Shopping at Three Amish Stores (Part 3)

After our house tour, we went into town and enjoyed some shopping.

First Stop:  Hershberger's Farm and Bakery Ltd.  Wow, lots of animals, even a goat on the roof which I spotted as soon as we entered the parking lot.  They had a petting farm area with more farm animals out back and a bakery and store with all kinds of things but I didn't buy anything here.

big horse you could pay to ride

Biggest horse in Holmes County

Goats to pet

pony rides

Zork--a mix between a horse and a zebra

They had lots of animals which is where I spent most of my time visiting at this stop. They even had a zork which I've never seen or even knew existed. It's a mix between a horse and a zebra. It looks like a horse with stripes! Have you ever seen one? They also had pigs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, goats and lots of animals behind the petting farm. Off the store was an area for adoptable puppies. They had hand sanitizer available for those who wanted to pet the doggies, of course I did. The cute fluffy St. Bernard sneaked out the door, but was quickly retrieved.

St. Bernard--So Cute!

Puppies for Adoption

Second Stop:  Heini's Cheese Chalet

cheese fudge

This store was so charming and fun! The cheese section was very big. They give you toothpicks and have samples in a tub nearby some of the cheeses.  I sampled quite a bit of the cheese way at the end of the row and thought it tasted like fudge!  Then I looked at the label and saw it WAS cheese fudge. I was very tempted to buy some, but we already had lots of bakery at home so I didn't get any. They had chocolate mint, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate with nuts, and coconut. I loved them all! In addition to the cheeses, they also had a candy area where there was some more fudge and an area of small gifts. This is where I made my first purchase, a nice souvenir that I thought was so cute:

My souvenir of my trip to Amish Country

The cat looks like my Manny boy and I laughed when I saw this--the cat seeing a tiger in the mirror!  I hung it up in my kitchen as soon as I got home.  (Manny loves it!)

At this stop we discovered our bus had an oil leak but fortunately, God provided someone who had the small part that was needed to fix it and got it fixed for us.  Most of us weren't even aware there was a problem until after we loaded up to go to our next stop and the Pastor told us what happened. 



Stop 3:  Ashery Country Store

That yellow is my lemon ice cream cone I bought here--delicious!

It was a great day but long.  We left at 8:45 a.m. and got back at 6 p.m.  I sure hope I get to go again some time! 

I hope you will go look at Parts 1 and 2 of this series about my trip too if you haven't seen them yet!


(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

My Visit At An Amish Home (Part 2)

The Garage Where We Ate--Dining Hall

When we arrived at the Amish home, the first thing we did was get in line for the restroom. We had a group of 42 seniors and so we ate in the garage which was one big huge room (bigger than the floor plan of our whole house).  I wondered how many potty breaks we would have and as it turned out, we had an opportunity to use a restroom at every stop we made.  I was so glad to hear that this particular family didn't mind having their picture taken and we were encouraged to take pictures.  There are different "levels" 1-10 of Amish, the lower the level, the more strict and simple.

Kitchen in Garage--Our Amish Couple Tour Guide seated on left

My plate was full--Delicious!

The garage dining hall had a good-sized bathroom in the one corner and a whole long counter with a stove, refrigerator, sink and an answering machine. This house was a stop on Amish Tours and they regularly had groups in as their business. When we were there, the son and husband were working so we didn't get to meet them. However, the mother and the three daughters served us a very good meal and answered our questions.  I was surprised it wasn't set up as a buffet; instead, they served drinks individually and passed the food all the way down both sides of the two long tables. We had home-made bread, home-made peanut butter, salad, mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken, beef and noodles. For dessert, they had three pies: strawberry, chocolate and rhubarb. They made it easy on us and didn't make us choose--they let us have a slice of each! Everyone had a chance for seconds on everything too! No one left hungry and when we passed a Burger King, no one wanted to stop there.

