Parchment Paths

The 2018 season of the Pennsylvania RenaissanceFaire has begun. I’ve already attended two weekends, opening weekend and Celtic weekend.   Both times were amazing, even though the weather was not comfortable either weekend. Opening weekend was extremely hot and humid both days and the Sunday of Celtic weekend was rainy. I didn’t mind even though I was sweaty the one visit and soaked with rain the second.   As I like to say, “A bad day at the renaissance faire is better than a good day at work”. Bad weather is really the only reason I’ve ever had anything resembling a bad day at the Shire of Mount Hope.  Even in bad weather, there’s also a good time to be had, partially becosue of the faire itself and partially becosue of the people who visit with me. The first Saturday I went with one of my best friends, then on Sunday we met up with our old college buddies, one of whom had never been to a renaissance faire. It was wonderful showing her around and reconnecti...

I don't claim to be an expert on the weather. I do know that weather patterns change suddenly and frequently.  I witnessed this changeability first hand Thursday night as a tornado ripped through a series of shopping centers around where I work.  While the storm completely destroyed an entire strip  mall close by, it only clipped the store on the end of the strip mall my store resides in.      The strip mall up the hill took damage to one half, and another, where a Barnes and Noble resides, was heavily damaged as well.  While my heart aches for all the people now out of work, I am so grateful that my store was spared.  It does not mean we are any better than any of those other stores; it just means that for whatever reason we were meant to remain open. I pray the other stores will reopen, and in the meantime , jobs will be provided for all those out of work.   Till then, please come out and supp...

I got the chance to go to the beach last month. It was my first time since I was around nine years old.   While I prefer the forest, I’d forgotten how much I also love the ocean. There’s just something about it that stirs the imagination and draws me back. I visited two of the Delaware beaches, Bethany and Rehoboth with my good friends, Nicole and Tim. Before going to the beach, we stopped for doughnuts at the hilariously named The Fractured Prune. Nicole had enthusiastically recommend the shop for years, so I was excited to finally try one of these fabled, made to order cake doughnuts. I tried S’mores and coffee flavored doughnuts and found her enthusiasm to be well placed.    I loved them so much, I wish there was a Fractured Prune near me! After collecting our doughnuts, we drove to Bethany Beach.  After seeing glimpse of the sand and water along the way, I was getting anxious to be on the sand and in the water.   I ...

I love this show so much. I will write more about it later, as well as my beach trip, for now, I will just say #renewtimeless !

I always approach spring with mixed feelings; while I love the sunshine and flowers, I hate my seasonal allergies. We haven't had much of a spring yet,  but because of my allergies, I haven't really minded.  The warm, almost summer like weather and the fact that I had no obligations today, lured me outside, despite the flowers popping up. My dad and I took a trip to Moon Lake Park and hiked around the lake and field where the pool used to be. After our little hike, which , let's be honest was more like a walk that happened to be in a forest, we visited Hillside Farms to visit the animals and to eat some delicious ice cream.  Back at the house, I cleaned up my yard and put out the garden gnomes that have been hanging out inside for the winter. I may be looking forward to spring after all, if the allergies keep away.

Saint Patrick's Day has arrived. While I do have some Irish ancestry, I usually don't  go all out for this holiday. For one, I usually work and two, I'm not much of a green beer drinker. Today though, I found myself off work, so I visited my favorite local ice cream parlor, Ballyhoo. I ordered a Paddy Shake, and did some writing. The place was all decked out for the holiday and I got to sit in newer, larger  room, which was nice. After my milkshake, I took a nice walk around town past a beautiful old church.   It was a pretty wonderful day. 

I've just started reading The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery and it's inspired me to share one of my mom's stories. My mom grew up in rural Southern Pennsylvania in a small home with a large backyard. In that backyard was an outhouse. I don't remember if that outhouse was in use at the time of this story, or if it was just waiting to be town down. Regardless, the outhouse was strictly off limits as a play area. As the eldest child, my mom knew this, as did her sister Donna. For reason, Mom could not recall, they both decided to play in the outhouse one day as their mom did laundry in the basement.Maybe, it was knowing they would not get caught that inspired them. They found some old boards and covered the holes that made up the seats in the outhouse and called  it a stage, where my aunt sang and danced for the audience, my mom. The louder my mom clapped the more exuberantly my aunt danced until the board slipped away from the hole and my aunt fell in. Horrified, my...