klines environmental services – a day spent sucking up egg water, sludge and stink

One day recently our son was at our house and he asked me if I would consider going with him to his part time job some Saturday and take pictures and put them on my blog. He reads my blog and knows what I like to put out there and he thought it would be something to add. I didn’t even have to think about it, I said I would love to but was curious if his boss would be okay with me riding along and taking pictures. He called Nelson, his part time boss, and asked him and got the “go-ahead” and so we decided that yesterday was the day I would tag-along. 

Let me just tell you, it was an adventure. Firstly, it wasn’t what I expected that we would be doing and my eyes really opened up as to what all this kind of business can really do. Secondly, my son can make all things into an adventure. I had so much fun riding along with him and listening to him talking about the job and what he loves about it. I didn’t hear him say one negative thing about this job and you would think that the kind of job it is, it would hold a bit of “negative” just because of what it is they do. 

Let’s get right to it! As always, click on the pictures and they will come up in a gallery and you can see things a bit more up close and personal. If you like anyway. I took hundreds of pictures and am only sharing a fraction of them here.

Hold your nose and ENJOY!

Saturday afternoon, soon after 1 PM my ride comes driving up our driveway. A tanker truck, cleans out septic tanks to be specific! We didn’t clean out septic tanks yesterday, though, we cleaned out other things. 

I liked this picture because of the sky overhead and how they colors of the truck and the sky were color coordinated. 

There he is, our son, Aaron, smiling and ready to go. 

The first thing I noticed was the big…YIKES, very big steps leading up to my seat. 

I had the worst time getting in and out of that truck! I felt like a clutz going in and out of there. My son can just scurry up the steps like no man’s business! Whew, park one of them their semi tractors in my front yard and it will be a work out getting in and out of the cab for awhile!  

Aaron had gone into our house to get something so I quick took a couple pictures because why? Because I’m picture taking happy all day long, of course! 

Stick shift is the only way to go.  “Automatic trucks take the fun out of trucking”, so says Aaron. 

As we were going up some hills he explained it, how the motor speed has to catch up with the road speed or something or other and I got completely lost and if you are a truck driver and you’re reading this, here is where you can chuckle. I couldn’t explain it to you to save my life. 

But, I will tell you I was so impressed with how Aaron was telling me in details how things work and I was thinking, “That’s my boy, and he knows stuff!” 

I felt like I was sitting “upstairs” in this thing. 

That is our little barn and the neighbor’s red barn in the background. 

I got a bunch of pictures in the time he was in the house getting whatever he was getting. 

Backing up ready to leave. 

We are now out on the road going past our house. 

We had to use the “jake brake” here. 

rraaraarraaaaa

Trucks have to stop at red lights too and you should always give them much space when they have to make a turn at a light. This is a public service announcement. 

Flyin’ down the Amish Country Highway. 

I kind of liked the “view” from upstairs in the cab. 

Railroad crossings at the bottom of a big long hill? 

More jake brake in action.

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We have arrived at our first location. We had to back the truck into this place and not hit the trailer beside us. We were hauling “water” they used to wash eggs with here at this facility so they can send the eggs out to the stores for us to purchase them then. (I won’t use the term consumer here, because the term consumer is so sterile for me…I hate “consumer” reports..you all know that is you and me, right? I’m not a consumer, I’ma human being and I hate that they refer to us as consumers.)  Sorry, that was a bunny trail. Anyway, the water gets stored in a large underground tank and then someone has to come pump it out and haul it to a waste treatment plant. That is what we were doing yesterday. 

Here are their connections to their water tank. 

Aaron hooks up two very big and heavy hoses to the truck.

One

Two

He makes sure everything is secure. 

These are little “glass” gauges so they can see how full the tank is. There is one low on the tank, one in the middle of the tank and, you guessed it, one near the top of the tank. We watched those gauges carefully to know how full we were getting. 

Nelson has been in this business for a long time. When Aaron first worked for him his tanker was a big, red monstrosity, but today he has a souped up tanker and Aaron is in love with this thing. 

Those very long hoses go all the way around the tanker, and on the sides you can see there is a sort of bed for the hoses to rest. I noticed that everything the job needed; this truck was nice and geared toward functionality. Whoever put this truck together knew what they were doing. It actually has a dump bed on here and so if Nelson is hauling something like thick sludge, he can put his tank at an angle and rinse out the sludge and clean the tank out really well. I was impressed with how clean the whole outfit really was. I was prepared to see remnants of toilet paper somewhere on the equipment, but everything was so clean. I’ve actually worked in a couple restaurants in my life and this thing is cleaner than any restaurant I’ve ever worked in. 

Just sayin…folks! 

See the big blue round thing in the middle of the tanker? That is a cap that comes off and so when Nelson washes out sludge he can open that cap and the sludge comes out though there. 

I nice blue ladder leading to the top of the tank. I was glad we didn’t need to go there yesterday. 

This is the motor that runs the tanker. It sits between the cab on the driver’s side and the tanker. 

It is very loud when it is working. There is a vacuum system involved in all this. I didn’t get it completely how it worked, but Aaron could tell you if you asked him! 

After we had filled up the tanker with egg water we then brought it to this waste water treatment plant to unload. The plant sits in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. Do you see the walker’s path sectioned off beside the road? That is part of Ohio’s “Rails to Trails” walking and biking path. It is not the path we use when we go on Rails to Trails, but it is nice knowing where this one is. 

Inside the waste water treatment plant.

Notice Aaron isn’t using his green hoses, but rather the treatment plant’s red hoses. There is a basin we had to pump the egg water into and then a sump pump kind of pump actually pumps the water from there into one of those big blue silos you see in the background. 

Let me just tell you. The stink that came from the bowels of this hole and the stink we poured into it….was incredibly pungent! 

We had about 15 minutes of unload time here and so we talked about stink. Aaron says that this is nothing. Human waste stinks, but if you have to suck up dog kennels holding tanks, THAT is where the real stink is at. 

“But,” said Aaron as he spit out some of his “chew”, “you get used to it after awhile and it all smells the same.” 

(I hate that he chews.)

But I love him muchly.

A view of all three holding tanks on the property. They are pretty massive. Notice the tall ladders leading up to each one. 

Aaron stays on the job, making sure every part is working right. If he lets the water out too fast, then the holding tank will fill up too fast. 

I walked over to a lower holding tank. It was gross. There was a blue metal bridge over the grossness. 

I got a pretty good picture of the whole truck here. Aaron loves the colors.

Actually. He. Loves. The. Whole. Truck.

But he loves the jake brake the most. 

rrrraaaarrrrraaaaaarrrraaaaa

The waste water treatment provided Nelson with a door opener for the gate. Aaron is closing it as we go back to get our second load of egg water. 

On the way I got a few more pictures inside the cab. 

Almost looks like a car except for the extra gadgets on the left of what we normally see in a car. 

Those gadgets have to do with the beloved jake brake. wink wink

Back for a second load. 

This was after he had loaded the truck, see it is all clean. No residue, no egg shells or poopy toilet paper from prior usages. 

This was me going down the steps. I felt so high up there and the steps are so far apart. I figured out how out of shape I really am trying to scramble up and down those steps! 

Here is a water tank tucked in on the passenger side. Sometimes they need to add water or use it for clean up. They always have some here. There is a pressure washer system on the tanker as well, so the water is used with it. 

It takes about ten minutes to fill up the tanker with the egg water so while it was filling up I was walking around the truck taking pictures. They thought of everything.

Sometimes when I am driving and I look in my rear view mirror I see a truck on my back door and he looks mean, like a bull dog or worse and I feel like I should get out of his way just for the way the truck looks. I stood there in front of this truck and tried to see if this one looked mean or not. 

