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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…
Read MoreInterview with Ira Wagler, author of “Growing up Amish” and Drawing for a Free Copy
I had the privilege of interviewing Ira Wagler, author of a new memoir: Growing up Amish. Here is that interview: For anyone writing a memoir, there are tough decisions to be made about which experiences to write about and which ones to leave out, especially if it has to do with others’ shortcomings. How…
Read MoreBantum 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.…
Read MoreSpecial Post — Introducing Vintage Village Designs by David
Hello All, I know I said I would only post once a week, but I wanted to let you know that you are in the right place… I gave my blog a bit of a facelift. I also wanted to introduce you to David’s new blog about his miniature building designs in wood. I had…
Read MoreBantum 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…
Read MoreBantum 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…
Read MorePutting 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…
Read MoreGeneralizing about the Amish
Erik Wesner posted something on Amish America this week that I couldn’t help but respond to. To understand my comments, one really needs to read his post, which you can do by clicking here.I responded in the comments section, and I am posting these comments here: In reading through the original post and then the…
Read MoreRemembering a Sister, Revisited
I’ve had an off week, no doubt partly because two days ago was the second anniversary of my sister Elizabeth’s death. I wrote about her last June 24th, a year after she died. You can read that here.I find this year what I remember the most is the gratitude I had for my Aunt Martha,…
Read MoreInterview on Freakonomics Radio
A little while ago, I had a really fun interview with Stephen Dubner, host of Freakonomics Radio for a segment named “The Upside of Quitting” that will be airing on WNYC in New York City on July 1 and at least sixty-five other stations in different parts of the country (at different times). Another former…
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