Snow in Fulton County, Pennsylvania

I couldn't have picked a better time for my visit. The snow was so beautiful. I just had to capture some of the sights. This is farm country and the area where both of my grandparents lived.

This is where my paternal grandparents lived. They have both passed away and the house has been vacant for many years. My cousin owns the house now.

This is a close up of my grandparents' house............

I just loved the snow at this little stream.

A beautiful sunset at the family farm...............

This is one of the strangest things I saw on my trip. This stop sign is across the street from where you actually stop.

My Brother Gary

The picture above is of my brother Gary, his wife Venus, and their 4 children: Bryce and Garrison in the back and Candice by her mother. I insisted that they hold a picture of Malcom as he is on a mission in Tempe, Arizona, and we didn't want him to think he was forgotten.
Below is a picture of Gary's mansion. They invited me and all my children/grandchildren to come visit as they have enough space upstairs for a big slumber party. I'm excited and hope we can do it next summer.

My Brother Dwain

Dwain and Ami relaxing before bedtime. Peti is on Dwain's lap and fast asleep. (And Dwain says he's not a dog person.)

This is the bed I slept in while visiting Dwain and Ami. This is the same bed that Lafayette slept in when he was in the area.

Dwain, Mellie, and Ami with Peti on the chair. This picture was taken after church one Sunday. Mellie made her cute outfit the night before church. I was so impressed by her creativity.

This is a real mansion here...... So beautiful inside and out.

Here's the rest of Dwain's farm - the other buildings.......

Here's Mellie on a Saturday nite making her new outfit for the next day at church. She just needs some fabric and a couple of hours. She doesn't even use a pattern. She is so amazing - she just starts cutting then sewing and it's just like magic. She'll be at BYU-I next year and I hope she'll pursue a degree to use her talents. I really had a good time talking to Mellie and spending some time together.

Ami's Bookstore (Northwood Books in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania)

I just loved Ami's cute bookstore. Just being there made me want to open up a bookstore myself someday. It sounds like a fun retirement job for me. Ami has excellent customer service skills. I am not surprised that she is successful.

There's a cute little park behind the store. The picture above and two below were taken in the park.

Ami's contribution to the downtown renovation is shown in the picture above.

The picture above is Ami's store from the street. The picture below is at the park behind the store. What a great location for her business!

My Brother Lance

This is my brother Lance with his wife and four girls. I had a wonderful time visiting them. We made cards and also had some great home cooking.

The pictures above and below are my brother Lance loading hay. He's a very hard worker.

Here's some of Lance's cows. It reminds me of home on the farm..............

This is the fishing pond. We wanted to go fishing but it was really cold and the snow blocked the path to the pond.

Who is James Buchanan?

Mercersburg is the boyhood home of the U.S. President James Buchanan. This is Mercersburg's only claim to fame. The high school is still named after him. He is a little known U.S. president - the 15th president. He is the only bachelor to be president of the U.S.

The pictures above and below are taken in the state park named after him.
Lindsay is with me and Lance took the pictures. I had a fun day with Lindsay and Lance.

My Childhood Home

This is a picture of the house where I spent the first 16 years of my life. The picture above and below are the same house just different views. You can see that it is in the country with not many houses around.

The pictures above and below are of the fields on both sides of the house. It is all part of the farm. My brother Lance lives there now and owns the family farm. He has done a lot of work on remodeling the house.

This is the sign that says welcome to Mercersburg. The pictures on it show some of the notable spots in town.

This is a picture (above) of the other farm my dad had and my maternal grandparents lived here for many years. This is just a short bicycle ride or walk from the farm where we lived. My brother Lance owns this farm now also. He has a renter in the house.

I just wanted to show in the picture above that there is a traffic light in Mercersburg. The picture below is going the opposite direction. This is the little town.....

This is my brother Lance's license plate on his truck. I was surprised to see it say "farm truck" so decided it was worthy of a picture on my blog.

What a fun trip I had!!!

Highlights of Trip to Pennsylvania (2/10)

I had to laugh at the road sign above with a picture of a tractor. I'm not sure I've seen one of those before. You can tell this is farming country.

Above, my tired dad sleeping in the truck while the rest of us talked. He doesn't sleep well at night so I'm sure he needed a bit of a nap.

There are round hay bales and also rectangle ones. When I grew up on the farm, we only had the rectangle ones. Now there are both. I was surprised to see the hay sitting out in the snow. Perhaps it got wet and can't be used.

Above, this picture is a view from the top of the mountain. Pennsylvania mountains are more like big hills to those of us that live in the west with large mountains here.
Below is a picture of my dad having breakfast. He took me to the restaurant, Milky Way. I remember getting ice cream there when I was a kid. I thought it was really nice that he treated me for breakfast, just the two of us.

Venus, Irene, and I enjoyed a delicious lunch with food from India. I had a fun time visiting with them and glad we started a tradition of getting lunch together when I visit. Venus and Irene are my sister in laws. Irene is in the middle and she's married to my brother Lance. Venus is in the back and she's married to my brother Gary.
Below, a picture taken in front of Crawford's Museum. Gary is in the picture. He took me there one day just the two of us and we had a blast in this souvenir shop. I made a large purchase for myself of books and other souvenirs from Pennsylvania.

The Family Tree!!!!

This picture has my father and three brothers. (One brother and my sister missing.) From left to right is Gary, Lance, Dwain, then my dad and me in front. You can probably tell Lance is the youngest. I am the oldest although it was fun to ask my nieces if Dwain or I were older. Their answers made me laugh. Dwain and I are barely a year apart so I like to think we look about the same age.

I was surprised to see "Plessinger Road." I don't remember seeing that before. It was up in the mountains. I should have asked more about it.

The above picture has my great grandfather's tombstone and the picture below shows several "Plessinger" tombstones. This is where my grandma and grandpap Plessinger were buried along with my two uncles Cloyd and Blair. My grandma Crawford is also buried here. The snow was so deep that we couldn't get in to see the tombstones closer. I think that scripture in Isaiah must be true as I felt like my heart was turned to my ancestors and wanting to see the grave since I couldn't see them.

The picture below is of the Jerusalem Church where the graveyard above is also located. Most of my ancestors were not members of the church. They went to church every Sunday at this church.

This picture above is my aunt Belva in the middle with my dad and my cousin Diana beside her. Diana and I are about the same age. Belva and my dad are sister and brother.
The picture below is my aunt Fern. This is my dad's other sister. I was really touched when I saw her. I asked her if she remembered me and she replied yes with a big smile. Then I asked her if she got the cards and letters that I had sent and she firmly said, "You betcha." That really made me happy. I hadn't been to see Fern in 25 years so I was thrilled that we still had a connection.

Drive Tractor to High School in Pennsylvania

My nephew Bryce borrowed my brother's tractor so he could drive it to school. It was FFA (Future Farmers of America) week last week at J.B.H.S. This is something new that has been started since I graduated. I was amazed.... You can see how happy Bryce is. He said they also do a fundraiser contest for who has to kiss the pig.

I just had to add this picture to my blog. I never heard of such a thing but the high school does it every year now. Only in Pennsylvania?