AMISH BUGGY NEWSLETTER

Number 10

• Maine - we dressed 28 turkeys and several chickens for people.  Some dressed out between 45 and 50 pounds without the giblets.  Hope they have a big oven.

• Recipes this months.  Click HERE - soup, oatmeal, pie, etc.

• TIP - add baking soda to peas or beans while cooking.   Beans cook quicker and they keep their green color.

• Potato Fritters - Mix 1 cup mashed potatoes, 1 egg, 4 rounded tablsp. flour, 1/2 teasp. baking powder, 1 teasp. salt, and 1/4 cup milk.  Fry in 1/4 inch melted shortening.  When brown around edges and cakes are well set, turn and brown other side.

• Stewed Apples - Core and quarter 2 quarts of apples.  Peel if you like.  Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar according to taste and sweetness of the apples.  Put in a saucepan and add 1 to 2 inches of water.   Add raisins to taste 1-1/2 to 2 cups.  Cook slowly, stirring frequently until rawness is broken.  Then stop stirring.

• Amish Friendship Bread Recipe - http://www.armchair.com/recipe/bake002.html

• Rivels - 1 cup flour - 2 eggs.   Put flour in bowl.  Break eggs and mix with fork until dry and crumbly.   Drop rivels into boiling soup.  Stir to prevent them from packing together.

• TIP:  Freshen stale potato chips, cereal, or crackers, by placing them in the microwave for 30-45 seconds.

• Mouthwash - Mix 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 qt. water.  Stir or shake until dissolved in a clean container.   The mixture will last up to a month.  Add a few drops of peppermint.

• Watermelon:
    Early explorers used watermelons as canteens.
    In 1999 over 4 billion pounds of watermelon were produced in the U.S.
    Its official name is Citrullus lanatus.
    The largest grown was 262 pds in 1990 according to 1998 Guinness Records.
    The first U.S. cookbook published in 1796 had a recipe for watermelon rind pickles.
    Watermelon is 92% water, does not contain any fat or cholesterol, is high
            in fiber and vitamins, and a good source of potassium.

• OH - a buggy was ticketed for not having a lighted lantern on a foggy morning.

• MI - too busy to churn butter - one Amish couple put cream in plastic peanut butter containers.  Tied a container on each front buggy wheel.  You should have butter in about 3 miles.

• PA - An Amishman who refused to pay a $93.50 fine for not having a slow-moving symbol on his buggy has been sentenced to 3 days in jail.  The ticket was received 7 months ago and had not been paid.  He is from the Swartzentruber Amish one of the most conservative.  The Amish object to the orange coloring of the symbol which they feel is flashy and proud.  They do have reflective tape on their buggies but the law also requires the symbol.  Three more citations have also been issued to others of the sect for the same thing. Source - The Post Gazette - 12/06

• MO - An Amish man got his beard caught in a flexible line shaft while sanding in his furniture shop.  Luckily the horses who were powering the unit stopped when they felt pressure.  He lost half his beard on one side of his face.

• Canada - an Amish man was trying to tie his shoes while driving the buggy and ended up in the ditch.  Buggy was slightly damaged.

• OH - After 2 days and nights walking the floor with the baby, the parents decided on trying a buggy ride.  The baby was quiet as long as the buggy didn't stop.

• IL - The horse attached to a cart jumped a river banister.  The horse got out of its harness and swam to shore.

• PA - A sneeze caused the man's dentures to fly and ended up under the wagon with a wheel going over them.  A new pair had to be ordered.

• PA - a buggy horse was bought not knowing the horse wouldn't stop at stop signs.   It also did not like being hitched and broke many shafts.  It was taken to auction and another bought but this horse would just decide to stop and would stand still sometimes up to 15 minutes.  They tried to borrow a horse to get to church Sunday but the horse would not get on the trailer.  So watch for what happens next.

• PA - Big Valley area has 7 different sects of horse & buggy Amish in this area.

• 175,000 Amish live in over 22 U.S. states, Canada and South America compared to just 5,000 Old Order Amish in the 1900's.

