Because of the time of year (February…and on a Tuesday), I ended up having both the Amish house tourguide and the countryside bus tour guide to myself. I could ask the questions I wanted, not be sidelined because of anyone else’s chit chat, and even take my pick on tour bus routes (I chose the one that had the mini-bus stopping at an Amish toy shop and an Amish store). I took the kind of notes (at least volume wise) I remember taking in college and spent hours typing them into my computer in the hotel when I got back (while the chicken scratch was still fresh and I could actually remember what it said). By the time I was done I had nine pages of typewritten notes on everything from weddings and funerals to dress and income sources for the old world Amish in this area.

We drove by several little one room schoolhouses, even spying two little girls in full Amish garb, running off to the outhouse as we drove by (they were soooo cute). I spoke with an Amish man in a shop who told me about his upcoming trip to New York state to visit his sister in an Amish community there. I bought a small basket handmade by a 13 year old Amish boy. And I essentially smiled the entire time.

It was SO much fun!

Since I’m armed with so much cool knowledge right now, I’ll share a wee bit with you. In Lancaster County, there are approximately 30,000 Amish. While farming is their first choice, it doesn’t make enough to survive on. So they turn to other means of making money (ie, trades like carpentry, brick laying, etc).  One way, which I found very interesting, was raising white tail deer (we passed one of these farms on my tour). White tail deer, you ask? Well, they raise them for the males’ antlers which are shed once a year. Those antlers are then sold to pharmaceutical companies to be ground up and used in drugs and health food supplements. Interesting, huh?

Another one that surprised me? About half of the volunteer firefighters in Lancaster County (which is heavily populated by “English”) are Amish. The reason for this is simple. Amish believe in community service, even going so far as to help raise money for the firehouse once a year by hosting a huge sale (called a Mud Sale) of their goods.

On the subject of communication, Amish prefer visiting and letter writing. A telephone is allowed but not in the home. It is often shared by several homes and is found in a small shed or barn. It is only to be used for business or emergencies. No other use is acceptable as it may promote idol time and gossip. And using phones would eliminate “visiting” which they see as crucial to the community.

I could go on and on, but I won’t. Much of what I learned will find its way into the new series as time goes on (including a few little gems that pleased the mystery lover in me to no end).

I wrapped up my evening with my dear friend, Lynn D., who–along with her wonderful husband–met me for dinner. I met Lynn D. while on vacation a few years ago. I chatted her up as she was reading a cozy mystery and chuckling away in the lounge chair across from me. We’ve been friends ever since. And after dinner? She gave me my very first lesson in crocheting. I’m not very good and I’ve got a long way to go before I can crochet anything of consequence, but, boy, was that fun!

~Elizabeth

First, a song of praise…

There’s a little cupcake bakery–Baked by Melissa–near Grand Central station that is nothing short of amazing! The cupcakes are tiny and not all too cheap, but…wow. Just wow.

Now, a pet peeve…

Mean spirited people annoy me. In particular, the ones who take a private issue and leak it out so as to color people’s opinions (and thus, validate themselves somehow) with one very skewed side of the story, while the other person takes the classy road and remains mum even years later. There’s always one who plays dirty, isn’t there? 

A song of praise…

I adore Johnny Rockets. Love the atmosphere (tableside jukeboxes are awesome–especially for a nickel a song), the burgers, the shakes. Yum!

A peeve…

I’d been looking forward to a trip to said burger joint for a few weeks. Finally get to go and,  yup,  you guessed it…it’s closed. As in, gone for good with no warning.

A song of praise…

Happy people. The ones who recognize good and sing its praises. They can just turn a day around with a smile, can’t they?

A peeve…

People who are unkind (wait…this is the same as above).

