So when we were growing up, there was a set of railroad tracks at the bottom of the hill. From there, we crossed a bridge over Jack’s Run (an unfortunately dirty creek!) to get to the bus stop. (where the hydrant is). 
The railroad tracks were off limits for us – stay away, bad news, unsafe, hobos, TRAINS!
Sometimes we did sneak away down there- we had a ‘club’ that we called the mysterious trestle club: kids doing what we shouldn’t do! Now those tracks are the basic patch for the Five Star Trail, and is not only safe but we’re encouraged to go there! I am standing on the trestle to take the picture.
There are even benches scattered along the trail at places.
I decided I was tired of walking the neighborhood so I drove over to Buncher Park and walked a 2.3 mile loop. It was hot, but a lot of the trail is shady. I took a right on Shady Lane – the road we lived on when I was a young.
It’s a quaint little tree lined road, so much smaller than I remember! It’s always that way. And this 
is the house where I grew up – very much changed, at least in color and updates.
Cole’s pond was part of the charm, and although they are hard to distinguish, there are ducks swimming around. We used to sit for hours on the fence post and watch the ducks, and think about what it would be like to OWN a pond!
It was nice to take a walk back memory lane. I don’t know why I don’t do it more often!
According to the Bible, in the book of Esther (surprise!), a young Jewish girl was chosen by King Xerxes to be queen. Esther’s story is one of my favorites, as she did not just have outward physical beauty, but strength of character, kindness, and compassion as well.
Sunday evening the very talented youth of the Hempfield Church of Christ presented the musical ESTHER-EXTRAORDINARY FAITH! These young people did an amazing job with learning and presenting their lines, signing numerous (and often humorous and thought-provoking) numbers, and their stage presence was wonderful! The scribe, recording in his book all the events that were happening in the book of facts, was named Xerox. Now how fun is that?
Xerxes and Esther were beautifully arrayed in their royal robes and did a great job. The soloists were all exceptionally talented and I believe we have several young voices that will go far. 
One of the numbers was performed in blacklight, and the white gloves glowed on stage as the group sang.
The evening was a great joy, and a big thanks to Janet Drown and all the crew who made it happen, and for all the heartfelt praise of these children who so obviously love the Lord! Great job guys! Can’t wait to see what’s next.
The day started with warm Popin’ Fresh cinnamon rolls with icing and moved from there to a rousing game of Monopoly. Chrissy had the most property and I think Autmn had the most currency. I just tripped along buying and not buying and paying a lot of rent. Ended up in Jail, but the next turn lucked me into the Free Parking jackpot!
After the game, Chrissy went home but Autmn and I went to the Arona Road Greenhouse to pick out some flowers. She has an eye for color and variety and picked a few things to plant in her own little space at home. I prefer the Gerber Daisy and the orange Marigold; Autmn liked the Geraniums and leaned toward yellow, mostly. We went next to Home Depot and got some potting soil for the yard pots and a few other flats to fill in. I dropped her off and came home to put the flowers on my park bench under the top deck.
By the time I grabbed a bite of lunch it had started to rain. 🙁 So now I had a bench full of flowers and it was cold and rainy. Bummer.
But as I sit and write this, the rain is fading off to a light drizzle. I hope to give it another 15 minutes or so, then layer up in garden scrubs and start to plant. I’ll save Autmn’s flowers for a sunny evening when I can go over to help her weed and plant.
They have a lot of forget-me-knots and white Dutch iris over there; I think maybe a trade can be negotiated! Stay tuned for the outcome!!!
Happy 95th birthday, John! Seven of the Skunk Hollow girls traveled to Albion for Friday/Saturday to have a fun weekend with my parents. While we were at it, we celebrated John’s birthday with balloons, cake, and a banner that we bought at the dollar store that said HAPPY BRITHDAY! 
Someone can’t spell…. We had a good laugh over that! Good fun! (Beth on the left and Gail’s arm on the right holding sign over Mom’s head so John could see it!)
