35 Day Project: Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow SNOW!

Every year, December 1 rolls around, and I start to long for snow.  There is just something appealing about a white Christmas.  The idea of a blanket of snow on the ground, and bright shining stars in the Christmas Eve sky is kind of my idea of holiday perfection.  Then, once Christmas is over, the snow can leave until next year.  This year, however, I was pretty content with the amount of snow we got.  Since I had a large project keeping me home for most of January and February, I did not mind the snow, so long as Hubby was safe on the roads.

But now it is March, and officially spring.  It is most certainly time for the snow to be gone.  Yet, here we are, with another fairly heavy snowfall.  And this snow is particularly sloppy.  It is wet, and heavy.  And it is still coming down.  While this snow is a major annoyance, it is also a GREAT opportunity for kindness.

Hubby cleared the snow as best he could when he left for work at 7 am.  But it has continued to fall at a pretty good clip since then, so that meant our walk and steps were once again covered.  Most of the block was pretty clear, but I noticed my next door neighbor's sidewalk was pretty covered as well.  Mid day is around the time the mail gets delivered, and I always worry about the postman slipping on a snowy, icy sidewalk.  So, just now, I bundled myself up, and went out to clear not only our walk, but also my next door neighbor's.  I also used the rest of our ice melt to put down on the sidewalk in front of both houses.   This way, the postman can safely walk on our block.  Hopefully the snow stops soon, and is gone for the year. At the very least, the ice melt will continue to melt the snow that does fall, and keep the sidewalks clear until the temperature drops.

Thankful for... having my heart humbled

Today, I had an experience that has humbled my heart beyond belief, and reminded me of the bountiful blessings in my life.

I decided to strike out today to visit my old coworkers, and then go buy food to take to a tailgate at a baseball game this weekend, where I will be hanging out with my social media friends.  After visiting with my old coworkers, I headed out of town.  As I passed a local intersection, I noticed 3 young people, 2 boys and a girl, with a sign, and 3 large leashed dogs.  This intersection is at a shopping plaza, and often people will panhandle there.  I was struck immediately by how young these kids were, late teens to early twenties, and the fact that they had dogs with them.  I knew that there was no way I could just drive past.

I turned my car around at the next parking lot, and headed back to find them.  They were hurrying toward a car that, while probably as dependable as they could afford, was not in the best condition.  I pulled into the parking space next to them, and asked them what their sign said.

The one boy quietly responded that they were just passing through, and down on their luck, needing a little help.  He quickly followed up with the statement "but we are leaving now, because some woman just yelled at us and threatened to call the police".  My heart was breaking.  I told them that I did not have any cash, but would it be ok if I took them to a store in the shopping plaza to buy them some food, and food for the dogs.  They seemed so amazed that I was willing to do this.  One boy stayed at the car, with the dogs, while the other boy and the girl came with me.

As we walked to and around the store, I got a little bit of their story.  They were homeless.  They travel from place to place, trying to find work to make enough money to take care of themselves, and the dogs.  The dogs all had tags on, and they told me that they made sure to keep up with their shots, that the dogs were microchipped, and when things were really tough, the dogs always ate first, even if the kids did not.  I was amazed.  They had just returned from New Orleans, where they had been working on houses damaged by Hurricane Katrina.  They said the devastation down there is still quite bad.

In the store, I asked them what they wanted, and they basically told me they were happy with anything.  I wanted something that would provide them with some nutrients and calories, so we opted for bananas, wheat bread, and peanut butter.  I asked if there was anything else they wanted, but they were so happy with just that.  I also got a 15 pound bag of dog food for the dogs.  They were so grateful and appreciative of this small token; I wished I could do more.  $23 dollars was what I spent.  Such a small amount, but to them it seemed to make all the difference in the world.

We walked back to the car, they loaded the groceries into the car and dog food into the trunk which contained only a gas can, sleeping bags, and a couple of backpacks.  I wished them well, and safe travels, they thanked me, and waved goodbye with huge smiles on their faces.  The whole thing lasted less than 30 minutes.

