Lentil kibbeh. Pupusas. Chicken shawarma. Gyros. Pakoda. Spanakopita and tiropita. Jerk rice. Stroopwafel. Mochi. Well, I recognized a few of them. Last Friday I joined my friends Rhonda and Kendra on an ethic food walking and sampling tour in downtown Lancaster City. The tour is named "Taste the World", and a nonprofit community center organizes the tours several times every summer. I had never gone on a Taste the World tour before, but it sounded like a fun way to spend a summer … [Read more...] about Taste the World in Lancaster City
A Visit to Coal Country
Now I get the song Sixteen Tons. Last Christmas, instead of socks, I decided to give Dad the present of a day trip. I found a coal mine tour that seemed perfect, although it wouldn't open until spring. Last Thursday, we had off work for Ascension Day, and so Dad, Mom, and I drove seventy miles north to No. 9 Coal Mine in Lansford, Pennsylvania. This mine operated from 1855 to 1972 , the world's longest continuously operated deep anthracite coal mine. Anthracite coal is hard, shiny … [Read more...] about A Visit to Coal Country
My Grandmother Alice
Tomorrow we will attend my grandma's funeral. My grandmother, my mother's mother, Alice Rissler, died on Sunday morning. She was ninety-one-years old, with limited mobility and an aching body. The week before she passed, her mind declined, and she lost the ability to talk, eat, and drink. Family or caregivers stayed with her around the clock. So when she passed in the wee hours on May 4, we were thankful she was free from her suffering, yet at the same time, it's still hard to believe she … [Read more...] about My Grandmother Alice
Cleaning Out the Attic
"Life truly begins after you have your house in order," Marie Kondo says. Right now, my mom is trying to put our home in order, the century-old brick house that my family has lived in for nearly forty years. She's starting with the attic. "In another ten years, I might be too old to do this," she reckons. The attic contains the debris of her child-raising years, such as a diaper pail and a wooden potty chair. My brother Andrew, the youngest, will turn thirty-five soon. Frugal … [Read more...] about Cleaning Out the Attic
A Poem to Say Good-Bye to Winter
Winter is almost over. Let's celebrate! Winter Grouch Try to love winter, they say.Embrace the day!Get off that couch!Stop being a grouch! Ha! What day? I say.The sun is always hard to find,The sky is only white and gray.And night’s not far behind. Short days, long nights,Stupid blinking Christmas lights!Chilly drafts, frozen nose,White frostbitten toes! Take up a winter sport, they say,Then you’ll like winter anyway,Shout, “Hurray, snow day!"And wish for cold to stay. What … [Read more...] about A Poem to Say Good-Bye to Winter