Things to Do Today....

I've been pretty quiet this
week. Chelsea has really
stepped up and been a big
help.

She has been the primary person
to feed and care for the dogs,
done some laundry, more than
her usual share of the dishes,
and she planted flowers
yesterday.

However, since she can't drive she
has not gotten the groceries, gone
to the dairy, picked up the movie
we need for this evening, or gotten
the key copied that we must have done.

Therefore, I must spring into action
today.

I will take a quick trip to
the Amish Grocery.

As it is supposed to be sunny it will
be bright and cheery inside.
Without electric lights this store
relies greatly on skylights.

When necessary they will light the
kerosene lamps but daylight is the
preferred source of light to shop by.

The coolers are walk-in. Just
imagine walking into your forty
degree refrigerator.
The freezer is walk-in as well
and makes for a very shocking
experience at about zero.
All of this cold is
made possible by the biggest
generator system I have ever
seen or heard.

I like to look for cheese, sour cream,
butter, fruits, cereal, meat, and snack
type things at this store.

We will visit our local dairy.
The milk is as fresh as it gets
and buying from local farmers makes
me happy!

Our local Mennonite-owned dry goods
store will make a duplicate key for
us. They are one of the last hold
outs from the big box store.
From a huge selection of fabric to
hardware this is our first stop when
looking for that little something.

Our local video store is a confusing
place but it holds a special place
in my heart. When we first moved into
the community we opened an account there
at which time the owner showed us around
explaining that the VHS on the top shelf
is the new release...second shelf a three
day rental(on certain days it is five days)
...all of this in a really
wild floor plan.
But you know what?
If I can't find what I am looking for
the couple of employees
or the owner can find it in a heartbeat.
It blesses my heart to find a young man
with Down's Syndrome working there very
diligently and with full concentration.
Small town...service and smiles.
So...while we have a Netflix account,
which I love,
I will not stop using this local
store when it suits our needs.

Mikey works at a locally owned Garden
and Feed Store. What a blessing for
him to have this opportunity.
Getting to know the community while
learning about the things that he
will carry with him for life.

Today I will purchase
layers pellets for our four mature
chickens who are eating and laying
like crazy. When I do this I know
I am supporting the people who are
blessing our son's life.

It is so personal...this thing called...

Community...we live in it...support it...
and highly recommend you do the same where
you live. Visit your locally owned stores
whenever possible. These are your neighbors
with incentive to treat you well.

Its a Beautiful Life when you make connections.
Know the people who serve you.
It is good for everyone!

Just one of my pet causes...






Have a look at other beautiful life
posts by visiting Melissa at
The Inspired Room.
She is featuring a Outdoor living
space today. It is so pretty.
I haven't yet seen what other bloggers are
up to but I am sure it is worth the look.
So...leave me a note and then pop over, if
you have a few minutes.

Have a wonderful Friday!

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

Enjoying my Houseguest

I will be back later to post pictures
from my delightful
adventures with my houseguest, Shelley.

By the end of this weekend we will surely be
happily exhaused from all of the chatting
and sight seeing...maybe a "wee bit" of shopping.

This is the friend who's leg went through my
ceiling as she was helping me look for my son's
birth cerificate many years ago.

The one who kept my boys daily, just because,
when I was on bedrest with Chelsea and
could not care for them.

She is the friend who still stayed a friend
after we left the church we had both attended
for a long time.

Last evening we were up late sitting up with
the kids around the table and just enjoying
the conversation and silliness of teenagers.
ALL kids LOVE Miss Shelley!!!
She LOVES them too!

So, I'll be back...
Have a great day!

Our adventures in Lititz - Part One

Hear me singing..."Oh what a beautiful Morning! Oh what a beautiful day!" Really it was. Even if the air was a bit nippy.

This post is a long one. You are welcome to get a cup of something and kick back while you join me on this virtual tour.

Mom, Georgia and I piled into the car and headed down the road toward Lititz with just one stop to make on the way.
A huge barn sale.
Here is the deal on that. I forgot to take a picture of the barn sale because the deals were so good that I just got down to shopping.
But, to prove my good intentions,
here is a picture of the house that went with
the barn that the sale was in. Isn't it pretty?
(Pictures on this post will enlarge when clicked on...I recommend it!)

I thought so...snapped the picture...
and then I proceeded to get a pretty tealight holder, some wrought iron candle holders and a whole box of candy molds for just $3.00 total.
Am I good, or what??
So, any other picture taking had to be put on hold
for such serious business.

Next we headed for Lititz. Lititz is North of Lancaster City and is home to a Moravian Girls School and a very old Moravian Church.
Georgia's parents nearly sent her to school there as a young girl. They attended First Moravian Church in York all of her growing up years. Her mother was a member there until her passing two years ago. So, it was special to see the Lititz church and school as we drove through the town.

Now, understand that I have lived in Lancaster County for more than seven years and had not set foot on the streets of Lititz for pleasure. Business, yes, but not shopping. How could I have missed it? I guess it comes back to my aversion of all things "tourist". I am going to have to get over that! This town is a gem!
We found history, beauty and fabulous people there.

The event that drew us to Lititz today was an Open House of Pots by de Perrot.
This artist has talent fairly dripping from his fingers.
My brother, Allan and his wife, Beverly met Steve de Perrot at the Arts Festival in State College a couple of years ago. Steve quickly became Allan and Bev's choice for tile maker for their new home.

Let me just say that this is a real honor since my brother and his wife are both in the Art field professionally. Allan holds a Fine Arts degree from Penn State and Beverly is a Curator at Penn State's Palmer Art Museum. Allan has to be one of the pickiest artsy people I know.
He has great taste, though.


We approached the door with anxious anticipation and then were met by sheer beauty.




The yard was stunning too.



For more information about this artist and his work you can check out the web site at this LINK.

Next, we began a walking tour in the heart of Lititz.
I thoroughly embarrassed the "Moms" by asking shop owners for permission to take pictures and mention them on the blog.
The first store we visited was

This was a beautiful furniture store and the layout as well as the
furniture was pleasing. This horse was unique.

And then took a picture of the Thanksgiving Table display

If you are ever in Lititz, check them out!
They are easy to find and have parking in front of the store.

The next store we visited was mostly out of curiosity about the name.

What in the world was a Barking Lamb?
So we asked!! The owner of this store answered our question by showing us a
photo of her 70 pound poodle.
The store was named after this dog because it is big, white and very fluffy,
somewhat resembling a lamb(the dog, not the store). See its picture HERE on the web site.
Check out these hats!

And this unusual piece of furniture...have you seen one like this before?

There was an awful lot to like in this shop.
I particularly liked two chocolate sets and the Nesting Russian Dolls.
You can see them on her web site. I was busy looking and forgot the picture. Hey, I was just warming up to this photojournalist idea.

Lititz is famous for its Wilbur Buds. In case you are not aware, Hershey is not the only chocolate factory in South Central Pennsylvania.

The entire downtown smells of chocolate. Yum!
This was as we were heading into the candy store and museum area. Don't they look excited?

These are entirely edible:

And these shots of the museum area:


Want to order online? Go to the Wilbur Chocolate Website by clicking on THIS.

By now it was lunchtime. We had many choices of places to eat. Glassmyers was reminiscent of old town America. Mom told of her childhood days of playing Restaurant with her dolls and how, in her mind, this is how her restaurant had looked. A converted Victorian home made for a cozy and lovely luncheon experience. I thought of all of the Grace Livingston Hill books I have read and how this transported us into that time period.
We got there just in time because soon after the entire Restaurant was full!
I enjoyed a turkey club on pumpernickle bread. That was a first...but it was so good! A quick pic of the happy Moms as we came out for more exploration...


In Part Two of our Day in Lititz we will see more shops.

I would visit any one of the stores we saw today again...and I am sure that I will! I may become a tourist yet!

Many thanks to the store owners for their willingness to have photos snapped in their places of business. Thanks Moms for being such good sports and making the day fun!