A Big Year for Lily (23 page)
Read A Big Year for Lily Online
Authors: Mary Ann Kinsinger,Suzanne Woods Fisher
Tags: #JUV033010, #FIC053000, #Amish—Juvenile fiction, #1. Amish—Fiction, #Family life—Pennsylvania—Fiction, #Schools—Fiction, #Friendship—Fiction, #Pennsylvania—Fiction
Lily's family lived on a farmetteâbut what is a farmette?
A farm is a large acreage with enough land to raise crops. Eighty acres is considered a small farm. Whispering Pines, Lily's farmette, was only fifteen acres; there was some land for pastures and animals but it wasn't big enough to be considered a farm. Those small acreages are called farmettes.
Do the Amish make their own clothing?
Yes, just like Lily's mother, the lady of the house sews the clothes for herself and her family. A lot of sewing is done in the winter, when the garden is sleeping and field harvest is over. The mother makes dresses, aprons, capes, and coverings for herself and her daughters. She sews pants and shirts for her husband and boys. Most Amish women use the treadle sewing machine, though some may use battery-powered sewing machines. Did it surprise you to read that Lily's grown-up dress and apron were held together with pins? Actual long straight pins! It
might seem odd, but Amish women and girls are used to it. It's a tradition.
Do the Amish wear colored clothes?
They do. The women wear shades of blue, green, red, purple, brown, etc. Most colors are darker tones of the color wheel. Men wear colored shirtsâwhite on Sunday or for funerals or weddings. Pants are navy blue, gray, or black. Little boys and girls may wear lighter shades of the above colors.
What is a circle letter?
When Lily turned ten, her mother told her she was old enough for her own circle letter. Letter writing is a popular pastime for the Amish. It's one way they stay in touch with relatives, exchange advice, and maintain community. But what is a circle letter? It's a communal letter that is added to and then sent on to the next recipient on a list. Circle letters may be maintained by grown siblings, friends, cousins, or groups with similar interests, such as teachers or quilters.
What is courting?
Courting is another word for dating, though it is meant to lead to marriage. Family is at the heart of Amish life, and young people take courtship seriously. For many of the Old Order Amish young people, “pairing up” begins at Sunday evening singings. The boy will take the girl home in his buggy. Courting is very private. Most couples don't want to be teased, so they make a great effort to keep their dates secret.
What is an Amish wedding like?
About two weeks before the wedding, the engaged couple is “published” in church and their intentions to marry are made known. Most weddings
are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are used as days to prepare for or to clean up after the wedding. Saturdays are not used as wedding days because it would be breaking the Sabbath to clean up on the following day, Sunday.
The wedding is held at the home of the bride, and the sermon and ceremony will last about four hours, starting at 8:30Â a.m. There are no kisses, rings, photography, flowers, or caterers. There are usually 200 or more guests. The bride's family furnishes all the food. Women from the community help with preparation in the days before the wedding, and aunts of both the bride and groom are assigned to help cook on the wedding day. After the wedding, there will be a traditional dinner of chicken, filling, mashed potatoes, gravy, ham, relishes, and canned fruit, plus many kinds of cookies, cakes, and pies. And Sweetheart Pudding!
Were you interested in trying a taste of the pudding that was served at Rhoda and Samuel's wedding? The recipe is on the next page.
4 cups milk
1½ cups sugar
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a full boil. Cool.
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
1 cup sugared pecans (see recipe that follows)
In a large mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. In a clear serving bowl, layer one cup of graham crumb mixture and press firmly. Add half of cooled pudding. Toss sugared nuts and one cup of graham cracker mixture together and layer on top of pudding. Add rest of pudding. Sprinkle top with remaining cup of graham cracker mixture. Refrigerate.
To make sugared nuts:
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
½ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
In a mixing bowl, beat egg white and water until fluffy. Fold in chopped pecans. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle over pecans and toss until coated. Spread on lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 225º for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool and store in airtight container.
Note from Lily: Sugared nuts are good for Sweetheart Pudding and also for snacking.
Mary Ann Kinsinger
was raised Old Order Amish in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. She met and married her husband, whom she knew from school days, and started a family. After they chose to leave the Amish church, Mary Ann began a blog,
A Joyful Chaos
, as a way to capture her warm memories of her childhood for her own children. From the start, this blog found a ready audience and even captured the attention of key media players, such as the influential blog
AmishAmerica
and the
New York Times
. She lives in Pennsylvania.
Suzanne Woods Fisher
's grandfather was one of eleven children, raised Old Order German Baptist, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne has many, many,
many
wonderful Plain relatives. She has written bestselling fiction and nonfiction books about the Amish and couldn't be happier to share Mary Ann's stories with children. When Suzanne isn't writing, she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. She lives in California with her husband and children and Tess and Toffee, her big white dogs.
and Suzanne Woods Fisher
T
HE
A
DVENTURES
OF
L
ILY
L
APP
Life with Lily
A New Home for Lily
A Big Year for Lily
Books by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World
Amish Proverbs: Words of Wisdom from the Simple Life
Amish Values for Your Family: What We Can Learn from the Simple Life
L
ANCASTER
C
OUNTY
S
ECRETS
The Choice
The Waiting
The Search
A Lancaster County Christmas
S
EASONS
OF
S
TONEY
R
IDGE
The Keeper
The Haven
The Lesson
Contents