I took a closer shot just to see if closer up he might look mean. Somehow I felt like the truck smiled at me. 

I didn’t see the “mean bull dog” in this one. 

Lights and a very loud horn standing at attention on top of the cab, ready to do their duty when duty calls. 

I found a shovel nestled in among the hoses. I wondered where all that shovel has been. I probably don’t wanna know! 

Aaron got a phone call from Nelson, the motor is so loud Aaron had to walk out a bit so he could here what Nelson had to say. 

A better shot of what that actually looked like from where he was working. 

See the little black mail box beside the door? Aaron had to fill out a paper telling the egg business owner how many loads of egg water he took from the holding tank. 

Watching the gauges fill up.

It was coming out slower toward the end so Aaron went over and was checking to see how much was left in the tank. 

Closing up shop for a second time. 

Draining out any excess egg water back into the holding tank in the ground.

After we had unloaded the second load back at the waste water treatment plant we then headed out onto the highway and went a little further to another business, this time it was a potato chip factory. On the way over to the potato chip factory I played around with the “air ride seat controls.” I let the seat go all the way up and my toes were only touching the floor at this point and I was up so high my head was close to the top of the cab. Aaron and I had a big discussion about this. He was telling me that some truck drivers like their seat all the way up because their ride is more smooth and it was, when I was up there in the air there was much less bouncing around, but I have to agree with Aaron, it just feels more relaxed sitting lower to the ground even if you feel a few more of the bumps in the road. 

Jake brake usage….rrrraaaarrrraaaarrrraaaa

As we pulled in to the potato chip factory this is what we saw, a van trailer sitting up in the air on an angle. Aaron told me there were potatoes in that trailer and they were dumping the potatoes out. 

We parked where he normally parks to haul out their sludge but everything was locked up really tight. That is Aaron on the phone with Nelson trying to figure out where to go and what to do. 

For those of you who do not know, I work in the trucking industry, in the office. I do the billing and I assist our dispatcher and the brokers. When I saw this fellow and the hood of his truck was up I knew he was likely doing a pre or post trip inspection. I watched him for a few minutes and he was doing everything carefully. The signs of a very good truck driver there. 

Long story short, we were not at the correct spot, we had to move over to this spot across the parking lot. As we were backing into this place Aaron said to me, “This is not going to be fun.” He got all serious and I knew we were in for something different. 

Different it was from the egg water!

Aaron is getting his very heavy hoses together for the next stage.

That little bobcat is there for a reason.

To lift Aaron up with his hose and a water hose from the potato chip factory..

There they go….

He had to bend over and by using water he had to fluff up the crap in this trailer enough so that it would go through the hose and into the tanker.

See the man up there watching directing Aaron?

I asked him if I could come up too, he said I could and so I did. I was not prepared for what I saw next. 

Very, very incredibly thick sludge. They told me it is the end of the potato chips, there is grease and whatever is not good of the potatoes in this mess. Normally this goes out to farms for farmers to use as feed but, because it got too wet it will spoil…ha ha…spoil…doesn’t it already look spoiled to you? Anyway, for whatever reason, it had to be suctioned out of there so they could put fresh sludge in there. 

The smell you ask? 

Don’t ask. 

From my vantage point atop the potato chip factory waste treatment plant.

Manager Mark and Derek the bobcat operator stood there and directed Aaron and chatted with me. Mark told me a lot about how things work here, but I didn’t understand it all and since I wasn’t here to talk about their company, I didn’t really take notes, but he was so nice to make me feel at home and comfortable. Aaron worked this for an hour and twenty minutes! They moved the bobcat a couple times so he was able to get out all they needed him to get out. 

Down the steps I went. 

Aaron pointed to these lug nut covers at one point and told me they are “sweet.” 

I bet they stick out 4 inches! 

During that hour and twenty minutes I had a lot of time to play with my camera. I took a shot of myself in one of the trucks mirrors. My hair was a total mess, it was so windy yesterday and I didn’t have my hair pulled back.

After we were finished with the sludge up in the trailer, we had to actually come back to the place we first went to and it was all locked up tightly and had to top off the tanker with sludge from this part of the company. We were right beside that trailer that was being dumped. 

I watched it from high in the air all the way to….

half way in the air….

to down on a flat surface again.

This what Aaron was doing inside the building. Another holding tank in the ground. 

This trucker backed his trailer in with potatoes and once he was out of his truck his little dog was in the window and knew to look in the rear view mirror to watch for his trucker to return! How smart is he????

Inside this waste treatment plant there was this ancient looking thing and the wheel was going round and round and that brownish stuff you see will eventually end up feeding some one’s animals. 

Aaron actually rinsed out the hoses here before putting them back on the truck.

Nelson had told Aaron not to unload this load that he would unload it Monday morning. Some of the loads, like this particular load, Nelson actually spreads on to a farmer’s field. 

And then we turned our nose towards home and chit chatted the whole way home. Aaron got to use the jake brake a couple more times.

rrrrraaaaarrrraaaarrrrrraaaaa

When we came to our house our daughter and grandson were there and so they explored the cab a little bit. 

The neighbors all found out when Little Guy found the cord for the horn! 

WAAAAAaaaAAAAA

And there he goes.

That tank is full of very heavy sludge. Not sure how heavy it is, but you could tell it was heavy. 

What a wonderful afternoon spent with my son. He used to be a truck driver and one Saturday morning a couple years ago I had gone with him to Virginia and back on his truck. That had been a long day, but fun day too. I did enjoy this a little bit more, though, because there was more to do and experience.  

I did learn one thing about him, he loves the sound of a good jake brake and if I can come up with a jake brake ring tone I am gonna be purchasing that for him. I had no idea one could love something like a specific sound like he does! I know I will be listening for the jake brakes when I’m out and about from now on and I will always think of my afternoon spent with my son. 

I wanted to publicly thank Nelson for allowing me to ride along and to take pictures of his truck. It was a pleasure and so fun. 

And to you, my reader, if you need a good septic tank cleaning, Nelson can help you out…or if you have any kind of egg water or sludge of all kinds. You know he is able to do it all. 

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share with other folks who might enjoy it as well. 

My Facebook page is here.

RRRRRAAAAARRRRRRAAAAAARRRRRAAAAAARRRRRRAAAAA

An Amish Man and his Toys

When I first heard about this Amish fellow through my coworkers I really only knew one thing about him –  he has a food trailer and sets it up at the local produce auction and feeds the masses who attend the auction. I knew he made really delicious sandwiches and that one of my coworkers is related to this man. But that was the extent of what I knew about this Amish man named Dan. Then one day my coworker, Bob, the relative of Dan showed me some photos of wooden trucks that 

Dan had handmade and as I was looking at the photos I knew it was something I wanted to take pictures of and show to my readers. I asked Bob, if he would ask his brother in law if I could stop by his shop to see his work first hand and take pictures to show you all. Bob said he would ask and get back to me. After a few weeks we finally all connected times and a date and so after work the other evening, Bob and I headed over the hills and dales to his brother in laws place. 

Dan, wearing his knit hat and a grin was at the door of wood shop to welcome us inside when we arrived. He took us into a nice sized room, smaller than I thought it would be, but once inside it was obvious that everything one would need to create wooden pieces of artwork were all there. 

As I spent some time looking at the pieces of art and taking in the details of the pieces Dan shared some information about his craft. The first thing I learnt from Dan is that these trucks are not carvings, but rather, they are “turnings”. I kept wanting to call them carvings but finally got it in my head that when you carve it is with knives and you do a lot of whittling. Dan explained that his turnings are anything that is “round” on his artwork. The round pieces are fashioned on a wood lathe. Other pieces have been cut out with saws and sanded down into the shape and size he needs.

