Aunt Emma's Rugs

Going to Grandpa Mast's was always a lot of fun. There were so many options of fun things to do there from spending time with Grandpa in his harness shop, helping Grandma in her craft room, playing with Aunt Vernie, and on days when Aunt Emma was making rugs I usually didn't have to think twice. Vernie and I both loved watching and helping her.

It was fun filling those big bobbins with long strips of fabric and then watching as they flew back and forth across the loom leaving a trail of the fabric strips behind them, woven into the rug. Aunt Emma would let us try to help her on the loom but it was much harder than it looked when she did it so I was content simple watching and listening to the delightful clackity bangs as she made rug after rug.

She sold a lot of rugs in my parents store and when I was preparing things for my own home she was more than happy to make all the rugs in every color I wanted. By the time she was done I had everything I needed and more. A whole set of blue rugs, a few pink, several made with plastic grocery bags to use in the basement or our front porch, I had rugs that matched the colors for every room of the house. And then a pile to use for special occasions which included several all white ones.

 

I still have a pile of rugs I never even used including the white ones. Somehow they always seemed too pretty to actually walk on and so they stay tucked away.

 

Aunt Emma still makes rugs, I would love to spend a day watching her once again.

Join Us

On Wednesday October 3rd I will be joining Suzanne Woods Fisher at Books-A-Million in Cumberland, MD for a book signing from 2 to 4 PM.

 

 

We would love to get to meet you!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. The Wednesday Hodgepodge this week falls on John Chapman's birth date. He's more famously known as Johnny Appleseed...what's your favorite variety of apple?

I really like a lot of different apples but, my favorite variety of apple is Fuji. So delightfully crisp, sweet, and juicy.

There is a variety though that I keep looking for and so far have not been able to find. My search is a little more complicated since I can't remember the name of the apple but I do remember how it tasted.

It was a Saturday afternoon, the winter I was sixteen, and the fruit peddler had stopped at our house. The back of his truck was loaded with bushel boxes filled with apples. Mom bought several bushels of Yellow Delicious and before the peddler left he tried to sell her a bushel of a brand new variety. She wasn't interested knowing that Yellow Delicious were the family favorites, besides this new variety was more expensive.

The peddler gave her one to sample, sure that we would want to buy some the next time he made his rounds.

Mom came into the house with the funny shaped apple. It was much more flat than the apples we were used to eating and the color was intriguing as well from yellowish green spots to a dark reddish purple. It didn't look very appetizing to me.

That evening Mom peeled it and we each got two slices. Biting into it there seemed to be an explosion of flavors. Almost as if I had a bite of an apple, grapes, and pears. We all loved it and wished we had bushels and bushels to enjoy. We were looking forward to the next time the peddler came so we could buy some.

Unfortunately by the time he got to our house he was sold out of that variety. Too many other people had been wanting them too. We never did get any more of those apples and I will continue sampling new kinds when ever I have a chance in hopes that I will be able to find them again.

2. When did you last say 'ick'?

Yesterday, leaking diapers have a way of making me say that.

3. Do you think there's a generation gap? Explain.

I think this varies a lot from family to family. I never felt that way and was always close to my Mom and grandparents. We all loved talking so there wasn't much chance of any of us not understanding how the other was feeling.

4. What's on your computer screen saver? Do you leave it alone or change it often?


My computer background is a picture of a patch of lily-of-the-valley flowers. I change it once a month or so. My screen saver is bubbles and I never change it.

5. If you had the attention of the entire world for two minutes, what would you say?

I would ask them to forget their differences, life is much too short and precious to be focused on that.

 

6. Four fashion trends to try this fall are-brocade/jacquard (fancy printed fabrics), peplum, lace, and printed pants...which of these four would you be most likely to wear?

I'm really not a fan of any of those options though lace does sound the nicest to me.

7. What can make your bad day better?

Having little arms flung around my neck and hearing the words "I love you, Mom"  is always a day brighter.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

 

The way the yard looks in front of our house I think it's time to start raking leaves even though they have only started falling.

Fun

I'm really liking the trailer for Life with Lily. And also excited about a fun filled website created for Lily where you will find games, coloring pages, and more.

Answering Questions ~ LV

Over time I have accumulated a list of questions from my readers that were directed to LV. And today he will be answering them here.

1. How has life changed since you have left the Amish?  Other than the obvious of now driving a vehicle, having electricity, and the way we dress the thing that changed the most since leaving the Amish is my relationship with God.
2. Do you ever miss your horse and buggy? Never! I loved my horse and enjoyed riding but using a horse and buggy to go somewhere always took too long. I found that to be frustrating even as a little boy.
3. How many brothers and sisters do you have? I had three brothers and one sister.
4. Are you still in contact with your family?  Yes, I am. My parents seem to have accepted our choice of leaving the Amish quite well and we are always welcome at their house. They will even ride in our vehicle with us occasionally. I don't talk to my brothers and sister as often as I should but we are all on friendly terms.
5. What was your first job?   For my first job I was only fifteen and had to spend a year working for a young family on their farm. I hated it. I had to work extremely hard. I was almost constantly tired. There was never enough to eat and I was constantly hungry. Every once in a while I would sneak over the fields to my sister's house and she would cook a nice meal for me. I don't know what I would have done if it hadn't been for her.
6. How was it to be the son of an Amish preacher?  My Dad was ordained before I was born so I never knew anything else. I didn't like when people came to talk to him, it always seemed to spoil the rest of our day.
7. How did you stay cool during the summer while you were Amish?  We were fortunate enough to live in an area where we didn't have extreme heat. Sitting under a tree in the shade always cooled us off nicely and after we built a pond we used to like going swimming to cool off after a day of hay making.