Snow, Beautiful Snow

Because of the snow we got last night the 4 turkeys that were going to be butchered were spared their life for another week. Instead we cleaned up the pine branches and when they were done I cleaned the nest boxes and added some fresh straw for the turkeys and chickens. When I was doing that Ron put the snow blade on the tractor so I could plow the drive. While I was doing the drive Ron fixed the front gutter of the shed. We have to get some parts for the back gutter so that one will have to wait until later. We worked outside for about 3 1/2 hours and I enjoyed it so much. I am an outside person and get out as much as I can.

The white pine tree lost several branches, knocked down the gutter on the front of the shed and broken it on the back.

More branches from the white pine.

Still more branches.

Branches were on the roof of the shed.

Side yard, doesn't it look so pretty.

Back field and woods.

The driveway after I spent about an hour or more with the plow clearing it. Beautiful job.

Where Did It Go

I've looked everywhere but I can't find it.  I am not a person who can sit still and have nothing to do, I have to be busy ALL the time or I am bored.  Ask my husband and he will tell you that I am not a happy person when I get bored.
Well today I can't find my get and and go.  I have no energy, have a headache, and ambition is a foreign word.  Is it the weather or the mile long list of things that need done?  I'm not sure but I hate when I get like this.  I have to be productive, get something done, accomplish a task.  Right now the only thing I am doing is sitting here thinking of all the things that I should be doing and wishing someone would vacuum the house, it needs it so badly. 
I have been up since 6 and have only answered some emails, started a load of wash, measured some Amish items getting them ready for pictures so I can post them and gathered eggs.  For 4 1/2 hours that is nothing. 
If you find my get up and go please send it back to me as I need it ever so badly.  Thanks for your help.

I'm Still Here

I'm still here, I've just been very busy.  Ron and I turned the back 2/3 of our garage into a storeroom for all my stuff I sell on Etsy, eBay and my new store.  We did a beautiful job and it looks so nice.  I have an on the wall vent-less gas heater on the wall (it has always been there) and run the dehumidifier for 3 hours each day to make sure it says nice and dry.  We worked on the garage for almost 2 weeks whenever we could squeeze in some time.   
Then I spent several days developing a new store and some days I was ready to throw in the towel.  I had been thinking about this for a while now and watched several YouTube videos and followed one by Tyler Moore.  He is very good and has over 100 videos and would recommend him.  It was a little harder than I thought it would be but it is up and running and have had 3 orders so far.  In my new store I only sell Amish and Mennonite items and have 100+ items so far and have at least 100 more items that need added as soon as I sell some more items.  My racks only hold so many items and I have four 7' racks jammed with items that are listed. 

Here is my new stores web site:

http://thethriftyamishandmennonitecloset.com/

Also I have an Facebook page for me and my store and would love if you would follow and like it:

https://www.facebook.com/AmishClothes

Thanks so much for those that keep reading my blogs and hope to write more that I have in the past year.  Being retired is a busy life for me but I love every minute of it.

Turkey Processing Day

Today was turkey processing for 2 lucky birds.  We processed 1 tom and 1 hen, the tom will be for Thanksgiving and the hen is going in the freezer.  It was 23 degrees out and a horrible wind so it was darn right cold.  We ended up doing the gutting inside because we were frozen.  Derek and Brandon came over to watch and stayed outside until we were almost done with the first turkey and then went in because they were cold.

Learned 2 things today:
1. We have to get the plucker made and soon before we do the next group of 6 turkeys in a couple months.
2. Looks can be deceiving, the turkeys dressed out a lot smaller than I thought they would.  Of course they are not commercial breeds and had plain old turkey food WITHOUT growth hormones.  The tom dressed out 14.8 lbs. and the hen 8.1 lbs.  The hen will be the perfect size for the 3 of us with leftovers.

The Truck After Our Amish Weekend



All the totes and garbage bags are full of Amish clothes, 6 large tubs in the bed of the truck and 2 small totes inside the truck.  We had 8 garbage bags and 2 paper sacks full of clothes.  All the garbage bags of stuff and paper sacks have been hung up and only about 1/3 of that stuff has been posted to sell.  The totes have not been touched yet and probably won't get touched for a month or so.  I should have enough stuff to sell for several months.

Back of truck before we added stuff from the cab.

Back seat of the truck before we moved stuff to the bed of the truck.

After moving stuff.

Truck ready for the trip home.

Pictures of Our Amish Trip to Northern Indiana

Pa-Ma Treasure Trove, the second hand store we shopped at and the parents of the couple we ate with.  The store is on the right and side and their house is on the left side.

Inside the store.

Inside the store.



Buffalo at an Amish buffalo farm.



Deer stand on an Amish farm.



Amish farmer harvesting his corn.



Some buggies at one of the stores.

Trying to hang laundry on a windy day.



Corn cut and stacked to dry.



One row corn picker.



Some odd looking ducks we saw.



More ducks.

Facts not Fiction I Learned While Visiting with the Amish

Here are a few facts we learned while visiting and eating with the Amish, remember each Amish area is different and this is how it is in Northern Indiana.

Shunning: if a child is not baptized into the Amish church and leaves the Amish they are not shunned but if they were baptized and leave they are shunned until they join any church and bring a letter from the pastor that they are active in the church then they are not shunned any longer.  They just want them to still seek the Lords guidance even if it is not in an Amish church.
If shunned they can still see their family but if they sat down to a meal they would be the last one to take food from the serving bowls and after that no Amish would be able to take food from that bowl.

English attending Amish churches:  If I wanted to attended an Amish church service I could do that.  They would have someone sit with me and write notes to help me understand what they were talking about.  Most of the service is in German with some English.  Children learn German and then when they go to school they learn English.  So to introduce them to some English the service has some English in it so they can get used to it.

Getting married:  The bride chooses the color of her dress and the color of the mothers dresses.  Jane's dress was a dark blue with the mothers dresses a lighter shade of blue.  The servers colors were also chosen by the bride.  There are 3 to 4 meals served on the wedding day.  The noon meal is for the family and those that were the witnesses for the bride and groom.  A meal at 5 pm is for the cooks, servers, friends, family who were unable to attend the service and any English friends.  Then at 7 pm another meal is served for the brides and grooms young friends and there is a lot of singing that goes on at this point.  Then if there are some that were not able to attend any of the other 3 meals a meal is served about 9 pm.  Darrell and Jane had 3 meals with a little over 1000 people who were served.  Between the noon meal and the 5 pm meal they open gifts and visit with family.  No rings are exchanged, for the man his symbol of marriage is that he grows a beard and for the lady she must now wear an apron with her dress every day.  The apron can be the same color of the dress or it can be white.

Funerals:  This is the only time where everyone must wear black clothing.  The widow usually wears black for an entire year but the amount of time is not dictated but suggested.

Divorce:  They do not believe in divorce but if it happens the person who initiates the divorce must leave the Amish church and the other person may not remarry unless the one who initiated the divorce dies.  In the Amish church unless death occurs you are always married to that person so that is why you cannot remarry.

There were other things talked about but these are some that stand out with me.