Living in a small town, homelessness is not visible to me.  I know it exists, but I do not see it first hand very often.  Before people become homeless, they have lives just like you and me.  They have families, and friends, and pets.  People forget that.  I imagine that when faced with homelessness, people try to hold on to what little they can.  I bet plenty of homeless people have pets that become homeless with them, yet we really never hear or see that.  These kids were doing the best they could to keep their little family (that is what the 6 of them were, you know, a family) afloat.

It saddens me that they had encountered someone who was cruel to them, just before I stopped to talk to them.  They told me it happens all the time, and that breaks my heart.  People have the misconception that the homeless are lazy or crazy, or that panhandlers are just trying to make an easy buck.  These kids were thrilled with the fact that I offered to buy them food, and that I treated them with respect.  They struck me as hard working, and kind.  I hope I showed them some kindness in return, because there, but for the grace of God, go I.

I live a comfortable life.  What seems so common to me would be a luxury to these kids.  Me, with my iPhone, my full cupboards, my soft bed. You can bet, when I came home, I gave my dogs lots of extra snuggles.  Please note that I do not write about this situation for praise or accolades.  I just want people to think a little about how they view those who are homeless or in need.

So many things had to fall into place perfectly for me to encounter these kids today, I know it was God, speaking to me, and humbling my heart.

Munzee Mania

I have written numerous times about how much Hubby and I love to geocache.  A few weeks ago, we found our first cache of the year, and we were off and running.  Last weekend, we found our 100th geocache.  Now, I know a lot of cachers break a hundred within their first month, but we have been real casual cachers, so this was kind of a big deal for us.

However, I have recently become addicted to something new.  This thing is called the munzee.

While out looking for a geocache, I stumbled upon a QR code hidden near the cache location.  Being the nosey person I am, I pulled out my smart phone, used my code scanner, and decided to see what the code was for.  It directed my phone to download an application called Munzee.  Basically, these codes are hidden in different locations, and, like geocaches, you use the GPS coordinated to find the location of the codes.  Once you locate the code, you scan it with the application on your smartphone, and it registers that you have "captured" the code.  In short, it is paperless geocaching.  I was instantly hooked.  In the three weeks since then, I have captured 44 munzees.

Each munzee is worth points, and by collecting points, you go up in levels.  But there is another way to earn points, by deploying your own munzees.  Tonight, Hubby and I deployed our first munzees ever.  I noticed that some areas near me have virtually no munzees, so these are the areas we hit tonight.  I plan on deploying more soon.  It is so easy, you go to the munzee website, and you can create the codes there.  Then you print them, weatherize them, and off you go to deploy them.

I am someone who much prefers urban geocaches to the ones in the woods, so munzees really appeal to me.  While they too can be hidden in the woods, I have found most to be more out in the open.  It is a quick way to make a find without fighting ticks.  Perfect for this girl!

So, if any of you are geocachers, I hope you will check out munzees as well.  And feel free to add Hubby and I as friends on both the geocaching and munzee websites, our user name in both places is "Coase".

Happy Hunting!

Out of Town: Flight 93 Memorial and Quecreek Mine, Somerset, Pennsylvania

Last weekend, we took another day trip to a part of Pennsylvania.  This time, we opted for Somerset County.  My original intention was to just go for an hour or so, but we ended up being there for nearly 5 hours.

The main thing that drew us there was the Flight 93 Memorial, in Shanksville.  The Memorial is at the actual site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.  As most people know, this flight was part of the terrorist attacks on America, and terrorists originally intended to crash this flight into the capital.  When the passengers realized this plot, they decided to try take the plane over from the terrorists, and during the struggle, the terrorists crashed the plane into a field in Somerset county, killing all those on board.  These incredibly brave men and women sacrificed their lives, while saving the lives of so many others.

The memorial site is still quite young, and in the process of being developed into a beautiful park.  Many parts of the park are undergoing tree plantings and landscaping.  Their will be 40 memorial groves, with a walking path, the creation of a visitor center, and reforestation and landscaping of the grounds.  I expect that, when finished, it will be quite lovely.  As it is, the portion that is now open is incredibly moving and touching.  There are large informational panels explaining the events that day,

a large marble memorial wall with the names of all those who died,

and a small center where people can leave their thoughts as a lasting tribute.