Amish House--Huge Rooms

After we ate, we were permitted to walk through the house.  I was surprised at how big the rooms were and the modern looking kitchen they had.  I was also surprised that the kids rooms had clothes all over the floor and most of the beds were not made.  I'm not sure why they didn't have things put away better since they knew we were coming, but maybe they wanted to show us that the Amish children are not so much different than the non-Amish.  I would not want to be Amish simply because the women and girls are expected to wear dresses all the time.  Even if they go horseback riding, they still wear a dress over pants.    This particular family had a generator for electricity.

The Youngest Girl and Her Pony

The family we visited had two dogs (that I saw) and horses.  The youngest girl even had a pony and she was giving buggy rides.  Riding with her was a lot of fun because she did not want to go slow and got that pony moving.  We zipped around that farm and turned so fast I thought it was going to flip over, but it didn't.  That 10-yr.-old girl knew exactly what she was doing and made sure everyone got a ride who wanted one.  Too bad I don't have a picture of me riding, but I felt dumb asking someone to take my picture so just took a picture of someone else in the group getting a ride with her.

One of the Horses That I Pet

This was so much fun and so worth the $25 it cost me to go.  From the house, we stopped at three Amish businesses and yes, I did buy something.  To be continued tomorrow!

Their dog biting the Horse's leg

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

My Trip To Amish Country--Millersburg, Ohio (Part 1)

Cows and sheep

Last Tuesday I went with our senior group from church to visit Amish country for the first time and enjoyed every minute of it!  It was a two-hour bus ride there so I spent most of that time reading Never Fall Down.  Here are some pictures that I took from the bus using the sports setting to help cut down on the blur:

Horses

Lots of fields

 We saw lots of horses and some cows along the way in wide open fields where all you could see for miles was fields. I wondered how they possibly could take care of such a large area and so many animals! It was fun seeing a whole different culture just two hours away.

Horse pulling a buggy

Thanks for driving, Pat!

Along the way we saw several horse-drawn buggies but it was hard to get a good picture because we were moving pretty fast and by the time I saw the buggies, and got my camera ready, they were out of view.  At one point though, there was one on the road just ahead of us and we passed it up.  I was surprised the big bus didn't scare the horse.  I'm also surprised there aren't more buggy accidents since they plod along on main roads.

Even windmills

We also saw some windmills on the way which surprised me. I wasn't expecting to see those! We stopped at a cheese shop to pick up an Amish couple, Jonas and Edna, who shared some things about the community and its history with us and also came along with us to the home of an Amish family where we ate lunch and several stores that we visited during our trip. More about our visit at the Amish home tomorrow.

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

 Share this:

Freedom Isn't Free--Thank You!

source:  Freedom Isn't Free (Mike Golch)

I always had a fascination with the military although I never had an immediate family member in it until my foster brother joined and was in the Black Knights.  I am sorry to say I did not keep in touch with him during that time,  I had a cousin in the navy but we were not a close family and I didn't really know him.  I did used to like playing army though and loved watching McHale's Navy, Gomer Pyle, Combat, and now enjoy Army Wives.  I had a couple helmets, insignias and memorized the army ranks.  I even still have my army men, which I named and some of my trucks!  I put names on the bottom of them with masking tape.

Recently we have read some books that have given me a real feel of what war is really like.  These include both fiction and non-fiction.  Here is a list of our favorites that we recommend to you:

Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell and John Bruning (Afghanistan--contemporary non-fiction)

Homefront by Kristin Hannah (fiction)

One September Morning by Rosalind Noonan (fiction about Army widow)

Hope Unseen by Capt. Scott Smiley and Doug Crandall (Non-fiction)

One Dog at a Time--Saving The Strays of Afghanistan by Pen Farthing (non-fiction)

Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer (Afghanistan--Pat Tillman, non-fiction)

Hannah's Hope by Karen Kingsbury (fiction)

Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton (Afghanistan contemporary non-fiction)

Nubs, The True Story Of A Mutt, A Marine & A Miracle by Brian Dennis, Mary Nethery, Kirby Larson (Afghanistan, children's picture book, non-fiction)

Fading Echoes by Mike Sielski

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

Friday Fragments--Happy Memorial Weekend!

