dragonlager.com

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There are three types of people in an Art museum:

The Artist–thats the one so free that they can expressions on a wall to interact with.

The Art collector– thats the who wishes to possess and show of their tastes in their den.

And lastly the Art appreciator — the one who is too talentless to create art and too poor (or to cheap) to buy Art.– and that would be me.

Last weekend I scurried of to the Lancaster Museum of Art. I sometimes go with friends…
Usually i go by my self though. I like to just wander around in the small building. Take in the Art and envy the Artist.

The museum is free, but i always donate a few dollars when i visit, so i don,t feel like such a cheap bastard.

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This weekend I went with my mother. This is good thing because she gave the donation tip .

Its also nice because my mother and I have different tastes and different views. In the Art museum you don’t have to intellectualize everything. You don’t have to decide whats a profound. You just go by yourself or with others and say I like this… I don’t know why.

My mother and I both loved this one, even though she is spiritual and I am not.
by Thomas Scullin.

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An Art museum is always a great place to get lost in. I don’t “understand art”, but i don’t think i ever need too. Its good to get lost.

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think of “Fat Tuesday”. What comes to mind?

…Mardis Graz in New Orleans
….Del Carnivals in Rio De Janiero

and of course…
Fausnaught day in Central and Eastern Pennsylvania.

Of course you were! So what is A fausenaught

A fausnaught is a fluffy pastry similar in texture to donut… and once a year pa dutch treat.

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The exact history of the fausnaught seems to be debated. However
Fat Tuesday is one day before the beginning of the forty days of lent that lead up to easter, in Christian tradition.

Many cooking ingredients, including fat and butter, were given up for the Lent period. This can be a problem if you have a lot of left over food ingredients that will spoil before Easter.

What does one do with there extra fat, butter and eggs, you ask?

Make pastries and gorge your family with them.

ahh the fausenaught.

Now some old school dutchies will tell you that they are to be eaten plain,
but i buy my Faussies pimped up.

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powdered fausenauts from willow Valley bakery.

Goes well with Lancaster county brewed Turkey Hill Iced Tea.
(Actually they go well with Lancaster Ale but i will save that for another post).

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Peace and Pastry!

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Hello fellow lancasterians,
Hello web surfers who are stopping by to visit,

Ive added the vodpod widget on the  left sidebar of this site.
I will be slowly collecting pod casts and videos from around the web, that have relevance to lancaster County and Central Pennsylvania…. to kick things off, i’ve added a video from you tube that shows what the new convention center in downtown Lancaster is projected to look like.
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I do not know how to create my own pod casts yet, so what i add to the vodpod are created by others.
I’m also having difficulties with this slow loading of “dragonlager”… i apologize if you cant see everything on the site right now — bare with me!
–Chris

Some guys just Ham it up for the Cam.

and then others…like this Red tail Hawk:

are too busy hunting squirrels to wait for me to catch a close up.

(dont worry The Hawk here went empty handed…Lancaster squirrels are very quick…This birds prey made it to the safety of his tree.)

with the unseasonable warm weather in Pennsylvania…and the forcasted Nor’easter tomorrow,

it seem like a good day to get some pictures with my, very new digital camera.

So after jumping in my truck and getting some stuff at the dollar store:

I headed out…

I was way to lazy to do any real walking with my cam.
Today i went over to Millersville State University. Millersville is only a couple miles west of the City of Lancaster. It is an easy drive to to the Pond there.

M.S.U started as an academy for teaching. It is still highly ranked for preparing students to become elementary and high school educators. M S U has been ranked in the top 100 schools per dollar tuition every year for at least 15 years now.

I have family and friends who are Alumni of Millersville State University. It has stood as a  solid community resource for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for along time.

Strange how Animals will adapt to live around us.

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Ginny’s last Ride

Ginny will be 86 soon. She lived a busy life. She raised eight kids.  she Cleaned linens in a hotel full time to pay the bills. She   survived a house  fire. She took in a homeless family when time were tough.

Later in life, she spent much of her time riding motorcycle with her brother. 1000 of miles, through Nature, mountain tops and to freindly biker stops. She often said she was happiest when she was with her Brother on a motor cycle.

