Meet Sherry
Sherry Gore is a caregiver, storyteller, writer, accidental editor of The Pinecraft Pauper, author of Taste of Pinecraft and An Amish Bride's Kitchen, and owner of a double barrel shotgun. She's a non-resistant Christian and loves pie.

Home
Sherry is a year-round resident of beautiful, sun-kissed Sarasota, Florida, the vacation paradise of the Plain People. She shares her home with her children and pet miniature wiener dog. She is a member of a Beachy Amish Mennonite Church.

Favorite Quotes
"It wasn't her fault she was a corncob."
~Laura Ingalls, of Susan, her little corncob doll.

"Courage is being scared to death ... and saddling up anyway."
~John Wayne

"Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."
~Jesus Christ

"Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting."
~Elizabeth Bibesco

Favorite Bible Verses
"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
~ Revelation 2:10

"Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."
~ James 5:20

A Wish List of Sorts or Places Sherry Wants To Go
"My ultimate dream trip would entail swimming in the idyllic waters of the Mediterranean Sea in Santorini, Greece, meeting Vefa Alexiadou, author of Vefa's Kitchen, and trading cookbooks with her. I'd like to end the day eating a platter of homemade Greek potato salad and a gyro."

"A trip to Baltimore, Maryland, is on my must-do-soon list. I'll take any seat in front of the window at Dangerously Delicious Pies while trying not to drool when waiting for the server to bring out a heaping slice of their piping-hot, flaky-crusted, I'll-probably-need-20-napkins-before-I-finish, BBQ Pork Pie."

"Traveling to Alaska or the Yukon to fish for northern pike and walleye would be a fabulous adventure. I attempted to go ice-fishing while in Alberta, Canada, but was caught in a ground blizzard as our vehicle approached the fishing shanty. Much to the chagrin of the front seat passengers, I kept the windows rolled down in the back seat. I didn't want to drown in case our SUV went through the 4-foot-thick frozen lake. They thought I was kidding. I wasn't."

It is her lifelong wish to ride in the Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile. Much to her delight, in 2011 Sherry got to stand next to the Wiener Mobile while it toured Sarasota. And she got an official Wiener Mobile Whistle.

One of Life's Sweetest Moments
"Taking a ride way out on frozen Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada, in the pitch black night wearing our pajamas so I could watch the northern lights for the first time. It was a surreal experience till our driver proclaimed, 'Uh-oh. We'd better go, the tire's going flat.'"

On Writing
Sherry began her writing career by penning letters to friends across the country while living in Burkesville, Kentucky. One such letter resulted in this response from her bishop: "I love your stories! Is life in Kentucky really as wild as you portray, or is this something we can attribute to your writing skills?"

It was probably meant as a compliment but Sherry was offended. "Stories? What stories? I just write how our days go, is all. Writing skills? I don't have writing skills."

Pondering his words later she began to focus on his message. Was it possible she did have writing skills, but didn't realize it? She began to pay closer attention while penning letters.

A couple years later, when her daughter was first diagnosed with a brainstem glioma and eosinophilic disease, Sherry began journaling online almost daily on CaringBridge, a website for families facing a significant health challange. Writing provided an emotional outlet when her daughter's health deteriorated and oft times was overwhelming.

The positive response she received from writing in the public eye gave her courage to accept the coveted position of a scribe for The Budget newspaper, when it became available.

More About Sherry
Sherry delights in being involved in the lives of children as they discover their likes, talents, strengths and gifts. Teaching the Primary Sunday school class (ages 7-9) allows not only quality time together in a class setting but also for extra activities with hands-on fun such as fishing and once even a cooking show featuring shark nuggets for dinner.

Family
Sherry is a write-at-home mother of three.

Her older daughter, Jacinda, 21, is a horse lover at heart. She's also an avid reader of books written about the early church and how slavery was overcome in the 1800s. Her favorite authors are David Bercot and Michael Phillips. She was diagnosed at age 14 with a rare blood disorder called Eosinophilic Gastroenteropathy. That and several other serious ailments have qualified her as a palliative care patient since age 17. She shares a birthday with her (younger by one year) sister on March 18th.

Sherry's younger daughter, Shannon, married a buckaroo (Alberta, Canada cowboy) on 10/10/10. The two make their home out West on the ranch, where brandings, calf-roping and carrying a .22 are a part of everyday life — and where butchered beef and homemade pie are what's for dinner.

Photo copyright http://web.me.com/memoriesbychris

Tyler, age 15, with cast-net in hand.

