"Please Sir, Can I Have Some More?"

It's that time of year where everyone is asking for donations to many worthy projects. The PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails is not exception.....please consider supporting a quilt square, whether it be instead of participating in work Secret Santa gifts, buying another tie for a friend or loved one or in addition to the many gifts that you feel forced to give to everyone from your child's teacher, mail person, hair stylist, etc. at this time of year.

And now I will give you a compelling reason why.

Last year I was asked to sponsor a child who lives in an orphanage in Naco, Sonora, Mexico. I readily said, "Yes!" but was forced to deal with the fact that, for me, last years' funds were very tight and I wasn't sure how I could come up with extra cash to buy a coat, clothes and toys for the 12 year old boy I sponsored. I am fortunate to have a December birthday (today in fact) and I asked friends and family in lieu of gifts to donate any money that would be spent on me towards buying this boy some of the things needed. I got to go to the orphanage and deliver the goods that were gifted to me. This is an experience I most likely will remember for most of the rest of my life.

A year later, long after I would remember any of the gifts I would have received I still am proud of the gifts I gave. I know that when Eduardo grows too large for his coat, he will pass it on to a younger child: likewise his pants and shoes. The soccer ball, no doubt has been used for hours of play and the candy shared by Eduardo with the other kids.

If you sponsor a quilt square you will be able to see if for years to come. Quilt squares are for the enjoyment of community members and visitors alike. Every time you pass "your" quilt square you will feel pride in what you have done.

Go ahead-donate a square.

It's the Ho Ho Ho Holidays

Winter is Here!?

It seems as if we are all enjoying the final days of warmth, gardening and sweater wearing, when BAM! winter descends and it's time to drag out warm clothes, stoke the fires and move indoors for months of inside activities. With the wind and snow it is easy to stay sequestered, barely leaving the house except to go to work and pick up the makings for soup or hot casseroles.

But central Pennsylvania in the winter can be a truly wonderful season of outdoor activity and beauty. If you are one of those types of people that shutter at the thought of the wind nipping at your nose and cold feet; dress appropriately and give the winter a chance. After a new fallen snow there is a silence that is almost spiritual. Even the birds are silent for a while. With snow on the ground it is easy to spot footprints of turkey, deer, and bear. One year I followed a trail of paw prints of a mother and baby black bear.

With all the colorful leaves gone, the winter is the time of the year to see through the trees to an often brilliant, blue sky. X-country skiing, snowshoeing or clomping through the snow with warm winter boots is a fun, enjoyable way to get some free exercise. And of course after your winter excursions coming inside to a warm house, inn or room feels better than you ever imagined.

This year local or not, follow the PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails and experience the outdoors.
Send feedback and photos and share your fun.

Geocaching on the PA Quilt (And Rug) Trails

In less than a week, the first, possibly first and  second geocache site will be installed along the PA Quilt (And Rug) Trails. How this works is first you must beg, borrow or purchase a GPS device. With the coordinates in hand a GPS coordinate will guide the cache seeker to a location . This can be done with any device that has GPS coordinates: smart phones, iPhone, iPads, laptops, Tom Toms, Garmans, etc. Once you have located the first site via GPS coordinates, you will refer to three photos that will be posted. These photos are close ups of structural details that you need to find in the area of the GPS coordinate to find the cache. Sounds more complicated than it actually is.

When I first heard of geocaching a few years back, I must confess I "pooh poohed" the idea. In my mind I imagined walking through the beautiful Pennsylvania woods, ignoring the foliage and focusing solely on a technological device. Would you ignore the Bared owl high above you or the beautiful asters lining the path in lieu of nose to the screen following coordinates? My thoughts were that technology and outdoor activities should not mix.

But I have soften my stance.

I now see possibility of geocaching as a non expensive activity that takes to you to places you might not naturally chose to explore. Caches are not in random places but in well designed sites. Though the caches offer little in material value, each waterproof box will contain a small trinket, pencil and log book and some information about the location of the cache. Exchange of trinkets is encouraged. By reading through the log, a history of persons visiting is recorded. Maybe a familiar name is logged ahead of yours, perhaps a visitor from out of state or country-what fun to be connected to others!

I encourage all to try one geocache hunt, play it out, see where the experience takes you.

Welcome Packwood House Museum to the PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS RC&D WELCOMES THE NEWEST ADDITION TO THE PA QUILT (AND RUG) TRAILS

MIFFLINTOWN: Community Partnerships RC&D has partnered with the Packwood House Museum to create the newest addition of the PA Quilt (and
Rug )Trails. The quilt block chosen by the Packwood House Museum is a replica of a quilt, made ca. 1880, and has become widely associated with the Packwood House Museum collection. Quilters and quilt historians across the U.S. recognize it as "the Packwood House Quilt." The Packwood House Museum is located at 15 North Water Street Lewisburg, PA (570) 524-0323

Leaves are Changing

There is no time of the year like the  season when the  leaves change color. Yearly, people from around the country/ world, make a pilgrimage to bask in the plethora of oranges, yellows, reds, purples, greens, and browns. To describe this phenomenon with words is pointless, one must venture out to where the leaves change and live, breath and embrace the transition.

There are several websites devoted to monitoring the fall foliage. Central Pennsylvania is currently at the beginning of the onslaught of colors; in a few weeks time, baring incidents of heavy rains, winds and early snow, the PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails will be a sight to behold. Explore the trail, take some photos and make some colorful memories. The PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails is lovely at all times of the year but during the fall, when the leaves change colors, it is truly phenomenal.

Websites monitoring foliage:

http://forestry.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=forestry&cdn=education&tm=4&f=00&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.fs.fed.us/fallcolors/

http://www.weather.com/activities/driving/fallfoliage/

http://www.foliagenetwork.net/

It's Fall on the PA QUilt (and Rug) Trails

Many people in the United States have never experienced fall in central Pennsylvania. Having traveled throughout most of the northeast and a fair portion of the rest of the United States, I can attest that central Pennsylvania, in the fall months, is one of the prettiest states. There are days when the colors are actually startling in their color intensity. A few of years back I drove daily over the Seven Mountains, south of  State College. Honestly the colors of these mountains caused me, more than once, to forget I was driving (not really) and become one with the spectrum of brilliant foliage. Add to that the usual blue skies of a central Pennsylvania fall and the result is utter fabulousness.

The PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails meanders through all this beautiful land. Many crops at this time of year have turned golden and brown. Leaves have started to fall with their dense red, yellows and oranges. Grasses flower an array of color.

And the smells. There is nothing like the smell of composting leaves, fresh brisk air  and the earthy smell of smoke from wood burners.

This fall follow the PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails and use the trail as your guide through a memorable experience.