When I first walked into his little wood shop I stood there and observed his craft and my first question to Dan was, “How long does it take you to create one of these?” Dan smiled and gave the first of many humorous responses, “Oh, about 40 gallons of coffee worth.”  I understood, he doesn’t count his time, it is his love for the wood and the craft and the challenge that counts, not the time. 

Dan’s wife, Anna, came out to the wood shop at some point and she was quiet, like Amish ladies generally are, watching me take pictures and listening to our conversation. She did finally join in the conversation and there was no missing how proud she is of her husband’s creativeness and how supportive she is of him and all his endeavors. It was a pleasure for me to hear her talk about her husband in such a positive light.  (When a spouse has a creative talent and the other spouse allows them the freedom to work on that talent, that is such a blessing.) Anna is a really good role model for those around her, she is the picture of what a supportive spouse looks like. I think because of Anna and her encouragement and support is why Dan is as creative as he is. A very, very neat couple to say the least. 

So, here we go, I hope you enjoy the tour. I don’t think I have the best camera for such close intricate details as what I tried to get, but I hope the pictures will suffice and give you an idea of what a wood-turners shop looks like and his toys. I noticed Dan referred to his art pieces as toys. So from here on out I will refer to them as toys as well. 

This is the first toy he showed me. It is all wooden, every detail, cut, turned, sanded, glued, tongue-in-groove applied and fashioned into a tractor and trailer with the logo of a local lumber store on the side. Keep in mind, every round thing on his craft has been turned on a wood lathe. 

Check out the lights on top of the tractor. Intricate details. 

In the background you see an electrical outlet. Like many Amish Dan uses a generator to power his lights and his shop tools.

One of the wheels up-close and personal. 

The back of the trailer. Those doors swing open. Details!

A closer look at the tractor. 

The step going into the cab and the fuel tanks. 

Next toy. A backhoe.

The other angle of the backhoe. 

A tractor, removable goose neck trailer, and a caterpillar all hand made by Dan. 

Another view.

Notice the different wood he used and also all the details.

 

The seat in the backhoe. 

The backhoe and the caterpillar tracks all wooden and painstakingly assembled together. They actually move.  

A Wood Turners Work Shop

It appears dark inside, but there was plenty of light, my camera just didn’t do the best inside looking out, but I wanted you to see Dan’s view as he is standing at his wood lathe working. 

Another view out of a window in his workshop. 

Dan has bits of inspiration all over. Here he has a map of a dump truck. 

I liked this so I got a close up. Toys and Joys! Describes Dan to a “t”. He likes his toys and he comes across as being full of joy. 

Looking around the workshop I found so many unique things. I liked the two hammers hanging their, ready to be used.

Belts hanging from the ceiling. And electrical cords. 

There is no real ceiling in the workshop and the studs are showing and Dan has utilized some nooks up there to tuck away items like these saw blades. 

One wall of his workshop holds tools and inspiration. The poster hanging there is full of pictures of wood turned bowls. Inspiration for Dan to look at when he wants to refer to something as he works on another toy. 

Every nook of his workshop is full of tools, big ones, little ones, all have a purpose as he fashions new toys. 

Wood turning tools, all nice and neat on this shelf with holes to store them on. 

I’m convinced that every Amish building has a clock. This is Dan’s clock. 

In prior posts I’ve made note of clocks on farms and in other wood shops.

Out behind the workshop you will find Dan’s generator that powers Dan’s tools and lights in the shop. 

Back inside Dan shows me this catalog that he uses to purchase interesting wood for his turnings. I could tell this catalog brings him hours of delight, browsing and dreaming. 

The Wood Turners Catalog.

While I was making my way around Dan’s workshop taking pictures I looked around and this is what I saw. Oh my! That is a really big pocket knife! 

And it works! 

Of course! 

Did you expect anything else? (insert smiley face right here.) 

And he does more! This is a lock and key and they work!

Closed.

Open.

Key hole and Initials. 

When Dan presented this to me he said in Pennsylvania Dutch – “Chpook in da nevil”. I was like, “Huh?” and he went on to say it is called – “Ghost in the Mist” – This was one solid rectangular piece of wood and with his wood lathe, and some rubber bands, he fashioned this “toy”. The rings don’t come off the stick and there are rings inside the egg like center. See next photo. 

Again, this was all one block of wood and none of those rings come off the stick. It really is amazing to hold and look at and wonder how he did it, even when he explains it to you. 

A wooden goblet, almost “biblical” in feel. Made of pear wood and so light and dainty. It is a beautiful piece. I didn’t know pear wood would be so light, but now I know. 

This is a beautiful vase made with maple wood. The wood grain in this piece is so pretty. The vase is solid and heavy. 

A pen in the shape of a bullet. Made by Dan. 

And there are the duck calls! Dan brought these out and laid them on his table saw and said, “Duck Dynasty put me out of business.” 

He has that same sense of humor I know so many Amish folks to have. 

A family stopped by to check out Dan’s “toys” as I was finishing up taking my pictures and so we said our good byes and Anna walked out with me and Bob and I asked her if I could take a few pictures of the outside, she consented, so after I moved my car, so her brother could leave, Anna and I walked through their yard and she talked about some of the other things that Dan has created on their property. I was struck at how multi-talented this man really is. As Anna talked about the various things I could just feel the support she has for her husband and his creative side. She discussed some of their dreams for the future. Personally she hopes Dan will slow down and be able to work in his work shop more. Not only does he work the food trailer, but he also mows grass at four different graveyards, one taking him 12 hours each time he mows. He also works part time for the township they live in and at the end of the day there don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to fulfill all their dreams. 

They live on the edge of a woods and part of it they have created into a wonderful little retreat. 

Steps leading to their little haven from the workshop. 

Brick work in the grass for the picnic table and the patio in the background.

The patio that holds a pizza oven and provides shelter for them as they are cooking and barbecuing and entertaining guests.

Dan laid all the stones for their patio, laying out designs in the grass before he attempted placing them in their final resting places. You would think he had done many patios before this one. 

He created a star design under the shelter of the patio. 

The pizza oven. 

Anna explained that they have a group of friends who like to come over and sit around the fire and they do a lot of visiting and the menfolk decided to make a sign for their little retreat. “What’s said in the woods, stays in the woods.” I have a feeling many a secret and confidence is shared under the trees and around the campfire.

A welcome sign hanging on the shelter. 

The pizza oven closer. I had to stop in the next night to get another couple of pictures I wanted to really put in this post and Dan came back out to meet me and he told me in great detail how they work this pizza oven and what they can make in it. He wants to try and use it like a smoker some day soon. Maybe do a brisket in there. He also said it takes four minutes to make a 12 inch pizza in this oven! Now talk about fast food! He said the grandchildren always rather have pizza than anything else when they come over. 

The inside of the oven. 

Their campfire ring. This is where they sit and visit and spill their secrets with their nearest and dearest friends. I told Dan I would love to come sit around this campfire one summer evening and experience this little retreat with them. 

Part of the landscaping around their little retreat. I have a feeling in the summer time, this is a thing of beauty. 

A couple little spring flowers were blooming already. 

The hydrant by the patio and you can also see the detail in the wall of the patio. 

More spring flowers.

A Baltimore Oriole feeder.  

They have a Wisteria tree in the front of their retreat and this is a seed pod from the tree. Dan told me, “There are probably hundreds of seeds in the grass now and we will have to try and see to it they don’t grow because they are a real mess to keep clean.” Their vines tangle over everything they come in touch with. 

When I was taking pictures the second day, Dan told me that in the summer on their “off Sunday” they cook breakfast out on their campfire and anyone is welcome to stop by for breakfast. Their friends know this and it sounds like they have very few breakfasts alone on those Sunday mornings. (Amish folks only go to church every other Sunday and so they have an “off Sunday.”) 

