Peddler's Village Gingerbread House Competition 2015

Showing off the gingerbread tree house that my daughter made this year!
She entered it in the annual Gingerbread House Competition
held by Peddler's Village in Lahaska, Pennsylvania.

Let's zoom in for a closer look!

A special dedication to her Mom & Dad with our carved initials on the trunk of the tree!

We took it into our living room for some photos, 

so you can better see how she lit the interior.

A third place winner!

Laura competed last year as well.
See photos on my blog post,
Gingerbread House Competition at Peddler's Village 2014.

More info about Peddler's Village here.

Spicing Up My Hot Chocolate

One of the things that winter means for me is hot chocolate!

Warm, cozy, yummy! 

Even better when I'm snuggled under a blanket.

Better still? A crackling fire in the fireplace.

With a gentle snowfall outside! I'm swooning.

Thought I'd share this chart with you, courtesy of SheKnows.

Can't wait to try a couple of these concoctions to jazz things up!

They really sound less like beverages and more like dessert, don't they?

Rich? Check.

Decadent? Check.

I think it's time for a chocolaty splurge. Are ya with me?

Vintage & Salvaged Tin Décor by Deborah Sielski

You know that Lancaster, PA is one of my favorite places to shop.
It's always been well-known for outlet shopping,
but I like to zero in on the wonderful downtown area.

A shop that opened this past year is called Madcap & Co.,
a gathering place for sellers of handcrafted and vintage treasures.
(More on that another time.)
The work of Deborah Sielski was a stand-out for me.
Hard to resist the gleem of patina-ed silver against a luscious purple backdrop.
A gorgeous, magical selection of wreaths, ornaments, trees and garlands!

Deborah combines vintage items with contemporary glitz and
hand-cut salvaged tin to create these fabulous baubles!

Classy Christmas decor with the flair of Old Hollywood glamour! 

More of Deborah's creations can be seen at her website.

Madcap & Co. is at 310 N. Queen St. Lancaster, PA.

Here's their website.

Images used with direct permission from Deborah Sielski.

PET® Carts Head to the GAiN® Distribution Center

 

42 PET® carts have arrived! They were driven from Ohio to Pennsylvania,
one step closer to their final destination, which may be any one of a 
number of developing countries such as Haiti, Vietnam or Guatemala.

Before I go on, let me explain what a PET® is.
An anagram for Personal Energy Transportation, it is a wooden cart powered by hand.
They're given to people who don't have the use of their legs due to diseases,
birth defects, or accidents -which very often involve landmines.
Their lives are turned around!
Now they can look to the future with possibility and hope.
They experience a new dignity, as their only way to get from 
place to place had been by crawling or dragging themselves through the dirt.

Most importantly, these folks are introduced to the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ, in Whose name each PET® is given.
So, along with a new physical life,
they are given the opportunity to receive a new spiritual life
by knowing and accepting Jesus and their Savior.


Here's a photo of me with a PET®, taken at the PET® OH-Stow production site.  

This particular delivery was made by volunteers Lee & Vince Petno.
They traveled from PET® OH-Stow to the Mount Joy, PA 
distribution center -The Global Aid Network® (GAiN®).

Mount Joy is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

All 42 boxes are lined up, ready for the next leg of their journey.

A photo with Gerald Mohler, Operations Manager at GAiN. 

who gave us a tour of the place. GAin distributes 80 PET®s per year.

The PET® Project is near and dear to my heart.
Please consider supporting it in prayer,
with a tax-deductible donation, or by volunteering!

For lots more information on the PET Project:

Check out my blog post- 

The PET Brings Mobility & the Love of Christ to Developing Countries
You can see what goes on at the PET® OH-Stow facility
and watch a moving video about the PET® Project.

Also, my follow-up post to this one:
Touring the Global Aid Network Logistics Center.

LINKS:

Mobility Worldwide OH-Stow
Mobility Worldwide

PET OH-Stow on Facebook

Mobility Worldwide on Twitter

GAiN Distribution Center

GAiN Distribution (Logistics) Center on Facebook


{As an October 2016 update to this post, I want to share that PET International, 
parent organization of PET OH-Stow and 22 other Affiliates, has changed its name
to Mobility Worldwide. The PET will now be called the Mobility Cart. } 

Giving Thanks to the Lord this Thanksgiving

Thankful for so many things.

The Lord has blessed me beyond measure.

Happy Thanksgiving

to you and yours!

~LuAnn

The Bold Pottery of Danko Handmade

A big fan of hand-thrown pottery,

I was wowed when I saw the creations of Daniel Nikolov.

Daniel is from Bulgaria and has a shop called Danko Handmade.

His modern interpretations of solid, rustic styles are wonderful.

I like his choices of deep, saturated shades of red, blue and green.

Showing off some of my favorites~

Any -in fact, all- of these would look fabulous in my home!

Connect with Danko Homemade here:

Etsy

Facebook

Twitter

Images used with direct permission from Daniel Nikolov.

Touring the Spectacular Luray Caverns of Virginia

The stalactites and stalagmites in the underground fantasy world of

Luray Caverns were highlights of our trip to Virginia.

What a thrill to tour this geologic wonderland! 

Very unique - we really were wowed!

There was an eerie, other-worldly, sci-fi feel to the place.

I kept trying to imagine what an astonishing experience 

it must have been for those who discovered it years ago in 1878.

Photos can in no way do justice to the caverns;

they can't begin to convey the scope and depth of the place.

But I did give it a shot, so here is my feeble attempt

to relay the beauty and wonder of Luray Caverns. 

Look closely at this photo.

This is Dream Lake with its mirror image of the cavern's ceiling.

Crystal clear amazement!

Luray Caverns is located at

101 Cave Hill Rd., Luray, Virginia.

You can view their website here.

Karen Nicol’s Innovative Textile Design

Karen Nicol, of London, England, is a marvelously imaginative textile artist!

At a young age, she fell in love with embroidery and determined to make it her career.

With the courage to reach beyond the expected, she collaborated 

with others to design textiles for fashion and interiors,

finally exhibiting her work in galleries under her own name.

She's experimented with laces and has showcased her designs 

through a series of animals, including 2D and 3D embroidery.

Karen’s textile artistry is nothing short of innovative. 

She is passionate about embroidery and loves to teach and encourage others.

Enjoy this selection of her various works.

Karen's book, Embellished: New Vintage,

is a visual banquet of her vintage and textile treasures.

Visit Karen's website.

Images used with direct permission from Karen Nichol.