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week but this week, I didn't really learn much so am going to just list some things on my mind this week.

1. Cake Pops

   Got my chocolate and strawberry cake pops from Mrs. 4444 as a thank you for sponsoring her difference makers group in the race for the cure for cancer. They are very good and I've been taking two for lunch each day. Thank you, Mrs. 4444!

2. Day Trip to Amish Country

   

   Hershberger's Farm & Bakery Ltd. (goat on roof)

   
   I made my first trip ever to Amish country (Millersberg) with our senior group from church. It was a wonderful trip and I got to ride in a buggy with an Amish girl who was quite a driver. Hope to post more about this next week. One of the stores we stopped at had a petting farm that let the goats walk on the roof because they like heights!

3. Birthday Bunny

   Have you heard of the "Birthday Bunny"? I was called this by a friend of mine who I left a card with candy in a bag on her door for her birthday. I like that title.

4. Sports Camp

   I am very excited about Sports Camp at Parma Heights Baptist Church coming up next month. Both Gerard and I are taking a vacation week to volunteer to coach basketball. We had a couple meetings already and are looking over the materials. Each day we have a 20-min. devotional time with our small group to share the gospel with kids. We anticipate close to 1,000 kids this summer!

5. Good Reads About War

   
   
   I read two powerful, moving books about war this past week that I highly recommend: Never Fall Down about a government takeover and genocide in Cambodia from a boy's perspective and Outlaw Platoon about the Lieutenant Sean Parnell and his platoon fighting in Afghanistan. What better time to read these than around Memorial Day? Our review of Outlaw Platoon will be posted on our book blog Monday in honor of Memorial Day. Hope you all enjoy your Memorial Weekend and take time to pray for and honor our soldiers! 

Remember to Fly Your Flag

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

Wordless Wednesday

Bring it on, Manny--I'm ready!

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

Me At a Tea Party?

Yes, believe it or not, I went to my first tea party on Friday with my "Circle of Friends" group from church at our leader's home and had a fun time. We wore our big silly hats. I bought this hat a long time ago with a gift card I received from one of my bosses. I just thought it would be fun to have a big fancy hat and I finally had a chance to wear it.



The table settings was just beautiful! She had two tables set with a teapot at each place. My favorite one was the one with the birds on it (the one in the picture at the top right corner of the table above). Although I am not a tea drinker, I had iced peach tea which was good. We also had cute fruit cups made from oranges, chicken salad sandwiches, a cabbage-orange-pineapple concoction that was so good I had a second helping, pickles and cheesecake.

The bee killer getting some cheesecake, his reward

During our meal an uninvited guest crashed our little party and went buzzing around the light fixture! We screamed at the bee and it went into the kitchen. Our group leader's husband came to the rescue from the basement when he heard us scream and managed to kill the bee in the kitchen. I hate bees so was very thankful he was able to kill it.

The cats were outside for most of the time, but I spoke on their behalf and they were allowed in for a little time at the end of the evening. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get a picture of them to include here but they are both beautiful, plump cats--Sasha and Pumpkin.

The hostess is with the white hat in the middle

Here's a picture of some of the women wearing their fancy hats at the other table. We had a wonderful time!  Did you ever go to a tea party?

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

5 Things We Learned This Week 21 of 2012 (TV, pets, trees, Casino, hats)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. Parenthood

   Really glad to see Parenthood got renewed! We both like this show--it's both funny, dramatic and heartwarming!

2. 

   I'm so happy I won!

   Winner

   
   I am very pleased to announce that yesterday I was informed that Spunky Doodle won Lisa Unger's Pet Contest and will be in one of her upcoming books! Thanks to all who voted for her!

