New Blog Address

Hello!

I have recently learned that some people had this blog on their RSS feed, and were waiting for me to post another blog. But my blog is now on my Web site at www.cindywoodsmall.com


If you receive this because you have me on your RSS feed, I'd like to thank you for having it as part of your regular reading of blogs. I hope you'll come visit me at the new blog site.

Peace,

Cindy

An Amish Welcome

The first time I entered an Old Order Amish home several things instantly became a part of who I would be when I wrote.

I hadn't expected it or even thought about it. I was looking for facts.

But like a spring day after a hard winter, the difference was undeniable and very welcome.

We've all experienced the spring days that become a part of us: dancing sunlight, the sound of children's laughter carried on warm breezes, song birds letting us know the long awaited season has begun, a donkey braying . . . wait, that donkey experience is not today's post.

Sunshine streamed abundantly through every window as I walked inside. And the home was so quiet. Immediately I longed for more. But why did the sunlight seem to frame the tone for the whole house?

We moved to the large kitchen table and sat down. Because the head of the household had set his work to the side to talk with me, I wasted no time pulling out my notepad. A breeze played with the edges of the paper and a shadow fell across it. Wanting direct light, I shifted the pad of paper to a different spot on the table.

It was then that I knew why the sunlight that seemed to fill the room as if it owned it was more powerful in this home than in mine. It was the only light used during the day.

The aroma of fresh baked cookies filled the home. Coats and boots were lined up neatly near the back door and there was a mop sink in that area too, where family members could wash up after coming in from a day's work.

While I read over my questions, the soft ticking of the clock that echoed throughout the room etched a quiet rhythm inside me--maybe an Amish rhythm. There was no hum of electronic devices, no whirring of fans, no cartoon or radio in the background. It was a kind of quiet I've only experienced when the electricity went out and storms raged outside.

There was no storm, only an Amish man who shared in honesty the good, the bad, and the grace in which they believed.

Old Order Amish, Best Order English?

A couple of years ago I spent a few days with an Old Order Amish family. It was early May and the nine-year-old daughter of a friend was excitedly telling me how she longed for school to be over.

She loved working with her Mammi (her grandmother) who lives within walking distance of her home.

Hmmmm. Her great plan for summer break was going to Mammi's house to work. Okay, I've been around long enough to know this is not the average hope of a child's summer break.

She'd helped her Mammi a few hours each week during the summer in previous years, but finally she was old enough to work some each day and have a set job in the process of baking the pies, a set job where she was proud to have earned her way to that position.

Whether Englischer or Amish, rich or poor, the wisdom of not waiting until a child loses his or her wonder and desire—not waiting until he or she is old enough to work at the pace of an adult—is wise. To build on the natural, inner desire of a child to be helpful and allow a child to work at his or her pace while they are learning and contributing and feeling good about themselves—I'll tell you, I wish my lifestyle was more conducive to that type of child rearing.

I think my takeaway from that incident wasn't the newness of the idea, but the realization that the effort is worth it for the next generation. So, for any of us moms that are tempted to shoo children out from under foot so they can get bored and then need to be entertained, and all the while are losing their desire to be helpful to the family, maybe the Old Order is the Best Order to aim for :-)

I've been tagged

My friend Meg tagged me, so I'm to name six weird things about me and then tag six people. Okay, I'll play, but just remember Meg, I'm the one who owns the Ungame, girl, and pay backs are right around the corner!!

1.) I love driving my van, but I avoid having to put gas in it--and I almost never do:-)
2.) Even with gift certificates in hand, I hate shopping.
3.)I'd rather scrub a shower than talk on the phone.
4.)I like straightening the house and putting things away, but I rarely remember where I put them (this a personal favorite of my eldest son who buys things and then can't find them because he set it on the counter and I put it away)
5.)On Christmas presents, I never wrote from Santa when the children were young, but now that everyone is past that age, I put from Santa on all the packages.
6.) I wait until the house is empty to rock the house with singing, mumbling about plotlines, or venting and I'm thankful the dog can't repeat what he heard.

Can Rachel , Ane, Dee, Cheryl, and Christy come out to play? Please, please, please.

Updating The Amish Cook's Site

Well . . . okay, so the site itself isn't being updated. I posted the other day about The Amish Cook and shared a link. The editor of the site was kind enough to drop by and share the link to the home page. Kevin, the editor, has his blog postings on there along with many other things--so far everything I've read has been excellent---all Amish related, well balanced, and totally interesting.

http://amishcookonline.com Enjoy

God's peace ~

The Amish Cook's Day

A Typical Day In The Amish Cook’s Household

Posted 2007-01-24

By Lovina Eicher

This is an account of our day, just a regular day around here, on Tuesday, Jan. 18:

3:15 a.m. Time to get up. I pack my husband Joe’s lunch (usually a sandwich and snack) while he gets ready for work. Another short night! Joe isn’t hungry for breakfast since it’s still early. Usually he waits to eat until his first break at the factory.

