Enjoy a few pictures from a special tea party I attended last week. I'm leaving on a trip soon, and don't have time to write much, but I thought you all might enjoy these photos. The tea party came about when we had a "bean auction" at church. Everyone attending the auction offered some kind of gift, and then all the participants were given beans to bid on the gifts we wanted. My friend Bettina offered a "tea party for six", and so I was able to take my mother and four oldest nieces to … [Read more...] about Tea Party for Six
Community
Sights to See— Obie’s, Ricketts Glen, and a Hundred-Dollar Bill Purse
Obie's General Store in Goodville is a pilgrimage every seamstress should make at least once in a lifetime. So when I heard my friend Melissa had never been to Obie's, I told her, "You've got to see this fabric shop!" Melissa is one of the best seamstresses I know (or best sewist— if you prefer the newer term). She even has her own fabric store. Since I'm planning to take over the retail fabric buying for Good's Store in a few months, Melissa and I can always talk fabric shop. Yes, we are … [Read more...] about Sights to See— Obie’s, Ricketts Glen, and a Hundred-Dollar Bill Purse
Camping in Pennsyltucky
Public campsites are to camping what decaf is to coffee. They might be safer, cleaner, and more conducive to sleeping, but they're favorless and boring. So when my church small group went camping last month, I was glad we were doing primitive, private-land-next-to-state-game-land type of camping, not pitching our tents at a KOA and trying to avoid eye contact with the neighbors at the next campfire. Marlin and Amy, one of the small group couples, did most of the planning. Marlin has … [Read more...] about Camping in Pennsyltucky
A Day in Queens
"It's not a good idea to go up to people and ask, 'Are you homeless?'" It's mid-Saturday morning at the Ministry Training Center (MTC) in Elmhurst, a neighborhood in Queens, NYC. About two dozen Lancastrians have just gotten off the bus in the Big Apple and are getting a crash course in local demographics and street ministry. "There's about ninety thousand people per square mile here in Elmhurst. Most of them are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Many of them don't speak English." … [Read more...] about A Day in Queens
A Brighter Springtime
I remember clearly what I did on Easter 2020: I went biking alone. No church, no family dinner, no socializing. Of course, that's how the season was for most everyone. Stay home and slow the spread. I was fortunate to keep my job, but everything else pretty much halted. For good or for ill, that was spring 2020. So while I have been seriously neglecting Penny Letters in the last few months, it's because of happier days! I took a Saturday job answering phones at a mulch business, church … [Read more...] about A Brighter Springtime