First of all, a thank you to all of you readers who attended my book signing at the Plain and Simple Craft in Shipshewana, Indiana. It was a pleasure meeting all of you!
Even a reader from California attended. She was out visiting her sister. It’s always an encouragement to meet and talk to readers and hear all the kind words. Sometimes I feel like time is so limited with being a mother and also a grandmother to 13 precious grandchildren. It makes my time worth it all when I hear the encouragement. To me, this is the only life I have known. It saddens me to hear of others who have never experienced the family life I do. It does make me appreciate it much more.
I was very surprised to have Uncle Melvin (my dad’s brother) and Aunt Kathryn come to visit for a while at the signing. It is always a good feeling to visit with your deceased parents’ siblings. So many fond memories, and once they are gone, the memories are all you have, and you treasure them even more.
Wednesday, I had a short but sweet visit from my oldest sibling, Leah, age 65, and her son Paul Jr. They also brought sister Verena along. With everyone’s Christmas card to family and neighbors, I sent along a slip of paper with a week out of the year to have them do something special for sister Verena, such as sending a letter, a phone call, a visit or whatever they wanted to do in the week they were sent.
Verena has many lonely days living alone, and her health does not permit her to work. I thought this would be a way of cheering her up. This was Leah’s week, so she hired a driver and drove the two hours to Michigan. After leaving here, she picked up sister Emma and took her and Verena out to eat in town. Verena then stayed at Emma’s house for a few days. She sometimes spends a few days at Emma’s or here to help pass the time.
Plans are to move sister Susan’s belongings over here to our pole barn on Friday evening. Sister Emma’s family and our family plan to help. Susan had accumulated lots of things in her 44 years. Susan has been gone for over four years now, and Verena wanted this done sooner, but is just not able to. It’s never easy parting with a dear one’s personal property. Rest in peace, dear sister.
On Wednesday evening, our church is having a farewell supper in honor of our deacon, Sylvan, and Martha and their family. They are packing up and moving to Montana to make it their new home. May God bless them in this new adventure. We moved two hours from our home in Michigan in 2004. I can’t imagine moving that far, but I did find out that home is where the heart is.
Daughter Elizabeth and Tim have finally been able to move out of their house and into their garage. They made living quarters in their garage, making three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen area and a living room. This will be their temporary home while they tear down their toxic, mold-infested home and build a new one. Their home isn’t that old, but experts say it was already starting to show mold between the walls when Tim bought it before their marriage. This was a great disappointment to them and also expensive, as they were advised to dispose of a lot of their belongings that couldn’t be treated for mold. They have had a lot of sickness due to living in the house. We hope life will start looking brighter for them and good health returns. Elizabeth said it’s not easy going from a three-story house to a small garage and finding room for everything with a family.
The dandelion greens are up everywhere, and my husband Joe keeps reminding me that we haven’t had Dandelion Salad yet, and before we know it, the yellow flowers will be popping up, making the greens too bitter to use. We use the young greens for the salad. We love the dandelion salad on top of steamed potatoes, along with fresh bacon or ham.
God Bless!
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Dandelion Sour Cream Salad
- 4 cups packed young dandelion greens
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, diced
- Sour cream dressing:
- 1/2 cup whipped salad dressing or mayonnaise
- 2 cups of milk
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- Salt to taste
Place the eggs and dandelion greens in a large bowl and pour the dressing over them.
Dressing: Combine whipped salad dressing or mayonnaise with vinegar and mix well, then add milk and salt. I use a shaker bottle or a quart jar to make dressing. Any unused dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or more.
Variation: Substitute in-season fresh from the garden lettuce or endive or spinach for the dandelion greens.
• Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her three cookbooks, “The Cherished Table,” “The Essential Amish Cookbook” and “Amish Family Recipes,” are available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, P.O. Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email Questionsforlovina@gmail.com and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.