"I can't remember a time when we didn't bake gingerbread men," said my sister Joanne at our annual cookie exchange last Friday. The year Joanne was born, my mother ordered a cookie cookbook from the Farm Journal magazine. Today, the pages of Best-Ever Cookies are stained and yellowed and the mustard hardcover is taped and worn (the jacket lost long ago), and Joanne has seven sons and one daughter, and but the Burkholders still make gingerbread men every year. For the last few years, Mom … [Read more...] about Merry Christmas! Plus a Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Two Lost Soles in Church
This morning in church, I felt something at my feet. I looked down and a sole stared back up. Would I be able to exit gracefully with my shoes literally falling apart? Before someone starts a GoFundMe, I do have new shoes coming that I ordered online on the 15th. They are tan Rothy's flats that will be ideal for church, but have yet to arrive. Today was too cool for sandals, too warm for boots, and I'm too proper to wear sneakers to church, so I pulled out an old pair of flats I've owned … [Read more...] about Two Lost Soles in Church
No-Spend September
Could I do a no-spend challenge for the whole month? The idea came to me in August. Earlier this year, I started a monthly budget, with allotted amounts for expenses, but with most of my income going towards savings. I track everything on a spreadsheet. In August, I had some extra bills but I realized that if I combined August and September, I could reach my savings goals for the two month-period, as long as I didn't buy anything extra during the month of September. Some months this would … [Read more...] about No-Spend September
Camping at Muddy Run
A bee attack. A tree branch crashes into the ground near the campfire. Rain. Chiggers. The annual family camping trip. Two weeks ago, instead of camping at the river as we did the last two years, we rented a primitive campsite at Muddy Run Park in southern Lancaster Country. Not a tiny campground campsite. Instead, this campsite is on a remote hillside surrounded by trees and next to wetlands, without any other tents or RVs in sight. There's a spring, a creek, and two bridges. (We could … [Read more...] about Camping at Muddy Run
Literature Camp: Writing, Reading, and the Castle Oil Built
Why literature? Why poetry? Why a literature camp in a castle? For years, friends raved about the annual "Lit Camp", and last weekend I attended for the first time. We left at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. I drove, and with me were two sisters from New Holland, Dorcas and Annetta. None of us had ever been to Lit Camp before. The trip to western Pennsylvania took five hours. I hope this is worth it, I thought. The details were sketchy: a mansion in Franklin, PA, lots of great bookish … [Read more...] about Literature Camp: Writing, Reading, and the Castle Oil Built