Freddie took the whole event in from a distance. He really wanted to see what was going on, but would not let anyone get near enough to scratch his ear. I think he was glad to see us leave!
Saturday morning after breakfast Kathy and I walked through the gardens to see what was blooming. It was very cold and wet so we didn’t stay out very long. These lovely flowers are informally called MONEY PLANTS,
as after they bloom they get papery silver discs on them the size of a quarter that really look like money! We’d all be rolling in the dough if it really was money!
This was one of my favorites, as I really love dogwood trees. This particularly amazing tree – in addition to being hard to grow in the first place! – blooms both pink and white
on the same tree! Beautiful and puzzling at the same time!
After a lunch of salads and sandwiches and about 45 different kinds of desserts, we piled in 3 cars and headed to town. There was a new thrift shop flea market that we needed to check out, and a resale consignment shop that has no end of interesting little items. By the time we were done browsing, it was time to pack up the cars and head back down I-79, back to our homes and – for Kath and I – away from two of the people we love most in our lives.
Already looking forward to the next Albion trip, and the next Skunk Hollow Event (June). See you then, family!!!
Kath and I as so blessed to have such a wonderful, Godly mother! From the time we were old enough to remember, she has been a rock to stand on, a blanket to keep us warm and close, and example to follow, and a woman to pattern our lives after. Her faith and patience have been priceless as we have made our way through the maze of confusion we call ‘life’.
Mom is always up for fun, ready to have a good time, wanting to be part of the party, happy to share in our outings and projects. She has been my greatest champion, supporter, prayer warrior, – words fail me! There has never been a time in my life – both the good times and the hard times – when she did not have words of support or encouragement or delight to share with me – and all of them wrapped in scripture and love.
To me this seems like such a small tribute, but it comes from the heart – and I know I speak for Kathy and for John’s daughters and sons who call her mother – and I just have to add this one thing: Mom, you will always be the star in our lives, bright and shining and guiding. We love you to the STARS and back! Have a great day!!!
What a beautiful day to be in Smicksburg! Kathy and I headed out early this morning, glad to see the sun peeking through and the skies getting bluer as we got closer. We were on a mission: First, to see the Aunts (Joan and Dolly) and Uncle Clifford. Mission accomplished. It was so nice to see all three of them looking happy and chipper and well. Love these families to the MOON and back!
Second, to go to a book signing at the Windgate Winery. I had never been there, and was delightfully surprised! There was an art gallery and an antique shop in addition to the vineyards and the winery. But the main draw was the dozen plus authors who had their very interesting and appealing books for sale! I was glad to walk through and say hello to the authors I knew, and to meet new ones. Thanks, Tom Beck, for posting and letting us know about this event! 
The view from the end of the drive was amazing – first picture is the rolling hills and the barn. Second picture is an Amish farm and buildings, snuggled in next to a large stand of trees. The sky had turned bright blue and the clouds looked like cool whip!
No matter how many times we have been there, we always love stopping at the quaint little shops on main street. My favorite is the Drying Shed but there are so many others that are fun to visit as well. We decided NOT to go to New York (time restraint – ha ha) but did stop at the rest. The fudge at the Village Sampler is very yummy. Chocolate Walnut!
It was a great day, shared with my wonderful sister, visiting family, seeing friends, SHOPPING … Who says you can’t go Home again??? Not ME!
So it’s that time of year again: TIME TO PLAY IN THE DIRT! This was a gift from a dear friend several years ago, and I do live by it. I have spent the last several weeks in the gardens, in the yard, in the flowers. Over the winter the leaves and dead stalks did their jobs to keep the shoots and bulbs warm under the winter snows, but it was time to clean it up. Which I did! That is a lot of work, and all the muscles in my body ache for days afterwards, but it’s a labor of love for sure.