The only regret I have of this post is that I don’t have a picture of Dan and Anna to show you. They are such a sweet couple, a couple who knows how to have fun and what is important in life. Dan told me, “You see that pizza oven over there? That is our Florida trip. We prefer to spend money on some things around here and have it for a long time to enjoy rather than go travel and come back and have nothing to show for it.” I understand his logic, it makes sense when you think of it like that. He is busy pouring money and himself into creating a haven of rest and relaxation for them and their family and friends to enjoy often. She is busy working alongside him, maintaining the property, encouraging him to work on his newest creation and then both of them together stopping to smell the proverbial roses with their family and friends. 

And speaking of roses. Dan acknowledged he was also getting into rose gardening. He likes them. He has a few. I was thinking they told me how many, but I can’t remember the number. At one point he paused and said,”I’m not sure how many of them made it over the winter, but we will see.” I hope they all made it over this hard winter, but if they didn’t, I am sure Dan will persevere and one day there will be glorious rose gardens neatly tucked in all over their yard and thriving. 

My thoughts as I end this post? I just fell in love with this couple. They are such an example of how more of us should be. Work hard, for sure, for sure, but also take time to play, to relax, and enjoy the company of others. Many of us could take a page out of their book when it comes to supporting the other spouse when they have special talents. The surprise was all mine, because I thought I was going to see a few “carvings” and ended up understanding the difference between a carving and a wood turning and I also got a whole other element of this couple together, creating a restful haven for their family and friends. 

What an absolute pleasure this was. I want to go back and take pictures of their haven when it has some color. I have permission. I would almost venture to bet my husband and I will find ourselves around their campfire one night this summer enjoying a pizza that comes out of that pizza oven. 

Dan and Anna, I know you will be reading this post on your son’s computer and I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed stopping by your work shop and getting a tour of it and your little retreat in the woods. You have been a blessing to me and I want to thank you for allowing my readers to a look/see inside an Amish couple’s life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You truly are special folks.  

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Looking in my Rear View Mirror

Mrs. Miller’s Dry Goods

A few Saturday’s ago I stopped by a local business, tucked away in the quaint Amish town of Charm, Ohio. I browsed, took pictures and spoke with the owner and some of her employees, and I was mesmerized. The reason why I wanted to go see what it was all about was because last Fall I had a little chit chat with one of the employees about this business and was intrigued. This employee told me of how much fun she has at work and all the little perks she gets by working there. It sounded to me like they were a happy family there and it just felt warm and homespun to me, so I had to go check it out for myself.

 

I rarely travel to this quaint town called Charm anymore, it has become a town I once frequented on a weekly basis but now has become a place I go to mostly in my memory. We no longer live as close to Charm as we once did and usually when I leave our driveway I am headed in a different direction.

 

So when I say “I was sort of taken aback when I first arrived at Mrs. Miller’s Dry Goods“, that is exactly what I mean. I had no idea how much things had changed since I had last been there. When we were still Amish this was the place where I mostly shopped for my fabric to sew each one of my family member’s wardrobes. I purchased fabric for dresses, shirts, pants, coats and jackets and even my daughter and my coverings. I made almost everything we wore out of fabric that mostly came out of this store. I loved to sew and going to Mrs. Miller’s Dry Goods was always a pleasure when I needed more fabric. It filled up something inside of me as I walked through the aisles and touched the fabric and dreamed of what a dress could look like for my young daughter or myself, often contemplating purchasing a fabric that might be plain in color, but maybe have a texture, some design woven into the fabric, but usually adhering to the Amish rules and regulations on their dress code and making my purchase within the “ordnung” of the church.

 

As I paused in the doorway, the other Saturday, for a moment I remembered Mrs. Miller padding through her store, smiling, nodding “hello” as I entered her store and bidding me to “look around and if I needed help to ask”. I could see the former set up plainly in my mind’s eye and thought of how she and/or her two daughters were almost always there when one entered through the door. Mrs. Miller helped me countless times with my purchases, always friendly and patient, as were her two daughters, Katie and Mary. Quite simply, it was always a treat to enter their store and make my purchases.

 

One of the biggest changes I noticed as I stood there observing everything, when I first arrived, was the fabric that Amish folks might purchase to sew into dresses and pants has all been put in the basement and the top floor of the store has become a quilt and crafter’s dream. I suspect many Amish ladies purchase their fabrics from their own, more local, Amish-owned fabric stores these days. There are many of those all around us. I can probably think of ten or so such stores nearby. And there are probably many more I don’t even know of.

 

Some serious updates have taken place all over the two stores, each building has been tidied up, everything looks fresh, inviting, and well….homespun is a word I keep coming back to. I’ve been by the place since they’ve updated, but never paused to “notice” the changes.

 

Someone has a real talent and an eye for making sure folks know where to go. The signage around this business is like none other that I’ve ever seen. What a pleasure it was to be able to find things, know where to go and what to look for.  In my pictures you will see many of those signs. I was totally blown away with how organized everything was around there, both inside and out.

 

One of Mrs. Miller’s daughters now owns the business. She and her husband have utilized EVERY corner of the property her mother used to own. The house Mary grew up in has been turned into a fabric crafter and quilter’s retreat, called The Rural Thimble. The outside is beautiful and inviting. I have no doubt that coming here to spend a week or weekend quilting and crafting with one’s friends would leave one inspired, refreshed and feeling accomplished by the end of the stay. I did not get to go inside the house because it had been rented out to a group during that time. You can click on the link I provided in this paragraph for more photos and information.  

 

The log cabin Mrs. Miller had built and lived in behind the stores has now been turned into lodging. You can find out more by clicking on this link if you would like to stay deep in the heart of Amish Country. There is a beautiful covered bridge going back to the log cabin and a creek running through the property which I’m sure you can hear from the porch of the cabin.

 

The first family home had been turned into the store many, many years ago and much later the family barn had also been turned into a store. Following you will see a lot of pictures I took that Saturday and will try to describe what each one is.

 

Speaking with Mary as I was taking my pictures I felt like I understood why this place had changed so much. I knew Mary when she was still a young Amish girl and much later I would see her out and about, but never got to really know her. In today’s world she has blossomed into a confident businesswoman, calm, collected, friendly, trendy, and seems to have her thumb on the pulse of what makes quilters and fabric crafters tick. She isn’t afraid to put money into the business and her employees and for that reason, I think, is why her employees speak highly of her and why her customers have such a satisfied smile on their faces and why those customers return when they need more fabric or inspiration. When I say inspiration, I mean “IDEAS”. There are so many examples displayed throughout both of the stores, one can’t help but get an urge to sew something. If you are in the mood to craft or quilt but are uninspired, I recommend a trip to this quaint little Amish town called Charm and a visit to Mrs. Miller’s Dry Goods. It is a real treasure to go there and browse. I would say, if you are a quilter/fabric crafter you will want to carve out a half a day or more when you come for your first visit.

 

I am sure positive Mrs. Miller would be happy and satisfied with all the changes Mary and her husband have made to the business. When I left there I was smiling and felt something inside of me, something happy and homespun and wanting to return when I have more time. I enjoyed the memories of the old and the face of the new. I’m so glad I went and I’m so happy to feature Mary and her business in my “Real People” section on my blog.

 

 

On a side note…I wrote about traveling to this business via horse and buggy and about an incident that happened to me on the way home that day. You can read about that adventure by clicking here. It was hair-raising and a real life adventure for sure!

 

 

When you first arrive, you can’t help but take note of the signs.

 

Two stores. Quilt Barn and Fabric Store.

 

The Quilt Barn. There are comfy rocking chairs under the porch, I have a feeling a lot of men have found their way to that porch and those chairs whilst they wait on their ladies. The hitching post in front of the barn is still used by the Amish folks who come to shop.