Along the walkway, there are benches, and places where people have left a variety of items in memorium.

It was odd knowing that, as we were there on that gorgeous day, in this beautiful park, we were at a place where such tragedy occurred.  We have visited battlegrounds and memorials in the past, but this was so different, because this was something we had lived through.  I am sure many of the young children there has a much different experience, seeing this as mere history, but for us, this was our life.  It was humbling and emotional.

When we left there, we stopped at the Flight 93 Memorial Chapel, a few minutes away.  The chapel was closed by the time we got there, but even the grounds themselves were lovely and heartbreaking.

Just a few short months after the nation was rocked with the 9/11 tragedy, Somerset was once again in the national spotlight, as 9 miners were trapped in the Quecreek Mine.  Over five days in July 2002, efforts were made to rescue the miners, until, miraculously, all 9 miners were rescued.  It was an incredibly inspirational story of faith and mankind helping each other, at a time when we so desperately needed it.  The site has been transformed into a monument to celebrate and remember the story of the rescue.

As someone who has a coal miner in our family, this was an incredibly chilling site to visit.  The bravery of these miners, and the determination of the rescuers is hard to comprehend.

As you can imagine, we were pretty emotionally drained, and we spent the two hour drive home talking about what we saw, what we remember from these events, and simply trying to process the gravity of both situations.  I plan on returning to both sites again someday, to see the progress that has been made and to spend more time reflecting on what happened, and the mercy of the God that saw us through that time.

I took a lot of really amazing and touching pictures that day, so feel free to view the rest of the set here.

Armstrong County Geocache Trail

I have mentioned a couple of times that Hubby and I like to geocache.  Up until now, we have been very casual cachers, not really logging our finds, just doing it more for the heck of it.  Then, I heard that our county  Tourist Bureau was going to be sponsoring a Geocache Trail.  They would be hiding 26 caches all over the county.  You get a special book to record your finds in, and once you find 20, you can get take the booklet to the Tourist Bureau and get a geocoin.  Suddenly, the spirit of competition got to me, and we were off.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, Hubby and I found the 16 caches that had been made public up to that point.  Because they were spread throughout the county, we did certain areas on certain days.

 Then, last week, more were released, and we found enough to get our coin.

I have to say, this was probably one of the most fun projects we have undertaken as a couple.  We went to each cache site together, though in a couple of instances Hubby retrieved the cache alone (I had to avoid poison ivy).

The weather was simply stunning each day we went out, and I got some fantastic pictures,  not only of the cache sites, but things we saw along the way.

 On our first cache, we even picked up a travelling companion- a very friendly caterpillar.

Since we started working on the trail, my love for geocaching has really taken off, and I have done a lot of caches myself while Hubby is at work.  But in terms of every cache on the trail, we did it together.  I could have done the last ones alone, but I really wanted this to be something we earn together.

Now I wonder what my next caching goal should be?  One from every county in PA?  One beginning with each letter of the alphabet?  By the time the summer ends, I would love to have found 100 caches.  We are at about 58 right now, so I think we can make that goal.

I am really thankful to the Armstrong County Tourist Bureau for sponsoring this.  I loved revisiting some of my favorite places in the county, and finding a few new favorites as well.

To see all the gorgeous shots I got while geocaching, check out my album here.

Explorations: The Barns of Butler County

Even though I am an Armstrong County girl, sometimes my explorations make me cross county lines.  Armstrong, Butler, and Indiana counties all have similar rural settings, but each has their own unique things to offer to visitors and residents.

Last weekend, Hubby and I took in some of the amazing Butler County countryside.  One of the things Butler has to offer is an amazing Barn Trail.  Actually, there are 3 separate trails.  We chose trail 3, and due to it's location in relation to where we live, we actually did it backwards.

The first barn we saw was the Love barn.  Built in 1865, this barn is now a popular site for weddings and other events in the area.  I love the bright red roof, it is just so cheerful!

Then we moved on the 3 different barns that are homes to alpacas, Cotachachi, Sunset Hills, and Four Points.  Hubby thought the alpacas were odd looking, but I thought they were so adorable.  I want one, but alas, we are not allowed to have livestock in town. Someday in the future, I want to arrange to visit one of these farms.

Next we saw what was my favorite barn of the trip, the Fairfield barn.  It like something you would see in a movie, it was that lovely.

We finished up with the Maharg barn, located within the Succop Conservancy.

All in all, we really enjoyed the drive, and seeing the countryside, including some barns not part of the trail.  I am looking forward to doing the other 2 trails over the summer.

View a few more photos from this exploration here.

My First Time

Well folks, it finally happened.  Something I had been both dreading and looking forward to for a long time now.  Today, it was my first time... cutting grass.

As a kid, my dad always did the grass cutting, so I never learned how to use a lawnmower.  I figured I would either live in an apartment, or be married and have my husband do it.  And for years, I got away with that working.  Hubby did all the grass cutting last year.  However, his work schedule has him getting home a little later now, and will be even later next month, so by the time he gets home, the grass is too wet with dew to mow, and waiting until the weekends does not work.  First off the grass is too high, and secondly, it has been raining most weekends lately.  So, I came up with a plan.

Since I am afraid of unfamiliar with the workings of a gas powered mower, I convinced Hubby that we should buy a manual lawn mower.  You know, the old fashioned kind, with no motor.  So, he humored me, and we got one that looks like this.

Photo source

Now, I am pretty sure Hubby was betting on me never actually being the one to use this mower.  I am sure he figured I was too lazy busy to actually get the grass cut.  To my dear doubtful darling's defense, I have been feeding him empty promises of how I will learn to play Illuminati for well over a year now (I really do want to learn Hubby), so it is only natural that he be suspect of my plan.

But today, I proved him wrong.  I hauled that manual mower up from the basement, and I cut our grass.  Now, being that this was the first time I ever did it, I had no clue what I was doing.  Are you supposed to just do straight lines, follow some sort of pattern, what?  With the wheels being so big, I could not get up against the fence too well, so that will need weedwacking, and I could not move the patio table, so I mowed under it as best as I could.  But other than that, the yard is done.

I will never claim that this is the best haircut our lawn ever got.  I certainly did not do a perfect job.  In fact, I am not even sure I did a passable job.  But the point of the matter is, there was a job to do, and I did it.  And in true Tiffany fashion, I did it in a dress.

Word Filled Wednesday: Drinketh the Rain

Hebrews 6:7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God.

We have had an abundance of rain lately.  It rained the whole time we were in Erie last month, and there have been very few sunny days since.  The days have been chilly, gray, and dreary.  I am so over the rain.

The rain is so plentiful, our the grass in our yard need mowing twice a week.  But we can never mow it, because, well, because it is raining.  But today, it struck me, that perhaps we need this rain.  Perhaps this rain is preparing something, such as crops.  Each summer I shop at the farmer's market for fresh fruits and vegetables.  Perhaps this rain is being sent to make those things grow.

Or perhaps this rain is being sent to cleanse.  After the winter, often there is a coating of dirty grit all over things.  Perhaps this rain will help wash that away, and make the world sparkling and new.

Or perhaps the rain can be seen as a metaphor, the fact that God's abundant blessings are showering down upon us, yet we still find reason to complain.  For, as we all know, we would be unhappy if there were too little rain, just as we are when there is too much rain.

I am not sure what the "bigger picture" reason for all this rain is.  But, rain it shall, so I will choose to see it as a blessing.

April Showers

While I was getting pretty sick of all the rain we had last month, there was one shower with which I was positively enthralled- and that would be my friend Erin's bridal shower, which was held Saturday, April 30th.

Erin has contributed to the weddings and showers of so many of her friends, I was so excited to see what they would do for hers.  Nothing about the shower was revealed beforehand other than the theme being Paris (that is where they got engaged).  So, all of it was a surprise for Erin, and I have to tell you, her bridesmaids and family did a fantastic job making sure Erin had a beautiful day.