3. Fruit Salad Tree

   When I read Need You Now by Beth Wiseman, I learned that there is a tree that has several different fruit on it called a fruit salad tree. This is a Christian Fiction novel that doesn't have everything hunky dory, but shows how even Christians have struggles. Click on the link to see my review.

4. Cleveland Casino

   The Cleveland Casino opened this week, located right on the square downtown, within a 15 min. walk from where I work. There were long lines to get in, but that is one place I do not think I will be going. I don't have money to throw away. I only "gamble" with play money--that's fun.

5. Straw Hat Day

   May 15 was National Straw Hat Day and I missed it! I'll be ready for it next year with my Safari jungle hat.

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

My Dream Job

Our first cat, Mr. Moe--we miss him!

My dream job would involve animals, specifically cats.  Over at JUST CATS Deb has established a full-time in-home cat sitting business and has been doing it for 18 years.  She just takes care of the cats in their own homes when their owns travel.  I think this would be such a fun job!  This would not even seem like work to me.   I would love helping people be able to leave their pets at home where they are most comfortable while their owners travel.

There is actually a professional organization called Pet Sitters International!  On their website it gives tips on how to get started and even provides certification!  

I'm sure I would take a huge pay cut and lose my medical insurance so I won't be doing this anytime soon, but it's certainly something to keep in mind for a little extra income when I retire and have free time all day.  I know I would like meeting all different cats!  

What would be your dream job?

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

 Share this:

Happy Gotcha Day to Manny Boy

This is my Gotcha Day present?

Manny is now 7 years old and considered a "Mature Adult" cat.  We got him when he was 3 years old and am so glad we did.  He is Mr. Nice Nice and very affectionate, although he still does not want to be picked up.

I am switching to the Science Diet Active Longevity food for cats 7+ years because we want our cats to be healthy and live long lives.  This food is "precisely balanced nutrition to improve kidney health and support vital organs."  It also says it is easy to digest so I am changing Spunky Doodle over to it too from the one for sensitive stomach.  Spunky is 8 now.

Both our cats seem to like it.  I just started mixing it with some of their other Purina food and they ate it all up with no problem.  I promise Manny, we'll have some fun play time when I get home from work and some TV time too when I watch the Survivor reunion that I taped (by the way, I am so happy for Kim, the winner of Survivor this year, she dominated and still was likeable)!   

Hurry home!

Have a nice nappy day, Manny, and you'll get some treats later too . . . I promise!

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

See What Abby Got Me For Mother's Day

Mother's Day Gifts From Abby

My dog got me mother's day gifts! I wasn't expecting anything so was surprised. She is a very good shopper, with help from her daddy, of course! She got me a cute card with a dog on the front whose head moves while singing "Anything You Want." She also got me a new cap that says "DOG MOM" on it and a t-shirt that says "MOM OF A RESCUE DOG." Both items were ordered from bad dog frida, LLC. Thank you, Abby! You are a wonderful dog and we love you very much!

She felt a little bit sad when she'd see me wearing my CAT MOM shirt so she wanted to get me a DOG MOM shirt. I also had extra cat time with my cats so a very nice mother's day. How about you? Did you get any mother's day gifts from your pets?

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

That's What Moms Do

Happy Mother's Day everyone. I am a pet mom and when I saw this cute video, I just had to borrow it for my mother's day post this year. Hope you enjoy it too!

Karen and Spunky Doodle

Karen and Moe--our first cat.

Karen and Manny

Karen and Abby Dabby Doo

One more thing the video left out is making the doctor appointments and paying whatever it costs to keep our "kids" healthy.

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

 Share this:

4 Things We Learned This Week 20 of 2012 (trees, Words, Safety, Post-Its)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. Trees

   Big trees start out as little sticks. I learned this when I received TEN trees in the mail in one package from arborday.com.