A song of praise…

There are a handful of really amazing authors out there who are simply nice people. My youngest is working on her Silver Award for scouts. As part of her project, she’s collecting books from authors with encouraging inscriptions for M.S. patients going through infusion therapy. We put a call out on my Facebook page and a small (but very generous) group responded with books. Class acts all the way.  A special shout out goes to: Judy Merrill Larsen, Maggie Barbieri, Jeffrey Marks, Paige Shelton, and Evelyn David. 

A peeve…  

Bullies. And by bullies, I don’t mean the school yard variety. I mean the kind who masquerade as a regular person but rule by intimidation. And a quick side peeve: people who allow bullies into the lives of kids, even going so far as to allow the bully to become their mouthpiece with even the most mundane of correspondence.

A song of praise…

I’ve been reading the Murder 101 series by my now friend, Maggie Barbieri and they are awesome!!! If you like a great wit and strong plotting/characters, give ‘em a try!

A peeve…

Laundry–enough said.

Well, that’s it for me at the moment. Now it’s your turn!

~Elizabeth

I got $20 in a birthday card from my aunt yesterday and I bought a gift card with it…

My thinking? If I hung onto it in its original form, it would get spent on something like a carton of milk or shampoo or something. And while I’ll have to buy those things anyway, my birthday money is supposed to be for me…for something fun.

My gift card of choice? To a bookstore, of course.   Hopeless, I know…

Anyone else ever buy themselves a gift card?

~Elizabeth

For me, I find myself craving things at this time of year that I’ve only recently (in the last few years or so) come to see as my coping mechanism. Things, I believe, my psyche needs to fill in the holes until life naturally takes over the task.

I crave hugs.

I crave the comfort and warmth of a blanket wrapped around me whenever humanly possible.

I crave the lift my spirit gets in quiet, heartfelt conversations.

I crave books.

I crave simplicity and a sense of calm.

And I crave the feel of the sun on my face.

Anyone else deal with similar feelings at this time of year? Any tried and true methods for getting your feet on firmer ground?

~Elizabeth

As a writer, I guess I fall most closely into the third group. Painters probably do, too. And, year by year, I’m starting to see my Dear Daughter #1 does, as well.

For Christmas 2010, DD #1 made our blended brood a homemade game. She crafted a board, came up with the game pieces and rules, and packaged the whole thing in a decorated game box. We’ve played it several times over the past year and had a blast each and every time. The care and thought and time she put into making that game jettisoned it to one of my favorite gifts that year.  

As a wedding gift for my husband and I, she put together a “date jar” filled with slips of paper containing simple and clever date ideas. And, honestly, I couldn’t think of a better gift.

This year, she did it again, making a “Go Fish” style game for our blended brood once again–creating cards reflecting the various interests and talents of each member of the family (including, Angus the cat). The pictures make me smile…a lot. The game itself, brings family time. And as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t get much better than that.

This picture was snapped during a round on Christmas Day night. I think I was winning at the time (see all the matches in the foreground where I’d been sitting?)!       

(Psst…Miss Clever, herself–a.k.a. DD #1–is sitting in the back right.)

I see these things she does and I can’t help but wonder whether this ability of hers will be one she’ll continue to use throughout her life (I hope).  

Do you know any clever/creative people? Anything they’ve done that really stands out?

~Elizabeth

P.S. Today is Dear Daughter #1′s birthday!

Which prompted me to slow things down just a wee-bit last night. I grabbed my newly purchased copy of Miracle on 34th Street (with both the colorized and black and white versions) and popped it into the DVD player. Sure enough, the movie that’s worked it’s magic on me every year for as long as I can remember, did it’s thing.

And now, today, despite the lengthy list of to-do’s still in front of me, I’m determined to infuse that Christmasy feel every chance I can. I will play my Haygood’s Christmas CD while I bake a caramel/chocolate topped shortbread this afternoon, I’ll tackle the cards I didn’t think I’d be able to do but am determined to send while it’s baking, and I’ll (hopefully) finish up the last of my shopping so the wrapping-while-I-watch-Lifetime-Christmas-movies can begin.

So how’s your pre-holiday lists coming along?

