Halloween

While we didn't celebrate Halloween in any way when we were Amish we were quite aware of the night and the entire church was advised to not be out and about unless it was absolutely necessary. Not because we were afraid there might be some spirits roaming the earth, but because of the things that tended to happen that night.

Things we normally didn't have to worry about:

• Driving down the road and having screaming teenagers throwing fire crackers at your horse and buggy.
• Mailboxes being smashed with pumpkins.
• Some teens even thought it was hilarious to sit on the back of a truck holding buggy shafts and go down the road as fast as you can until you can't hang on any longer. The buggy would then be on its own and crash.
• A few years they burned down an Amish barn.

The first two happened every year, the last two got police involved and seem to no longer be a problem.

Even though we are no longer Amish, I still like to stay in the house on Halloween night.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Joyce's husband spent last weekend pheasant hunting. Are there hunters in your family? If so, what do they hunt? Which of the following have you tasted-pheasant, rabbit, venison, duck, goose? Which of those would you most like to taste, or be most willing to taste?
Vegetarians keep calm and Hodgepodge on.

No one in our house goes hunting any longer. LV used to love hunting and would hunt deer regularly while we lived on a farm. Any deer he got we used, and were so thankful that, that particular animal would not be damaging our crops the next summer. Deer related crop damage used to be awful.

I have tasted rabbit .......delicious.
I've eaten venison ......... hate it!
We have had duck and goose ..... loved both. Especially the duck which I had prepared with an orange sauce.
I would try pheasant if I had the opportunity.

2. What high spot have you visited that gave you a wonderful 'bird's eye view' of something below?

 

Several years ago we went to Mt. Davis and climbed the tower. We were able to look across the mountains and were actually able to see three different states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. I normally don't like heights at all, but the view was worth it!

3.  Do you have any birds in your home? These could be either real live pets or decorative, as in bird prints, knickknacks, fabric or pottery.

The only thing bird related in our house is a little salt and pepper set my parents gave me when I was five or six years old.

 

4. Tell about a time you 'killed two birds with one stone'?

I started doing this post last evening and was stuck when I got to this question. I woke up in the middle of the night and knew exactly what I wanted to write. I asked myself, "Should I jot it down real quick so I don't forget?"

I decided not to, especially since my notepad and pen are no longer right next to my bed. "I'll be able to remember in the morning." I told myself. 

Oh, the lies I tell myself!  I can not, no matter how hard I try, remember what it was.

5. Your favorite song with a bird in it's title?

His Eye is on the Sparrow

6. What most recently gave you goose bumps?

The scene in the movie Courageous where the main character dances alone.

If you haven't seen it yet I advise you to have plenty of tissues handy.

7. Halloween is this Friday...any plans? Did you trick or treat as a child? Carve pumpkins? Share your most memorable costume.

Nope, no plans. We never went trick or treating as a child. Never carved a pumpkin. Never wore a costume.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

It's that time of year when we bring in the wind chimes to store them over winter. As much as I love winter, it always makes me a little sad to bring them in. Hearing them chime in the breeze is one of my favorite things.

Cherry Chocolate Bars

Do you remember the Anne of Green Gables books and how Anne used to have friends that she called kindred spirits and later referred to them as those who belong to the race of Joseph?

I have had a few friends like that, one of them is my friend Sonya. She and her children come over several times a month and somehow we have the tradition of always making some kind of dessert to enjoy together.

Last week we had these bars that are totally scrumptious!

Cherry Chocolate Bars

2 cups sugar
1¾ cup flour
½ cup cocoa
1 tsp. salt
5 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large mixing bowl measure all ingredients in order given. Mix well. Pour into a greased 9" x 13" pan. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

Once it has cooled combine:

1 - 8 oz. Cool Whip
1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened)

Spread over the chocolate bars.