At age 15, Sherry's son, Tyler, can often be found with a kayak paddle, fishing pole or cast-net in his hand when not aiming his rifle during hunting season in the North. Despite being bitten by both a copperhead snake and brown recluse spider and surviving a death-defying encounter with a 13-foot alligator, Tyler continues his quest for adventure where the wild things are, keeping his mother on her toes and in a constant state of prayer for his safety.

25 Things

1. My father told me the late Colonel Harlan Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, held me once in Dallas, Texas, my birthplace, when I was 6 weeks old.
2. Turning 43 was the most special, yet heartbreaking birthday of my life. I went snorkeling in the Virgin Islands amidst barracuda on my (then 18-year-old) daughter's Make-A-Wish trip. She had her first grand mal seizure that night.
3. I inherited a magnificent double barrel shotgun.
4. I'm too afraid to hold a rifle close to my face which explains why I shoot from the hip.
5. I think it's ridiculous how the government claims it costs roughly $2.5 million to raise a child to adulthood, when my three children and I lived off less than $300 a month for three years in Kentucky. Our grocery bill was $115 every other month. We made it, grew it, or did without it and were happy. And we're still devoted fans of rice and beans.
6. I had my name written in the Lamb's Book of Life on September 29, 1996.
7. I'm one of the characters in a Christian Light Publications book that has the names and places changed to protect the privacy of its protagonist.
8. I walked through the cemetery with my daughter (then 17) after she picked out her own grave site when planning her funeral.
9. I learned the hard way one warm spring day not to wear Chap-stick while driving an open buggy behind a shedding horse.
10. I hate feeding pumps and I.V. poles.
11. I think God gave my daughter Shannon to me to keep me in good humor when life really, really hurts.
12. I most likely would have died in childbirth if I was born in the 1800s.
13. I have a pathological fear of sharks and a 20-foot fear of roaches.
14. My love languages are 1) acts of service, and 2) words of affirmation.
15. A rotten ostrich egg that exploded when it went over the stair banister was the second worse thing I ever smelled in my life.
16. I use oneyearbibleonline.com in my devotional reading every day.
17. Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder is our family favorite. I read it to my children twice a year until 2005.
18. My motto is "There's no such thing as a stranger; just friends I haven't met yet."
19. I went for a ride through Pinecraft on the back of Kevin Beiler's motorcycle last year.
20. I hate pit bulls.
21. I get weepy whenever I think of my daughter Jacinda not having her beloved horses.
22. I wonder why an 8-year-old is arrested and tried for murder as an adult in one state, but it's not even considered a crime requiring any intervention by law enforcement in other states.
23. I opened a package recently from New York Times bestselling author Cindy Woodsmall and found an autographed set of her first book series. She's the first author I ever wrote to.
24. I know that emotional abuse is worse than physical abuse.
25. I had a chicken named Henrietta who liked to sit on my shoulder when I was cooking.
26. I think the general population of resident doctors have rotten bedside manners but are continually used by God to teach me about forgiveness.
27. I ate a freshly hunted fried squirrel to make my son happy when he was 7.
28. Writing in an open journal online for four years (before I knew what a blogger was) gave me the confidence to write for The Budget newspaper.
29. I went out once with the intention of buying one rabbit and instead ended up buying over one hundred, thus becoming the owner of "The Wabbit Wanch."
30. Someday, I'd love to live someplace cold during Florida's brutally hot summer months.
31. I think living a shallow life is worse than an early, innocent death.
32. I got really bad grades in math.

Memorable Adventures

• Sledding at Big Bear Mountain, California
• Touring a logging camp in Alberta, Canada
• Dining at the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle, Georgia
• Swimming at Rainbow Springs, Florida
• Tubing down the San Louis Rey River, La Jolla Indian Reservation, California
• Snorkeling in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
• Sitting at the dinner table at Amish Henry and Sarah's home in Shipshewana, Indiana
• Teaching summer Bible school to street children in Zitacuaro, Michoacan, Mexico
• Sightseeing at Niagara Falls, Canada
• Fishing and beach-hopping on Islamorada, Florida Keys with my son
• Hosting the Cooking Show at Das Dutchman Essenhaus, Middlebury, Indiana
• Eating anything at Table #18 in Yoder's Restaurant, Sarasota, Florida
• Almost ice-fishing on Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada
• Surviving a sudden hailstorm and nearby tornado while driving an open wagon in Burkesville, Kentucky

On Becoming a Gastronomist
"Here's a new word for me. Gastronomist. 'Gastronomy is the art and science of good eating. Also, it can be defined as the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on a speciality cuisine.' I'm a Gastronomist and didn't know it. Now I need letters, like a doctor."