May 1, 2020

Well Woodstock has the right idea!  Cousins are the best, and a special kind of love!  I was having trouble turning off my thoughts last night in bed, so I figured I should think of something fun and happy.  My mind started going back to my dearest Skunk Hollow Cousins, and I am ‘time-long’ to be with these wonderful ladies.  I need to stock up on laughter and fun and hugs, and just sharing our lives, layer after layer.  And Food!  Everyone has their specific expected offerings, like Holly brings triple chocolate brownies, Colleen bakes her tassies, Kath brings a shrimp ring, Beth makes her Buffalo Chicken dip, and Karen always brings cheese curls, and so it goes!  Susan always brought hand-dipped Chocolates from the Smicksburg Chocolate Shoppe; both are gone now.  We have an ‘established’ date of 1999, and we all have scarves (courtesy of Kelly) and some of us have hats (courtesy of Aunt Joan).  Picture is of Mom and Aunt Joan, the two original Skunk Hollow Girls! 

These current restrictions have kept us apart since our Christmas party at Colleen’s in December, and that is far too long to be separated!  I dearly miss these cousins/friends.

We have had so many fun and diverse outings!  We started out by having bonfires in Gail’s driveway, with S’Mores and mountain pies and hot dogs.  Those were the days of just the ‘older’ cousins, but slowly we added the younger ones, a few years at a time.  Now all the girl cousins (currently 10 in all) are officially part of our Skunk Hollow Women’s Fest events.  Over the years we have had picnics at Linn Run (with a crazy scavenger hunt that Connie created, complete with prizes.  Holly even climbed in a dumpster!), overnight weekends at the Dillweed Bed and Breakfast in Dilltown, PA, hikes to Buttermilk Falls, Tours of Hanna’s Town (led by yours truly) and the Jimmy Stewart Museum, a visit to the castle near Ebensburg, Christmas parties at each others’ houses, bonfires at Beth’s, Shopping trips to Volant, and group hikes. When my book was published some of them drove to Scottdale to attend a presentation I did, and then they threw a publication party, complete with a book-cover cake!  We have celebrated birthdays and marriages and births, and shared death, heartache and sorrow.  It’s true that happiness shared doubles it, but sorrow shared halves it.  So blessed! One year six of us spent five glorious days in Colonial Williamsburg! 

I think the most fun, and the best times, are when we all just show up with our snacks to share and hang out together on someone’s deck or family room, chatting until far to late into the night.  We aren’t spring chickens anymore, and SOME of us would have an hour-plus drive home afterwards.  One of the first things I want to plan, once this pandemic is past us, is our annual ‘spring’ Skunk Hollow event.  And I hope and pray that all ten of us will be able to come, and that we can chatter and hug and share for hours and hours! 

I keep you all in my prayers, sweet cousins, and in my heart every day.  God bless you all – and see you as soon as soon can be!  Love you —