I got up Saturday morning and walked all through the house.  Not a creature was stirring.  There was not a string of lights, a garland of tinsel, a jolly Santa, a cherished crèche….  It was all packed tightly in 37 (yes, I said 37) totes in my garage.  The Christmas Cookies were packed up and sent over to Nate’s where they would be out of my temptation’s easy reach.  The leftovers are either eaten or tossed, and the Snoopy shelf is back to a colonial display.

The only little bit of visible holiday cheer left is the poinsettia basket that was a gift from the Smail family.  It is still bright and blooming and will deck the halls for many more weeks (if I remember to water it!). 

At the bottom of the steps in the family room, where there used to be a twinkling evergreen topped by an heirloom angel there is now just an antique child’s school desk displaying an Amish village.  No lights down the staircase, no snowmen climbing the ladder, no cow singing Christmas Carols.

In the kitchen, in front of the toaster, there is a cutting board with my initial, also a gift – from Bud and Ellen.  Ironically, it has HIS initial too!  I’m certain they didn’t consider that when they purchased it!  Just a little addition to remind me that yes, Christmas really did happen!

Christmas may be tucked away for another year (or eleven months, to be exact!), but the thoughts and meaning and memories and family and celebrations will live on.  As Ebenezer Scrooge is so fond of saying, ‘I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.’  That’s really not so hard to do; it’s just staying focused on the Reason for the Season in the first place.

I do have to admit, however, that I REALLY miss the lights and glitter!  🙂 Can’t wait to do it AGAIN!!!!  After all, it IS 2016 already!!!!

It was our last day of vacation – up early and a long walk through the historic section of Colonial Williamsburg.  The morning was cool and overcast but the rain was gone.  After a shower, breakfast, and packing up the Mazda, we headed back to Route 64 and then to I-95 toward D.C. 

It wasn’t as hard as I thought to get to Mount Vernon – the home of our first U.S. president.  We really enjoyed the preview film about his home and his life, and the tour guide inside the home was very informative.  George Washington was truly a brave, intelligent, successful patriot.  I loved seeing the rooms, and the furnishings, and getting just a small glimpse into his life.

We walked out on the veranda and the view across the Potomac was beautiful!  I didn’t realize the house was so close the river.  I accidently learned how to use the panoramic setting on my camera and was able to take this photo – imagine sitting here having breakfast, or entertaining friends on warm summer evenings.

After I took the picture of the Potomac, I turned around and took the photo of the front of the house.  There were porticos on each side connecting the outbuildings. Once we finished the inside tour, we were on our own for the outside.  There were gardens and kitchens and stables and a vista in all directions.  We could have stayed there delving into the history of the house and man for hours – but alas we had miles to go before home.

As we left, I took a photo of the house as you first see it, as you would have seen it from the entrance gates in the 1700’s when the Washingtons entertained and lived there. 

We headed reluctantly back up I-95, tangled with all the expressways and ramps and bridges and beltways and I was sincerely just praying for the RAPTURE so I could just let go of the wheel and be out of that mess!  Finally, the sign for I-70 popped up, and some of the tension drained from me as we headed toward home and the Pennsylvania turnpike.  We never did find a place to stop for dinner, so we ate cold, left-over pizza from Monday’s lunch and chips from a quick-mart when we got gas for the car.

We had a wonderful trip, with history and Christmas all around, learning and laughing and looking at so many amazing things!  VERY thankful to my FAVORITE sister for being such a great traveling companion, friend, and program director – in addition to praying me around the beltway!  I can’t wait for our next adventure –  Love you, Sis!  And by the way –  Happy Birthday!  (12/29) Couldn’t have asked for a better sibling! I’m proud and honored to be able to look up to my baby sister!  God bless!

To my delight, we started Sunday (and the next two days as well!) bundling up and walking the 3 blocks from the Governor’s Inn to the historic section downtown.  How fun it was to walk the nearly deserted streets just as dawn was breaking, and seeing the town start to come alive.  It was a great way to begin each day!

When we were fully clothed and in our right minds (??) we drove down to the parking lot next to Merchant’s square.  It was worth paying for parking to be so close.  We picked up our blankets and lawn chairs and headed to the other end of Duke of Gloucester Street and set up our places in the front row by the Capitol building.  Being assured by Paul (whom we had never met but who was planted beside us in the row) that they were safe there, we took off for our day.

We started at the blacksmith’s shop, in honor of Dad.  He loved his horses and had a great friend who was a blacksmith, and we enjoyed standing inside the smoky building, watching the smith work on pounding out the iron, pumping away at the billows and keeping the coals burning.

At 11am we had our DECORATIONS OF WILLIAMSBURG walking tour.  Our guide was very knowledgeable and had us from one end of the town to the other.  There is an annual contest that both the CW Foundation (professional) and the private residents host every year, vying for top prizes for the most creative display.  The one pictured of the deer was a private home, Miss Deb’s house, and she was a first place winner. The horse was created by a private resident, as well, and was very clever.  I will never look at the wreaths and arrangements the same again. They were creative and beautiful, and each business used articles that tied the wreaths into their crafts.

We signed the waiting list outside of Chowning’s Tavern for lunch, and were entertained by two ‘locals’ who bantered with the crowd through the open second story window.  At one point they advised the Good Citizens of Williamsburg to pay respects to those ladies in purple, because purple represents royalty and one can never be too careful!  Of course, I was one of those ladies in purple.  How WOULDN’T I be?

We were seated upstairs at a table for four, and soon another couple was seated with us.  Who would have THOUGHT that George and Martha Washington would share our table?  As we talked, we discovered that they were retired teachers from Connellsville and Mt. Pleasant, just miles from our home!  They were currently living in Florida, but traveled all over the United States as George and Martha, speaking at schools, civic centers, historical societies, and special groups.  We really enjoyed their company (as well as our meal, which was a poor second to their presence!).  It was a delightful treat that we could not have planned for had we even tried!

 After lunch we just walked up and down the streets, joining in events and popping in and out of the buildings that were open.  The bridge is one of our favorite spots, behind the Printing Office and beside the book bindery.  A kind gentleman offered to take our picture together.  He suggested we climb down in the stream as that would make a lovely setting!  It’s so fun to come across people that have a sense of humor and can make the day even more special for their kindness!

Finally it was time to settle in for the fireworks.  The crescents were lit, the sky darkened, and the night exploded with light and color.  Fireworks were set off at three sites simultaneously – the Capitol, the Courthouse, and the Palace.  We could see the highest ones from all three across the treetops.

It was a perfect day, and as we finally tumbled into bed about 10:30pm, we had nothing but great memories to talk about and re-live.  I love this place, and my sister for sharing with me!

Last weekend I was so blessed to be able to travel with my sister (NOT pictured!  Ha!) to Williamsburg for their annual Grand Illumination.  Our stop in Breezewood before heading south provided the photo shoot with this friendly elfish Santa.  Nice guy!  The trip down was easy and safe, and even included a quick lunch with a Big Mac – something I eat only once every year or so.

It was a major thrill to see the welcome sign as we exited Route 64.  We’re here!

After checking into the Governor’s Inn, we headed to the visitor’s center for our photo passes and to view THE STORY OF A PATRIOT – how it all started in Colonial Williamsburg. We walked past New Generations Plantation to the historic district, just in time to see the illumination of the palace green.  The crescents were lit, a gun was fired, and the fife and drum corps provided accompaniment.  This was in front of each of the houses near the palace, and included a bit about each home and who lived there. 

This is George Wythe’s home, a good friend and tutor to Thomas Jefferson, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. 

The late evening program was CHRISTMAS TIDE AT HOME, with snapshots recreated of Christmas over the ages in the city.  It was honestly stepping back in time through the centuries.  We finished the evening by walking back to the visitor’s center for the car, even though our hotel was a closer walk!  What a great beginning to an even greater trip! (Thanks, Sis! – love you!)

The Skunk Hollow Girls have been together since before they were born!  We are all 9 of us cousins, plus our ‘adopted’ cousin – still related but a distant bloodline.

We make it a point to get together for outings and parties and trips and fun several times a year.  Sometimes it’s outside in someone’s back yard, with a blazing fire and s’mores and mountain pies.  Sometimes it’s at the Dillweed Bed and Breakfast, or Linn Run, or just on one of our back decks.

The Christmas event is one of my favorite!  We all bring a favorite snack, catch up on our families, share neighborhood news (this involves several communities!), and solve each others’ and the world’s problems.  When we think we can’t eat another bite, we order Jioio’s Pizza and start all over!

It is typical for me to write a short essay on either Christmas or fun activities from our past.  Long past?  No, OUR past!  Sometimes very long ago and sometimes just a few years ago.  That essay jumpstarts a barrage of memories and we are all talking at once!

I’m very blessed to have these ladies in my life, as we share family and friendship and faith, a strong faith – every last one of us.  They enrich my life and hold me up and set me straight if I seem to be headed down the wrong path.  I wish each of these special ‘girls’ a wonderful holiday season, and a path of peace, love, and joy.  Until the NEXT time, girls!

Back row:  Me (Marge), Beth, Colleen, Susan, Kathy, Gwen 

Front row:  Holly, Karen, Connie, Gail

No photo today.  I have had something on my mind for days, and tonight brought it home.  A few times when I was traveling Route 30 West in Greensburg, I noticed an older stalky gentleman along the side of the road.  I only had time for quick glances, but I could tell there was a variety of ‘stuff’ – looked like junk to me – in a little cluster of trees off to the right.

At first I thought he was just looking through the trash that someone had thoughtlessly tossed aside.  But then I noticed him walking around, bundled up, near the little pile.  It seemed incredible to me that someone would even bother with the stuff.  Didn’t look like much to me.

But tonight, as I slowed for traffic, I noticed a blazing fire in the little hovel.  And there he sat by the fire, alone in the cold dusky evening.

Homeless.

I’d been to San Francisco, and Vegas, and had seen homeless people sleeping in doorways and on park benches, with shopping carts and paper sacks, asking for donations or singing for a few pennies from passers-by.  But I had never seen anyone on my own city streets.  Or in this case, in a copse of trees along a highway entrance ramp.

Sounds like a story, you might say.  Or I was using my imagination, maybe.  But no.  There he sat, huddled by the fire, with the bare trees the only roof, and the cold ground and a pile of rubble his floor and walls.  The thought of that has settled in my mind, and I can’t shake it.  What could I do?  Give him food?  Money?  Offer help?  Call someone –  who?  I don’t know; I have no idea.  A few dollars or a bag of groceries may help for a day, or several hours, or maybe even a week or two.  But it wouldn’t give him a home, or warmth, or family.

Please pray with me, for this unknown soul, living in the cold glow of a blazing fire – it intrigues me but saddens me immensely – and I have no idea about what to do.

Homeless.

Another wonderful visit with my parents!  It’s always nice to spend time in Albion, although it never seems to be quite enough time.  We arrived about 9pm and chatted a bit before bed, but Kath and I started our Saturday by taking our morning walk.  We went down toward the church, past the little waterfall.  It looked so pretty with the leaves covering the ground and floating on the water.

As we ate breakfast at the kitchen table, we watched the dozen or so little solar dancers wiggle and sway on the window sill.  My favorite was the yellow duckie – he seemed to be very competitive and knew how to keep the joint movin’ and shakin’. 

After breakfast we took recycling over to the local church, stopped at Boyce’s orchard for fresh cider, browsed through Thrifty Shopper, then came home to play Paul Bunyan.  John sawed the little thread of bark that was holding the tree to the stump, then Kath, John, and I dragged that fallen tree back to the woods.  Let me say that thing was HEAVY!!!  But we proved worthy, and the tree is no longer cluttering up the yard.

Lunch was a ham slice, boiled potatoes, cauliflower, pineapple chunks, sliced tomatoes, and homemade apple bars from the church’s bake sale.  Yum to everything!  We followed up lunch by going through mom’s jewelry – just pieces that had been her mom’s or John’s cousin’s.  It was fun to look through everything, at how unique and interesting each piece was.  We also found some old inserts from an ‘unmentionable’ item, that we wore with dignity and pride — for whatever silly reason!  Ha!

As always, it was very hard to say goodbye and head down Interstate 79, and even Fred, the new kitten, came to bid us farewell.  It’s only goodbye until the next time, by which time there will probably be snow on the ground.  But spending time with our dear family is a treasure beyond anything else we do, so we’re already counting the days to the next trip.  See you then, Mom and John!