 

The Fabric Store, formerly their home and years ago fashioned into Mrs. Miller’s livelihood to support her family.

 

A shot from a different angle of both stores.

 

The lazy sidewalk connecting the store and the quilter’s retreat, The Rural Thimble.

 

The porch of The Rural Thimble. Cozy quilter’s retreat!

 

Full view of The Rural Thimble.

 

Inside the fabric store, you will find many nooks and crannies, each one thought out, keeping the customer’s experience in mind. Here you can sit down and quilt! Yes, right there in the middle of the store you can experience quilting and I’m sure if you don’t know how to quilt, one of the very friendly employees or Mary, herself will gladly give you some tips and pointers.

 

Some quilts hanging on the walls. So beautiful!

 

Amanda, Mary’s daughter, and her grandmother’s namesake. She was working on a project for school she said. Amanda is a typical teenager, friendly, wanting to make sure her hair was nice and neat before I took her picture and when I asked her if she will one day take over the store she smiled and nodded her head and said “probably”.

 

Button, button, whose got the button? Here is a wash sink filled with buttons. You can sit down and explore the buttons, feel them, play with them, find some you like or need, get them weighed and take them home. Mary told me that kids ask to come here to play with the buttons. It is simply the coolest thing…ever!

 

One little nook right in the middle of the store has bakery cases Mary purchased from at an auction that had been part of Norman’s Bakery from Millersburg, Ohio. Norman’s Bakery was the bakery to go to in the 60’s and 70’s. Mary has recycled those cases into a nook a display that holds all kinds of shapes and sizes of fabric. The squares are called “layer cakes”, the rolled up ones are called “jelly rolls” and on and on. You will want to visit this little nook and check out the cases. Very innovative and quaint and a part of the local’s history. A few more bakery pictures follow. Enjoy!  

 

Examples hanging on the walls, with pre-cuts in packages ready to be purchased and taken home and crafted on your own sewing machine.

 

 

There are kits available for each month, and an example of each month is displayed, weaving their way around a wall on a laundry line. I chose to photograph August, because in the dead of winter, this looked so summer to me. And August is the month I was born in, so why not?

 

A chalkboard resides inside the entrance door and there are specials listed. I like the little hearts floating around. You can tell the folks who work there all care about the details and making the experience happy and fun and inspiring for their customers.

 

As I paused by this display I heard someone say, “Fat quarters, it’s not a body part!” I looked around and saw a cute and chipper young lady walking through the store with a customer. Sue Yoder also has her thumb on the pulse of this business and is friendly and outgoing.

 

A bit earlier Sue had yelled at me from across the store, “Hi Lue! I read your blog!” I was confused for one little second when I heard her say that. It is still humbling for me to know folks actually read my words that I post on here.

 

But it also feels good.

 

I like Sue! What a precious young lady! We got to talk for a few moments before I left the store and I just. like. her.

 

Okay, back to the fat quarters display. Mary explained that fat quarters are 1/2 yard pieces cut on the fold and are 18″ x 22″ square pieces. They are typically used for pillows. She said because they are cut this way the customer doesn’t have to purchase a whole 1/2 yard of fabric. It becomes economical for her customers.

 

These photos are of the inside of the fabric store. There are bolts and bolts and bolts of fabric. It is an amazing sight to behold when you are actually there.

 

Here is Sue helping a customer.

 

I forgot this lady’s name. I’m sorry, but she was so friendly, as are all the employees there. I asked her if I could take a picture and she willingly obliged.

 

I love this wall hanger. It just spoke to me. If I had a western style room, I would purchase this and bring it home.

 

You can purchase crafting fabrics in the Quilt Barn. Flannel, Homespun and Minkee. I knew there was flannel, but I had never heard of the other two, but I found out they are very popular fabrics and a whole room in the barn is dedicated to these fabrics.

 

Here are Tagalong Blankie’s. They are made with the Minkee fabric.

 

Minkee fabric is. so. soft!

 

Mary told me how she and her husband go to auctions and garage sales and “find” interesting displays for the store. you will find everything from bakery cases, to cribs to antiques in both stores displaying fabric and products.

 

Homespun display.

 

Barrels of oil cloth so one can make raincoats.

 

Who would have thought???

 

Not me! I was totally impressed.

 

The little orange coat is a perfect size for a little girl. I could just envision a little girl walking to school on a rainy day in her trendy homemade raincoat!

 

Here in the front room of the Quilt Barn is the original hay mow.

 

This is the perfect display for chicken pin cushions.

 

SO ADORABLE!

 

The Quilt Barn has a beautiful open stairway going upstairs and up there you will find the quilts and a ton of items made by mostly Amish ladies. It is one way that Amish ladies can bring in a little income and is a way that widows are able to supplement their support. I know Mary’s mother, Mrs. Miller, helped out the widows in the community by giving them quilting or other fabric craft projects to sew. My own mother in law quilted many a quilt for Mrs. Miller when she was still able to quilt.

 

 

 

Toaster covers. Mary said they are a popular item.

 

Yep, a whole, real open buggy resides in the upstairs of the Quilt Barn! It is that big up there!

 

These dolls are displayed on the open buggy. Don’t they look..mischievous?

 

Unique displays.

 

A bed in the middle of the Quilt Barn, holding a very pretty quilt. I love these colors. Greens are my favorite colors and so it really caught my eye.

 

A close up of the middle of the quilt. See how puffy? I wanted to just lay down for a spell and feel the comfort.

 

But I didn’t.  

 

I want to come back and pick out some of these area rugs for my home. Mary said some Amish man makes them and she has them in her home and they are fabulous! She said she can wash them and they always hold up. I’m sold! I want some for my mud room and my kitchen….and maybe my laundry room…hmmm? I better stop.

 

How! Beautiful!

 

An close up of one of the area rugs.

 

Quilts hanging in the background. Lots and lots of quilts. If you are in the market for a beautiful quilt that will become an heirloom…this is the place to go. I’m sure if Mary doesn’t have it there, she can get one made for you. She has connections throughout the Amish community and can get you what you want.

 

On the outside of The Quilt Barn, beside the entrance door, is a small door that the family horse would look out of in the summer time. I remember him hanging his head out of there when I would stop by to make my purchases. If I remember correctly, the horse’s name was Tony, but not quite sure.

 

Sue! What a pleasure! Like I said, she seems to have her thumb on the pulse of this wonderful business and just look at her smile! Her personality just oozes friendly and fun.

 

Getting to know Sue made me wish I had time to get to know more of Mary’s employees and feature more of them here. I did meet Sue’s mother who also works here. She is Amish and a widow and also very friendly and helpful. My friend from church, Dorothy, is the one who told me about how much she loves her job and all the amazing things happening here. Hi Dorothy!

 

Meet Mary!

 

What a lovely lady!

 

I just know her mother would be so proud of her if she could see what Mary has done to with the business.

 

The covered bridge going over to the cabin.

 

The view of the cabin through the covered bridge.

 

The creek.

 

The cabin. If you are wanting a wonderful place to stay, here is an idea! Doesn’t it look lovely and comfortable and calming?

 

A map hanging on The Quilt Barn wall. You can see the surrounding area.

 

I hope you do…”Come In”.

 

I didn’t get the half of what is there.

 

I didn’t want to.

 

Even if you don’t quilt or fabric craft, it will hold your interest and it is an experience you don’t want to miss. Also, if you want your male counterparts to travel with you and they are completely disinterested in stopping/browsing here, there is a place called Keim Lumber just a hop, skip and a jump from Mrs. Miller’s Drygood’s door and your family can go there and they will be mesmerized for hours. I promise. They have a café, so food and drinks are available for the hungry and thirsty ones, and there are plenty of restrooms if one has to “go”, and besides the essentials, Keim Lumber has everything else under the sun, or so I’ve been told.

