SimplyLife

If you've visited Letchworth State Park or are from Wyoming County, NY you're familiar with Mary Jemison a/k/a The White Woman of the Genesee. Hers is a fascinating story spanning years before the Revolutionary War to the early 1800s. Mary's life is a Western New York legend, a rich part of the early history of the white man coming to the "beautiful valley." A daughter of Thomas and Jane Jemison, Mary drew her first breath on board the sailing ship William and Mary in the fall of 1743. Her parents, of Scotch-Irish heritage were Protestant settlers in Adams County, near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. On April 5, 1758, Indians and Frenchmen descended on the frontier neighborhood, killing many and dragging off captives.  Mary, her parents, and several neighbors along with their children were among those captured and forced to march many miles through woods and swamps. Their fate was almost certain death, but the second night on the march, Mary was given a pair of moccasin...

Yesterday I had my fingerprints taken. It's a requirement for the new job I start next week. Ink was pressed into my fingertips and fingers, then expertly rolled by the technician onto the official card. Now, I'm in the system. So if I run out and commit a crime and leave my fingerprints behind, they'll know whodunnit. As everyone knows, fingerprints are unique to each person. Not even identical twins have identical fingerprints. They're similar, but still different.  Our legal system uses this information to catch the bad guys. It's a wonderful tool and has solved many crimes since the 1800s. The U.S. military began using fingerprints as a primary method of identification in 1905 and it quickly spread to police departments. Now, it's standard procedure. Fingerprints, DNA, and now a host of other things make up identity. We are one-of-a-kind people, extraordinary individuals. And we always leave traces of ourselves wherever we go. A strand of hair, a fingerp...

s Who doesn't need...well want a new cookbook? I recently received a new one by Lorilyn Roberts for review.  Geared toward homeschooling families, it's also an excellent resource for families on the go and working moms who need kid pleasing, but easy family dinners.  Here's my review:  Food for Thought: Quick and Easy Recipes for Homeschooling Families is one to add to your shelf. Lorilyn shares not only family friendly recipes, but it’s seasoned with inspiring quotes from Christians past and present. The recipes are easy to follow and the ingredients are easy on the budget. Busy families can have home cooked nutritious meals with the bonus of sitting down to enjoy it together. Some of the best times in family life are spent in the kitchen and the young cooks section of the book gives moms some great recipes to share with their children. You’ll find yourself reaching for this book on a regular basis when you’re planning meals or need supper in a hurry. If you...

It's always fun to have family members who have a bit of notoriety because of interesting pursuits. My husband's cousin, Ken Wallace is one of those.  Ken is an artist who works in stone as a flintknapper. Flintknapping is the ancient art of shaping tools and weapons from pieces of stone. Knapping was part of the survival skill set of Native Americans. Arrowheads, knives, hatchets, and more were shaped from raw pieces of flint or chert.  Ken knapping at the Wallace Reunion Ken became interested in this process back in 1985. One of his favorite pastimes was searching fields for arrowheads, both of which are pretty plentiful in Western New York. Freshly plowed ground in rural areas often yields many different types of arrowheads since the Iroquois were the original residents of what are now corn fields and cow pastures. Fascinated with how the Iroquois made their weapons and tools, Ken started to try and recreate them. He says a lot of trial and error were involved in the...

The last four weeks have been filled with actual author events. Starting in New York on August 17 with an author tea at Silver Lake and wrapping up today with the Sierra Vista Library celebration. Events have spanned the country! In between were two radio interviews on local stations in Sierra Vista and Bisbee. Since this is my first foray into the public arena with books in hand, it's been a little exciting.  Here are some observations from this flurry of activity. 1.  It's fun to meet flesh and blood readers since I work in the virtual realm most of the time. 2.  Who knew that I might actually be an interesting radio show guest?! 3.  Sometimes books go like hotcakes and other times, not so much. 4.  There's still a little bit of awe about meeting an author. "You're a real author?" (Comment from young boy at today's event.) It is possible I didn't look like one, so I could be mistaken about this. 5.  It's hard to predict just how many bo...

Tonight, I'll be teaching a women's Bible study at our little church on the border. We're studying the book of Jonah. It's a familiar Sunday School Bible story, many of us have heard over the years. It's easy to focus on the "great fish" and there have been innumerable debates over the actual "great fish" that swallowed Jonah. However, the fish is a minor player in this book. The real focus of the four short chapters is the dialogue between God and Jonah. God begins the conversation with Jonah, who's a well known prophet in Israel. He tells him to go to Nineveh, a great city in Assyria and tell them that God's judgment is coming. Now the Assyrians were Israel's archenemies, despised and hated by any self-respecting Israelite. There was a reason for this. The Assyrians were unspeakably cruel and wicked. Israel had been captured, plundered, and massacred by these people. Judgment for the Assyrians was probably music to the prophet...

Recently I threw out a question to Face Book fans asking which classic movie they considered the creepiest. They had five choices:   Gaslight, Psycho, Night of the Hunter, Cape Fear, and Cat People . Gaslight and Cape Fear came out on top, although many hadn't seen all five movies. I find that the classics have better creep factor than today's movies which tend to use special effects to cover up a weak plot and no atmosphere. Atmosphere is really what it's all about when it comes to a creepy movie. It's that feeling you get, a little prickle at the back of the neck. You know something bad is going to happen, but you can't pinpoint when. There's a bit of mental imbalance to the plot which makes it that more unpredictable. Then it happens and you jump! Personally, I love a good scare, but I'm not into horror or slasher films. The scariest movies in my book aren't about being graphic, it's the "creep factor." Only a strong plot and excel...

I wish I had a dollar for every time a pastor has said from the pulpit that "Preparation for Sunday morning worship begins before you get to church." Ha! Easier said than done. Isn't Sunday morning when the kids won't cooperate? They watch TV and don't get dressed. Someone spills red Kool-Aid on their white shirt. You and your husband have an argument about what you're doing after church.  Suddenly all the Bibles in your house have disappeared. Sunday mornings get out of hand quickly and by the time you reach the church parking lot, you're exhausted. You're thinking about dinner and what you have to do later in the day. What if the preacher goes overtime and the roast burns?  Then what if Mrs. XYZ takes over the Sunday School class again, and hogs the whole discussion?   All sorts of distractions run through our minds and many times I've found myself singing a worship song while thinking about a dozen things other than worship. The common theme...