2. Srabble

   When playing Scrabble on pogo.com this week, I learned that not all "q" words need a "u" after the "q"--"qat" is a word according to pogo. It is a plant, also spelled "khat." A two letter word that is good to know when stuck with the "z" at the end, is "za"--short for pizza.

3. Smart Phones

   Better turn off that camera setting for location or you can be sharing way too much information when you post it online. I found this video at Jodi's Journey which shows how you can be posting maps to you whereabouts without even knowing it!
   

4. Post-Its

   Post-Its are the convenient little papers that have just a little glue on a small part so that they stick to things without causing damage and can easily be removed just by lifting it off. Offices use these all the time but when you work in a warehouse like my husband does, he never knew about these handy things until this week! He really likes them--a great discovery!

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

Great News--Our Friend, Sadie, Is OK

Don't worry, Sadie, the furs will grow back!

We were so happy to hear that our friend, Sadie, over at Beaded Tail is home again after her surgery and that the tumor that was removed was not cancerous!  YAY, YAY, YAY!  Please stop by and welcome her home!  I look kind of like her, except she is about 30 pounds bigger! Sadie had to have furs removed like I did for the surgery but don't worry, they grow back in a couple months or so. Sadie lives in Oregon and often goes to the beach. Praise God, he cares about us doggies too!  Woof!  Woof!

Some people may think it is silly to pray for our pets, but I Peter 5:6-7 says:

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; Casting ALL your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Pet owners definitely care about their pets so according to this verse, it is not only okay to pray for pets, but God wants us to if they are a concern of ours!  I am so thankful my God loves and cares for me so much and is interested in my life and likes hearing me come to Him with my concerns.  He is a loving Father!

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

My First Day As An Official Greeter

Sunday was my first day as an official greeter at Parma Heights Baptist Church. I am both excited and honored to greet people at the door as they come to church. I think it's nice to be greeted when I go somewhere and I remember a couple very faithful greeters from my old church. There is quite a crew of greeters at my church because there are six doors and three services on a Sunday morning. We have enough to rotate every three months. All I have to do is be at the door 15-20 minutes before the start of the service. I was assigned two services because one of the greeters couldn't make it. It was fun seeing families arrive and watching kids come with big smiles and anxious to come in.

I hope I will make a good first impression and make everyone feel welcome as they arrive. Do you have greeters at your church?

Please go vote for Spunky if you are on Facebook. This is the last day for voting!

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this:

What To Do With All These Trees?

When I made a donation to the Arbor Day Foundation, there was am offer for ten free trees and two lilac bushes.  We have a small yard but since I like lilacs, I thought it might be nice to plant a couple somewhere in our yard so checked the box.  A few days later, I got a confirmation that my trees and lilac bushes would be coming soon.  I'm picturing ten small short trees waiting on our front porch for me to get home and thinking there is no where for me to plant ten trees in our yard!

I immediately sent back a note telling them to keep the trees and just send the lilac bushes.  Well, maybe they didn't read it or did not comprehend it because I did receive ten trees and two lilac bushes in the mail.  They were just sticks and in a long plastic container.  I was very surprised but relieved that they were not the 4-6 foot small trees I had imagined.

The "envelope" containing my 10 trees and 2 lilac bushes

RUSH--LIVE PLANTS, PLANT IMMEDIATELY

They laid on my dresser for about a week while I tried to think of someone who might want them and be able to plant them.  Right after I posted on Facebook about them asking if anyone wanted them, I thought of Pam who loves trees and gardening and who also has a very big front and back yard with woods on her property as well (yes, I actually do have some face-to-face friends).  I called her and she was happy to take them.  I know they will have a good home there, if I didn't kill them off first by waiting a week.  They weren't exactly "planted immediately.".       

Please go vote for Spunky if you are on Facebook.

(50 cents per legitimate comment during May goes to Joni and Friends for family retreat scholarships for those having special needs children.)

Share this: