Answering Questions ~ Part Two

Do you or your daughters ever wear pants or shorts?

No, we don't.  We wear skirts and blouses, and dresses.
 
What colors do Amish women wear?

It varies from community to community. In the one where I grew up colors worn by women were all dark but in the shades of  blue, green, teal, purple, red, brown, black, and grey.
 
I never had a red dress though since my parents didn't think it was an appropriate color, especially since we had a store and dealt with the public on a regular basis. I can understand their reason.
 
Do men have more options for colors than women?

In the community where I grew up there were no colors or shades of colors off limits for men's shirts. With five brothers our clothes line used to look quite colorful every Monday morning.

What books other than the Bible do the Amish read?

This depends a lot on individual families and what their preferences are.  My parents were quite careful with what kind of reading material made it's way into our house, while my husbands family was much more lenient.  We had a lot of books written by the Amish as well as the Little House books, Anne of Green Gables series, Elsie Dinsmore series, and anything from Rod and Staff and Christian Light Publishing.  My husbands family had books by Lewis B. Miller, Louis L'Amour, Grace Livingston Hill, lots of mystery, as well as Christian romance.  I was in book bliss after we got married and I was introduced to a lot of new genres and authors.

Have you added a lot of new books to your home library since leaving the Amish?

We have added some books, but not nearly as many as we used to buy while we were Amish. As a matter of fact we got rid of a lot of books after we left the Amish.

Do you ever miss the more simple life?

Every once in a while. Mostly just when the power goes off and I think of the days when I never had to worry about having my life interrupted like that.

How often do the Amish bathe?

This again varies from community to community and family to family.  During the winter we used to have a Saturday evening bath but during the summer we enjoyed a shower at least once a day.


And how did it seem to be able to have a shower after leaving the Amish?

At the time we left we were used to having daily showers year round so that part of our life didn't change when we left.

What do the Amish eat for breakfast? Also lunch and dinner?

This again varies from family to family. Growing up we used to have hearty breakfasts. To start off we had eggs, slightly salty slices of onions and buttered bread. We would cut it up, mix it together and enjoy it. (It's still delicious!) Next we had fried cornmeal mush with tomato gravy, followed by oatmeal with some kind of pie or cake and a cup of hot unsweetened tea.  Oatmeal had a huge gag factor for me so I always passed on it and sipped my tea while the others ate.
 
For lunch during the school year we had soup, bread, some kind of pickles or red beets, and fruit.  During the summer we used to have potatoes and gravy, meat, vegetables, and salad.
 
For dinner we had potatoes and gravy, meat, vegetables, and if the garden was in season we added salad. We always had dessert afterwards.
 
Saturday evenings we enjoyed soup with fresh homemade bread, hard boiled eggs, and most of the time peaches.
 
What are some of your favorite foods?
Fried chicken, pasta...... I enjoy almost anything except oatmeal.