Monday, November 18, 2013

JEAN - FUNERAL AND EDWARD'S COOKING CAREER

The above quilt is the one that I bought for David for Father's Day at the Haiti Auction last summer and then locked the keys in Marilyn's car when I put the quilt in the trunk to hide it from David.  He saw the quilt and really liked it, so I got the boys to take him to another auction while I bid on the quilt.  When I won it, I had them box it so he wouldn't know what was in it.  We gave it to him the next morning, Father's Day, from the children and myself.  He was thrilled and couldn't figure how we got that buy him.

We got a call that David's grandfather's brother passed away, so we left for the funeral on Saturday.  David's grandfather had passed away several years ago, and grandfather's brother was the last in that generation of the family.

David's Father, Mother and us, got a driver and all went in one van.  We worried where we would stay when we got there.  With a family of seven, it is hard to find a house that could take us all.  But one of David's parents cousins had a home to take us.  David's Mother and Father stayed at another cousins.  It was very kind of them to take us in.  Of course, it is our way to take in any Old Order Mennonites that need a place to stay.   The cousins we stayed with had a big house and all their children were grown, married and moved to their own homes so we had lots of room.  Many were meeting Michael, Edward and Katie for the first time.  At first Edward was a little self conscious because he is black and he thought he was the only one there.  When we went to the viewing, funeral and dinner, he found that some Old Order Mennonite have black skin, like him.  He felt better.  We believe that all men and women are created equal - the color of their skin does not matter.

While we were there, we went to visit some of David's kin folk that we had not seen in a long time.  They were as happy to see us as we were to see them.  We all agreed that David Jr, Susan and Katie, got the most attention - especially Katie.  She can be a little out spoken sometimes.  All of the relatives we visited wanted to catch up on our lives and we theirs.

The viewing was on Sunday and the funeral on Monday.  After the funeral there was a dinner at one of David's cousins home.  We had to eat in shifts because there were so many people there.  The men set up the tables, and chairs - then took them down when we were done.  Us ladies were in the kitchen helping prepare the food and serving.  Some of the girls were taking care of all the little children so we could work.  When we left, the dinner was over, the kitchen spotless, the tables taken away and everything in the house back where it should be.

Before we left, we had been raking up the leaves in our yard, but didn't get a chance to finish before we left.  When we got home, all the leaves were raked up and the bags with the leaves gone.  Grandma Olive and Grandfather Albert, said that Bishop Joseph got a group together to rake them all up for us, which we thought was nice.  He also arranged to have someone take care of our cows, horses and other animals while we were gone.  We greatly appreciated it.

Grandmother Olive believes that Edward should be allowed to have cooking as his career both in Old Order Mennonite and should he decide to go into the outside world.  I think some of Grandmother Olive's being out spoken sometimes has rubbed off on Katie.

Bishop Joseph tried to explain, that cooking in our way is for women, not a career for men. Grandmother Olive came up with other Old Order Mennonite areas where men had cooking as a career. Bishop Joseph tried to explain that these men were handicapped in some way and were unable to do farm work or other jobs.  Men do help, in cooking, at auctions, big dinners, etc. but not as a career.  Grandmother Olive told him, he is letting a good chef go to waste.  She knows a few Old Order Mennonite women who can't cook worth a penny.

Bishop Joseph tried to explain that should he go into the outside world, restaurants open and many close in a short time. Also, many restaurants serve liquor, which is against our ways.  It is hard time in the outside world. Grandmother Olive tries to explain that Edward, studying for baptism, doesn't look like he is leaving for the outside world.  Edward does know how to do farming, he did that for years before he came to our home.   Poor Edward, feels like he is causing trouble, which he isn't.

We also ran into some problems with Michael's taking the automobile course.  You have to be age 16 and have a drivers license, which makes sense.  Michael felt real bad, but Kevin said he could start him out working on farm equipment.  Kevin also use to drive a car that his brother has now, so he can show Michael how to do some car work.  We also are having a hard time deciding if Michael should get a drivers license when he turns 16 or not.  It is against our religion, but Michael is from the outside world and wants it real bad.  Bishop Joseph said he would normally say no, but one of his son's is driving a car.  Neither Bishop Joseph or Martha signed for their son to get a license.  Martha's outsider parents signed for Kevin to get his license and signed for Erin.  Kevin turned his license in when he proposed to Bridget.

