Scrappy Hearts

Falling Water

 Summer trips, for me, are usually a cross between exploring a new area (Gettysburg) and seeing something that I have always wanted to see. This trip was precisely that. I have always been intrigued by Falling Water and the opportunity to camp in an area where we had never been was an absolute plus. As a child I was blessed to spend a part of every summer on Long Beach Island, off the coast of New Jersey. My grandparents house, bought when I was a mere 6 months old, was located on a bay lagoon. I would lay awake at night listening to the water lap the bulkhead and the rigging of the sailboat next door slap the mast. I had always assumed I would grow up to own a house on the water. Falling Water is one better than that, it is a house built out over the water. The stairway in the living-room, hidden by a retractable set of windows, actually leads down to the water and is just before the falls.

 Inside the home you hear the water everywhere. The house is built with expansive decks that allow the dwellers to experience the outside world from all different angles and levels. There are no photographs allowed while you are inside the home but even in the photograph above, you can see the decks. The house is actually cantilevered overed the water by three concrete fingers.

The house itself is constructed of concrete and because of where it is located, the concrete was actually mixed bag by bag. No heavy machinery was used to excavate the site or to help with the construction. Our visit was everythhing I had hoped for and more. It is truly a work of art and I found myself wanting to travel back to visit during the different seasons just to see what the experience was like for the Kaufmans that had the home built. 

We Managed to Escape,

just for a bit. We left home on Sunday, late morning and arrived in Gettysburg not long after lunch. Our bed and breakfast, The Brafferton Inn, is the oldest building in Gettysburg. The home was built in the late 1700’s by the Codori family. When I selected our room I had no idea that I was selecting the oldest master bedroom in Gettysburg. It was the perfect place to begin our little get-away! 

Sunday we checked into our room and then immediately traveled out to the National Historic Site. We wandered the visitors center and learned about what they offered before deciding that it made more sense to begin that part of our journey on Monday. We took a quick drive back towards town with a stop at the Appalachian Brewing Company for an early dinner. Before we travel most anywhere, I spend a little bit of time doing homework. Most of our excursions will include a little camping, a little outdoor activity, a little history and a little relaxation. As travelers, we are really pretty relaxed. We know what we want to see first and foremost but we are flexible with our timing. Before we left for Gettysburg, I had decided that the Appalachian Brewing Company would be a fun stop for Mark.Dinner started with jalapeno poppers, open-faced, wrapped in bacon and baked, they were delicious! We spent a great deal of time discussing the local area with our server and had a leisurely drive back into town where we took a long walk around the square. Our bed and breakfast was ideally located for spending our time downtown and we were thrilled. Just what we needed, no schedule and lots of exploring!

Summer - 2017

 Summer, like so many things in my life, is defined by what’s happening in the shop. June 21st, the official start of summer, also denotes the beginning of the Row x Row Experience. Row x Row is an international quilters’ shop hop. Quilt shops around the world register to be a part of the Experience. 

This year we were a little better prepared for the Row x Row than we were last year and that was entirely due to my inexperience as a shop owner. Our license plate was ordered early and the idea for our row came early on with input from many stakeholders. 

 Our row, which you can see at the top of the display in the photo above, is based on the wheel block. We call it the Mill Wheel Block because our little shop sits in the middle of a village that grew up on one of the races in Mt. Holly. The race drew off the Rancocas Creek and was used to spin the wheels of the mills. Four mill wheels represent the 4 seasons of the year. The theme of this year’s Row by Row is “On the Go” and what better symbol to represent the shop than the wheels that made this village run?

I can say that I am really looking forward to the summer but the truth is, summer started a few weeks ago, before I was ready. Now I just need to dig in and take advantage of it for all that it’s worth!