Thanksgiving in the 50s

Preparing Thanksgiving dinner during my childhood started months ahead. We grew most of the things used for that special meal back then.

Early in the growing season, we picked strawberries and made the jelly with Sure-Jell. Next, late in August, we gathered fully ripened corn. The most memorable time read more

Interview with Sarah Whitesel: Homeschool Graduate

I’d like to introduce the next participant in my interview series, Sarah Whitesel who is the same age as my daughter Suzanne. When the girls were young, Sarah’s mother and I teamed up to do testing, go on field trips, have play dates, and start a homeschool support group. I did Sarah’s evaluations all through elementary school and loved the results I saw. She was every homeschool mother’s dream child. read more

Small Rewards

Mrs. Sieber 

We’d been caring for my mother-in-law for over a year. At first, her mind stayed sharp. She and I even did crossword puzzles together with me reading the clues and her answering from the knowledge she had gained from years of completing one every day. 

Unfortunately, read more

PA Animals: Bald Eagle

 At Trough Creek State Park, we hiked quite a way to a vantage point for seeing a resident eagle family. Two white heads poked out of the huge nest. Mamma and papa eagle took turns bringing food for the two babies.

After our trip, I read more about bald eagles and found out read more

PA State Parks: Milton

 Access to the sun and flat land characterize the Milton State Park. The road into the park leads right to a boat ramp on the West Branch Susquehanna River and lots of parking for vehicles with boat trailers. The most spectacular feature in the fall is a row of young maple trees sporting red leaves. Kids would like the nice playground. Milton State Park is a great place to be on a fall day because of the abundance of sunny areas. read more

Pennsylvania Animals: Eastern Chipmunk

The most fun we had with chipmunks happened one year while on vacation. We bought a huge bag of peanuts and fed the chipmunks all week. Soon they were climbing up on our laps and taking the nuts from our hands.

While we were feeding them, read more