Weekly Shopping

We usually make only one trip to town each week to stock up on what ever groceries we may need. Today I was busy cleaning the house with the childrens assistance and I still hadn't made my shopping list so I handed a pen and paper to Sailor and told him to write whatever I tell him.

I continued cleaning while he wrote down the needed items. The finished list is a keeper. I love nine year old boy's spelling. A few items on his list were.

1. toylut cleaner
2. clean nix
3. lettus

The rest was actually spelled correctly. 

After my husband came home from work with our only vehicle I headed for town armed with the list. It didn't take me long to find everything I needed and as I walked past the Christmas department at Wal-Mart I just had to step inside to see all the pretty giftwrap etc. I ended up getting a roll of the cutest little snowmen design wrap, and then headed for the checkout.

After finding a checkout line with only one person I quickly pushed my cart in and put the little divider thingie on the belt and started piling my things onto it. The man in front of me didn't have very much and when the cashier happened to pick up my roll of wrapping paper and added it to his bill he hurriedly barked out. "That's not mine!"

The cashier apologized and as she was deleteing the entry she said, "I could have known it wasn't yours because now that I look at you, you really don't look like someone who would like Christmas."

The man muttered something about it being a big money sucking thing that he doesn't want any part of, while I was there trying hard not to laugh. Oh to have the courage to speak your mind like the brave little cashier.

Winner

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

As promised I am drawing the name for the winner of the new Pillsbury Christmas cookbook tonight. And the winner is.......  Kathryn Kauffman 

Congratulations Kathryn! If you email me your address I will mail the cookbook to you. I hope you find many great new recipes to try.

Mirrors at Midnight

It seemed as if every Amish community had some of their own pet superstitions they believed in. A common one was that if a lamp chimney suddenly broke or cracked for no apparent reason it was a sure sign that a loved one had passed away.

One rainy afternoon at recess in school we were all bored with the games to play indoors and the conversation turned to superstitions. I listened with growing dread at all the terrible things that would happen if certain events took place. Like stepping inside a grain bin on January 6th at midnight and you would see the person you would end up marrying. I didn't believe it to begin with but several of the children assured me that it was most certainly true because some of their older siblings had tried it and they had seen someone. It had scared them really badly and they would never try it again but it definitely worked. I shivered and was glad we didn't have a grain bin and I was in no danger of having that happen to me.

And then my friend Nancy said if you look into a mirror while the clock is striking at midnight you will see how you will look in your coffin. I shuddered at the thought as I envisioned peeking in my mirror and have an old wrinkly woman peering back at me.

We had a big clock in the living-room that Daddy would wind up every evening at bedtime. Up until then I always enjoyed listening and counting the slow bong bongs as the clock would strike every hour. Tonight however it was different I counted every strike and pulled the covers up over my head as I thought of the ugly corpse that was waiting to look at me at midnight. The clock struck only nine and I breathed a sigh of relief and then got up and turned my mirror toward the wall. I wasn't going to risk having to glimpse anything at midnight.

Weeks passed and I always made sure my mirror was facing the wall before I got into bed. And then one evening I forgot. That night I woke up as the clock started striking. I sat up in bed with my heart pounding as I counted every strike. 10...11.... and 12 I glanced in my mirror but all I could see was my own reflection. I fell back into bed thoroughly relieved and then the thought hit me. If that was how I would look in my coffin that meant I would die soon.

Sleep was the last thing on my mind as I tossed and turned and wondered how I was going to die. I didn't want to die in the slightest little bit. I still had my whole life ahead of me, but surely the mirror wouldn't lie. When morning came I sat at my desk and wrote a will. I wanted John and David to have my books and games and Mahlon to have my dolls and that type of toys. Daddy and Mom could have the rest of my things.

I got dressed and then picked up my will and took it down to the kitchen and gave it to Mom. She read it and wondered what was troubling me. I told her about the mirror and what I had seen when I peeked into it at midnight. She folded the will and put it into her pocket and told me not to worry. The mirror had done what it always does. Showed me my reflection and that I really shouldn't pay any attention to those superstitions, because most of them don't have anything to be based on.

I felt relieved but I still vowed to not look in a mirror at midnight ever again.

Tuesday Introduction

Since the day I started with my little blog I have met many great people. But this morning it was pleasant surprise to find an email waiting for me from an old friend that I had lost contact with over the years.