Her Brother, (my great Uncle), died over a decade ago. Ginny, (my grandmother) will be 86 soon.  She has had over ten mini strokes in the last five years, Dementia has an enlarged heart, and cannot walk any more. She lives inside a  special care nursing home. She has lost her freedom.

Recently though,
One of her eight children did something no one thought possible.  Gave Ginny one last motorcycle ride.

This was no easy feet… finding a  motorcycle with a side car that was safe. Getting clearance from the doctors…and there was a lot of risk involved. And, let face it, granma could have been frightened..(o k maybe not)

But all went well. Ginnie got her last ride, with some Motorcycle riders who were willing to spend there day off with a little old lady, to share in the freedom of the ride…and to give an 85 year old woman reason to smile once more.

Thanks uncle “Jon”, for effort, for putting this together

you gave grandma some freedom back.
and you gave Ginny some dignity back.

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Juan Lopez was a leader in Lancaster ’s Community as well as a respected owner of his business. He was beacon and a voice for the Spanish speaking population and well liked by all. I have never met Mr Lopez or his wife. However, friends and family, who now live in other parts of the country have sent their condolences.
R I P his legacy lives on.

Friday night, in downtown lancaster the christmas tree, just like every year…

This can only mean one thing. “Tuba Christmas”!

As part of the tree lighting celebration, an ensemble of roughly 30 to 40 tubas and sousaphones play festive and seasonal carols.
I do not know the history of this tuba ensemble, but they have been giving a christmas season concert at Penn Square since I was a kid.

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After taking in the celebration at the square i did some window shopping.

(above is the display window at Hagars, and a display in the Heritage found.)

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Friday was also the first friday of the Month. This means Art galleries and museums open to the public at night. The “First Fridays” gallery openings started in downtown only a couple years ago. The dowtown tree lighting ceremony has been intergrated nicely..

I will be posting more on “First Fridays” at a later time.

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To End the night, me an my cohorts did grab a bite at the “Starving Artists Cafe “, a small sandwich shop that has joined into the Downtown Lancaster’s art culture… Along with the Art Academy and “First Fridays”".

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I had a hot chocolate and the “Cuban”

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Happy Holidays!
from Chris.

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We shape out our communities through out its history.
In return, our communities history shapes us as well,
When i am walking or driving through lancaster its ghosts are all around me.
Often, when out with friends or family, I am completely unconscious of it yet it still affects me.
monuments, architecture, reminders of past and present…fade in to the landscape in which i live.

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and then , while driving through rush hour traffic, or out doing our chores we see something that grabs our attention,

the monuments,

the tribute to the people in our communties:

This is a lovingly home made monument, a vigil to a young man tragically killed.
what you cannot see in this picture is the two schools across the street. The young man was an innocent victim of crossfire shooting right near an elementary and middle school.

This modern day monument is as powerful and moving as any town full of historic markers… It is fades in with the federalist architectures of lancaster. Affects are consciousness, and reminds of the people and ghosts that have been part of our communities.

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we change and move with are history. Some monuments remain the same, some make way for growth.

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St James epist. Church was built in 1744, thirty two years before the Declaration of Independence was drafted. It stands today, in downtown Lancaster. Many of these tomb markers are older than the United States.

What is no longer visible are the huge ancient Elm trees, that stood outside the church Dutch elm disease killed them, they had to be removed in the 1980s.

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the lancaster skyline is changing.. the old steeples greet the cranes building the new convention center.

heritage and history greets growth and progress

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This guy has had a lot to read about over the years .

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I had just open the package of my first digital camera. I looked out the window today and saw it was rainy and windy. This means the colored leaves were going to fall of the trees…So after finishing up my social service responsibilities for the day, and as i headed to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. I took some pics

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this pic was through my trucks windshield, Orange st is so attractive this time of year.

Downtown Lancaster is so quiet and peaceful on the thanksgiving holiday

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This morning i headed to the lancaster county park with Cam in Hand. The deer always come out after a windy or rainy day. They find the fruit or seeds that have been knocked off the trees from the weather.

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One of my favorite place to sit and take in nature at the lancaster county park, by the contestoga river.

I hope everyone is having a nice holiday…like am

Peace.

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