjoy the day.  I mentioned in the last post that we celebrated the week before when we were at mom’s – and how thankful I am about that!  Afterward, Kath left an ‘unbirthday’ gift for me, which now flies happily on my top deck.  Nate, Jen and the girls bought me the first three seasons on DVD of the AMC series TURN (Revolutionary War spy saga).  Ron surprised me with a picnic at Linn Run, two solar color-changing lights (fairy and bird) and a garden plaque. Then on Monday, he sent purple iris’s!

I received countless cards from dear friends and family, and close to 100 well-wishes on facebook.  Thanks to everyone for making my day (and my life!) special.  It’s the stuff that makes life smile!

Since my last post, we got word that my step-father fell in the kitchen and broke his shoulder (turns out he bruised his hip as well).  It was a scary, rough couple of days, shuffling schedules and making care-giving phone calls with medical providers and step-siblings.  And although the situation is only slightly less panic-laden, we stopped to be silent in God’s presence and asked Him for comfort (all around), patience, wisdom, and direction.  Even for God, that’s a handful with our crew! 

Kathy, Paul and I headed up Thursday evening and just took appraisal of the situation.  It’s so terribly hard to see the ones you love most in the world struggling and hurting.  But God is Good, all the time!  By Friday mid-morning, John was feeling a little more settled, mom looked a little (only a little!) less frazzled, and we were stepping in to provide whatever we could.  John kept pretty busy fielding phone calls, which was an encouragement to them.  His arm is in a tight sling but we were assured that it is a fracture that will repair itself and no surgery should be necessary.  Blessing! 

After a crazy three-person struggle to get their window air conditioner installed (absolute necessity!) the house felt a lot cooler.  In the meantime, though, John had directed the process with Barb (John’s daughter) and Mom enjoying the entertainment.  It should have been a you-tube video! But mission accomplished with great results.  After lunch (side note here:  It was my job to heat the left-overs and make the grilled cheese sandwiches.  I was doing really good until we realized that I had toasted the sandwiches really nicely but had forgotten the CHEESE!  Alas.  Chalk it up to high-gear, non-focus agenda!!  So I had to take the heat for that one all afternoon!)  Anyway, after lunch, Paul sat down at the table with Mom and wrote out a grocery list – adding things like ‘special watermelon’ and potato salad and corn-on-the-cob and ice cream (and something they just HAD to have, whatever that would be) – and Kathy and I set off. That mission was accomplished, as well.

We split our time between doing what needed done (burning the trash, pulling the vines off the main outside steps, doing laundry) and nurturing (as in the Mary part of Mary and Martha – no secret Kath is Mary and I’m Martha!).  It was lovely to take a walk around the yard – just for a minute – to water the tomato plants and to stop and enjoy the lilies.  What a beautiful color.  Balm for the frazzled soul! 

We headed home later that evening, relieved that we could offer the little that we had, and praying that God will wrap them in his comfort and healing as they work their way back to their daily routine.  Like the story about the 5 loves and 2 small fishes feeding 5000-plus people, we know that God can work miracles.  He can take the little gifts that we offer and turn them into huge blessings! Prayers are always appreciated, so thank you for praying for them.  God bless….