 

For more information on Mary’s businesses, please visit Mrs. Miller’s Dry Goods to learn more. You can also visit her Facebook page here.

 

If you liked this blog post and would like to read more, I invite you to browse my blog and also stop by my Facebook page and “like” it so that we can remain in touch and get all my updates on the blog. I am in the process of writing a book and so that is something to look forward to one day if you are a reader. I am working on a novel, but I have a couple other ideas grinding their gears in my head, so who knows what I will finish first?? I loved having you here and hope you stop by some more.

 

Find me on Facebook @ Looking in my Rear View Mirror.

 

  

Elizabeth’s Store

A couple weeks ago I introduced you to my friend Elizabeth. She has had a hard life, her husband cheated on her, left her for their maid, then he took all of their children away from her. Her Amish church shunned her for reasons that I did not disclose in my post because if we ever write out her story, we will add in all the details to the why’s and wherefores of her life. If you have not read my posts about Elizabeth, I invite you to click on the links following and reading about her and experiencing the process of making a basket. I think you will enjoy it. 

My Friend Elizabeth – part one     My Friend Elizabeth – part two

Elizabeth is a lady with gumption and zeal and she will not lay down and die just because life is hard, so as you were able to see in my two prior posts, she makes baskets to supplement her income. She has a little store tucked away in a corner of her barn. Her store is a bit bare at the moment because she also does home health care and it keeps her quite busy. She will fill up her store as she can and also takes orders for baskets if you would like a certain one she doesn’t have on hand. 

Following are pictures of her store on the inside. I neglected getting one from the outside for some reason. It is very small and was hard for me to get a scope of the whole store, but I got small details. I will describe things as we go along. 

The pictures are not in any kind of order, I just uploaded them from my camera in the order I shot them, so it may seem a little random at times. 

Elizabeth has two sons, both are married now and are very crafty. Her oldest son makes these chairs down at his home in Tennessee and she sells them for him as she gets customers for them. I checked out the chair and it is very sturdy and very nicely handcrafted. I may have to get one for my grandson. It would fit him well for the next couple years. 

A little gas heater that keeps the store nice and warm, tucked away beside a window that is in the little store. 

She sells a few cleaning items. 

This is an desk organizer basket that she makes. You can order it in various colors. I think this one is dark blue, but she has green, red, black colors as well. 

Her heart basket. 

Egg basket. She had a vision on how to make this one. That vision is what she woke up from and had the idea to make baskets for a living. It is quite a story when she tells it. 

Way up high is a child’s cradle she has woven. 

A round basket, possibly her pie basket and I think it comes with a lid and a divider. On most of the baskets you can get the stationary handles or the leather ones you see in this picture. 

She sells some baby gift items and such that either she or local Amish ladies make and she keeps them in bins so they don’t get dirty or dusty from sitting in the store for awhile. 

All sizes and shapes and colors of baskets. 

More baskets.

She makes these little primitive rag balls that are decorative and all the rage anymore. She only has a few left of those right now. 

She can weave various designs using different colored and sizes of reed like in the picture above. 

Behind the basket is a carpet that an Amish person makes and she sells them in her store for them. 

I think this is the basket that you can sit on a stairway and it covers two steps. 

In her store, on her shelving she has typed out her story of how she got started making baskets. This is a picture of that story. 

A better picture of the Amish made carpets she sells. 

She dabbled a little bit with making soap, here is the last of her soaps. 

This sign you will see hanging somewhere at most Amish businesses and farms. I’ve often wondered about such a sign. Does it mean anything if someone hurts themselves? I can’t imagine it would, but I have no idea. I had to get a picture of it because I remember growing up with those signs everywhere. 

This is her gas light that she lights if it is dark in her store. It is very basic, the ones in the homes are a little more decorative than this one. This one is just functional. 

In this little nook she has some homemade sleepers, and basket liners and other odds and ends that you can purchase at her store. 

A more up close look on her display. 

A basket liner. 

Neck pillows. 

Her neck pillow tree. 

She makes cards, there is her card display. Following are more up close pictures of the cards she has in her display. 

And another egg basket. I’ve watched her make this kind before and it is really detailed and she can almost do it in her sleep. It is amazing how God has gifted her and how talented she really is. So organized and neat and together.

If you are interested in purchasing a basket, or any other item you saw, from Elizabeth or are in the area and would like to visit her little store, I can make sure you get information on how to contact her. You can private message me on Facebook or send me an email at: sage_solstice@yahoo.com and I will get back to you with the information. 

Looking in my Rear View Mirror Facebook Page

my friend, elizabeth – part two

This post is an extension from a couple days ago.  I invite you to go here if you  haven’t read part one yet.

Elizabeth makes baskets as a way to sustain her income. At one point in her life this was all she did, but she has gotten into home health care and now works her basket business on the side. 

I will warn you, I have a ton of pictures on this post. Please let me know if you have trouble getting them to load or anything. I didn’t know how many I would be able to load into this post. So, I’m all for trying something, so here goes. 

I hope you enjoy the tour and her basket making process. In total, it took her about 2 1/2 hours start to finish. She made a dual pie basket. It was a custom made basket, the lady wanted her pies to be side by side in the basket and not have them on top of each other with a divider between her pies as you would usually see. 

Again, her entrance into her workshop. As you enter the door you are in the first part of her work shop and then off to the side is another door and there is where she makes her baskets. 

This is her generator she uses for many things, this day it was used to power her shop tools and also later on run the water pump to fill up her cistern. 

She has gas heat in her work shop. This was hanging from the ceiling. It was nice and toasty in her workshop. 

Amish are very time conscience. You will find clocks all over, even in their work shops. 

Here she is cutting her wood on her table saw. Something was giving her some issues, you can see her skirt was swishing because she was trying to pound the thing into submission a little bit. 

Finally, it was working and she sawed her big board in two. 

As she was fiddling with things, I was shooting more pictures. This was taken through her workshop window looking outdoors. 

Her two little dogs were happy to watch her. They were all over the place, almost giddy with excitement. 

Here is her table saw, and she is figuring something out over on her work bench. 

One thing Elizabeth is, is organized. She has order in every corner of her property. Here she has some boxes stacked up with basket making materials. 

Under the ice chest is a a stack of wood, all neatly stacked, ready for her to cut the boards into primitive crafts and then paint them. She is really looking forward to having time to get to this project. Personally, I’m looking forward to see what she comes up with. 

Her dogs patiently waiting on her to finish up so she can play with them. 

Back at the table saw, more cutting is done. 

She is careful with each measurement, making sure her saw is set just right before she makes one cut. 

Another stack of wood boards, ready for her primitive craft projects. 

Her workbench, all neat and in order. 

I’m not sure what this piece is called? Maybe a router. Maybe some men out there can set me on the right course. 

This is her band saw, I think she said.

One thing Elizabeth is, is frugal and she finds ways to organize using the things she has around her. Here she is utilizing empty coffee containers to hold small hardware items, nails, nuts and bolts, etc. 

There they are, all her coffee containers neatly like pretty maids in a row. Nice and tidy. 

She said this was a project she was to do for someone else. 

More of her tools hanging neatly in their place, always knows where she can find her stuff. 

Here she is cutting some very small slats using careful, careful maneuvers. I was afraid for her hands! 

The slats would fling back off the saw and on to the floor. 

The pile getting higher. 

Here she is, actually cutting some of the slats to length, after cutting them the other way first. 

The saw blade when it was stopped. 

All the slats in the right lengths and width. 

She has electric lighting, powered by the generator outside on the porch. 

