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Very thankful
It’s Thanksgiving day and Joe and I arrived safely back home among snow flurries and unexpectedly icy roads, after enjoying a delicious dinner made by my sister-in-law, Amy, in Indianapolis. We had all the familiar foods that warm our tummies and remind us of gatherings past: home-made dressing, melt-in-your mouth turkey, sweet corn casserole, green bean casserole, two sweet potato casseroles, cranberry sauce, other delicious carbs and of course yummy pumpkin, peanut butter and apple caramel pies. My nephews were present with their sweet wives and children. My two great nephews seem so grown up (the oldest is three and a half) and a great niece is expected mid-December. And,…
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“Q”uilts in the country
Photo © Diane Weidenbenner My dad and his family were from Allentown, Pa., and they were of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. The few times my dad’s Aunt Nora and Uncle Malcolm came to visit, Nora would make us a Shoo-Fly pie and other treats that my dad remembered as a kid. She’d also bring him Tastykakes. I first noticed barn quilts, another Pennsylvania Dutch tradition which began in the 1830s, when my ex-business partner and I traveled around Lancaster County during a business trip. Since moving to rural Indiana, large, colorfully patterned quilt blocks painted on the sides of barns, houses, sheds and businesses are a welcome surprise. It’s not uncommon…
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From pony express to cell phones – tweet!
Trends come and go and, if you wait long enough, they circle back around. It’s been true for bell-bottom pants, hairstyles and wool pea coats and it’s now true for the U.S. mail! I had to chuckle at a recent reTweet I received, highlighting “Letters in the Mail” service by The Rumpus. An introductory paragraph explains: “Almost every week you’ll receive a letter, in the mail. … Think of it as the letters you used to get from your creative friends, before this whole internet/email thing.” To clarify, one letter is written and signed and then copied and sent to all who subscribe. And, some of the letter writers will…
