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Our Attic Space Before and During Renovation
I still have not found the time to do a longer post. I really will… I promise. As per CJ’s request, I thought I would send you before, during, and after renovation shots of our attic. First there was the bare attic: Then came the messy insulation that made the attic look like a…
Read MoreOur Attic Space
I am aware that it’s been almost a month since I posted. My life has gone into nuts mode, but I promise to be back soon. I will be posting a book review in the coming week. I recently prepared our attic for a guest to stay in. I took some photos that I will…
Read MoreAmish Conference, Part 4
Special children are not just interesting medical problems, subjects of grants and research. Nor should they be called burdens to their families and communities. They are children who need our help, and if we allow them to, they will teach us compassion. They are children who need our help, and if we allow them to,…
Read MoreAmish Conference 2016, Part 3
I now turn my attention to the plenary session by Professor Mark Louden from the University of Wisconsin called Continuity and Change in Pennsylvania Dutch. He has made the dialect of the Amish a focus of study. He actually speaks it better than I do, and I am (was) a native speaker. He began his…
Read MoreAmish Conference 2016, Part 2
Claudia Lillinger, myself, Sabrina Völz First I want to announce that Sabrina Völz has posted the second half of the interview with me on the American Studies Blog. Her introduction to the interview and the questions are quite evocative. I hope you’ll enjoy the interview. Now I want to return to the conference this past…
Read MoreAmish Conference 2016, Part 1
I traveled back from the Amish Conference at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania yesterday. I was so glad I attended the conference. There were so many good presentations that stimulated good conversations and debates, that it is hard for me to know where to begin to describe it. Perhaps I will start in the beginning, as…
Read MoreInterview on American Studies Blog
A new interview was published today on the American Studies Blog. It’s called “Art Meets Life: An Interview with Ex-Amish Author Saloma Miller Furlong. Sabrina Völz, from Leuphana University in Lüneberg, Germany, is the author of this blog. She asked me for an interview a few months back. I look forward to meeting her at…
Read MoreDonald Trump and the Amish
I have been reflecting on how little I was aware of what was going on in presidential elections when I was still living among the Amish. Sometimes I almost wish I could tune out this election the way I used to then. Then I discovered the story about Amish PAC. I realized that wishing myself…
Read MoreKeepsakes
I have been focused on spring cleaning. I don’t clean the inside and outside of my cupboards very often, but during this week of rain we’ve had, I did. I could not wash the windows inside and out, so I tackled the cupboards instead. It was a satisfying feeling, wiping out that last drawer. In…
Read MoreWhat Do Amish and Kenyan Women Have in Common?
A few months ago, I received an unexpected package in the mail. It was one of my faithful readers, who sent me a book as a gift, called Footsteps by Kirsten Johnson. It has taken me a while to get around to reading it, but I am so glad I did. I knew nothing about…
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