Thanks to a blog post I did back in April she was able to find me. After exchanging several email Sue has generously allowed me to borrow a picture from her website where she shares her experiences of traveling across America with a horse and buggy and later a team of oxen.

Her website Horsehairs is filled with many great photos and short stories to go with them. Please visit her site I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Paper Dolls

Winter evenings were the perfect time to get my box full of paper dolls out and play with them. It was fun dressing them in their many different outfits and pretend they were real. I would make them go on picnics and fine places in cities. The possibilities that my imagination came up with were endless and I spent many happy hours thus occupied.

One evening cousins Emma and Esther came to play. I had my paper dolls spread out and was in quite  another era when they came. They oohed and aahed about my lovely dolls and then we spent all evening playing with them. It was even more fun than usual, until it was time for them to go home. They helped me put my dolls away and then Mom said. "Mary Ann, why don't you divide the paper dolls and send some of them home with Emma and Esther?"

I looked at Mom, horrified at the very thought of having to part with some of my paper dolls. I loved each one and was sure I needed all of them to be able to play with them properly.

Mom was serious about sharing. I agonized over each doll but finally I chose half of them to send home with them, and gently put my half in my dresser drawer.

I have no idea if Emma and Esther played with their paper dolls but I could no longer enjoy mine. When ever I got the box out to play with them I missed the ones that were no longer there and so I would just put them away again.

I found my half of the dolls last week. They are still as pretty as when I used to play with them and after all these years I still miss the six I gave away.

Snow Cave

As the school year progressed I was getting more and more disgusted with cousin Emma. It seemed when ever she got close to LV she turned into a completely different person. She would laugh at all his chants he invented about me and try to chant them too. She tried making up some of her own mean things but she was the only one that ever said them. She would try to talk to LV when ever she got a chance never really realizing how he tried to avoid her at all costs too, infact he treated her with as much contempt as me but she was still thinking he could do no wrong.

At recess time the boys were digging a large cave in a snowdrift beside the schoolhouse. They didn't want any girls messing it up so most of them were sliding on the steep hill behind the schoolhouse. Emma and I stayed inside and were watching as the cave got deeper and deeper until it was big enough to hold most of the boys.

They all stood outside and admired it and then told cousin Marvin to go get one of the flying saucers and they would use that as the door. He hurriedly ran to do as they asked. He was constantly seeking their approval and bragged a lot which backfired on him and actually drove the very friends away he was hoping to gain. When he got back with the flying saucer they fitted it into the doorway. It worked. They rolled it back and asked Marvin to have the honors and be the first person to enjoy their cozy cave. He beamed with pleasure and asked if anyone else wants to join him. But they were all in agreeance that he should get to do it by himself.

I was happy for Marvin, because I felt sorry for him for not having any friends and now finally they were being nice to him. I watched as he crawled inside and they rolled the flying saucer back in front of the opening and then watched with consternation as they hurriedly heaped a big pile of snow in front of it. And then turned and walked away.

Teacher Hannah was at her desk checking books so Emma told her to come see what they did to Marvin. She came to the window just in time to see Norman, Vernon, and LV come running and then jumping on top of the cave smashing the roof down. Hannah grabbed her coat and ran outside and helped dig Marvin out of the snow. She told him to stand on the register to warm up and went to ring the bell.

As everyone went to their seats there was  an uneasy feeling in the air. The boys who had been involved in the burying of Marvin all still looked smug enough. But the rest of us could feel something bad was about to happen.

School dismissed early and as we were walking home I was sure that Emma would finally see now that LV really was a horrible boy. But to my dismay she was upset at Norman and Vernon but thought LV was still perfect.  That was the last straw. After all I had been through since meeting LV and how mean he was to Marvin I had all I could handle hearing her go on about the greatness of him, and before thinking twice I hit her hard. She started crying and I was so upset I started crying too. We came to the place where they had to turn off to go home and we choked out a tearful good by.

John and I got home and walked into the shop. Mom and Daddy were working at assembling chairs and immediately saw something was wrong. They pulled out a little chair and I sat down and told them everything that had happened that day. They were quiet for a little while and then Daddy said, "Go wash your face, and I'll take you to Alvin's to apologize to Emma."

I was sorry I had hit her, but not sorry enough that I felt like making a special trip to go tell her so. But I didn't have any choice. Emma was happy to see me and assured me that everything is okay which made me feel much better.