Now she has to round the corners of this board. It is actually the bottom of her very sturdy basket she is about to make. 

She made this template and it helps her consistently get all her corners just right. 

Just like that.

And the template has a spot right there above her work bench. 

Here she is cutting her corners with her band saw. 

Her workshop is wired really handy for her, she can use an electric sander with no problems. 

More electrical outlets on the side of her work bench. 

She has quite a few windows in her workshop, this is another view she has out back of her work shop. How beautiful is that? 

When you first walk into her basket weaving area of her workshop you see these two half barrels. We will come back to them a bit later. 

She has a large natural gas heater in this part of the room, it keeps the room toasty all winter long. She keeps stains and such in this room and it needs to be warm or the stains would ruin from being too cold. It also helps her to stay warm when she is making baskets and drying baskets. 

She sat down and did a little measuring and figuring. This is a custom made basket so she has to figure out exactly where to place things, otherwise she has templates and things go along a little quicker. 

She has no computer, obviously, so her handy dandy yellow page notebook is where she keeps her orders in order. Beside the notebook are a few sheets of baskets she regularly makes and I think she had them in front of her to jog her memory a little bit of what she might have to do for this custom order in front of her. 

She is organized. Her shelves testify to that. 

Some baskets in various states of the process to being finished. 

Another window, another view from her workshop. She has some plants in this part also. So pretty. 

Her basket making work table. It is low to the ground and handy to lay your work on it. 

More of her organization.

She keeps everything handy and neat. 

Some of her plants. 

Some folks think moth balls will keep the spiders away. I faintly smelled them, and there was the box to prove they were around. 

Elizabeth LOVES to fish. I found her fishing lines on her shelves. 

Another view.

Her dogs were waiting..waiting…waiting for her to be done already. 

These are her basket making tools on her table, handy and up close. 

I forget what she calls this twine..I think she calls it sea grass, but she uses it to “top wrap” her baskets. I love the spools and the grass. 

Her shelving from one end of her little space. 

Her stool, I think she made it herself, it is on rollers and is low and perfect for making baskets. Elizabeth likes to work in comfort and makes things work for comfort. 

Another box of slats. 

I found this old scale on her shelf. I loved it for some reason, so there it is. 

Here she is attaching the handle to her basket. 

She said as long as she is not posing, I was allowed to capture on camera. She just worked and I clicked away. She is so handy with that hammer!

Starting to attach the slats to her bottom. 

Finally, all the slats are on and ready for the next step. 

A decorative reed is attached around the bottom so that you don’t see the slats. 

I’ve made a couple baskets and this part is really hard for me. She makes it look so easy. 

The weaving begins. Her basket is sitting on top of a lazy susan of sorts and so the basket goes round and round as she needs it to. 

The weaving progresses. 

Weaving is finished. 

Decorative reed same as on the bottom edge is now attached all the way around the opening. 

Top wrapping begins. I believe she has three strands going at once here. This part is hard, very hard, I’ve done it before and always need her coaching to get me through the process. 

And here you see, the top wrapping is finished and has a nice woven look all the way around the top of the basket. 

Done with the weaving, not finishing touches.

She uses a torch to burn off any little strands of wood and reed that might be sticking out. This makes the basket look nice and polished. 

She is very careful to get every stray strand. I love to do this part. wink wink

There she is holding the torch so you can see what she is using. 

Now, to stain the basket. First she put on some old coat and plastic apron, grabbed a bucket of stain and stirred it as you see her doing here. 

Then she lifted one of those barrels and turned it around and it was a bowl to use to stain her basket in. 

You see a pile of cloth, she got a scissor and cut a piece off and pitched the rest back on the shelf. 

She made a funnel with a milk jug.

See, just like that. 

Cloth is inside the funnel. 

Her scoop to scoop the stain out of the bucket.

Her stain stirrer. 

Basket is placed inside the barrel and she holds her funnel over the basket and starts to pour stain into the funnel, to be sure there are no particles in the stain. 

Once the stain has been funneled through the cloth, she then takes her scoop and pours the stain all over the basket. When she has a lot of baskets to stain at once, she will pour a lot of stain in her barrel and dip the basket, but since she only had the one, she did it this way, so she didn’t have to mess with so much stain. 

Finally all stained. 

Now she takes the time to rub the excess stain off the basket so that it doesn’t bubble and run as it is drying. 

The basket is finished and now sitting in front of the heater to dry overnight. She said her church folks somehow ventilated the heater so that she is able to do this. Her stain is also a water based stain. 

Cleaning up. 

Another look at the basket. I wonder what kind of pie the lady is going to be baking and transporting the first time she uses it? 

This is part of the pumping system she has to pump water into her cistern. After we were done making the basket and had cleaned up she got this running. But then she noticed her pipe out back was frozen, so she took the time to go out and un-thaw the pipe with same torch she had just used on the basket. 

There she is, using the torch on her frozen pipe. She is a gutsy lady, I have to depend on my husband to do all those kinds of manly man things, but she somehow finds a way to just do it. She does rely on her church men to come help her with some of her work, she did say the first time the pipe froze her neighbor from church came over and showed her how to un-thaw it. 

I hope my pictures didn’t daunt you or were too much. I felt like I had so many good pictures to show of the process and what her workshop looks like. She is a precious lady to allow me to come and take pictures and answer all my questions and still love me at the end of it all. She wants to read my posts once I have them up. I am actually hoping folks will comment either here or on my Face book page so she can read what the readers thought. If you have something to say to her, please let her know here. I will be letting her read all of it. 

I do have one more post to do on her. It will be on her store. In that post I will show you a small sampling of baskets she can do. She said she is pretty much cleaned out right now and doesn’t have a large selection. If anyone would want to order a basket from her, please private message me on Face book or email me at sage_solstice@yahoo.com and I will connect you with her.

If you like this post or any of my other posts on my blog, I would love if you would share a link with others. I’m trying to market this blog on my own and get some buzz going so that when I get my book written I will be able to point a publisher to my website and Face book page and show them that there are folks who are interested. I need help doing so though. In return, if you have something you would like me to share for you, please let me know. 

Please like my Face Book page. 

Looking in my Rear View Mirror

my friend elizabeth – part one

Elizabeth Edwards.

 She is my friend.

 No, she isn’t the dead exwife of a former embattled presidential hopeful. She is an Amish lady who fell in love with a young man who came from the “English” and joined the Amish as a young lad and later went on to marry this fine lady. 

Along the way Mr. Edwards completely mistreated my friend and after some years and many a battle and trial, she found herself to be all alone, no husband, no children. He had taken all four of their children away from her, citing her to be unfit. The courts did not agree with him, but because her church forbid her to fight it in court, she was found in contempt of court and lost everything. 

How is it possible that her church would not allow her to fight for her children? How is it possible her husband would be so cruel? 

Over the years I’ve had to forgive her husband and her church over and over again for causing my friend so much pain. 

How could they? 

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This past Sunday night Elizabeth and I found ourselves in my study, relaxing on my couch and reminiscing our friendship. 

I had wondered if she would remember the first time we saw each other. I was amazed she remembered, it was at a vitamin and mineral meeting. She had come in to the meeting with her hired maid because that day a nail had flown into her eye and she wondered if the folks who were holding the meeting would be able to recommend a remedy for her eye. 

Elizabeth is a lady you will never forget if you get a chance to talk with her one time. She is unlike so many Amish ladies, she is vivacious, she does life with gusto and admits very quickly when things are not going very smoothly. She is not too prideful to ask for help, but she is very handy with a lot of things, in a lot of ways, and sometimes I wonder if there is anything she cannot do. 

