I’ll Have a Bite!

15 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

Have you ever been around one of those people who, no matter what you’re eating,they want a bite? Well I am one of those people.

Day before yesterday my husband was eating a yummy looking hot dog and I couldn’t Hot_Dogresist. I had to have a bite.The next day he came down with  a stomach bug, feeling all nauseated and yucky, and guess what I have today? You guessed it! The next time I ask for a bite of his hotdog or any thing else he’s eating, I’m going to bite from the opposite side.

Since I’m on the subject of eating, next week the blogging family of Old Things R New will be having our second annual bloggers dinner. I’m excited. Last year was the first time we  all  met face to face!  A lot of talking went on and I  know that this year will be the same.

Old Things R New Family

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My Colonial States Trip~Part 9

14 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

After looking over the P-61 restoration project and talking to one of the museum’s volunteers, I decided not to try to visit the Golden Age Air Museum in Bethel, PA or Jerry’s Classic Cars in Pottsville, PA since I needed to be heading south and not north. So, my next stop was to visit the Choo Choo Barn model train museum in Strasburg, PA which has a large model train display that features over 150 hand-built animated figures and vehicles and 22 operating trains. This display includes miniature replicas of such Lancaster county places as The Willows Restaurant, the Dutch Wonderland amusement park, and the Strasburg Railroad.

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As it turned out, and since I was in the middle of Dutch country, Isaac’s Famous Grilled Sandwiches restaurant was right next door to the Choo Choo Barn, so I stopped in and had one of their hot Reuben sandwiches for lunch. Yumm, was that ever good!

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Then I slid over to the Landis Valley Museum in Lancaster, PA where I discovered a small living history village, depicting the early 1740s German culture in that part of Pennsylvania. There was a large Mennonite cemetery adjacent to the village and I wasn’t sure if it was associated with the museum or not.

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Next it was over to take a look at the Haines Shoe House located in Hallam, PA that sits all by itself, out in the middle of a field, just off Shoe House Road. Built by shoe salesman, Mahlon Haines in 1948 as a form of advertisement, Haines gave the architect a boot and said, “Build me a house like this.” And he did. Mahlon claimed that his boots were all-inclusive, or what he called from “Hoof-to-Hoof” because the company did all of the boot making process starting with the raising of the cattle to the finished product.

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Then another few miles down the road I visited the Golden Plough Tavern in York, PA, but it was closed, so I worked my way back to the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, PA. As I walked up to the museum from the parking lot, there was a guy sitting under a tree, all by himself, playing a clarinet.   The museum’s exhibition covers the period from 1850 to 1876, with the major focus being on the Civil War years of 1861-1865. The collection has over 24,000 artifacts, photographs, documents and manuscripts related to those historic years in our history. When I exited the museum to look out over the scenic Susquehanna River valley, not far from where the 1863 Sporting Hill skirmish took place during the Gettysburg campaign, the guy was still playing. His music was enchanting and very restful and it really set the stage for the view from the top of the Prospect Hill where the museum is located.

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—–To Be Continued—–

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My Dreams for 2015

12 Jan

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and Artist

 

It’s all right to have dreams; plans, hopes, God gives them to us. We’d be lost without them.

I always like to have something to look forward to, don’t you? Sometimes in life we may have big events to go for and sometimes we let our expectations settle into the daily round. Something about the year coming to an end and a new one beginning made me jot down the things I’m looking forward to this year.

I’m not looking for changes in my life. I’m deeply satisfied with what’s going on now. This minute I see Bill in the backyard spotlighted by sunshine as he moves the garden hose.

Bill in yard

 

 

The foliage he’s tending to grows to at least twelve feet tall and he has planted a long hedge of them. They’ll yield large, bright-yellow, daisy-like flowers next spring.

One of our cats just braced herself on the chair to ask me to feed her. I’ve just been around Facebook and caught up on people I care about. Our food is good, and our health is remarkable for our ages.

This year will hold a lot of good books for me to read. I’m looking forward to two I ordered from Communion with God. One is about teaching children to hear from God, and one is a journal where a man hears from God. This is an organization for which I have always held the highest regard and from which I have continued to learn and experience satisfaction in hearing from God for myself. I plan to read health books, too, and I believe we will stay healthy for a long time to come.

Of course, I most look forward to times with the people in my life. I’m not taking classes or joining any new organizations, but I do like my church and the activities there, especially the two Sunday Schools we’re involved in, adult and children’s. I love special times with family members, and I meet new people frequently and have little chats with them.

If unexpected things happen, if they are unsavory and unlovely, I know God will see us through, but God is likely to bring happy challenges into our lives no matter what. Whatever happens, He will see us through. How dull life must be without Him.

Let the New Year begin.

