Letters From Home – August 14, 2017

Good Morning,

This is Monday morning 11:00 am at the Ashery. It is partly cloudy with scattered patches of hazy blue sky, making the sunshine hazy and the air feel warm and humid. It’s a beautiful summer day in Ohio.

As I was ready to go out the front door a few ladies were coming in, and as I greeted them with a “Good Morning,” one of them exclaimed joyfully, “Good Morning, look who’s here!” Then I saw the last lady in the group was a friend I had known for years and had moved to CO and not been back for 4 years. What a nice surprise!

Now that the oats have been threshed the farmers are having a little bit of a lull before they need to start working in the cornfield. There will likely be hay to be made yet.

In the gardens, sweet corn and tomatoes are being harvested, along with zucchini, etc. I guess we could call it our mid-summer harvest.

At the Mt. Hope Auction grounds the Machinery Sale will be held on Saturday, August 27th; on September 1-2 the Ohio Haiti Benefit and on September 15, 16, & 17 the mid-Ohio Alternative animal and bird sale. On September 16, the Holmes County Home Benefit Auction will be held near Holmesville.

A couple from my church had been to Bolivia, South America last winter to teach school at a newly established Amish community then he spoke about their experiences during that time, at our services yesterday (Sunday). It was very interesting. Afterward we had a carry-in fellowship meal and served approximately 120 people.

To anyone that still have a lot of cucumbers to pickle here is an old recipe that my mother used to can pickles that seemed to be everyone’s favorite.

Hamburger Pickle Slices

1 gallon thinly sliced cucumbers & 1 cup salt, cover with hot water with green food coloring added (optional) and let stand for 4 days. Drain and wash/rinse, cover with water to which 1 Tablespoon alum has been added for each gallon of water. Boil 10 minutes, then drain. In a small cloth bag, tie: 1 Tablespoon each of whole cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and celery seed, Put in your kettle with pickles and add 1 pint water and 1 pint vinegar and 5 cups sugar. Boil until transparent, put into jars and seal.