During my visit to Germany in December 2019, my mother and I cleared out my uncle’s utterly cluttered apartment. One of the treasures we found was a roll of handwoven linen. It had been woven by my maternal great-grandmother Luise, most likely during the first years of her marriage in the late 1890s or early 1900s before she had her hands full with four children (the youngest being my grandfather) and feeding the farmhands and grain mill workers at the family operations every day. Continue reading
The bee’s knees: Saying good-bye to a wonderful neighbor
Since 2018, I have kept a list of my favorite destinations for locally grown food on this blog. It is much more than just a list of family-owned businesses and shops; there are names, faces, and stories attached to each of them. I know the owners by name and they know my name. Continue reading
The Power of Gardening

When I started gardening 20 years ago, I quickly realized how beneficial gardening is on so many levels—beyond providing my family with fresh, organically grown fruits and vegetables, including unusual ones like the trombocino summer squash in the photo above. Continue reading
Keepers and losers: A 2020 recap
The gardening year that is coming to a close here in northeast Pennsylvania was like no other. More than ever, I am grateful to live on a piece of land where I can grow food. It is not enough to sustain us yet enough to fill a freezer chest and several shelves of canning jars. Continue reading