Tag Archives: Amish cooking

Surprise puppies pop up for Elizabeth’s family

Thanksgiving Day is only two weeks away*. Unbelievable! Time goes so fast. And today baby Abigail is two months old. I went to the doctor to have the rest of my staples removed. I still have the blood clot in my leg so I need to be careful with that. I’m trying to take one day … Continue Reading ››

Lovina’s oldest daughter takes up the pen this week

Greetings from the Bontragers! I’m Lovina’s oldest daughter, Elizabeth, and I’m taking over for Mom this week. I’m not an excellent writer like Mom is, but I’ll give it a try anyway. Mom underwent some surgery this week. Depending on how the surgery turns out, she may need to stay a night or two. We hope … Continue Reading ››

Definition of a ‘handful’? Loading baby and two dogs into a buggy

It is Thursday already, and this column should have been written yesterday! The sun is shining brightly, with the thermometer showing 62 degrees this morning. Son Benjamin is home, as he doesn’t have work today. I hope he can clean up the remainder of the garden. We still have hot peppers, green peppers and cabbage in … Continue Reading ››

How Lovina’s new mattress made the children late to school

Mornings are very cool lately here in southern Michigan. Another sure sign that autumn is here. Our house seems extra empty this week. Daughter Verena, 18, is helping daughter Elizabeth with house work and the baby this week. Son Benjamin, 17, left Sunday afternoon with some friends for Pennsylvania. We miss them and look forward to … Continue Reading ››

Yes, Amish men help with laundry, and other post-baby tales!

Today (Sept. 22) autumn officially begins! My garden is definitely showing all signs of it. We have been enjoying cabbage out of the garden. Son Joseph brought a head of cabbage in one night and out of curiosity I weighed it. It looked so big—and it was! It weighed ten pounds after the outer leaves … Continue Reading ››

September means back to school, grilled stuffed peppers, and another wedding

School doors opened yesterday, September 6, throughout the county. It seems quiet around here with Joseph, 14, Lovina, 12, and Kevin, 11, all back to school. The bus is here around 7:00 a.m. We are so glad the pickup time is later this term. Joseph milks our cow Bessie in the morning, and then showers … Continue Reading ››

Neighborliness and community: paying back past kindnesses

FrontPorch
Lovina enjoys writing from her front porch.
As I write this, we mark the last day of August. I’m just amazed at how time seems to fly by faster each year. Do we take enough time in our busy lives for God? Our children … Continue Reading ››

Horse-and-buggy trip to Indiana caps the end of summer

We had a nice rain tonight. Our rain gauge shows that we had more than a half inch. Our garden still has tomatoes, cabbage, green peppers and hot peppers left in it. Yesterday we canned almost eighty pints of pizza sauce. We gave twenty pints to Mose and Susan. We also canned hot peppers. Susan … Continue Reading ››