A Flurry of Fun

Life for me the last while has been a whirlwind of activity. The month of October wrapped up with a visit to Pinecraft from the fabulous Suzanne Woods Fisher, bestselling author of A Lancaster County Christmas and many other popular titles. It was an honor to have been invited to appear at a book signing with her at Troyer’s Dutch Heritage Restaurant on October 20th. We both enjoyed meeting new reader friends, and some we’d come to know through facebook. Following the book signing we headed back to my home for snacks — a perfect opportunity to enjoy Joleen Schlabach’s pumpkin roll with Thomas Peachy’s Big Olaf vanilla ice-cream. Oh, and I can’t forget — earlier I picked up 2 bags of one of our favorite sweet and salty snacks, Randy’s Famous Kettle Corn — one to eat and one to send home with Suzanne to the west coast.

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November came and with it were opportunities I could never have imagined for myself. New York Times bestselling author Cindy Woodsmall graciously posted the first article (of many) I wrote for her website. The response was wonderful! You can view it by going to www.Cindywoodsmall.com and clicking on Plain Talk Blog.

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Next was a Thanksgiving holiday unlike any other I’ve experienced. Cooking a turkey dinner with all the traditional dishes including Date Pudding and Cranberry Jell-O salad is always a fun affair but with a crew from National Geographic Channel setting up camp in my kitchen gave it an added twist we’ll never forget!
Let me back up a bit.
A researcher working with National Geographic Channel on a 10-hour documentary project contacted me in regards to my book, Taste of Pinecraft: Glimpses of Sarasota, Florida’s Amish Culture and Kitchens. Wow! After the first interview she asked if I would be willing to participate on film in this documentary. There were many, many more phone interviews over the next couple months, before they actually made it down here for filming.

Not everything went as smooth as planned. No, that would be too easy. I was to have picked up one of the producers and a cast member at the airport; that’s when the filming would begin, with me pulling up in my vehicle to pick up the cast member. The producer texted me when it was time to pull up curbside from the parking garage. We texted each other countless times describing ourselves to each other and giving specifics on location. No matter how determined we were to meet up, it just wasn’t happening. They were no where in sight. And on their end, neither was I. After a full hour of “where are you?” I told her “I’m standing under the Delta sign.” to which she texted back, “You can’t be. I’m standing under the Delta sign. Just then my phone rang. It was her. I could visualize her head was tilted as she asked this question — “Are you in Sarasota?”
“Um. No.” I answered. ” I’m in Tampa.” I was at the wrong airport. *sigh*

So none of us got back to Pinecraft until close to 2:00 A.M. Was I humiliated? You bet I was. But as the producer said good-naturedly, “This is real life. It happens.”

Thursday came quick and we made Thanksgiving dinner on film. I’d love to share more, but a contract prevents me from divulging the storyline, etc. I can tell you having these folks in my home (let alone in Pinecraft) was as unforgettable as the crew themselves. In the meantime, I made some extraordinary life-long friends that have enhanced my life tremendously in such a short amount of time.

Last week National geographic flew my son and I out on location for more filming and a celebration to wrap up the documentary. Here’s some of the unforgettable folks we met, while in Columbia, MO.

The crew and I just after wrapping up final filming.

Sea-nub and I. He’s the sound man for the NatGeo documentary. Very funny guy!

Some of the crew filming at the lodge

Stay tuned…..more awesome news coming!

~ Sherry