Over the cream cheese layer pour:

1 can cherry pie filling

Refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Preparations

There used to be such a sense of satisfaction when the last pumpkins and squash had been harvested and lined up in the basement. Carrots were tucked into a barrel filled with sand to be dug out during the winter months. Cabbage had been pulled out by the roots and was now resting upside down to be enjoyed over the next few months. Bins of potatoes and apples lined a basement wall while bundles of onions hung from the joists. Rows and rows of can shelves were filled to capacity with vegetables and fruits as well as meats.

The coal bin had been filled and the woodhouse had enough wood stacked in it that we could barely open the door to step inside.

Geese were flying south and  finally  with all the summer labor of preparing for winter we were ready for the frost and snows to come. I used to absolutely love this time of year. Cozy and happy, time to dig through the fabric cupboards and plan the sewing lists. Time to pull out the fun crafts that had been tucked away last spring. Ahh.... pure bliss.

We don't have a garden and all the intense preparations any longer, I miss it. But with out fail, every October I still get struck with extra creativity and lots of plans for winter projects.

Winner

I enjoyed reading all your comments about your Christmas preparations. but now it's time to choose the winner of Life with Lily. So with out further ado the winner is................

Comment # 16

Michelle said...............................

I have begun just a little. We do the 3 gifts representing the 3 gifts the wise men gave. A lot less shopping needs to be done ; 0)

Congratulations Michelle! Please send me an email with your address and I will get the book sent to you.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Elizabeth Lawrence is quoted as saying, 'Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn." So have you done just that? And what did you leave undone in order to do so?

We did take a few afternoons to simply enjoy the beauty of falling/fallen leaves. The children still enjoy making huge piles of leaves and jumping in them, leaf fights, and trying to catch leaves as they fall from the trees.

My housework and what ever else needed to be done could wait until another day.

2. Since we're talking turning...what's one thing you feel you're doing 'every time you turn around'?

Dusting. We live in an old farm house and somehow it seems to get dusty much faster than any where else we have lived.

3. How hard is it for you to 'turn the other cheek?'

Most of the time, not hard. Some instances I might feel like at least saying something in return, but if I  bite my tongue until I give my emotions time to cool off a little I can usually let it go.

4. When did you last turn a drawer, your car, a room, or your entire house upside down looking for something? Did you find it?

About two weeks ago our checkbook vanished. We basically tore our house apart looking for it. Furniture was moved, drawers were cleaned out, basically every inch of the house was combed in desperation. No, we didn't find it. But every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case the fall house cleaning was done in record time.

5. 'One good turn deserves another'...were you most recently on the giving or receiving end of that sentiment?

As a family it seems to be an equal give and take.

Otherwise something that comes to mind was when a complete stranger directly ahead of us at the checkout paid for our purchases. I'm guessing that was a once in a lifetime experience for us, but something we hope to do someday for someone else.

6. Red, yellow, and orange are the colors of fall. Also the colors of fruit. If you were permitted only one color of fruit in your diet, which would you choose? This question isn't as easy as it sounds, at least not for me.

Red.

I love strawberries! Choosing red would also allow me to still enjoy apples, grapes, cherries, and pomegranates.

I'd miss pineapples, oranges and mangoes.

Thankfully my diet doesn't require having to choose.

7. The Hunt for Red October, October Sky, Halloween...which 'October' film is your favorite?

I have not seen any of those. Not a fan of anything scary or Halloween related.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

There's still a little time left to enter the giveaway for the first book in my series. Enter here.

Wondering

Life with Lily ~ Giveaway

The trees are bare, the skies are gray, it's the perfect time of year to slow down and enjoy the longer evenings by curling up in your favorite corner with a good book.

I can't supply the corner, but I do have a book for you.

Life with Lily is based on my own childhood. Most, but not quite all the stories happened just the way they are written.

Reviews of the series have both encouraged and humbled me. So very grateful to all my readers for choosing to read my books, when I know there are millions of books out there to choose from. To hear from little children, mothers, and grandmothers who have read and enjoyed them makes my day!

Today I will be giving away book one in the series, Life with Lily. If you have read it already feel free to enter anyway and pass it on to a friend if you win.

All you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment telling me if you have already started with your Christmas shopping.

