MARTHA-THE MILK MAN COMETH

 

I enjoy being back and filling in for Jean while they move on to their new farm.  Poor, Marilyn, came to our area looking for Old Order Mennonite pictures to put on here and couldn't find any.  Not someone out farming, or riding in their buggies or anything.  She came to our house and I couldn't even let her take  a pictures of our buggies because they were all out.  Joseph had the flat board and the boys had our two buggies.  But, while she was here the milk truck came, which she took pictures of and I will tell you a little about our cow milking.

The first time I came to the barn to milk a cow, the fellows handed me a bucket and told me I had to kneel down and milk the cow.  The bucket was filthy inside, but they told me that's where the milk went and I believed them.  They even had me kneeling and milking the cow by hand until Joseph's Mother came in and wanted to know what we were doing. She saw me and no one had to tell her what I fallen for.  When she sent the boys to get to work-she explained how they really milk cows.

Our cows are milked, twice a day, by automatic milking machines.  It takes about three to five minutes to milk a cow.  Milk goes from the cow to a strainer, then plate heat exchanged  and then into our milk vat (tank) where the milk can be stored up to two days at approximately 39 degrees.  The vat agitates so the milk stays cold and mixed-the cream does not separate from the milk.  This is all done automatic through the stainless steel pipes in our barn. 

The Dairy Milk truck arrives on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.  Milk can only be kept in the vat for 48 hours.  The milk man comes, smells the milk, measures the milk, grades the milk, takes the temperature, reads the charts, enters the amount on the folders, takes a vile of milk sent for testing, and adds the information on his computer.  The viles are marked so that if there is something wrong with our milk, it can be traced back to our farm.  He then turns off the vat, hooks up the hoses and empties the milk from our vat into the truck.  Once the vat is empty, he turns on the hoses and cleans the vat so we can use it again.

From our house, the milk goes to the Processing Plant which is licensed and inspected.  The milk is inspected before it is unloaded from the truck.  Then the milk is processed.  It is really interesting to go to the processing plant.  Joseph and I went there and saw how milk is processed.  Milk can processed to milk that is in the stores, but also cream, cheese, and butter. 

This is sort of a short detail what happens from the cow to the stores.  I know if Joseph were here, he would go into more detail that I have.  I will be back next week to answer some of the quetions that you have for me from when I was here last time.

Be With the Lord,
Martha

VICKIE'S -A STITCHERS STORY

Hi! My name is Vickie, and I am a friend of Marilyn's. I found Marilyn through Richard's blog. We soon discovered our mutual interest.... POODLES! We both own a poodle. Pierre is Marilyn's miniature poodle as you know. This is Mabel, our toy poodle.

I love to cross stitch. My favorite thing to cross stitch is... you guessed it, POODLES! Here are most of my poodle stitches. The French Knot Poodle is probably still my favorite.

The collection will grow of course. ;) I always find another poodle somewhere and then HAVE to stitch it. I have what I call F.A.B.L.E. Freebies Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy! I enjoy finding free cross stitch patterns on the internet.

I also enjoy a bit of quilting. I wanted to share with you the wall quilt I made of her two years ago. I saw a quilt like this three years ago on the internet. Not from a pattern. Made from a poodle lover like me. I have tried and tried to find it again, and cannot.

So I used my book,How To Make An Amish Quilt by Rachel and Kenneth Pellman. I call it Amish Mabel In A Square. I used the Diamond in a Square pattern from the book. I used plain colors (my favorites, pink and purple) as the Amish would. However, I am guessing they have never added a toy poodle in the center of a quilt!! ;)

Thank you Marilyn for asking me to share a bit about myself here. I did forget the most important thing we have in common. The first thing. We are both believers and followers of Jesus Christ. And I am so glad you are my friend Marilyn.

http://astitchersstory.blogspot.com

I would like to thank all of you who prayed for our little Mabel. We are so grateful to God that she has recovered from her pain and suffering due to her slipped discs. This last episode took a very long time for her to get over. We were scared. We know that she will have a flare up of pain again. We do pray it will be a long time from now. We also know that God loves and cares for all His creatures, even little Mabel.

Thank you Vickie, for taking your time to make this post for us.  It is so very kind of you and I appreciate it.

 

Marilyn

MARTHA COMES ON MONDAY !!!

SAUERKRAUT RECIPES

SWEET SAUERKRAUT  (Olive's)

1 c. sugar
1/3 c. cider vinegar
1 lg, can or jar sauerkraut, drained
1/2 c. celery, chopped
1/2 c, onion, chopped
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped

Combine sugar and cider vinegar in a medium saucepan.  Stir constantly, bringing to a boil.  Remove from heat to cool.  Pat all moisture out of drained sauerkraut (do not rinse) and place in bowl.  Add celery, onion and green pepper-mix well.  Pour sugar, vinegar syrup mixture over the sauerkraut mix and let sit overnight. 