The place was decked out in lots of purple and pink, color of the wedding.

 And Eiffel Towers could be found everywhere.

 Personalized candies were on the tables.

And the breakfast food was delicious.

But my absolute favorite was the Eiffel Tower of cupcakes.

One of the bridesmaids made all the yummy cupcakes, while another one of the bridesmaids' boyfriend made the actual Eiffel Tower.

So many talented people helped make Erin's day so special.

Erin got so many wonderful gifts at her shower, it was exciting to watch her open them.

 And of course, her fiance' showed up to bring his love some lovely flowers.

 It just makes me indescribably happy to see my friends so in love.

Since I knew Erin's shower had a Parisian theme, I wanted to give her a Parisian themed gift as well. I got her several different Paris knick knacks, as well as some coffee and beignet mix rom Cafe du Monde. I decided to make a custom hat box to wrap it all in. So I used different Paris themed pictures, various scrapbook papers and doo dads, and this is how it turned out.

The day was a smashing success, and I really just feel very blessed to call Erin and Jason my friends, and am honored to be a part of this wonderful time in their lives.

Congratulations Erin and Jason, we love you very much!

If you would like to see all my pictures from the shower, feel free to view them here.

Word Filled Wednesday: Do Not Conform

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

As a child, I watched a lot of Sesame Street.  And one of my favorite sketches on the show was "One of these things is not like the other", where four things were shown, three of which were the same, one of which was different.  I always like the thing that was different.

Today, I was outside taking pictures, when I caught the shot I am using for today's post.  They are my neighbor's tulips, most of which is red, one is yellow, and one is a red-yellow variegation.  I found it to be a great metaphor for how Christians function in the world at large.  Many Christians want to blend in, be like everyone else.  They conform.  Then there are the Christians who want to bridge both worlds, the sacred and the secular.  They make it clear that they are Christians, and in many ways different from the status quo.  And then there are those Christians who are brightly, boldly different.  They will never conform to the secular world, but still find ways to function within it.

At different points in my life, I have been all three of these types of Christian.  Right now, I would have to say I am at the point where I am trying to straddle both worlds.  I wish I was at a point where I had the courage to be bolder, and I pray that someday I will be bold again.  But I know that even where I am right now, even without being that bold yellow tulip, God is using me in amazing and powerful ways.  So, who knows, maybe slowly that red will fade away and that yellow will overtake, and my boldness will be used for even more of God's glory.

Easter Traditions

Much like Christmas, Easter is packed full of traditions for my family.  Many of them have roots in our Polish heritage.

Each year, we gather together for Easter brunch, a tradition that started with my grandmother.

Our menu includes traditional Easter ham, sweet potatoes, potato salad, kielbasa, and my personal favorite, pickled eggs and beets.

But the star of the show, for sure, is beet borscht.  Polacks eat their borscht a little differently than Russians; we eat ours warm, with eggs, cheese, ham, and kielbasa in it.  And of course, you have to have some horseradish in there too!  To those who have never had it, this sounds like an odd concoction, but to those of us raised on it, this is the best holiday food you could imagine.  All of us, my siblings, cousins, parents, aunts, and uncles, we all LOVE this soup.  (I was so excited for it I forgot to take a picture of it before digging in!).

But, before we can even sit down to the meal, we have another tradition.  We take a hard boiled egg, and divide it into the same number of sections as there are people at the meal.  Each person takes a portion of the egg and eats it, symbolizing new life in Christ.  Then we each take a taste of honey and horseradish, to symbolize the sweet and bitter that Christ suffered in his crucifixion and resurrection.  We never, ever forget the meaning of this holiday.

After dinner, we all rest and visit, and eventually make our way around to dessert. Then, we have an egg hunt. Each year my sister puts a new, creative twist on the egg hunt. Since the weather was bad this year, the egg hunt was inside my sister's house. We stayed at my parents while she hid the eggs, then the kids went across the street to their house so the hunt could begin.

Then we always spend the rest of the day visiting, cleaning up, and dividing the leftovers.

We had a wonderful day yesterday, and I hope you all did as well!