Be With God,
Jean

OH, JEAN WANTS TO KNOW IF ANYONE IS LOOKING FOR ANY RECIPE FOR CHRISTMAS. ALSO, DO YOU HAVE ANY RECIPES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?  SHE IS WORKING ON THE CHRISTMAS RECIPES FOR THE RECIPE A DAY.









14 comments:

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Morning Everyone,
Today starts Mennonite week this week. Jean's post is this morning. Hope you all enjoy what's on this week.

Are suppose to get strong winds at 50 or 60 miles an hour and rain today. We have some wind this morning, but the sun it out. The clouds are moving in.

Marilyn

Vickie said...

I had to chuckle. I see that teenagers are tricky whether they are Mennonite or English. Spoken from a mom of three teens right now! ;)

Countryside Reflections said...

It's hard for someone so young to know what they want to do for a living. Some people go through most of their lives trying to decide and never really find it. I admire a teen that has a passion and a direction they want to pursue. But it might not turn out to be what he thought it was. Maybe Edward can work in a restaurant part time to see if he likes it, then decide if it's an acceptable way for the Old Order Mennonites. I keep thinking of the very successful Amish/Mennonite restaurants in Lancaster PA that serve meals family style and are popular because of being advertised as Amish/Mennonite run. Jean and David are very close to a tourist area, (although maybe not close enough). I'm sure there is a lot of praying going on over this, and hopefully God will direct their family in the right direction.

I think it's a great idea for Michael to work on farm equipment for now. That kind of knowledge is hard to find in this computer age.

Thank you for sharing this glimpse into your personal lives.

Doreen

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Morning Vickie,
Glad you got such a chuckle. I guess all teenagers are alike.

Marilyn

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Morning Doreen,
Old Order Mennonites and Amish young decide their careers young in life - like when they get out at 8th grade. In most cases it is expected that they should be farmers, and do other work, too. Maybe I should see if I can get David or Elmer to do a post on careers. I know David's main career is farming, but his Dad got him into painting inside and outside of buildings as a second career. As a hobby David liked to carve wood items, which led to remodeling houses, which led to his making furniture. David, Elmer or Jean could tell more than I know.

There are also age limits on working in New York State especially in restaurants. You can't work in restaurant to your are 16 and where liquor is sold until I am not sure if it is 18 or 21. Also, Edward wants to be in the kitchen and not a bus boy. Jean is having a hard time trying to explain that you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. I am just saying what Jean, David and Elmer told me about children and careers. I think one of them should do a post on the subject.

Marilyn

Countryside Reflections said...

I have a few questions for Jean. Does Michael have to decide on baptism by a certain age? If he decides to not be baptized, will he have to leave the house and be on his own? What will happen if he gets his drivers license and chooses a career in auto mechanics and doesn't want to give up his drivers license after a while (like Kevin did)? I guess all of this is leading up to the question of shunning.

Do girls ever drive cars when they're young?

I would also like to ask Elmer how the Amish deal with careers. Are the Amish more strict than Old Order Mennonites? How do they deal with the young wanting to drive cars?

Doreen

New York State Of Mind said...

Hello Doreen,
You have some great questions. I will see that Jean and Elmer get them.

Marilyn

Lily said...

If the only job is a bus boy, I think Edward should start there. It may not be in the kitchen, but he will still get to 'see' the work in the kitchen.

New York State Of Mind said...

Hi Lily,
Thank you so much for your comment. I will pass it on to Jean and Edward.

Marilyn

Wilma said...

I would like to know if Jean has a recipe for boiled custard, the liquid kind, not baked and solid? My mother used to make this, but is no longer able to cook and can't remember the recipe. Many thanks!

New York State Of Mind said...

Hi Wilma,
I will see that Jean gets your request. If she has it, you will get it. It will be on during our recipe a day for Christmas starting on December 12th.

Marilyn

New York State Of Mind said...

Hello Wilma,
Called Jean and she does have the recipe. She said that she make sure it is the Christmas recipes. It will be the recipe for about the third day.

Marilyn

Melissa M. said...

I like Doreen's questions, too. I enjoyed Jean's writing today, as always. I know she must think she is boring us with mundane daily details but that is not so!

New York State Of Mind said...

Thank you Melissa M.
You are right, Jean does think she bores us sometimes. She can't understand how we are so interested in her plain lifestyle. I tell her what is plain to her is interesting to us.

Marilyn