For a second entry post a link to this giveaway on your blog or Facebook and then come back and leave another comment telling me you did.

A third entry will be given to those who like my Facebook page and then leave a comment here telling me they did.

Winner will be chosen on Thursday, October 23rd.

Giveaway is now closed and a winner has been chosen.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What's your favorite time of day? Why?

My favorite time of day is early in the morning when every one else is still asleep. As much as I love my family I really do enjoy some quiet time with only me, myself, and I.

2. Waffle iron, toaster, coffee maker, mixer, blender...which small appliance would you say most needs replacing in your house?

I don't have a waffle iron, a mixer, a blender, or a coffee maker. The toaster is still working, but we prefer pan toast the majority of the time. I would love to have the other appliances someday, but for now they remain on my wishlist.

3. It's National Grouch Day (October 15)...what's something that makes you feel grouchy?

Hot summer days make me feel irritable and grouchy, as does tax season.

4. Ever been to Canada? Is that a country you'd like to visit? According to Trip Advisor, the top ten best destinations in Canada are-Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Victoria, Calgary, Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Falls, Whistler, and Halifax. Which city would you most like to see?

I have been to Canada often. Growing up we would have summer vacations there every year. After LV and I got married we went to Canada twice. Once to Toronto and another time for a weeks vacation at Niagara Falls.

Not the biggest fan of Quebec with the primary language being French, but would love to visit the rest of Canada's highlights, especially Banff.

Visiting Prince Edward Island is also on my bucket list, and has been ever since I first read the Anne of Green Gables series.

5. What was your favorite food (or one of your favorites) when you were a child? Is that still a favorite?

One of my favorite foods from when I was a child was fresh homemade bread spread with fresh homemade butter. And yes, it's still one of my favorites.

6. Do you cry easily?

Unfortunately, yes. If something is sweet, like a wedding or a proposal. Feeling overwhelmed by God's goodness especially when singing certain hymns can make me teary, and then there's of course the normal reasons to cry.

7. Have you started your (gasp!) Christmas shopping? If so when, and how much? If not, when will you even begin thinking about it?

We will be doing a homemade Christmas again this year. I think I have basically everything on hand that I need and yes I have already started. There's only 71 days left until Christmas, and if I want everything done by then it's time for me to get started.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

It really feels like the Christmas season is just around the corner. Only a handful of leaves are clinging stubbornly to the basically bare branches of the big maple tree here in front of the house. Our church's Christmas pageant practice has started. And I start our fruitcake tomorrow. 

Jewelry

Jewelry was not allowed in the Amish churches because of the verse in 1 Peter 3:3 where it says "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel."  Girls had their hair braided, often until graduating from school, everyone wore clothes, but  wearing jewelry was forbidden.

Somehow though, that rule never applied to watches, and since we all liked pretty things it was the one area where we didn't look for something plain and simple.

My 16th birthday always stands out in my memory, not as being old enough to be a part of the youth group, but at the celebration my parents had for me and the day I received my good watch.

Last week I happened upon it while looking for something else. It's still just as pretty as it was back then.

I still remember pinning it securely inside my Sunday dress pocket. I hardly ever used it to see what time it was, but just knowing it was there used to make me feel a little prettier.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Do you manage your own money or do you have a financial planner who helps in some way? Do those kinds of conversations stress you out? A lot or a little?

We manage our own, and it's not a topic I enjoy having a conversation about.

2. The second week of October is Pet Peeve Week. Off the top of your head, share TWO of your current pet peeves.

Top two right now are:

1.) When internet connection is lost. Lately it has been off more than on, which makes it very hard to keep up with emails and get any blogging done.
2.) Getting calls from collection agencies looking for Angela Guthrie. We are getting them multiple times per day and it's getting beyond annoying.

3. What is one thing you'd like to learn right now, this very week if you could?

How to speak fluent Spanish.

4. How concerned are you about the recent health related news concerning Ebola? How about Enterovirus D68?

It's disturbing, but I'm not worrying about it.

