Day in a life in a small town

This morning I took Jinna 1.5 miles to her art camp, where I also dropped off some sourdough for a friend and bought 2 dozen eggs from another woman.  Later another friend dropped off 2 dozen homemade bagels I had ordered from her.  Meanwhile, Pete walked to work, Colsen biked to cross-country practice and Miles walked the 3 blocks to get his hair cut.  Then I walked to town with Miles so we could go to his orthodontist appointment.  Afterwards, we stopped in a couple of the stores, including the coffee shop where they know our names. 

This afternoon when I went to Aldi I ran into a friend and chatted with another woman about how to pick a good watermelon.  Then I stopped by the farmer’s market at the park where the friendly microgreens grower greeted me by name, and I spotted a few more friends.  I thought I might run into Colsen, who was at the park playing disc golf, but he was on the back 9.  The kids spent most of the afternoon outside playing with neighbors.

  

This evening we played some tennis on the courts across the street and enjoyed a stroll through town and the beautiful campus. 

Some days I like living in Grove City, and some days I love it.

My little helper

This little lady was busy this summer doing various day camps and activities, but she also had time to help me around the house....

.... like with all these daisies!  We came home from our trip and found our garden was overrun with them, so we had a big harvest evening.

We made some arrangements to take to a local apartment building for the residents to enjoy.

.... And we still had plenty in the garden!

 

Hershey

 On our way back from Lancaster, we stopped in Hershey to see what it was all about.  We visited the museum and learned a lot about how admirable Milton Hershey really was.  What a thoughtful and generous person! 

We also got to do some chocolate tasting, which no one complained about.

Such a fun trip with fun people!!

Lancaster, Part 2

Our next day of vacation was quite full!  We went to the Lancaster Farmer's Market....

 

.... an Amish village of shops...

 (We saw some women on segways, and Miles bought himself a souvenir)

  

... and the main reason for our trip, the show called "David" at Sight and Sound Theater!

What a fantastic experience!  We were all blown away.

Then we finished our magical day at Agape Cafe and Grille with a great meal.

Off to Lancaster!

 Our next big adventure was to head East.  While Rayna was visiting Nonna and Poppa in NC and Strider was working at the FELC camp, the rest of us spent a few days at an airbnb in Ephrata for a little vacation.  It was weird being on a trip with just teenagers and so few responsibilities... I loved it!

 

 

We stopped in Lititz to visit Wilbur Chocolate, and for a tour of the oldest still functioning pretzel maker.  We were pretty good little pretzel makers!

After dinner at a fun brewery, we went to the house where we went for walk on the bike path and played a rousing game of PIT!  It was a good first day.  :)

Montreal Exploration, Part 3

 On our last day we enjoyed hiking around one of the big parks, strolling outside the botanical gardens, and walking around the city neighborhoods some more.  It was good to soak up the beauty!

  

 

I think Rayna had a great time -- and we did, too!

Montreal Exploration, Part 2

 The next big thing we did was a walking tour through the historic section of the city.  We learned a lot about the geography (the lower section flooded a lot!), the culture (French vs. English), and the politics (it has swung wildly from a very licentious city to a very conservative one), and enjoyed seeing the old architecture.  Our tour guide was fun, and we randomly ran into her in a different part of the city the next day!