~Elizabeth

When I can, I’d like to post a picture of whatever struck my visual fancy that particular day and leave it to all of you to suggest a caption. Caption writing is actually a really good brain exercise–and can be fun, too.  I’ll still do some regular blogs as well, but I just feel a hankering to mess with something a bit different for a little while.

So look for that to start later this week.

In the meantime, here’s a visual explanation as to why I was AWOL on Monday (I took Dear Daughter #2 on a special Mom-and-Me weekend to attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom). We had a FABULOUS time!!

~Elizabeth 

I got to spend Monday evening into Tuesday with my aunt. And, if you’d ever met my aunt, you’d understand why I think time with her is worth missing a blog post.

You see, my Aunt Mary is,  without a doubt, my rock. She’s stuck by me for as long as I can remember, loving me and supporting me through everything. And when something’s up inside my heart, she knows. I don’t have to say a word… She just knows.

Because she knows me. And knowing me isn’t easy. I’m very guarded with my feelings. Friendly and caring towards others, sure. But allow someone to get too close to me? Um, not easy.

But Aunt Mary, she asks.

And she doesn’t take the simple window dressing answer I’m conditioned to give because it’s usually good enough for everyone else.

I’ve tried to figure out what’s different with her… Why I’ll open up to her in a way I don’t open up to anyone else. She doesn’t pry. She doesn’t pester. Yet when she asks, I answer.

The best I can come up with is this:  She makes me feel safe. I know that when she asks…she listens. And no matter what I say, no matter whether I get angry or my voice cracks with tears, she loves me through it all. She sees me as the little girl I was and the woman I’ve become. She’s proud of me, she cares about me, and there are no conditions placed on that. Ever.   

You can’t put a price tag on that.

So tell me, who’s your Aunt Mary in life?

~Elizabeth

In the meantime, I find myself wanting to talk about those things for which I am most thankful for this year…

1) I’m thankful for my daughters. They’ve taught me more about life than I could have ever imagined.

2) I’m thankful for my husband and the opportunity to be a stepmom to two really good boys.

3) I’m thankful for my friends. For loving me for who I am rather than who they think I should or shouldn’t be.

4) I’m thankful for my doctor out in St. Louis who has managed to take the fear out of M.S. for me.

5) I’m thankful for my readers who keep my series going with their purchase and their kind words. You’re helping fulfill a lifelong dream every time you do!

6) I’m thankful for relative strangers who show manners and kindness–such things can make a gray day so much better and they serve as examples for parents trying to do the right thing by their kids.

7) And while this may coincide with #5, I’m also thankful for all of you, for stopping by here each day (lurkers and non-lurkers, alike).

I hope you all have a truly wonderful Thanksgiving!

~Elizabeth

While I’m not sure who, exactly, said that quote for the first time (Bugs Bunny, maybe?), I couldn’t agree more. It doesn’t matter what kind of mood you’re in, music has a way of helping you work stuff out or, if nothing else, forget for a while.

I’ve been known to write about music on occasion simply because it fascinates me. It is, in my opinion, the true universal language. People might have different tastes (I’m an 80′s girl and a Christian rock fan), but put music on in a room of people and it just seems to take the tension out of shoulders, faces.

Take me, for instance. If I’m really struggling with something, I like to take a drive…with the tunes cranked. Within a song or two, the tension starts ebbing. A few songs beyond that, and suddenly things look a bit more surmountable than they did prior to the drive. Kind of like Rocky in Rocky IV when he has that fight with Adrian and he goes off in his black vette and the music is pounding in the background (great song to drive/unwind to, by the way).

If I’m blue, I like to pull out a favorite song or two and just dance. One of my favorites for this? And We Danced by the Hooters. A playing (or two) of that and the blues aren’t quite so blue anymore.

So how about you? Do you turn to music when you’re angry or sad? Any tried and true favorites guaranteed to pull you from your funk?

~Elizabeth