 

 

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An Amazing Adventure~Part 12

11 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

After stopping for supper at Estes Park, we drove on to Denver, staying at an Extended Stay Hotel. Unfortunately, the chain was working on renovating this particular hotel, so it wasn’t in the best shape for our stay. However, we knew we wouldn’t be there during the day, so we stayed anyway.

Our final day in Denver—and our trip. But Brian had packed in a bunch of stuff for us to do. We began with breakfast—but not at the hotel! They only had cold cereal and some muffins. Brian had noticed a “Rosie’s Diner” nearby by hotel, so we went there for breakfast. It is a classic diner, and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal there. We learned (from Wikipedia) that Rosie’s was:   Humbly birthed in 1946 as the Silver Dollar Diner of Little Ferry, New Jersey. Rosie’s Diner earned national acclaim and took on its current name in 1971, when the Bounty paper towels “quicker picker upper” TV commercial made the diner and waitress Rosie (a.k.a. the late actress Nancy Walker) household icons.

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We were also impressed to see, over the counter, a sign that read: We thank and pray for all who serve our country. We thanked the hostess for the sign, and she stated that three of her children were in the military.

Brian had wanted to tour the Denver Mint, but discovered that all the reservations for that day were filled. Shucks! Oh well, we had plenty of other stuff to see.

Our next stop was Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. I know some of you know about this place, but neither Fred nor I did. And we were blown away by it! We were impressed not only by the “red rocks” but the size of them!

 

But the amphitheatre was amazing!

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Brian described how it was built. And we were also amazed to find that a LOT of Denverites use it as an exercise platform. We saw them jogging through the seating area. One little girl was learning early in life to exercise there.

 

 

But what amazed/impressed us the most, was a group of people who would stand on one bleacher, then JUMP to the next bleacher…UP! And then again. And then again. Really amazing!

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Inside the building, we found a wall of mementoes to people and groups who had performed in the amphitheatre from years past. We found the group “311” had performed there every year since 2008. That may not mean anything to you—but one of our nephews is a member of that particular rock band.   Brian tells us that, with the younger-than-40 crowd, 311 is a VERY hot group! We are pleased to see they are doing so well.

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We drove then through Genesee Park, hoping to see some bison—but there were none to see. Genesee is reported to be a Native American term for “shining valley.”   It is Denver’s largest mountain park. Bison and Elk were brought into the park in the 1920’s, to help the endangered animals to repopulate. Apparently, as you drive along the Interstate, you can frequently see the Bison. They just weren’t out for us that day.

 

~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~

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Five Ways to Overcome Heartache

10 Jan

Interesting comparison today on Janet’s blog involving Blue Jeans.

A Day Without Laughter Is A Day Wasted

9 Jan

From my Heart

Louise Gibson

Louise Gibson

 

Stressed?  Try Humor!

Laughter is good medicine.

You can’t laugh and feel bad at the same time.

 

Remember, a good sense of humor

prevents hardening of the attitudes.

And attitude is the result of reasoning and rhyme

 

Bad things happen to everyone.

That is a fact of life.

But experience has taught me-

A positive attitude chases away strife!

 

I have lived to a ripe old age,

and this one thing I know-

Love and reliance on God, our Savior,

will set your heart aglow..

 

 

 

Use humor to cope with illness.

” Live each day as if it was the last day of your life:

one day you will be right.;”  (anonymous)

 

” Life does not cease to be funny when people die

any more  than it ceases to be serious when people laugh,”

George Bernard Shaw

 

DiVoran Painting Faith Love

Painting by DiVoran Lites

 

 

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Making Biscuits

8 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

For many years the first stop on our family vacation was at my mother’s house. She lived a few blocks away and on the route to I-95. Mom would get up early to fry sausage patties and bake homemade biscuits for us to take with us. Most of the time, she would bring them to us at the car so we didn’t lose time loading and unloading the kids (you KNOW the havoc that creates!) A good question to ask now is why didn’t I make the biscuits? Well, there is a story to that. You see, my mother taught me how to cook full dinners with everything being ready to serve up at the same time. She taught me how to bake cakes. She tried to teach me how to make biscuits, but I was hopeless. My biscuits could have been deemed lethal weapons. They were so hard a chicken wouldn’t eat them.

Chicken and coffee 1

Finally, she forbade me from trying to make biscuits, the cost of flour and buttermilk was too expensive. Fast forward fifty years and I came across a recipe on Janet’s Appalachian Kitchen Facebook page for homemade biscuits made the way my mother made them. I decided to give it another try, with a twist. In the past, I could mix the biscuits fine but kneading them was my downfall. My daughter Rebekah has the knack for kneading so I would work with her to make them. Finally mother’s biscuits would be back on the family table. The first batch was edible but not soft and flaky. It seems Rebekah doesn’t have the knack for mixing. Round two we used our stand mixer with a dough hook to mix the dough into a ball, then we turned it out on a floured mat and Rebekah gave it a knead. To make biscuits like my mom, the dough is molded into a log roll, then each biscuit is pinched off, placed on the biscuit pan and pressed down with the back of three fingers. These turned out delicious! We ate them for dinner the night before our road trip to Florida and guess what? We cooked sausage the next morning and had sausage and biscuit for the trip. Biscuits are back!

southern buttermilk biscuits 4

Unfortunately we didn’t take a picture of ours.

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My Colonial States~Trip Part 8

7 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

As I headed south again, I passed thru Poughkeepsie, NY, Morristown, NJ and on across the border to the America on Wheels Museum in Allentown, PA which is a museum of all types of “Over the Road Transportation” vehicles that have been beautifully restored and displayed.

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While I was in Allentown, I visited the Zion’s United Church of Christ (formerly the Zion’s Reformed Church) which houses the Liberty Bell Museumand a replica of the original Liberty Bell. The museum contains exhibits relating to the Liberty Bell (which was hidden, along with other bells, in the church during the Revolutionary War from September 1777 to June 1778) and other interesting memorabilia pertaining to liberty, freedom, patriotism and local history.

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As I walking back to my car, I came across a Mennonite Choir singing hymns on a street corner. It was a beautiful day, and their music echoed off the adjacent buildings and was a delight to hear. They were passing out gospel tracts and giving away CDs of their choir music. I had wanted to visit these museums in Allentown because my route the next day took me south again, so I did a little back-tracking a short distance to Easton, PA for dinner and the motel that night.

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The next day my first stop was to visit the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles in Boyertown, PA but they were closed that day. Fortunately, the front door was unlocked and I just walked in and was surprised when a lady behind the counter said, “Since your here, I’ll turn on the lights and you can go ahead and have a look around.” I took her up on that deal, and was amazed at their wonderful collection of vintage vehicles and equipment, which included a 1920s Sun Oil Company gas station and wrecker truck and the old 1930s Reading Diner.

 

Only about 15 miles down the road was the Daniel Boone homestead in Birdsboro, Pa which was also closed that day, but I stopped and got as close as I could to take a couple photos. The homestead is located in the beautiful rolling hills of eastern Pennsylvania just north of the French Creek State Park.

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Then it was on over to the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum located at the Carl A Spaatz Field in Reading, PA where many of their over 50 aircraft are on display. As I was pulling into the parking lot, I saw a beaver scurry down and embankment and into a drain pipe. What a surprise that was! The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum is in the process of restoring a Northrop P-61B Black Widow fighter to complete flight configuration, which will make it the only flying P-61 in the world. The P-61 has always been one of my favorite WWII aircraft, ever since I attended Northrop University where I went to school to receive my BS degree in Mechanical Engineering along with an Airframe & Power Plant license. Of course, the P-61 was used as an example in many of the classroom courses of study, such as sheet metal, electronics, hydraulics and pneumatics.

—–To Be Continued—–

 

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Cappuccino or a day when we were very rich

6 Jan

This is the post I meant to reblog. I hope you enjoyed my oops too. I was trying to work from my iPad

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

First time I tried cappuccino in February of 1975. I was 40 years old. We lived in Lido di Ostia and waited for American visas.

Another immigrant who somehow had a lot of money and liked to play chess with me bought cappuccino for both of us.

I was afraid to try it as in the Soviet Union I had terrible allergy each time I drank a cup of coffee. However, my partner insisted that cappuccino is very good and I must try it.

What could I do? I raised a cup, opened my mouth, took a mouthful and …fell in love. Not only this. Somehow cappuccino became for me a symbol of freedom, a symbol of Italy, of this wonderful beautiful country with very warm people.

Years passed and we visited Italy again. We took a two weeks trip from the north to the south. Every day I drank…

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Unique paintings?!

6 Jan

I enjoyed this delightful story. I hope you enjoy it too.

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

After publishing the story “ULTIMATUM” I decided to check further how my first digital paintings (made in January and February of 2014) look after processing with the kaleidoscope effect.

I want to stress one more time that before January 2014 I’ve never painted anything and I believed that I had no chance to learn how to paint.

However, I met many good artists in different countries and some of them highly valued my opinions of their art (there are still very polite and patient people).

Tonight I can proudly state that all my paintings are unique. For 80 years of my lives I produced less than 20 paintings. So I think that collectors must pay a lot for each of them.

My discovery of the painting and photo editing program with the kaleidoscope effect allowed me to produce more interesting unique paintings in seconds.

Below are kaleidoscope paintings based on…

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