The next day in school teacher Hannah told me to go out to the mudroom that someone has something to say to me. I went outside and the only person there was LV I was ready to go back inside when he mumbled "I'm sorry I used to be so mean to you. I won't tease you any more," and then turned and ran out the door. I went back into the schoolhouse wondering how life would seem without being harrassed.

It was great. We didn't like each other any better but now there seemed to be a mutual agreement to ignore each other. Emma however was not in the agreement and she still adored everything LV did and said. I couldn't understand her point and just listened patiently whenever she gushed about him.

Birthday Card Update

                             

When I asked for volunteers to send birthday cards to my Aunt Vernie I really didn't expect to hear anything about her reaction to receiving a lot of mail. But yesterday I discovered a little tidbit in an Amish newspaper where it said that Vernie Mast is thrilled to be getting a lot of mail due to the kindness of friends of her niece (my name)

They didn't mention how many cards she received, but I was happy to hear how thrilled she was. So thanks again to everyone who helped fill her mailbox!

From a Pig Tail to Hot Water

Someone had given us a subscription to the Pennsylvania Farmer magazine and whenever it came we immediately flipped to the page titled Country Air where people shared humorous incidents that happened to  them while living in the country.

At the end of the page they used to ask to keep the stories coming and offered to pay for any that they published. So one evening Mom sat down and wrote about the time she had to help chase a stray pig soon after she was married. She sent it the next morning and it wasn't long before she received a check in the mail. The magazine editors had loved it and planned to publish it in the next issue.

Mom was thrilled to have been able to earn a little extra money and when Daddy said she could use it to buy anything she wanted to it didn't take her long to know just what that would be. A coal fired water heater so that we could finally have hot running water.

Up until then we heated all our water on the cookstove to do most of our everyday things, but on Saturdays we would start a fire in the huge kettle in the basement to heat water for bathing which then had to be carried up two flights of stairs to the tub. And every Monday we would have to fill it up again to heat water to do the laundry. With a growing family it took an ever increasing amount of hot water and Mom was getting tired of lugging pails of water when ever we needed it.

Daddy went to an Amish hardware store that very evening and purchased everything he needed to hook up Moms water heater. When he came home he went right to work cutting pipes and fitting them to the cute little coal heater to the big tank that would soon be filled with hot water. John and I got to stay up late to watch him until he was done. I was hoping we could start a fire in the heater right away but Daddy told us to go to bed that he'll wake us in the morning once he is ready to start the fire.

He didn't have to wake us. By the time the first glow of sunrise had tinted the eastern sky we were up and ready to start the fire. We all went down to the basement and watch as Daddy scooped several hands full of coal into the heater and then laid some wood scraps on top. After studying it for a moment he sent John and I to gather some shaving from the shop. We hurriedly ran to do as he asked and then put our hands full of shavings on top of the wood and coal. Daddy lit a match and we all stood there watching as the shavings started smoldering slowly and then burst into flame Before long the wood scraps were burning and so was the coal. We stood there admiring the flames for a little while and then Daddy announced. "Why don't we go have breakfast now and by the time we're done there should be hot water to do the dishes."

I was suddenly filled with the uncommon desire to do the dishes on my own. I was sure it would be much more fun washing dishes with hot water from the faucet. Somehow it didn't dawn on me until too late that dirty dishes are dirty dishes no matter how the water was heated.

After breakfast we children ran through the house and tried all the hot water faucets and they all produced beautiful hot water. We were so excited.

A few weeks later when the magazine came we once again paged to the Country Air section and sure enough. There was Moms story titled "A Pig Tale About a Pig Tail" We all read it and chuckled about it. What we didn't know at the time was that almost every person in Somerset County subscribed to that magazine and Mom had to endure a lot of ribbing about the pig tail to which she always answered with a smile. "That tail gave us hot running water."

Colostrum

There was some concern in the Somerset Amish churches. A family had started with the whooping cough and everyone knew it would only be a matter of time before it spread through out each district.

Daddy immediately hitched Jim to the buggy and Mom gave him a gallon jar and he went from one dairy farm to the next to find someone who had a heifer that had freshened and was on the first or second milking.

With all the dairies scattered though-out the community it didn't take him long to find someone who was willing to give him a gallon of colostrum. When he came home Mom lined us up and carefully measured the thick nasty stuff in a small barrel shaped mug.

