Modest Dress

What do the Amish think of the way "English" people dress? I would think it would seem very immodest and troubling to them.

This and forms of this question is one I have heard a lot since we left the Amish. My answer usually surprises people but I'm only speaking from my own experience.

There are a lot of different Amish communities and each one has its own set of guidelines about the way clothes are made and worn. From as far back as I can remember you didn't stop to think twice about how someone was dressed because everyone had different rules to follow and what was required in our community could very easily have been forbidden in another one.

We had a woodworking business and dealt with the public every day and saw people dressed in all kinds of different ways and never thought anything about it. The only time I heard anything about the way "English" people dress was once in church when a minister went on a surprising rant about how it isn't fit to go to a beach because of all the people walking around with hardly enough clothes to cover a half grown blue jay.   That comment was the closet I ever came to having to laugh in an Amish church.

The first someone really addressed modesty or the lack of it was after we left the Amish and a lady from the church we were attending came to apologize for the way certain people were dressing since she was so sure it really bothered us, and the funny part was we had never even noticed until she mentioned it. And it still didn't bother us. While I would have been very uncomfortable wearing something like that it didn't even occur to me to feel uncomfortable to see someone else wear it.

I like wearing modest clothes and am trying to teach our daughters the same. Not by pointing out immodesty and making a big deal about it but by quiet positive remarks about attractive modest clothing. Much the same way my mother did when she told me how nice a dress fits if enough pleats were in the skirt so I always wanted to have enough. She could have pointed out a few women who didn't have enough and every time they bent over you could see their thighs or if they ran their skirt would ride up their legs. Gentle positive reinforcement of her views was all that was necessary which left me free from trying to find fault with everyone that wasn't dressed to her modesty standards which would only have robbed me of some of my childhood joy and innocence.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Did March come in like a lion or was it something less ferocious in your neck of the woods?

March first was a pleasant day but the next few were snowy, windy, and cold. I'll admit that I was secretly happy that we're getting a little bit of winter yet before spring officially arrives.

2. Speaking of lions, which one's your film favorite...The Cowardly Lion (Wizard of Oz), Mufasa (The Lion King), Elsa (Born Free), or Alex (Madagascar)? You may notice I left Aslan off the list. Including him would have made this question way too easy for many of you.

I have never seen any of those films but since we're speaking about lions my favorite lion is an old stuffed toy I used to have named Toby.

3. What's your favorite spot from which to view the sunrise or sunset?

The first farm where we used to live after we got married. The view from the porch looked out towards the west across the rolling mountains and we used to enjoy spectacular sunsets. Right now we live in a hollow and sunrises and sunsets are both only a memory.
4. To what extent is knowledge power and to what extent is truth power? What's the difference?

As I was sitting here thinking of knowledge and truth and trying to decide how to write this answer in order for it to make sense to you I started getting dizzy. The knowledge that there's no blog cop going to get me in trouble for not answering this question made me happy and I will be using the time I saved from digging into this deep topic to enjoy some truths in my Bible.

5. What's something peculiar you've seen recently?

I think I shared this picture before but this is what popped into my mind first when I tried to think of something peculiar. 

A cow sitting like a dog is not normal especially since they always kneel down with their front legs first when they want to lay down and when they want to get up they always use their back legs first.  This silly cow sat like this for more than half an hour.

6. Bottled water...your thoughts?

While I like the convenience of bottled water while hiking or traveling I don't like how it tastes. I much prefer the cold sweet water from our well and I have been known to buy bottled water but promptly dump it out and refilling it with our own to take with us on our treks. When ever we can't have our own water I'm reminded of King David in the Bible where he was longing for water from the well in Bethlehem. I think I know how he felt!

7. What's your strongest sense?

I'm not sure which of my senses is the strongest but I do know which is the weakest. I lost my sense of smell years ago and of the five senses if I had to lose one of them I'm glad that's the one I lost instead of any of the others.
8. Insert your own random thought here.

Yesterday Sunbeam wanted to try making cookies on her own. She had chosen a simple recipe and since our kitchen happens to be washable I told her she could.

Her efforts were successful and when she served me a warm freshly baked cookie I loved her pleased expression.

It's so much fun watching our children accomplish new things!

Pecan Pie Cookies

A while ago someone gave us Pecan Pie Cookies. After the very first taste I knew immediately that I wanted to have the recipe. Unfortunately since they came from a little local bakery they of-course didn't want to share it so I set to work trying to recreate them.

Pecan Pie Cookies

¾ cup butter (softened)

1 cup brown sugar (packed)

2 eggs (medium)

½ cup cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

Combine sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well and then add the cream.  After mixing it well add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Cover with a cloth and set in refrigerator while you make the filling.

Pecan Pie Filling

4½  Tbsp butter

½ cup powdered sugar

¼ cup corn syrup

¾ cup pecans (finely chopped)

Melt butter. Add powdered sugar and stir until melted. Add corn syrup and pecans. Mix well and then bring to a full boil. Stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and refrigerate immediately.

Now taking the cookie dough. Roll into balls only slightly smaller than a golf ball. Flatten gently and then using the back of a spoon make a nice hollow in the center.

Repeat with the remaining dough. Now you are ready for the fun part. Fill each hollow with the pecan pie filling. Bake on the middle rack in a preheated 350º oven for 12 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.

They weren't exactly like the ones from the bakery but I was happy with how they turned out and by the way they disappeared I know I will be making them again!

I always like to line my cookie sheets with parchment paper. It eliminates having to use cooking spray or butter to keep them from sticking. And clean up is a breeze. I don't like using aluminum foil since I think it makes food taste like foil. I don't care for wax paper either because the wax usually adheres to the food.

I also prefer using air bake cookie sheets. They bake more evenly and the bottoms of cookies don't get overly browned on them.

Buddy

The children love taking pictures of Buddy. I uploaded another batch of them to my computer and really enjoyed going through them and seeing all the pictures they took this past week.

Here are a few of my favorite ones.

Estate Sales ~ Answering Questions

A little before Buddy was born I had been taking more of your questions and I was just reminded that I still haven't answered all of them.

I would love to be able to attend an Amish estate sale but somehow I never find out about them until after the fact. Do you have any advice on how to get a notice of any estate sales?

The Amish are as a whole very sentimental. Often when someone dies their things are divided among the family. Any estate sales will be private with only family being invited. Occasionally a friend will be there to be the auctioneer or serve as moral support but they would never bid on or buy anything.

Any money raised on that day would then be used to pay any unpaid bills left by the deceased. The rest would be divided evenly among the deceased's children.

Part of the reason things bear so much sentimental value is because there wasn't an overload of things and living by the motto: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without applied to almost everything. Like the toys we played with at our grandparents house were the same toys our parents used to play with and by the time all sixty grandchildren have grown up there are hundreds of happy memories attached to each item.

The same goes for all the furniture, dishes, books, and tools. No stranger could possibly appreciate those items like the family will and so things keep getting passed down and cherished until they are used up and worn out.