Wednesday Medley

1.  Today, Wednesday, February 6th, is Frozen Yogurt Day!  A cold dessert on what must be a very cold day for most of you reading this today!  Do you enjoy frozen yogurt?  Does it matter what the weather is?  Share with us your favorite flavor and/or topping, please!!

I've had frozen yogurt a few times, but it certainly doesn't make it to the top of the list when it comes to frozen treats I enjoy.

As long as I'm feeling warm, it doesn't matter what the weather is doing, I can still enjoy ice cream. Maybe that's because growing up, winter was the time for ice cream. We always got excited when it snowed, because it Mom would cook up the base for the ice cream while we went outside to fill up several five-gallon pails with snow. After filling the canister of ice cream freezer with the pudding we would take turns cranking the freezer, until it was frozen. Such a delightful treat!

My favorite flavor is still vanilla, a chocolate fudge topping is delightful though.

2.  What food do you know you shouldn't eat but can't help yourself?

I can't think of anything at the moment. I guess it wouldn't hurt to cut out desserts completely, but with only a few bites a day I'm not feeling guilty about it.

3.  If your life was a meal, what kind of meal would it be?

If my life were a meal it would be an overflowing buffet. Such a wide variety of things. Most of it good, some great, and the occasional bad thing you wish you could have avoided.

4.  Do you like spicy food?  Why or why not?  What is the spiciest food you have ever eaten?

I like spices as far as flavors, but when it comes to heat I prefer to keep it on the milder side so that I can still taste my food.

The spiciest/hottest food I've ever eaten was when I was a teenager and some friends from the deep south came to visit and insisted on cooking a meal for us. The added a handful of jalapenos and some other peppers, seeds and all into their pot of chili. We tried our best to eat it, but our entire family was reduced to a coughing, gasping mess.

5.   What food do you eat or crave when you have a bad cold?

I usually don't crave any kind of food when I'm having a bad cold, but force myself to have some broth or chicken noodle soup.

6.  Please tell us something random about your week (and maybe it will involve food).

I've heard of Meyer lemons quite a bit already, but this week was the first time we have ever tried them. Love them! The ones we got provided almost double the amount of juice as regular lemons do.

Reader Hodgepodge

1. Do you eat dinner at noon or for the evening meal or do you eat dinner and supper?

We have lunch at noon and supper for our evening meal. If the evening meal involves guests, or is fancier for some reason we will call it dinner.

2. Have your children attended an Amish church service and what do they think about it?

Our three oldest children used to attend Amish church services with us regularly before we left. Steven attended an Amish wedding with us this summer. Their wedding services are very similar to their regular church services. He didn't care for it.

3. I was wondering what happens, in the Amish community, when both parents die? Do they have a will or something in writing that makes their wishes known regarding their children and who they live with or what happens to them? If they had a lot of children, would they be able to stay together, or would they be split up?

If the parents had a will, and mentioned where they wish their children to live, people would try to honor that. If they died without a will other family members would step up to give the children a home, without splitting them up.

4.  My questions are about your children, who seem to enjoy learning and seem to be bright kids. Are any of them interested in college? If so, would you allow them to go? I have read about the Amish children taking time to explore the world before "settling down". Will your children do that? 

At this point, none of them seem interested in attending a traditional college. Kenneth is thinking about going the technical route to become certified in his field of interest. And yes, we will allow him to do so.

The whole thing about Amish children taking time to explore the world before settling down, is simply not true. Do some teenagers leave? Yes. But the parents are heartbroken. The church teaches against leaving the Amish. 

5. I wondered if money and time were not a factor, What country would you visit and why.

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to visit Switzerland. Partly because of the book, Heidi, partly because of the scenery, and partly I'm sure because it is the land of my ancestors.

I would also love to be able to visit Israel. To see the places I have only ever heard about in the Bible. To walk the places where my precious Saviour walked, and see the river where he was baptized, and maybe take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.

Random bit.

Rain, rain, and more rain. It makes for excellent puddles to jump in for Buddy, and keeps the waterfall thundering as it rushes the water in the creek on its way.