Since I was the oldest I had to take the first dose. I managed to get it down and then it was John and David's turn. They didn't like it any better than I did. We all felt sorry for Mahlon but he happily guzzled it down and asked for more.

From that evening on we each had to take a dose before we went to bed. I was looking forward to the day when it got all. But it didn't do me any good. By the time our supply got low Daddy went to find some more.

It must have worked though because even though we were all exposed to it we never got it. But even after all these years I still shudder at the thought of having to choke down my dose every evening.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: I am not suggesting that anyone should try the same remedy. If colostrum from a cow that had been treated with "Tomorrow" should happen to be used the results could be fatal.

Giveaway!

Time for another giveaway!  This time I'm giving the new Pillsbury Christmas cookbook that is loaded with great recipes that can be enjoyed all year long, not just over the holidays.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what is on your Christmas wish list.

For a second entry post a link on your blog and come back and leave another comment telling me you did.

I will draw the winner on Thanksgiving.

 

Giveaway is now closed and a winner has been chosen.

Cape Dresses

I watched with great interest as Mom carefully cut the purple fabric. She was making my first three piece dress suit and I was excited. I had not minded wearing my other dresses but to finally be able to wear a cape and apron made me feel just a little bit grown up.

It didn't take Mom very long to get it sewed and then carefully iron it pressing the pleats in the dress and apron so that they came to a point just above the hem. After she was done I hung it on the hook on my bedroom door. It was much to pretty to hide away in the closet. I wanted to be able to admire it till I could wear it to go to church the next Sunday.

It seemed Sunday would never come. This Sunday was going to be extra special because not only would I get to wear a cape and apron but it would also be the first time I would be allowed to sit with the girls in church instead of beside Mom.

Sunday morning arrived and Mom helped me get dressed. It was more complicated to try to get pins to close my dress neatly instead of the buttons I had been used to. Once everything was pinned to Moms satisfaction we were ready to go to church. I went into the church house with Mom and hung my bonnet with hers and followed her like usual to shake hands with all the women that were already there. And once that was done I went to the coat room where the girls stood waiting until it was time to file into the church room.

I was no longer so sure that this was such a great idea. I could see that the women had already found their usual seats. Mom smiled at me while Mahlon sat on her lap looking at a little book. I wished I would be little enough to sit on her lap instead of being dressed in an increasingly uncomfortable outfit and standing with all the girls. I was glad my friend Nancy was also there. She had started wearing a cape and apron and sitting with the girls a few months earlier, and seemed quite calm and relaxed.

As I glanced out the window I could see the bishop and ministers and a long line of men following behind them make their way slowly and solemnly toward the church house. My heart starting beating faster at the thought that soon it would be our turn to file in.

I stayed beside Nancy and followed her to our seat. Church went as usual but I couldn't concentrate on the preaching. The apron belt felt too tight around my waist and I looked forward to going home and changing into my old comfortable dress that fit loosely and didn't present the danger of being jabbed with a pin.

Once we got home I was disappointed when Mom told me to hang the dress carefully because I would need to wear it to school the next week. I dreaded the thought of having to wear it again the next day. But that was only the start. The following week she sewed several more suits and I had to wear them constantly. Growing up wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. And life stretched out before me clouded with years of wearing uncomfortable dresses. Thankfully after several weeks I got used to them and life once again looked good.

Alvin's Move In

Two years had passed since we had moved to Pennsylvania and I had made many new friends but that didn't put a damper on my excitement when I heard that Uncle Alvin's would be moving on the farm right next to us. I could hardly wait to be able to play with cousin Emma again.

When the day arrived that they moved in we all went to help them get settled. After the truck had been unloaded and all the other people had left for home Emma, Esther and I explored their little house. It was even smaller than ours had been. Aunt Lydia soon asked us to wash some of the dishes so they could be used for supper. We started filling our dishpan with water when the entire faucet popped off and a geyser of water shot for the ceiling. I thought it was hilarious, but Aunt Lydia didn't seem very impressed and Emma and Esther wished they would be back in their nice home in New York where faucets behaved properly. I hurriedly quit laughing because I didn't want to want them to move back to Dundee.

A few days later school started and John and I were happy to be able to walk to school with our cousins. After we got to school and everyone had been assigned their desks for the new term I was happy to be sitting right behind Emma. I wasn't very happy that LV was once again sitting across the aisle from me but I was determined to ignore him completely and not let him spoil my school year this time.

