There is a reason

Driving in Central PA, farm country is pretty scenic even in winter. We happened upon a couple of farms where the corn stalks were stacked differently than we had seen before. We stopped to grab a couple of photos.

corn stalk 'pyramids'

As we were driving away, the farmer happened to be walking along the road so we stopped to inquire. They are stacked like this to allow them to dry out and be used for bedding.

Amaryllis time

I received an amaryllis and a paper white plant for my birthday earlier this month. I have been taking almost a daily photo of the growth and the amaryllis is about to blossom.

The 60th Birthday Party (Video)

Yes, there was a big surprise and the video does well to capture the fun!



Dolores and Steve 60th Birthday Party from Allison St. Pierre on Vimeo.


thank again to all who participated, it was great fun (and still being talked about!)

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas

Have a great day with friends and family

recap of the week

listen to ‘recap of the week’ on Audioboo

For Harry Potter fans

The folks at ImprovEverywhere did this wonderfully




For more scenes from ImprovEverywhere visit their webstie  http://improveverywhere.com/

The week that was

Twas a busy week... bottling Monday, FinCom meeting and Town Council meeting to report on Tues/Weds, A Christmas Carol Times Two! to help with on Thursday... a couple of productive meetings Saturday morning, errands mixed in for the remainder of the day  put up the tree and lights

Christmas tree 2013

before setting down by the fire place for the evening to wind down.

roaring fire 12/14/13

Deja Brewed - bottled in time

The 'Band of Brewers' got to Deja Brew on Monday evening to bottle our holiday beers. A good batch of good tasty hearty brews for the winter weather.

H is the Hearty Christmas

L is the Llevar Porter enhanced

W is the Winter

F is the Fuggles Ambrosia

G is the Gobnui

Evil Santa will be the blank cap

2 cases of the recent batch

Deja Brew is located in Shrewsbury, MA   http://www.deja-brew.com/

Friday Dec. 13

listen to ‘Friday Dec. 13’ on Audioboo

friday's thoughts on celebration

listen to ‘friday's thoughts on celebration’ on Audioboo

#GivingTuesday to help the Franklin Food Pantry provide every day

Thanksgiving and the other end of year holidays bring many folks around a dinner table to enjoy a good meal with the family and friends. While the awareness of hunger is heightened during this time of year, the reality is such that hunger is a year round problem.

The Franklin Food Pantry looks for ways to enable a sustaining volume of donations so that those they serve can be provided for throughout the year.

For #givingTuesday, there are several ways you can help the Food Pantry.

You can help in the following ‘traditional’ ways

• Donate food or non-food items. Why non-food items? For those on WIC or SNAP benefits, purchases of personal health care products are restricted. A person needs those just as much as healthy food to live a good life. Review the listing of non-food items for the Healthy Futures shelf.

• Donate money through the Food Pantry website with a one time payment, or set up a recurring payment. The website allows for payments from bank accounts or credit cards.

For the holiday season you might consider

• The Franklin Food Elves will be collecting for the Food Pantry in their annual "12 Days of Giving" campaign.  "More than 60 Food Elves will be collecting goods in neighborhoods around Franklin. If you don't have an Elf in your neighborhood, you can still participate in the food drive! Look for the red collection bins at participating Franklin Downtown Partnership member businesses. For additional information, check here.

• Buying a ticket or two, or more for “A Christmas Carol, Times Two!” A dramatic reading of the classic story  Charles Dickens with musical accompaniment. Thursday, Dec 12th at the Franklin United Methodist Church. Tickets $10 per person. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased in advance through BrownPaperTickets.com/, either on-line or by calling their 24/7 toll-free number 1-800-838-3006  For additional details on this performance check here.

You can also help by

• Purchasing a “Franklin Pride” bead or necklace or bracelet. These items are carefully crafted in the Franklin blue and buff colors and make great gifts throughout the year. Birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day to mention just a few. A percent of the purchase price comes to the Food Pantry thanks to the collaboration with Beads for a Cause

• Consider “Sponsoring a Shelf”. Contact Erin Lynch, Development Director to discuss how this would work for your budget. She can provide examples of items (peanut butter or toilet paper for example) that the Food Pantry uses on a regular basis. Your donation could provide the funds to keep a shelf stocked with that item for a set period of time. Your name (business or family) would be placed on the shelf to help provide recognition for your contribution.

• Last but not least, you can find the Franklin Food Pantry on Facebook. “Like” the page and enable notifications to your timeline as the Food Pantry makes updates so you will always be “in the know”. Share items you find are worthy with your friends and neighbors so the Food Pantry can reach all of the Franklin user on Facebook!

• If you have a Twitter account, you can also find and follow the Food Pantry

• If you use LinkedIn, you can find updates from the Food Pantry

When you sit for your next meal, please give thanks for what you have. Please consider giving when you can to help the Food Pantry provide for others in Franklin throughout the year.


This was first posted on the Franklin Food Pantry website
http://www.franklinfoodpantry.org




Note: I am privileged to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Franklin Food Pantry