The Philadelphia Flower Show is a grown-up gardener’s paradise, and it can be a wonderland of discovery and delight for children as well. The larger-than-life displays offer a unique setting in which to engage youngsters in the beauty of the natural world and ignite a lifelong passion for its precious plant life. The theme for [...]

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a complex person when it comes to winter (and thus, the holidays). While I love wearing cozy layers, drinking hot tea, and baking Christmas cookies, I have a very low tolerance for cold weather. If there’s snow on the ground, I’m OK with winter for a few [...]

Pine Grove has one traffic light, two grocery stores and three pizza shops. Sandwiched in a valley near the border between Schuylkill and Lebanon Counties, the small town where I grew up is equal parts coal region and Pennsylvania Dutch farmland, with the accents and last names of both. It’s heyday may have come and [...]

For me, it doesn’t feel like fall until I do four things: 1) Buy and plant orange and yellow mums, 2) Decorate the yard with pumpkins, 3) Rake leaves for a few hours (yes, the 90+ trees in our yard require a heck-of-a-lot of raking, so I start early) and 4) Attend a fall festival [...]

They say that each part of the world has its own unique flavor. True in many senses of the phrase; however, many parts of our country have become homogenized. With the grocery store chains and strip malls the same in every aspect, one could travel from Kalamazoo Michigan to Tampa Florida and find the same [...]

One of the reasons I fell in love with history is my grandmother’s red and white, 1959 Holiday edition Oldsmobile Super 88 convertible. Lovingly maintained by my grandfather, this car had a back seat the size of a couch and chrome on every corner. Each top-down, Sunday drive over the back roads of Schuylkill and [...]

I wanted to start posting some great outdoor things to do, since the weather is getting better and better!
I found a book called “Short Bike Rides in Eastern PA” by Bill Simpson, and wanted to share one of the rides that he details that goes around Bird-in-Hand, one of Lancaster County’s many great little towns! [...]

The sleepy town of Emmaus, home to Rodale (publishers of Organic Gardening, Prevention and Men’s Health, etc.) has a great farmer’s market that runs every Sunday morning, May through Thanksgiving. You’ll find vendors who sell fruit, baked goods, vegetables, bison, goat cheese, honey, sausage, veal, eggs, and more. All the vendors produce or grow what [...]

Do you like motorcycles?  Do you like awesome entertainment?  Do you like fun??  If you like any of the those they you need to attend Roar on the Shore this year!  This is only the third year for Roar on the Shore but it is growing significantly.
I attended Roar on the Shore last year for [...]

I am addicted to flea markets. There, I said it. I don’t care what day of the week it is, or what the weather’s like outside, I can easily and happily wander around aimlessly for hours at a flea market. I’ve been to flea markets in lots of major cities like New York City, Tampa, [...]