We are having springlike days with the temperature going above the 50-degree mark. The warmth along with the sunshine sure gives a person spring fever.
We have been taking advantage of the nice days. On Saturday, we washed the curtains and daughter Elizabeth, 15, cleaned all the windows. The laundry smelled so fresh from being dried outside. The windows and curtains sure looked nice and clean after being washed and hung up again.
Meanwhile, my husband Joe and the boys also took advantage of the warm weather and cleaned out our pole barn. It seems over the winter months everything accumulates in there.
This week also leaves the children with only one more trimester for this school term. It is just hard to think how fast the time goes. It is also time to start thinking about getting my list ready for garden seeds. A family in our church opened up a lawn and garden center on Saturday a few miles from here. It will be nice to have somewhere close to go to buy seeds.
We are using up the last of our potatoes that we grew last summer. It looks like I will need to start buying them now until the next harvest. We do, however, have so many yellow cooking onions still left from last year's garden. I need to ask our friends and neighbors to see if anyone can use some.
I am eager to have fresh garden goodies again. I know there is a lot of work in gardening, but I enjoy taking care of homegrown vegetables if I have the health to do so. Gardening is also a nice way for the family to work together. Many hands make for lighter work.
The children have left for school, and it is quiet after a full weekend. Kevin, 5, is still in bed sleeping. He is worn out from a long day of playing with his cousin Steven.
Yesterday Jacob and Emma invited us over for Sunday dinner. They served a delicious meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, cheese, cake and ice cream. I took along homemade apple and cherry pies to add to the menu. Some of the children took the wagon with Stormy, our pony, pulling them while the rest of us took the horse and buggy. They enjoyed driving to Emma and Jacob's with the pony through the springlike weather.
Kevin always looks forward to playing with Steven. I think he likes the idea that Steven is a few years younger than him since he is the youngest in our family.
Emma and Jacob's youngest, baby Marilyn, doesn't get a break when we come. She will be 6 months old next week. She is such a smiling happy baby. These sweet, innocent children are such a blessing from God.
Joseph, 7, will not have the best spring break this year. We have surgery scheduled to have his tonsils removed at the end of this month. We hope this will be a success as he keeps getting repeated strep infections. Verena and Benjamin had theirs removed, and it really has helped them. The same doctor that did their surgery will do Joseph's. I think he does a very good job.
I will share the recipe for the apple pie we had yesterday.
Mother's Plain Apple Pie
6 medium apples, sliced and peeled
2 T. flour
1 c. sugar
2 T. cinnamon
2 T. water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour, sugar and cinnamon together. Mix in the sliced apples. Put in a 9-inch pie shell and drizzle the water over everything. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until apples are soft.
Lovina Eicher is Old Order Amish. She hand-writes this column from her home in southern Michigan. Anyone with cultural or cooking questions can send them to: Lovina Eicher, The Amish Cook, P.O. Box 2144, Middletown, OH 45042. Read all of her columns online at www.record-eagle.com/amishcook.
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