On the way home from school Emma and I talked about everything that had happened that day. It wasn't long before she started gushing about LV How smart and fun he is and much more daring than the other boys and how she really likes him. I told her what an awful boy he really was but she didn't seem to care. She was sure school would be a great place because he sat across the aisle from us. I couldn't believe that Emma, my best friend since we were both babies could be so traitorous and actually have a crush on the one person that had so often made my life miserable.

Magdalena

Every Saturday evening there was a large auction in Finzel, Daddy went several times a month and always came home with a lot of things. It was always fun to get up on Sunday mornings to see what he had bought this time.

One morning when we got up there was a nice desk and several boxes of things. I admired the desk a little bit but was more interested to dig through the boxes to see what kind of treasures were there when Daddy said that he bought the desk for my room.

I was delighted. I enjoyed anything to do with papers and books and now I had a desk of my own to keep everything in. I thought Sunday lasted very long but I knew without asking that I would have to wait until Monday morning to have the desk moved to my room.

Monday morning came and Mom and Daddy didn't seem to be in a hurry to move the desk. We had breakfast and started for school. That evening when we came home Mom had some fresh cookies waiting for us. As we ate them she told me that she wants to go upstairs with me once I'm ready to change my clothes. I didn't bother asking for a second cookie and we all went upstairs. I stood at my doorway and looked at my transformed room. It was beautiful. Mom and David had gathered some golden rod and put it in a vase on top of my desk. There was a new chair and an oil lamp standing on a doily. Everything was almost to perfect. I thanked them as they left and I changed into my play clothes.

I sat at my desk and opened the drawers. I couldn't wait to fill them with my very own scrap-booking things that Grandma Mast had given me. As I looked around my room I wished there was one more thing that would really complete it. I wanted a sister to share everything with.

With a sudden burst of inspiration I took the quilt off my bed and rolled it up. I got my favorite pink nightgown and stuffed the blanket inside and got one of my old bonnets out of  the cupboard in the hall and put it on the quilt and tied it. I set my creation on the chair and studied it. From the back it looked surprisingly real. I called it Magdalena.

I kept Magdalena for months and would hurry home from school each day and quickly do all my chores. I would spend all my spare moments in my room creating things at my desk. I would talk and laugh with Magdalena the whole time. She was one of the best friends I had that year.

Hearty Chili Soup

When I was growing up we used to have soup once a day. I used to love it and couldn't imagine ever not having soup often. However since we are married I discovered not all families enjoy soup as much as my family used to. So it has to be especially good before I am able to serve it at our table.

Several years ago I discovered this Chili soup. It was so different from any chili I had ever tasted I knew immediately it was a soup that would be welcomed by everyone in our house.

With the nip of fall in the air it seemed to be the perfect time to cook a batch last evening. The recipe I have is huge so I divided it and made only a fifth which was still way more than we were able to eat in one meal. But that is fine because it freezes well. I must admit if I had seen the recipe before I had tasted it I probably would not have ever made it. And so far everyone that has had some asked me for the recipe and when they see the ingredients they do a double take. So you'll just have to take my word for it. It really is good!

Hearty Chili Soup

2 lb ground beef

1 tsp black pepper

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 Tbsp chili powder

¼ cup chopped onion

8 cups water

3 cup ketchup

1 cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

1- 28 oz. can Bush's baked beans Original

Combine ground beef, onion, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Fry in a large kettle until browned. Add baked beans and water and bring to a boil. In the meantime in a separate bowl combine the ketchup, flour, and brown sugar. Add slowly to the boiling mixture and stir constantly until soup resumes boiling. Turn out heat and let set for a few minutes before serving.

I also served cheese bread with the soup, unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the bread. I'll post that recipe the next time I make some.

Irene

One of the highlights of every month was the day Irene came. Irene was a lady that loved yard-saling and made her own little business of buying anything she thought the Amish might be interested in which she then organized and loaded in the back of her vehicle and drove from one Amish home to the next to sell the treasures she had found.

One Saturday we were canning peaches when I looked out the window and saw Irene's familiar blue vehicle pull into our driveway. "Irene is here." I called to Mom. She set the pan of peaches aside and washed her hands and asked me to come with her to see what Irene has today.

On the way out she told that I did a really good job baby sitting Mahlon all summer and I can choose whatever I want and she will buy it for me.