• Benefits of fiberglass springs
     Lightweight - weighs 22 lbs less than a steel spring.
     One piece design 0 to bolts to give out or wear
     Better paint adhesion - no rust stains and paint will not blister or peel off

• Canada - a number of years ago, government safety officials stressed a need for uniformity on using reflectors, lights, tape, etc. on buggies.  Too much is as bad as too little. 
  
  The lighting and reflective material must:
      Make the buggy visible
      Indicate relative distance
      Inform the motorists they are approaching a horse drown vehicle
  
    Here is a recommended placement that would meet the above requirements.
  

• Heemweh - homesick

• Iwwelfiehlich - feeling poorly

• Daremlich - dizzy

• Halsweh - sore throat

• Narefich - nervous

• Grummbeenich - bow-legged

• Mumps - mumps

• Bleech - pale

• IN - top springer at auction brought $1,140.00.  A total of 125 springers were sold.

• MO - at auction - light weight steers sold for $115 to $124.  700 to 800 pounds brought $82 to $89.

• Did you know a 50 pound emu yields approx. 30 pound of meat?

• MO - 7 barns have been built this year and 3 more are in the process.

• PA - Rye - "green manure" -  is grown and then plowed under which is a fertilizer and soil conditioner.

• Horse and mule association - events listing, info, etc. - http://www.vdhma.org/schools.html

• According to the USDA (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture),  the national farm field worker averages $7.32 per hour.  Florida was the highest of any in the continental U.S. at $7.75 per hour.  The USDA figures do not include transportation or housing benefits which may be provided in addition to the hourly wages.

• IL - Since September 5th - 5,667 turkeys, 11,805 chickens, and 8,026 pheasants were processed.

• Pond tips - http://www.pondlady.com/

• WI - Grade B milk  for November $9.25.  Also $5 c.w.t.

• WI - 694,111 hunting licenses were sold.  Of those, 41,833 were sold to non-residences.

• WI - produces 14% of the nation's milk.  A Wisconsin cow produced 1,400 pounds of milk or 14 hundredweight.  Milk prices have steadily dropped and are at the lowest price since 1991.  Information Source - USDA

• Did you know - black pepper starts out as a tiny red berry on a tropical vine.   It is mostly grown in Indonesia and East Indies.  The berries grow in clusters and picked just before reaching maturity.  The berries are then dried resulting in black pepper-corns.  White pepper comes from the same berries but the black outer hull is removed.

• Ye Old Way - http://www.geocities.com/yeoldway/index.html

• Amish in Mifflin County - http://www.mcsdk12.org/brown/LH_amish.htm

• The History of Hex Signs - http://www.padutch.com/willchar/info/hexinfo.html

• Farmers Co-op, vegetables, livestock equipment, stalls, etc. - http://www.ashlandagrimark.com/newpage1.htm

• Planet Ketchup - http://www.ketchup.wonderland.org/

• Pattern Pantry - crafts - http://www.patternpantry.com/free_pattern.htm

• Strong Numbers - the blue book of everything - http://www.strongnumbers.com/

• The classic penny loafer was introduced in 1936.

• Ketchup is found in 97% of U.S. households beating out salt, pepper and sugar.

• The average American drinks 25 gallons of milk per year.

• When the 1st home TV set was demonstrated in 1928, the screen was 3" x 4".

• Volvo invented the modern seat belt.

• The first skateboards were 2 x 4 (wooden) with metal wheels, 1930's.
  In 1958 the first mini-craze happened with an improved style.
  1973 skateboarding really took off with boards of springy, shock-absorbing urethane wheels.

• No man ever injured his eyesight by looking on the bright side of life.

• Before trying to keep up with your neighbors, you had better find out where they are going.

• Don't find fault, find a remedy.

• Perhaps the best way to live happily ever after is not to be after too much.

• Horse sense is stable thinking, coupled with the ability to say nay.

• There is no telling how far a kind word, or look, or deed will travel.

Take Care  -  See You Next Month