Long ago the ladies had quilting bees. They used the time to socialize and complete a project and probably eat some good food. The Amish still do have quilting bees to do just that. The modern young women have scrapbooking weekends and do the same thing, socialize and complete a project. I am amazed at the creativity around the table as they work and talk about the events that produced the pictures. Some just put them in book a with captions so that 20 years from now they will be able to identify the subjects. But some use great detail to highlight the pictures. I am reminded once more at the great minds the Almighty gave us and how differently we use them.

A day on the farm……..well, at least today on the farm, we had to have the cows checked to see they were pregnant. Our guests love to watch the little calves run around the meadow so that is an important step. Of four, three are carrying calves. so sometime in the next nine months we will have 3 calves. I’m sure they are all at differnt stages in their pregnancy. They are cute and fun to watch.

Lancaster County is known for its quilts and we have some of the finest fabric resources available. In March the AQS show will be in town and you can go and see vendors (about 300) and attend for a daily rate of $11. This would be a nice addition to your visit to Lancaster County. I will have a map to help you navigate to the convention center. If you still want more I’ll help you find those wonderful shops that are on back country roads, what fun! In Lancaster County you don’t get lost, you just see the real countryside.

Here in Lancaster County we love our food that has butter and sugar. I sound like Paula Deen My theory is that you can use less but at least it is a pure product. I can read cream, but some of the other stuff you find on labels make you wonder what it really is. Enough of my “soapbox”. We have two restaurants that are run by Amish; one being the Dieners on Route 30 E. and the other being Katie’s Kitchen on Route 896. If you go to Katie’s order the mashed potatoes, they are the best.

We are so fortunate in Lancaster County to have our Farmers Markets all year long. Market Days are Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Tuesday is Root’s Country Farmers Market and Friday, Saturday at Central Market in center city Lancaster. I love both of them (at one time I worked at both) but always go to Root’s on Tuesdays. The produce is fresh and much cheaper than the supermarket. Today I bought Romaine for a salad and it was raised just a few miles from me. I also found wonderful strawberries (I know they are not local) that are beautiful and actually smell like what they are. I’m also going to use them with my salad with an easy homemade dressing for dinner tonight. You can schedule your stay to coincide with market days and go home with fresh produce and meat.

Kathy looking forward to dinner.