3:45 a.m. Joe leaves for work and I go back to bed to get a little more sleep.

5:30 a.m. I get up and wash up for the day. I then wake up the schoolchildren to get them ready for school.

6:30 a.m. Everyone eats a breakfast of scrambled eggs, cheese, toast, milk and juice. All the children are up and awake now. Four-year-old Joseph thinks he should be all dressed before the bus comes even though he doesn’t go to school yet. (Editor’s note: Many Amish children attend public schools. Those who do will often ride a bus to school. Often their only way of finding out about a "public school snow day" is when the bus doesn’t come by.)

7 a.m. Elizabeth, Susan, Verena, Benjamin and Loretta leave for school. Joseph, Lovina and Kevin finish up their breakfast. I sit down and eat a little something myself. After a rushed morning it is nice to sit down a while and relax before starting another day’s work. Sixteen-month-old Kevin is getting better at eating by himself. He usually ends up holding the spoon and using his hands to eat.

7:45 a.m. I go out and do the barn chores. Then add coal to both stoves, the one at the new house and the one here. It’s a cold morning at 18 degrees; after a late start winter has finally arrived. Our trees are still loaded with ice. A lot of branches and trees are down from the recent ice storm we had. The trees have been sparkling in the sun, like crystal. It is such a beautiful scene created by our Master Artist.

8:15 a.m. I start washing dishes. Dishes accumulate in a hurry in this household!

9:45 a.m. I’m finally done with dishes and ready to sweep the floors. Kevin likes to put everything in his mouth so it makes me keep my floors swept.

10:45 a.m. I gather laundry and start washing clothes. I hang some clothes on the rack by the stove and the rest in the basement of the new house.

Noon. I’m not quite done with the laundry but stop and get the children some lunch. While they eat I hang the rest of the laundry..

1 p.m. I rock Kevin and get him sleeping. Then I rock 2-year-old Lovina but decide to give up after she doesn’t seem to want a nap. I even caught a little nap myself while rocking them.

2 p.m. I empty a few drawers and move the contents over to the new house.

3:20 p.m. Everyone is back home again. The children do their homework. Then we change the bed sheets and clean up here and there. Jacob, Emma, and their children and Verena and Susan are coming for supper and to spend the night. Tomorrow we will cut up 1,100 pounds of beef. We and Jacob’s family will each take a half. So we have a full day’s work tomorrow. Jacob doesn’t have to work and that’ll help.

5:30 We start supper. We’ll have creamed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, peppers, and steak. Should be a good meal to conclude our day.

9:30 p.m. We finally get the school-age children to go to sleep. After getting the younger ones to bed we all go to sleep. It’s been a long day and another one is in store for tomorrow. Good night and God’s blessings.

Try this recipe for a good start:
Coffeecake That Tastes Like Coffee
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup hot coffee, strong or weak as you prefer

Mix all ingredients except hot coffee. Add hot coffee and beat slowly. Mixture will be thin. Pour into greased 9-by-9-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes

Lovina is a mid-western Amishwoman who took over the column The Amish Cook from her mother. She posts regularly on http://www.dnronline.com/flavor_archive.php?sub=Amish%20Cook

A Successful Book Club

Yesterday, I finished the editing rounds and turned in book two. YIPEEEEEE!!!!!!! I was free! I spent a bit of time doing some girly stuff: my hair, nails, and nice clothes.

See, I had been invited to speak at a book club.

I've known one of the members, Lisa, for over twelve years. Her husband and my husband work at the same engineering firm and we see each other two or three times each year at various DCG functions. So last August when I received my first shipment of books, I autographed one to her and her husband, Tim.

I didn't know she was an avid reader and part of a book club that's been meeting for five years!

Hmmm, what have we talked about during all those functions for the past twelve years?

Ah, I know. Children. Weather. Vacations. Quilting. Tennis. And Dennis ---just kidding D.B. it just rhymed and you are a part of DCG.

Getting off this rabbit trail and back to the subject at hand, she shared her enjoyment of When the Heart Cries with her book club and they read it.

Attending the meeting last night was way, way too much fun. Jane, one of the members, prepared a delicious meal and opened her home to twelve ladies. Her very sweet husband took care of her children and we took over the house. If you're thinking of starting a book club, you may not want to tell your spouse that part of it:-)

Jane's mother, Sue, was there. Angie's daughter-in-law, Lilian was there. One lady wasn't a member, but was a friend who belonged to a different book club. Several of the ladies attended the same church and had interesting stories of taking communion. Threads of life . . . don't you just love them?

I want to thank each reader--not only for reading the book, but for thinking it through so much that every question opened my heart to new aspects of the Plain life.

Nazneen, Jane, Lisa, Kathy, Carrie, Sue, Aimee, Alicia, Karen, Angie, and Lilian. You are a beautiful quilt ~ if you don't believe it, ask Lisa to judge the cloth you're made of:-) I bet she's already drug you out of the Amish shop and into the sunlight:-o)

Peace ~