Since temperatures have fallen, Mike and I know the ice harvest is soon upon us. For centuries, the Amish and some Mennonite groups, have been harvesting ice in the winter to fill ice houses that will keep their food cold the following spring, summer and fall. It's the way it was done for all our … Continue reading The Ice Harvest.
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A Word For The New Year
A new year arrives like a fresh, unmarked page—full of promise, yet often weighted with expectations we stack far too high. We hope for better health, greater security, and smoother paths than the year before. While those hopes are good, they can sometimes leave us weary before the year even begins. Each year, I try … Continue reading A Word For The New Year
A Plain Woman
The Amish are known for their simple way of life, which is rooted in their Anabaptist Christian faith. They live by distinct rules and practices. Both men and woman have significant roles in their communities, and in within their families. Here are ten things Amish women cannot do that many of us might take for … Continue reading A Plain Woman
Jewelweed &Plantain Salve
Summers cure to insect bites, stinging nettle, poison ivy, oak, and sumac, razor burns, hives, burns, and eczema. I think sometimes that we forget about the bounty that nature provides us. God has created a wonderful healing world in our own backyards. However, we are responsible for harvesting. Recently I shared a picture of my … Continue reading Jewelweed &Plantain Salve
May Day
It’s the first day of May. Birds are singing, bees are on the buzz, and young calves and chicks are gaining their legs. May Day has a long history and tradition in England, some of which eventually came to America. Children would dance around the maypole, holding onto colorful ribbons. I remember doing this in elementary … Continue reading May Day
Coffee Soup- Comfort foods of Yesterday
With a hardy snowfall for many I can’t help but think soup weather has arrived. Winter and soup go hand in hand here at the farm. Our newest neighbors put me onto a new kind of soup recently. Coffee Soup, or as some call it, Wet Toast. Growing up in Appalachia, we're not strangers … Continue reading Coffee Soup- Comfort foods of Yesterday
The Amish Beard
Old Order Amish are no longer a small secular group, but a growing population that call 32 states and 6 Canadian provinces home. If you live near Ohio, then you certainly have seen a horse and buggy, as 62 percent of all Old Order Amish reside there. They are our neighbors, the shops we frequent, … Continue reading The Amish Beard
Lumberjacks and a Lady
I was recently asked to write a short suspense with author friends, but unfortunately that was put off to the side for now. However, for three years I have been scratching notes and pondering the idea of writing a historical series. Most readers know me by my sweet Amish Romances or quick moving suspense novels, … Continue reading Lumberjacks and a Lady