I was thrilled. It would be the first time I ever was allowed to choose something to buy. Irene opened the back of her vehicle and there before my eyes was the most beautiful selection of dishes and toys that I had ever seen. There was so much to choose from I thought I could never make up my mind. There were beautiful china dishes with pink  flowers and lovely water and berry sets. And then I saw it. The perfect thing. A cute sugar and creamer set that were standing on a little platter. I knew immediately that is what I want. I pointed it out to Mom and said that is what I want. She asked me if I'm sure, that I can choose anything at all. But I had made up my mind that was what I wanted.

Mom bought it and I carried it carefully to my room and set it on top of the curio. I was so pleased to be the owner of some nice dishes. It was several years later before it dawned on me that I might not have made the wisest choice when I chose that humble little set from all the beautiful dishes available. But I still love it.

Raw Potatoes

One day when we came home from school there was a postcard resting on top of the pile of mail on the kitchen table. It was an invitation to the wedding of one of my oldest cousins.

Mom and Daddy talked about the up coming wedding at the supper table and they decided to attend. They would have to leave for several days since the wedding was in Michigan. They didn't want us to miss school and since Grandpa Masts and the rest of Moms brothers and families were all planning to attend the wedding as well it was decided to ask one of the teen-aged girls to come and stay with us while they were gone.

The evening before they left Daddy and John went to bring her to our home so she would be there before they left soon after midnight. John, David, and I were excited to stay at home and felt only a little bit sorry for Mahlon who was still to little to stay with us.

When Daddy came home he dropped off the girl at the end of the driveway and drove on out to the barn to unhitch Jim. I peeped out the kitchen window to see who came but I didn't know who it was. Mom went out to the porch to welcome her inside. She was carrying an old brown battered suitcase that she set down inside the door. Mom introduced us to her saying, "Susan this is MaryAnn, and David" and then proceeded to tell her what our chores were each day. And what she had for her to work on while we were in school.

I wished we could stay at home. Susan looked like she knew how to have fun. When Daddy came into the house we all got ready for bed. I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep but the first thing I knew we were waking up and Daddy and Mom had left.

Susan got up and said we need to go do the chores before breakfast. We all went to the barn with her and watched as she sat down beside Jenny and tried to milk her. It must have been her first attempt to try milking a cow because it was the most pitiful sight I had ever seen as she pulled and squeezed but only a few drops of milk plunked noisily into the stainless steel pail. John and I tried to show her how but it wasn't as easy as it looked when we watched Daddy or Mom do it. Susan finally managed to get almost  a quart of milk and decided it was good enough.

We went inside and saw it had taken much longer to do the chores than we had anticipated and it was almost time to leave for school. We quickly changed and ate a banana while Susan packed a lunch for us. School passed uneventfully enough and when we came home Susan was ready to try the chores right away. It didn't go much better than it had that morning she got a little more than a quart of milk but not much.

Once we got back to the house she asked us what we would like to have for supper. We wanted potatoes and meat. I went to the basement to get a bowlful of potatoes and once they were peeled I got a great idea. We would eat them raw. We used to each have a slice sprinkled with salt as a snack every evening while Mom peeled the potatoes for supper, but only one slice. Tonight we would get to eat all the raw potatoes we wanted. Susan looked a little dubious about our idea but with all three of us enthusiastically wanting a bowlful of raw potatoes she sliced them and set them on the table.

As we sat down I couldn't wait to be able to eat all the crunchy salty potatoes I wanted. We passed them and each took a generous helping. I sprinkled salt on a slice and ate it. It was delicious. I sprinkled salt on the next slice and ate it. Still good. The third slice wasn't a treat any longer and I would rather not have eaten the forth. As I eyed the pile of raw potatoes on my plate and the bowl that was still almost full I knew I couldn't eat them any longer. John and David were having the same problem I was. We ate our meat, but we all agreed we had more than our fill of raw potatoes.

Susan took all of them and put them in a bigger bowl and covered them with water to be used to make mashed potatoes the next day. Our grand adventure of staying at home without Daddy and Mom didn't feel very grand anymore and we could hardly wait until they came home again.

And since that day raw potatoes no longer look tempting.

Thank You!

                              

I want to thank all of you who emailed and volunteered to send a card to my aunt Vernie for her birthday. It was a real blessing to know there are so many great people who are willing to take a few minutes and send a card to someone they know only through reading my blog.

Thank you all very much!