A Change of Plans

Last night after dinner, I had plans… I was going to take a quick spin on my bike with David before it got dark, and then post on my blog. Those plans were suddenly changed. I was just ahead of David coming down over a steep hill when I saw that the pavement was gone…

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Interviews and Appearances

This morning I was interviewed on MassAppeal for WWLP, Channel 22 in Springfield, Mass. You can watch the video of it here. This was in preparation for a talk at the Forbes Library this Wednesday evening at 7:30 PM. This was my television debut, so I was really nervous, which comes through in the video.…

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Footwashing and Forgiveness

Susan J. Reinhardt wrote: I've been researching the Amish Communion Service. As part of the preparation, do they go to each other and mend broken relationships? I found references to reading the Ordnung and going over the rules, but nothing about making things right with each other. Is the footwashing part of this? Susan, very good questions.…

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Announcing the Winner

I am happy to announce the winner of the giveaway for a copy of Growing up Amish by Ira Wagler — KATHRYN! Congratulations! I’m sure you will enjoy this well-crafted story. If you’ll email me with your address: salomafurlong[at]gmail[dot]com, I will forward it on to Ira. For those of you who did not win the…

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Bantum Roosters, Part III

Then one summer afternoon I walked towards the woods on my way to pick elderberries. Butterflies flew above the daises, buttercups, and black-eyed susans on both sides of the path. My long dress brushed over the tall grass as I walked through the meadow behind the chicken coop with a peck basket under my arm.…

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Bantum Roosters, Part II

One day I had gone out to get a pail of water from the pump by the barn, when a sound made me look up. One of the roosters was chasing a hen. When he caught up to the hen, she crouched down, and the rooster got on top of her back. I didn’t know…

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Bantum Roosters, Part I

The other day, Shirley Showalter had a guest writer on her blog, 100 Memoirs. Britt Kaufmann wrote a mini-memoir on raising chickens that triggered some memories of my own. I thought I would share my own rooster story with you. On a Sunday afternoon we were eating popcorn and drinking grape juice, when we heard…

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Putting Food By – Amish and English Style

Several times during my book talks, I’ve had someone ask what a typical day was like when I was growing up. I can never give a straightforward answer because there isn’t one. It depended upon what season of the year it was, what day of the week, and what needed to be done. I remember…

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