SWEET SAUERKRAUT (Richard's)

1 large can or bag of sauerkraut
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/4 c. sugar
1 medium onion
1/2 stick butter
3 tbsp flour
1-2 tbsp water

1. Drain sauerkraut.  Add sauerkraut and caraway to medium saucepan and cover with water, bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer.

2. Melt butter in a small frying pan and saute onions until translucent.  Add to sauerkraut and cover, simmering for 30 minutes.

3. Combine sugar and flour, add 1-2 tbsp of water to make a paste.  Slowly combine with sauerkraut mixture and simmer for 5 minutes.

SWEET AND SOUR SAUERKRAUT

4 slices bacon, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (27 ounce) cans sauerkraut, drained
1 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained (fresh can be used)
1 cup brown sugar, packed

Cook the bacon until crisp in a large frying pan.  Remove and saute the onion in the drippings.  Add the sauerkraut, tomatoes, brown sugar and bacon.  Bring to a boil.  Place in a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.

AMISH SAUERKRAUT SALAD

1 quart sauerkraut
1 green bell pepper
1 small onion
1 cup celery
1 small jar pimentos
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup salad oil
2/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup water

Rinse and drain sauerkraut.  Chop green pepper, onion and celery.  Mix sugar, oil, vinegar and water; stir to dissolve sugar.  Add chopped vegetables, sauerkraut and pimentos.  Marinate overnight.  Drain before serving. 


I loved getting that recipe from Olive.  I called Jean's house and she told me Jean was between houses so I told Olive what recipe I wanted.  Olive said to me, "Do you have paper and a pen ?"  I said I had, but didn't she have to look the recipe up.  Again she asked if I had the paper and pen.  When I said I did she gave me the recipe.  When she got done, Olive said she has made this recipe so many times she didn't have to look it up.  According to Jean, Olive has lots of recipes, she doesn't have to look up.  The funniest thing, Jean said, is Edward, their soon to be adopted son, can do the same thing. It's sort of game between Olive and Edward.  One tells a recipe and the other tries to top it. 

Marilyn

VICKIES-A STITCHER'S STORY WILL BE ON FRIDAY.

MARTHA COMES ON MONDAY !!!

JEAN'S ON THE MOVE AGAIN !!

As the title says: "we are on the move again."  Ever since we have sold our farm, people who were selling their farms or considering it - asked us to see their farms.  We had looked at a couple, but one really is what we wanted and then some.  It is down the road from Joseph and Martha's and had only been built a couple of years ago.  The people that built are Weaverland Mennonite, they drive cars, so that means we have an attached garage to the house, which David said, we can put the buggies in.  They had sold their farm in Pennsylvania to one of their sons, who has been taken ill and it became necessary that they return home to take care of the farm. 

At first they didn't have to move so fast, so they started it at a higher price, but as their son's illness became worse, they really wanted to sell it.  David, his parents, my parents and myself went to see it.  It is bigger than the house we were going to build and has a little bit more land to it.  Also, it has a dawdy house attached, like we were going to do,  you don't notice until you go inside the main house.  The kitchen is bigger than ours and the washer and dryer are on the first floor rather than in the basement, which I like.  Basement is all finished off with a section for the freezer and storing canned goods.  Our barns are just two years.  The bedrooms are larger than our old house and it has more bathrooms.   Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that in the kitchen is an electric stove and a  wood burning stove.  We didn't know it until we bought the farm and Grandmother Olive came in the kitchen.  She lite right up when she saw it.  It's only two years old, so Grandmother is reading the owners manual at home.  I think she can hardly wait to get at that stove. We thought it was a wood burning heater-shows what we know.  

The people kept going down on the price while we discussed it with David's parents, who thought we should buy it, if we wanted it.  I thought my parents would be against it, because my Father is more conservative in purchasing anything-especially a farm like this one.  My parents said, if they hit the right price-buy it.

We went to see it again, this time with Michael, Edward, David, Susan and David Jr.  They are going to live and work this farm, so they should have a say, too. We had a family meeting at home and all agreed we should buy it, if we could except David Jr, but being two. he was more interested in the kittens than the house and barns.

Finally we offered as high as we would go and they accepted it.  The people have moved.  David, Edward, Michael, David's Father and my Father are over there painting the inside. Grandfather Albert is suppose to be supervising, but I think he is painting with the rest of them.   There's isn't really anything wrong with the inside, we just wanted a new coat of paint.  Martha, My Mother, David's Mother, Grandmother Olive, Susan and myself are packing. 

I think the best thing of this is Martha get's her garden land back.  We found out the only reason they sold it to us was we were moving next door to them-they wouldn't sell to anyone else.  So we deeded the land back to them, but they insisted we take back the money we paid them for it.  We still own the rest of they land we were going to build our house on so we should sell that, spring is here and that is a good time to sell.  David says maybe we should keep it as we have three boys in our family-two of them will be marrying age in a few years.

So Martha will be taking over for a few weeks for me, again.  I really appreciate her doing this for me.  She and Joseph have done so much for us as.  We really appreciate that Kevin and Bridget let us live in their new house.  They want David to do some work on the house when we move out-somethings they decided they wanted that the house doesn't have.  David agreed to do it for them-the least we could do-them giving up the house for us.

So I am not leaving, forever.  I will be back in a few weeks, Lord willing.  I am sure Martha will have some interesting posts for you.

Be With God,
Jean


VICKIE'S-A STICHERS STORY WILL BE ON FRIDAY,

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF BOSTON, THOSE THAT WERE THERE FOR THE MARATHON, THEIR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.  ALSO PLEASE REMEMBER POLICE, DOCTORS, AMBULANCE DRIVERS, AND ALL THOSE THAT HAVE AND ARE HELPING THE PEOPLE.

Marilyn

NEWARK ROADSIDE DINER, NEWARK, NY_PART-2

On February 8th, I did a post on the Newark Roadside Diner with pictures of the interior of the Diner.  I also told how my family and myself had been dining there for many years.  Well our dining days there are over-the diner has been sold to Larkin Company out of Buffalo, New York.

The diner's final cooking day was April 7th.  I didn't know that until after it closed or I would have gone there for one final meal.  Larkin Development Group will be moving the diner to the Cleveland, Ohio area for top-to-bottom historic restoration over a six-month period.  It will then be installed in the Larkin District in Buffalo, New York as a diner. 

I am saddened to see it go.  Surely I will miss it.  The diner has been in Newark for over 70 years and I have eaten there all my life.  On the other hand, I would like to see it go to a place where it will be restored and put back as a diner than to be torn down or something like that. When it comes back to New York State, I will drive to Buffalo to eat there.

One of the reporters from Buffalo asked if it were all right to use two of my pictures in one of her articles.  I, was honored, and gave her my permission.  If you wish to see the article go to:
http://www.buffalo.com/grub-pub/blog/new-life-at-larkin-for-newark-diner/       She said she would link back to our original blog so I welcome all the new people visting New York State of Mind.

What I am trying to find out is when the diner is going to be moved out as I would like to be there and take pictures.  I will not go in the restricted area. I will not give anyone a hard time.  I just would like pictures of the diner leaving.  So if anyone should know when it's leaving, please advise.  It is the end of a era in Newark and I want pictures of it leaving. 

The picture above is of the Newark Roadside Diner taken today.  I have never seen that parking lot vacant before.  The top photo is of the front of the diner.

This is a picture of the back end of the Diner
.

This is the right end of the diner

This the left end of the diner.

 

I wanted you to know about  Newark Roadside Diner's future.  Sure hope that you enjoy it as much in Buffalo as we folks did in Newark.  Take good care of it for us.

 

Marilyn

CHRISTMAS TREE FARM

I was driving around on the back roads of our town and came across something I remembered as a child that I had long forgotten.  Christmas Tree Farms.  Having not been out in this particular area in years, I didn't know they were still here. 

As a child my parents, brother and I use go out looking for a tree about a week or so before Christmas.  My Dad took his ax with him and we went out in the country to a Christmas Tree Farm to buy our tree.  We would look over lots of trees before we found the "perfect" one.  Of course my parents helped to make sure we chose one that would fit our house. My Dad and brother would take turns with the ax chopping the tree down.  We paid the man, loaded in our car trunk and took it home.


 

One of these farms could have been the place we went to buy the trees.  I am so use to seeing Christmas Trees on street corners that I had long forgotten about the Christmas Tree Farms.   

 

I didn't find the Christmas Farms or take these pictures until January.  I have some other pictures that I took of things I thought might interest you.  In fact, I have pictures back to November.  These Christmas Tree farms are not Amish or Mennonite owned, at least the ones I found aren't.  If you live near a Christmas Tree Farm, you should go, at least once, and buy one there-especially if you have children.

 

Hope you enjoy the Christmas Tree Farm.

Marilyn

 

 

JEAN HAS NEWS COMING ON MONDAY !!!

JEAN'S FRUIT COCKTAIL CAKE

FRUIT COCKTAIL CAKE

1 3/4 Cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 t. soda
1 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1 egg
1 16 oz. fruit coctail with juice
1 t. vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup walnuts

Combine all ingrediets except brown sugar and walnuts.  Pour into a greased and floured 9"x13" cake pan.  Sprinkle brown sugar and walnuts on top of batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

This is a great cake to make for your home or pot luck supper.  It also reminds me of Spring.

Be With God,
Jean

JEAN HAS SOME NEWS COMING ON MONDAY.