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!

In the past several years Hempfield Church of Christ has offered Trunk or Treat to the kids in the community.  About 20 cars back into a circle, pop their trunks, and decorate them creatively to delight the kids (and the adults!).  I have participated for a number of years, as I did this year.  I’m not real creative but always manage to offer something.  This year the theme was:  SNOOPY!

I packed a bunch of blankets, assorted items from my collection of room accessories and the former baby nursery, plus dozens of my little Snoopy characters.  It was really overwhelming, that collection — and it wasn’t nearly all of it.  But the kids really liked seeing the variety.

One of the fun things was that my cousin Mark’s daughter and her boyfriend did the Great Pumpkin Patch, complete with Snoopy on the doghouse roof.  Miranda made the shirts and they both did the cardboard cutouts.  They were my choice for ‘best trunk’. 

As it got later in the evening, the almost-full moon peeked out from behind the trees and added to the ambiance of the evening.  Candy disappeared like ghosts in the fog, until it was time for the kids to go inside to the fall festival.  There were games, funnel cakes, and grilled hot dogs – and lots of fun.  Such a great evening for everyone – including the hard-working adult kids who put everything together!  Another successful year!

Yesterday Ligonier Valley Writers and Ft. Ligonier joined forces to have an all-day writer’s conference at the fort.  I was asked to be one of the speakers, and had worked pretty diligently for a month to prepare.

My workshop topic was on local research resources and how to incorporate information into your writing.  The workshop went very well, and by the end of the day (and four separate workshops) we had all learned valuable information.

In addition to the conference, I enjoyed two other events.  I arrived in Ligonier about 45 minutes early, changed shoes and grabbed a warmer jacket, and walked the town.  Ligonier in the fall (0r anytime!) is a quaint, unique little village, complete with the ‘Daimond’ (including the gazebo), antique shops, specialty stores, and historic buildings.  Above are the photos that I took, and I hope you notice the two-shaded Victorian Lilac house!  I love that house!  The orange maples lined the streets and added character to the charm.  Parts of it reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg.

The second event was the guided tour of the fort.  Normally it’s a self guided tour, going and your own pace and reading the plaques in each building/location.  Mary, the museum director, took us on a walking tour and gave us interesting bits of information on the fort during 1758.  A junior guide, Connor, finished up by taking us through some of the building and explaining their functions, and adding to the history.  For instance, did you know that if the French would have taken the fort in Ligonier in that battle of 1758, we may all be speaking French and not be America at all?  Hmmmm.  I’d be in trouble, as I don’t speak French!  🙂 These ovens were made to bake bread and pastries, etc, but I think they’d make a great pizza!  Mary told us that during special events, they do fire up the ovens, and a local café DOES bake pizza in the ovens and sells it as a lunch special.  I’m going to remember that!

Totally, it was a great day, and thank for Mary and the staff at the fort, as well as Mary Ann from our writer’s group, to arrange this great day and present the opportunity to learn, and have fun doing it!

Normally I like to use my pages to share the fun things I have done, or events taking place, or time with my very special family and friends.

Today I am just going to reflect on a truth that just hit home with me within the last few weeks.  I have been looking at a certain situation through a distorted glass, and even though I can’t say I have made my peace with it, I am certainly trying to take myself seriously.

And before you get excited, no, I have not been considering marriage.  But in reading that little truth about the Marriage Box, I have compared it to another part of my life.

A very wise, wonderful, Godly woman – my dear sister – always says that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.  I really did get that, but I just kept thinking each time was different.  And now I see it was because of MY behavior, MY attitude, and MY choices that it was turning out exactly the same way every time. And ironically, it was sitting through the movie, THE WAR ROOM, that several amazing truths worked their way into my soul.

So I’m accepting responsibility, stepping up to the plate, and gently but firmly taking a different path.  It’s not bad, or heart-breaking, or distressing (at least I hope not).  But I’m hoping all of you who read this will pray that I can make good choices for the right reason, and not keep doing that same thing over and over. 

God is good, my friends are supportive and understanding, and my family agrees with my sister.  So thanks for your support, as I take that small step – in a different direction……..

Thirty Four Years ago this very evening a little baby boy entered my life, and nothing has ever been the same.  He and his big sister have meant the world to me, and I cannot imagine facing any day without them in my life.

It was a sunny, bright October day – the leaves were crisp and littered the back yard.  Kelly and I were raking them up and she was jumping in the piles.  My mom picked her up mid-afternoon, and I waited impatiently for his dad to get home from work  – car salesman at Smail Auto – to take me to the hospital.  He called at 5pm and said he’d be a little late as he had a delivery.  I told him quite emphatically SO DO I!

At 9:26pm Nathan Wade was born, with all his toes and fingers and ready to take on the world.  He has made me laugh, made me crazy, made me angry, made me proud, made me a grama twice, and made me feel life was hard and good and blessed all at the same time!

Today I just want to say that I hope he has many wonderful years ahead, knowing that he is loved and needed, that he is a great dad and son and employee, and that life is better because God made him exactly the way He wanted him to be.

Both the girls drew pictures and txted them to their dad this morning (I don’t have a copy of Autmn’s).  We baked brownies (from scratch!) and ordered Jioio’s pizza and sang happy birthday and opened gifts. 

I love you, Nate, and so do your beautiful daughters.  Have many many more happy years!!!   

After meeting at 6:45am at Walmart Plaza, boarding a bus and driving across town, we climbed the stairs to track #2 for our trip to Altoona.  The view waiting on the platform gave a great  view of Greensburg.  It was exciting to hear the whistle and then see the engine snaking around the corner and slow to a stop.  There were about 50 of us on the tour, and although the day started out a little overcast, the sun popped out from time to time.

This painting greeted us when we stepped from the train in Altoona, after a gently swaying ride along the tracks for a little less than two hours.  The countryside looks very different from that side of the tracks, and I really enjoyed peeking out the window.  We climbed onto the bus at the station and were off to our first stop of the tour:  Boyer’s Candy Outlet.   We all crowded into the small space and shuffled around, choosing treats and sweets at amazingly low prices.  I got a bag of triple twist chocolate/peanut butter covered pretzels – oh, yum!

Everyone was munching on something tasty as we rode the 2 blocks or so to the Train Museum.  That was my favorite place!  Three floors of displays and exhibits, some set as they would have looked in the mid-1800’s. 

INCLUDING a kitchen, a street sidewalk, and electric poles with insulators.  Fun!  We walked into the ‘bar’ to watch a wall-sized video of a conversation reenactment, and took a seat at the bar to listen.  I sort of broke the rules, though…. 🙂

NO LADIES ALLOWED AT THE BAR!

The bus took us back around Horseshoe Curve, where we ate lunch, watched a freight train go past, looked out over the lakes, and saw the cars go up and down the incline. 

The next stop was the pretzel outlet, which had the coolest door handles.  Another stop

at the winery and we headed back to Altoona for a very nice dinner downtown.  We had just enough time after we ate to take a photo of the huge wall mural on the outside of the building, and some really unique road signs.

It was a very fun day, and I totally enjoyed the sights and experiences I had.  It was my first ‘bus’ tour, and I would certainly do it again.  Thanks to everyone who made it such a special day!

The day started out with a 6:15am phone call to tell me it was raining in Smicksburg.  Hmmmmm. Thanks, Roger!  That was ok – we were prepared for the weather!   Joni, Teresa, Kath and I were heading to the Fall Festival in Smicksburg PA, braving the elements as the rain kept up a steady pounding on the entire hour and a half drive.  We were almost there, a little before 10am, when Teresa exclaimed that there was a bald eagle and two huge crows in the tree we had just passed.

Being the adventurers that we were (are!) we turned around almost in the middle of the road and made our way back, then turned around again.  I crept slowly, watching the trees to the left.  And sure enough, there they were.  When we stopped the car the put down the windows, the crows took off, but the eagle sat still.  It turned its head from left to right several times, but ultimately sat there for the photo shoot.  It was dark and rainy but we took several pictures.  We had just quit snapping when the bird lifted from the branches and sailed into the air, its wingspan wide and its white tail spread for flight.  What a sight.  I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like that again.  Kudos to Teresa’s good vision and Kathy’s steady hand to get the picture.  Needless to say, even though the day was fun in lots of ways, the early morning eagle sighting was the highlight of our day!

The four of us spent three hours tramping over town, looking in stores, buying chocolate and treats, trying on hats, and purhasing those special items that caught our eye.  Such different shoppers we all are!  We grabbed a semi-healthy (???) lunch at a festival tent outside of The Village Sampler, and sat under an awning eating and listening to a local band play Johnny Cash.  I didn’t know there were that many prison songs even written….   Then we walked down to the Heritage museum and looked at a collection of local history treasures – many of them donated by my Aunt Joan and Uncle Clifford Griffith.  What a neat place to visit – they did such a good job with that little building. The front side of the main room was the original town’s post office, still quaint and authentic-looking.

Once we were done checking out all the local wares, we headed the Mazda back down Route 210 to Aunt Joan’s, who had ‘put up’ corn for us in August.  We stopped for the corn, hugs all around, and a drink from the fresh water spring coming out of the side of their driveway.  It’s tradition!

The rain had totally let up right around noon, so the afternoon and the trip home was comfortable and relaxing.  I venture to say we walked close to 3 or 4 miles around that town, and had a great time sharing the day with each other.  It’s great to have such a family-type place to go (my family are from Home/Smicksburg!) with great friends to share it with.  Now, what can we come up with for our next adventure???  Ideas, anyone???