Letter #276 from Pennsylvania

Letter #276 comes from Rossana in Pennsylvania.Yes,another lovely letter from that great state!Rossana is a homeschooler like us and has four daughters.She has always homeschooled all of her children.

She said that they recently had a relative visit them and he rode bicycles with the girls and it got her started riding bikes around again.She bought a trailer to attach to her bike so she could take her youngest daughter with her since she is too small for a bicycle.They plan to ride to local places together,which is a great way to spend time with family,get exercise and save gas and money.One of the places they like to ride to is the library...while we live really close to our library,it's on a major highway so it's not safe for us to ride anywhere,which is a real bummer.

They spent their summer swimming and visiting the library.She says they had just finished doing a flat stanley project with a library in Wisconsin.When we were on our first round of homeschooling,we used to participate a lot in flat stanley projects and I actually still have them after  9 years!It was a really fun project that my girls really enjoyed.I think it's great that the libraries joined together to do this....wish ours did something fun like that.They also have participated in postcard projects and have received postcards from Spain,Germany and London.She said that they are also planning to do a leaf exchange but didn't have the details about it at the time she wrote the letter.

Rossana was very creative with her letter and wrote on various pieces of paper,such as receipts from the library,a chuck e cheese photo paper that didn't print a picture.She also wrote on a postcard from a sculpture garden they visited and also another postcard from another event.She also included a lot of stickers from fruit and veggies that they have collected.She said that they are edible,but I still would rather not eat them on purpose. :) I had to do a double take for the sticker on the bottom corner because I thought they actually were able to buy and then eat black bear,but then I realized it was black bear turkey. :) She even recycled their children's museum brochure and used it as an envelope. :)

Thanks Rossana for your lovely letter and goodies,which can be seen below:

Letter #275 from Pennsylvania

Letter #275 comes from Phoebe in Pennsylvania.Phoebe is a live -in nanny for two children,although one just left for college.She has been with the family for eighteen years.She lives just outside of Philadelphia.They also have a yellow lab dog named Winnie and also a fluffy orange cat named Snicklefritz (I wonder if they got the name from the kids show called "The Big Comfy Couch"). :) The dog loves to chase the cat around,but the cat doesn't like it and tries to hide from him.

Phoebe has been able to travel to different places with the family.She has been to different places in the US,Europe,and also Anguilla,which is a small island in the western Carribean.She loves to travel and see new places.One of her favorite things to do when she is in a foreign country is visit the grocery store....she loves to see their different foods and packaging.

Phoebe's hobbies include papercrafting (mostly making cards and a little scrapbooking),making baby quilts,reading,baking,and sending postcards through postcrossing.She also enjoys sending letters,cards and care packages to deployed troops.She belongs to a couple of military support organizations,such as Tell Them Thanks and Soldiers' Angels.

When Phoebe wrote our letter,she had recently visited the Philadelphia Zoo.They try to visit once a year,but didn't make it last year.She loves seeing all of the animals,her favorite animals are the cats.There is a baby jaguar at the zoo that was born in the beginning of June,so she was very excited to see the new baby and thought it was so cute!Of all the cats,tigers are her favorite because of their coloring.She did say that she doesn't like reptiles,so she never visits the reptile house when they go. :) She asked us if we are near any zoos.We actually never visited our zoo,but have enjoyed the National Zoo in Washington,DC and plan to visit it again when we go back to DC next year since we really loved that zoo and the admission price is great-it's free! :)

Along with Phoebe's lovely letter,she included some stickers,confetti that came out when we opened the envelope (that's always a nice surprise),a brochure and postcard from the zoo,pics of her and the kids which I will leave out for privacy reasons and a pic of her cat and dog.Thanks Phoebe for the great letter and goodies,which can be seen below:

Letter #267 from Pennsylvania

Letter #267 comes from Marian in Lancaster,Pennsylvania,which is most known for their Amish population.She is a college student near Pittsburgh,but when she isn't in school,she's at home in Lancaster.She says that even though she lives in a neighborhood,she is surrounded by farmland and that down the road from her house is a farmstand where they buy their produce.

Marian says one of the great things in Lancaster is their old covered bridges that have a lot of history to them.I can recall seeing plenty of them in books....I always wanted to drive through one of those....especially during the fall as the leaves on the trees are golden colored.She also told us that a traditional dessert from the area is called Shoo Fly Pie.It's a pie crust filled with cinnamon sugar and molasses,with crumbs on top.She says it is very tasty....I have never had Shoo Fly PIe before but should definitely try it sometime.She says she tried making one at home before with her friends,but it burned. :(

Thanks Marian for your lovely letter!Hope you are doing well in college!Her lovely (and colorful) letter can be seen below:

Letter #204 from Pennsylvania

Letter #204 comes from Marguerite in Pennsylvania.She is a stay-at-home mom to three lovely daughters.Both her husband and herself were born and raised in the same city and both of their parents still live there.She is so glad that her children have the opportunity to see their grandparents so often.They live in a small city,but their arts scence continues to grow.