I have my little tribute corner, by the little stone stepping path that Tazz always took to get to the upper yard. He made such a mess in the mulch that I created a walkway of steps for him. He’s been gone since 2007, but the steps are still there. The kids and I use them to cut through, too. I have the little statue as a tribute to Tazz – as if I really needed a reminder of what he meant to my household and my heart!
There’s also my yard Snoopy and Woodstock, both purchased at the craft booths in Girard at Dan Rice Days. And of course, the WEEDS FOR SALE – PICK YOUR OWN. Honestly. They’re free. Help yourself…
Most people use wooden planter boxes to PLANT. I have a flower in mine, true — but I also have my Uncle Sam hat – a combined tribute to our country and to circus owner Dan Rice. Look him up. You’ll be surprised!
It wouldn’t be my deck if the flag did not reflect Colonial America in some way. 
My 1776 flag does the trick.
There are plenty of blooms in the garden right now – lilacs, violets, azaleas – but there will be more to come. Keep watching for the flower show in future posts! But for today, the little odds and ends that live in my yard are the icing on the floral cake! And I love them all!
Today was free museum day in Ligonier, and six museums were free to the public for the day. When you entered the grounds of the first museum (ours was Compass Inn)
you received a ‘passport’. Each time you went through one of the museums you got a stamp on your passport.
We started with the main house, and learned about the original stage coach stop. Then we went to the out buildings, which included the kitchen, blacksmith shop, and the barns. In the kitchens, we sampled journey cake and sweet breads hot out of the brick ovens. Autmn got a tiny sword formed out of a nail, which we watched the blacksmith pound out.
This covered wagon was one of the first that traveled from Pittsburgh – through Bedford – to Philadelphia. We also got to see the little baby ducks, 
which were light as a feather and cute as a ….baby duck!
We went from Compass Inn to Ft Ligonier, where Autmn was excited to see lots of things she’s studying about in school. She had my camera phone and was snapping pictures all over the place! We went to the Lincoln Highway Experience, where we watched a movie on Route 30, did rubbings of old license plates, and fed the goats (who seemed very appreciative). After a stop at the Antique Mall, we had a very late lunch at KFC in Latrobe, then headed home.
It was a very fun day, and I know Autmn enjoyed it as much as I did. She was enthralled with the actual bear rug in the bedroom at the Inn, and was impressed with the artifacts at the fort. I know we’ll take another day and go on some actual tours, and get more details of life in the 1700’s.
A big thanks to LIGONIER for providing such a great day for Miss Autmn and me to share!
What an exciting and nerve-wracking day! I had the privilege of being a guest on Hank Bauchman’s Radio Talk show on Latrobe (PA) station WCNS this morning. I was pretty sure I was going to stumble around – which I did once or twice! – but all in all it went very well. He’s a great interviewer and I felt comfortable – the half hour went super fast!
We talked about Letters to Mary – of course! – but we also spent substantial time talking about Smail Auto – my employment there since 1967, making it almost 50 years. He’s a great friend of Bud’s and has much respect for the Smail organization, and was very impressed with my lengthy tenure there. I sort of felt like I was running TWO spots, both near and dear to my heart!
I loved being offered the opportunity to talk about Daniel’s letters, about Mary’s life and struggles. He asked me what one of the greatest truths about the Civil War that I came away with, and I had to say that it was the fact that the soldiers were not the only casualties of the war, Civil or any other. The loss of the men -both in battle and from the communities – had a huge impact on the lives of the families of those left behind. There are no numbers recorded for those casualties, no statistics. Many people, like Mary and Charlie and little Alice, were left to make their way on their own in whatever situation they faced.
Right now I could think of about a million things I could have said in addition to – or instead of! – what I did say, but the blessing of being on the air, talking about Letters to Mary and the process of writing and publishing, was a great experience. A huge thanks to Mr. Baughman for contacting me and inviting me to share Mary’s story, and talk about the book, to his listening audience. It was great fun!
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