5. Garfield, Nemo, or Tigger-your favorite orange cartoon character?

I'm going with Nemo on this one.

6. I'm going to see Gone Girl with my neighborhood book club this week. So often books made into film are disappointing. What's a book turned film you thought was well done, in that the casting was 'like you pictured' when you read the book, and the film plot remained mostly true to the book plot?

We don't watch that many movies, and any we have seen that were based on books have always been a disappointment.

7. What is one story your family always tells about you?

My brother's like reminding me of a certain happening when LV and I were courting. I really don't want to share the whole story here. We just call it the gray socks incident.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

 Buddy somehow managed to get into some poison ivy. Thankfully we still have Ivarest left over from LV's logging days. Using it has helped with the itching. It's nice having something that works to give relief while it heals.

And now we need to go on a search and destroy mission. Poison ivy is not something I want growing in our backyard!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Are the leaves turning color where you live? Have they begun to fall? Will you have to rake when it's all said and done? Is that a chore you love or loathe?

The leaves have been changing color and a lot of them have fallen already. I shared the following picture of a local road yesterday, but I think it's pretty enough to share again.

 

We usually rake our leaves. I don't have to since the children are still at the stage where they think it's great fun. I do enjoy it, but with only one rake there are enough turns being taken with the children that I don't get to do a lot.

2. When did you last shake like a leaf?

I was ridiculously cold several days ago. I was sick, and shaking like a leaf from shivering so much.

3. After 20 seasons with the NY Yankees, Derek Jeter played his last official game Sunday afternoon. Jeter has been described even by opponents as a 'class act', both on and off the field. The NFL is back in action this month too, with several players in that sport also making headlines. What are your thoughts on athletes as role models? Should a professional athlete be expected to act as role model or is that going beyond their job description? What responsibility do the organizations these athletes work for have when it comes to dealing with off the field behavior? Discuss.

Athletes, celebrities, ................ I've long been scratching my head why people look to them as role models. I guess being in the public eye, you do put some expectations on them to conduct themselves in a certain way.

I want my children to have role models they actually know personally. One they see live their life in a God honoring way through good times and bad.

Being able to throw or hit a ball very well does not make someone a role model in my eyes.

4. What season of the year is toughest for you in terms of your health? Why?

Summer. I don't do well with heat at all. I had a heat stroke years ago which makes getting too warm a lot more scary than it used to be.
 

5. The top six healthy food trends of 2014 according to Eating Well are-

clean eating (more veg, less meat, less sodium, limit alcohol and processed foods)
trash fish (you know those fish that get caught in fishermen nets and are thrown back? It seems chefs are finding creative ways to make them more appetizing)
cauliflower (this year's IT vegetable)
kaniwa (essentially baby quinoa, so like quinoa only smaller)
fermentation (think pickling except with twists on flavor we're not accustomed to)
community supported food (farms operating with community support/membership).

Okay-so how many of the hot healthy food trends for 2014 have you experienced, encountered, enjoyed? Any you've tried and said ewwww? Any on the list you'd like to try before year's end?

Let's see.............. no alcohol, hardly any processed foods, sodium not a problem thanks to not eating a lot of processed foods, lots of vegetables, and only a little meat. Yep, I think we qualify as clean eating. And have since long before clean eating was cool.

We like cauliflower, I had no idea that it was the IT vegetable though.

Fermentation....... other than yogurt, I'm not a fan of most of the fermented things I've tried.

6. In seven words or less, bid September adieu.

Thanks for bringing the end of summer.

7. What's something on your October calendar that makes you happy just thinking about it?

We start our fruitcake in October. I will be buying the things I need to start it soon.

It's a long drawn out affair to make, but the end results are so worth it, and it always makes me feel happy and Christmas-y when I start it.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Have any of you had any experience with stamps.com?

I read a lot of bad reviews about them after our own sour experience from dealing with them. I chose not to leave a scathing review, but wish I would have done a little more research before trying them and I would have seen they have a lot of unhappy customers.

We will not be doing business with them again.