Marguerite studied Art History at Rosemont College near Philadelphia.She previously worked at the Pennsylvania Museum Commission during the summers of her college years.She also worked at local museum sites,including Landi Valley and Ephrate Cloister.Although she isn't interested in facts and dates,she does love artifacts from everyday life,espcially epherma like letters,books,journals,and advertisements.In her spare time,she also enjoys creating her own works on paper.Who knows,maybe her works of art could one day be in a museum for future generations to examine. :)

She also told us that during the American Revolution,Lancaster was briefly the capital of the colonies on Sept. 27,1777, when the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia.In 1812,the capital then moved to Harrisburg.

She has written her letter to us in parts on the back of the postcards,so I will go over each letter from each postcard.

James Buchanan,who was the only president from Pennsylvania was the only bachelor president,so his niece,Harriet Lane served as his First Lady.

Franklin and Marshall College is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the U.S.Franklin College was founded in 1787 with a generous financial gift from Benjamin Franklin.Marshall College,named after Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, was founded in 1836 in Mercersburg,PA.It moved to Lancaster in 1853 and merged with Franklin College.James Buchanan,the 15th president,was the first President of the Board of Trustees of the newly formed Franklin and Marshall College.It hosts many academic and cultural events that are open to the public.

She also couldn't resist sending us a postcard with three Amish girls since we both have three daughters. :) The Amish are a religious sect from Germany who retain many traditional customs.They make their living almost solely by farming,without the use of any modern conveniences like electricity and gas engines.They also don't drive cars or have computers.They are widely settled in Eastern Pennsylvania and still speak a German dialect,often referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch.The Amish are also known for their detailed quilts and heirloom furniture.There are many Amish and Mennonite farms in Lancaster County.Marguerite enjoys their fresh produce and admires their discipline and hard work,as well as the strong sense of community that they have.

Thanks Marguerite for your lovely letter,postcards and map of Lancaster County,which can be seen below:

Letter #200 from Pennsylvania

Letter #200 comes from Laurel in Pennsylvania.Laurel lives in the state capital,Harrisburg.She says that they have the most beautiful capital building.... Theodore Roosevelt said so. ;) Laurel works as a librarian.... wow,we really can't wait to tally up just how many librarians have written us,it's just amazing! Their summer theme this year is,"One World,Many Stories".She asked if we were participating in our summer reading program and I will proudly say yes,we never miss a summer reading program.My daughters have won some great prizes over the years,my oldest even won an ipod when they first came out.She,(I mean "Mr. El Geckito") mentioned she likes Jack Prelutsky's poems,especially the one about him saying, "he wants to eat a pizza the size of the sun".

She lives close to Hershey,where the Hershey Kisses were invented.She lives to visit the Hershey Gardens as opposed to the rollercoasters.Mrs. Hershey loved roses,so Mr. Hershey built a huge rose garden for her.Her letter ended with a question asking us what is interesting about our area.I would have to say the Blue Ridge Parkway,although we've never seen it,it looks amazing in books!

Thanks Laurel (and El Geckito) for the lovely letter,which can be seen below,along with a sticker from their summer reading program:

Letter #21 from Pennsylvania

Now we are on to letter #21 which comes from Becky in Pennsylvania.She is new to the state but has lived near Chicago in NW Indian for the past 5 years.We love Chicago.We have visited the city at least 6 times when we lived in Michigan.I think it's a great city.You can see the lovely lake while driving around, you'll see people taking horse drawn carriage rides along the lake.You see so many people that are just so happy (in the spring and summer,never been there in the winter....maybe the people aren't so happy then). :) Anyways,she lived south of Lake Michigan.We don't swim but she said the lakes can be dangerous.She says that several people die every year in Lake Michigan from the rip currents....so please stay safe if you swim in that lake.

Becky grew up swimming in Lake Erie and loves it because it's shallow,so it's safer and it's the most predictable of all the Great Lakes...do you remember all the Great Lakes? Here's a clue if you don't remember the names,just remember the word HOMES.

She also told us about some islands on Lake Erie called Kelly's Island,which is home to the Kokopelli carvings.Kokopelli was a Native American god/spirit of music and dance.Thanks Becky for your lovely letter.Even though we lived in Michigan for 10 years,there is a lot we didn't know or get to see during our time,like sleeping bear dunes...wonder if Becky went there,too?

Here's Becky's lovely letter and card below...the flowers on the letter make me wish it was spring.