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Amish Peanut Butter
An Amishman in Indiana once explained (with a distinct air of gravity) that one thing which people who leave the Amish church always miss is the Sunday peanut spread. ~ Erik Wesner, Amish America My husband and I took a Sunday drive this afternoon, to southern Vermont and the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts and now…
Read MoreSquaw Winter
My plan for my next post was to share photos from a quick afternoon bike trip David and I made around the mountain just two afternoons ago, but that now seems so very long ago. We were having perfect autumn weather that afternoon. Now we are having what my mother would deem “Squaw Winter.” She claimed…
Read MoreIn Remembrance of Dad
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens: A time to be born, and a time to die . . . ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1–2 Autumn is my favorite time of the year and always has been. I love the crisp autumn air, the bright colors of the…
Read MoreA Sunday Excursion
Last night David and I decided we were going to take a much-needed break from the upheaval in our home. We couldn’t decide between taking our bikes to the bike path on Cape Cod or going to Rhinebeck, New York for a book event. Rosanne Cash was going to be interviewed by Joe Donahue, from…
Read MoreDeep Energy Retrofit
My life has been quite full lately. It never helps to have the house in disarray, which is what we have right now. We are in the middle of doing a "deep energy retrofit" on our house which means we are trying to make it energy efficient. David has finished a certificate program in which…
Read MoreAmish Singing, Revisited
On September 12, I wrote a post about Amish church singing. My friend, Katie, asked if I would share the songs I have, and I couldn’t figure out how to do that via my blog. Today I realized I have another venue… my website. I was able to post all three songs that I wanted…
Read MoreMy Memoir: Why I Left the Amish
I am so very excited to announce the publication of my memoir, Why I Left the Amish. Michigan State University Press has set the publication date of January 11, 2011. I am about to graduate from being a writer to becoming an author! Those of you who have known me for many years know how…
Read MoreTop 10 Favorite Novels
I just discovered blogfests this week, and here I am taking part in a second one. Madeleine Maddock at Scribble and Edit is doing a blogfest called “Share Your Ten Best Novels.” Madeleine, this is a great idea! Thank you. I will give favorites roughly in the order that I discovered them and give a…
Read MoreWriting Compelling Characters
Tonight I am taking part in the Great Blogging Experiment about writing compelling characters. At first I wondered what I could possibly add to the discussion — we all know that compelling characters need to be believable and come alive, and have a host of other attributes. But what makes a character believable or come…
Read MoreA Difficult, Yet Inspiring Memoir
The first time Daddy found out about me, it was from behind glass during a routine visit to prison, when Ma lifted her shirt, teary-eyed, exposing her pregnant belly for emphasis. ~ Liz Murray So begins Liz Murray's book, Breaking Night: A Memoir about Forgiveness, Survival, and my Journey from Homeless to Harvard. The first sentence…
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