Yesterday Steven was standing by the window looking out at the pouring rain and said. "Mom, come look! Don't you love the way the raindrops dance on the road?"

Yes, yes I do!

And I also love that our children seem to have inherited my love of rainy days.

Reader Hodgepodge

1. Tell us about your favorite way to get lost in a simple activity — running, chopping vegetables, folding laundry, whatever. What’s it like when you’re in "the zone"?
I spent way too much time sitting here trying to think how to answer this, but I can't think of any activity I do that I get lost in. Probably because the house is never quiet long enough to give me an opportunity to do so. There are simple tasks I can do without really being aware that I'm doing them, such as peeling potatoes and kneading bread dough, but that's usually because I'm busy talking to one of the children, not simply wandering off in my imagination.

2. When it might hurt their feelings, how do you feel about telling your friends the truth?
I won't lie, but if it's not absolutely necessary I will avoid saying something that I know will hurt a friend's feelings even if it's the truth. Just because something is true, doesn't mean it has to be said.

3. Do you talk with your hands?
My hands seem to want to join the conversations I have. Quite uninvited. I haven't figured out how to get rid of that habit. Even worse though is how my face will contort in different ways to match the emotions, and facial expressions of who ever I'm listening to. Only it never looks as good on me as it did on the original person. I never realize I'm doing it though, and really, really wish I knew how to stop that!

4. What kind of milk did you drink, growing up? And now?
Growing up we drank raw milk from our Jersey cow. It was the best!

Now, we buy our milk at the store, while I dream of the day when I can have my own little cow again.

5. What age do you wish you could permanently be?
Thirty is a pretty good age. Had I had the option I probably would have wanted to freeze time then assuming of course it would freeze for the entire family. Life is good, even though everyone keeps growing older.

6. What is the most annoying question that people ask you?

I could answer this question, because there is one I get all the time, but I value friendships more and will answer what ever questions I receive. (Other than this one)

7. What do the Amish do to stay cool during the summer?

With out the option of using an air conditioner or a fan our bodies seemed to get used to the summer heat. We didn't do anything special to try to stay cool other than having the windows open and allowing the breeze to blow through the house.

8. Random bit.

Fall seems to have arrived here in our little corner of the world. The big maple tree in front of the house has already lost over half of its leaves, but it's been so wet that we haven't been able to keep them raked up.

Reader's Hodgepodge

1. Where is the most beautiful place you have been?

It's hard answering questions like this because as soon as I write an answer some other answer pops in my head, so I'll be sharing several different ones.

-Niagara Fall is beautiful, Growing up we used to visit it every summer. I've never grown tired of it.
-Bandelier National Park, New Mexico, as well as other spots in the state.
-Watkins Glen State Park in New York is beautiful in its own way. I've been there numerous times, and I look forward to experiencing it again with our children.
- Our bedroom in our house in Missouri. It's the spot where LV and I "met" Jesus and He became our Saviour. There's nothing I can think of that is more beautiful than that.

2. Which do you prefer? Books or movies?

Books, books, books!

- Movies leave out so many good things from books, and add other things that always makes me feel sad when I watch a movie based on a book.
- When I read a book I can get totally immersed in the story and I become the main character. Seeing, feeling, and experiencing everything. When I watch a movie I only get to see someone else experience, see, and feel things.

Books all the way!

3. What was the last song you listened to?

The last song I listened to was Everything by TobyMac


4. When you are old, what do you think children will ask you to tell stories about?

They will probably ask me to tell them stories from my childhood as a little Amish girl.

5. What did you Google last?

The last thing I did a Google search for, was a recipe for a new marinade for steak. I don't eat steak, ever, but I enjoy cooking them for those in my family who do like them.

6. Random bit.

My power is back! This morning there was a deafening crackling boom that scared me worse than I've been startled in a while. Immediately the power went off. It's such a helpless feeling not being able to carry on in normal fashion when that happens. Thankfully it came back on sooner than I was thinking it might.