The other day she called me, she had just returned home from her home health care job and she was laughing in the phone and she said, “What do you think?!” I said I didn’t know and asked her, “what’s up?” She said, “I just came home from my job and my back door had been blown open by the wind, probably yesterday already, and there are snowdrifts all the way in my kitchen and hallway and the bathroom pipes are frozen.” She giggled some more and then she told me what she wanted and said, “Well, I have to go get rid of this snow.” 

She was NOT daunted in the least of the snow in her house, or the mess it left, she just cleaned it up. She told me later it took her two hours to remove the snow from her house.

Two hours people! That is a lot of snow…and a lot for her to do all by herself. She is so used to doing things for herself, she never gave it a thought. 

My friend is jolly. She is always smiling or laughing. If you are in the dumps, just go visit her, you will feel better instantly. She loves to play games and she loves to win. She is competitive beyond anything I’ve ever seen and she figures the games out and how she has to play so that she can win. I get a kick out of watching her. If she is losing, she is more quiet, because she is figuring things out and more than not, she comes up from behind and wins. More than not, I say. 

We have done so many things together, but the times I cherish the most are when she has invited us to her home to meet her children. I fell in love with her youngest daughter, the first time I met her. She was dressed like a girl out of “Little House on the Prairie” and she was a young lady with substance. I believe her mother’s prayers found their way to this young lady’s heart and soul. 

I cherish the times I’ve sat in her workshop and we made basket’s together. She has trusted me to help her weave baskets that she sold! She has also patiently helped me make a couple of baskets for myself. I basically did everything, but she had to couch me along and I am sure it took a ton of patience, but she didn’t mind at all. 

There is one thing I can’t stand is when I know someone is alone for a holiday. So, Elizabeth has spent several holidays with us over the years. Somehow those times I remember were more happy and cheerful than when she isn’t celebrating with us. My extended family all receive her with open arms and we always talk about the times Elizabeth has celebrated with us. I think each holiday someone asks me, “Is Elizabeth coming this year?” We all enjoy her so much. She had plans to join us this year, but then got a ride to Tennessee to visit her children, so there was no way she was missing that chance. I was so happy she got to spend Christmas with her grandchildren. She just beams when she talks about them. 

After Elizabeth’s husband destroyed her life and all she knew as normal was gone, she found herself living with her sister and sister’s family. During her stay with her sister she had a vision, a vision how to make a basket. When she woke up she thought it might have been God speaking to her and so she did some investigating, found some catalogs to order basket weaving materials and a long story made short…she started to make baskets and that began her career of basket making.

She had a little store at her home, but then she also found wholesalers who gave her large orders for baskets and she started a really lucrative business for herself in our area. She has told me that since then she has taught many Amish of her kind, Swartzentruber Amish, how to make baskets so they could also make money. She has a heart of gold and will help a person out no questions asked. She doesn’t live with an agenda in her heart. She lives each day with zeal and purpose. Firstly, she needs to survive, she needs food and shelter and her basket business has largely been that source of income for her. In the past couple of years she has moved into home health care and it has been a more lucrative income for her. Her baskets are now the side business and she works on her orders as she can. 

Elizabeth is also interested in painting “primitive” decorative items. She has boards in her work shop all ready for her to get to them when she can find the time. When she talks about this endeavor her eyes light up and you can tell it is where her passion really seems to lie. I hope that she can get this up and running, it would suit her well and she could take some of her work along to her home health care job and work on it when her patient is sleeping. 

The other night when we were talking about our friendship and everything under the sun, I asked her, “Elizabeth, what is your biggest challenge right now?” She paused for a moment and looked me straight in my eyes and said, “I get so lonely. I long for companionship, someone to share my home with and be able to talk with them.” 

Loneliness is such a monster, I think. 

I thought to myself, “if her husband hadn’t ripped her children from her arms and took them out of state to live, she would have less loneliness to battle with.” 

Had to apply forgiveness, again. 

The interesting thing about friendships are that they are giving and receiving. As we sat on my couch and visited about our friendship she brought out things she appreciates about me and I was thinking, “my goodness, we have no idea how our lives touch others.” I always feel like her life touches me so, her unselfish ways, her giving of herself, her laughter and having a way to look at everything in a positive way. How could it be that my friendship adds anything to her life, but I am learning, yet again, true friendship works two ways. 

God has been so good to my friend. He has helped her learn how to extend forgiveness and grace when others might not want to. She has learned to move forward and find fun in life. She loves to laugh and finds ways to do so in many ways. She loves campfires and camping. She loves children, and helping young girls. A young girl from Switzerland made her home with Elizabeth for a few months a couple summers ago. They are still close, writing to each other to stay in touch. Her heart is always to help someone in need. 

She sees her children and grandchildren periodically. They don’t live in the same state, eight hours of road trip keep them apart, but now and then Elizabeth finds a way to the hills of Tennessee to visit with her children, or then they come to visit her. Her children could each write a book of their adventures living with their father and then moving away from him. Most of them now have driver’s licenses and  can, more freely, come to visit her. 

There are many, many layers to Elizabeth’s story, layers that will find their way inside the covers of a book. We are hoping to write her book together, my dream would be to co-author her book and let the world read her side and how she has had to do life alone and how she has found hope in God and how that looks for her. We talk about it a lot. I think we are more ready than not. So, when the time is right, we will start to put pen to paper and see what we come up with. 

This post is actually going to turn into a two or three part post. I took so many pictures yesterday. She made a basket, start to finish, and I have tons of pictures of the process. I also took photos around her property, so those will be in this post and the basket making will be in the second post. 

I really hope you enjoy this post, Elizabeth is in my inner circle of friends. We laugh so much when we are together. We relate with each other on so many levels, both having been hurt deeply in different ways. We can talk about the hurtful times, but we don’t dwell, we are both similar in that we want to “live life”, not just exist. 

Elizabeth’s home.

 It is a rental, tucked back behind a row of houses in a local little town in Amish country. 

She likes to decorate. Here is her front entrance, there is a patio covered by snow, but her decorations still show through. 

Two things…her phone shanty..so cute…and her solar panel. It creates power for her to use in her home. 

This is her workshop. You will see the inside in my next post. 

Closer up of her workshop porch. 

She has a campfire pit on her property, the picnic table marks the spot really well. Love the trees in the back. 

Closer up, the campfire pit and picnic table. 

Her cat. 

Her peach tree. 

Her horse getting some sun. Beautiful setting. 

Later her horse had backed his backside up to the barn…she called his name and he turned his head to look for her. 

Her dogs, not a good picture, they didn’t hold still very long. They are eating the cat’s food here. They are another source of income for her. Long haired Chihuahua, pure bred. 

Her garden tools neatly in hung up on the barn wall. 

Icicles hanging off of her workshop roof.

On my way home from her house. 

Also followed this fellow for a little bit. Not the best picture. 

Sorry, loved this picture so much…here it is again. 

True friendships are hard to come by. I think Elizabeth and I have something really special. I cherish all my time I get to spend with her. We are both busy and sometimes it goes a long while before we see each other, but when we do see each other it is if there was no time between this time and the last time. 

I also wanted to point out one more thing. Elizabeth used to be Swartzentruber Amish. She grew up and lived a very strict lifestyle for many years. A few years back something happened and she was shunned by the Swartzentruber Amish church. Not to give everything away, that part of her story will be layered inside her book one day. Because of being shunned from her former church she then asked an Old Order Bishop if she could join his church and he agreed and so now she has learned to live among the Old Order Amish while being shunned by all her siblings and everyone else she knew and trusted. 

ice fishing with larry and mitch

My friend, Larry and his brother in law, Mitch wanted to go ice fishing. I was having a conversation with Larry the other day and asked him if he would ever want to go fishing in a little pond. He said he would be interested so I text messaged my dad and asked him if it was OK if I brought my friend over to ice fish on their pond. The answer was positive so we planned it. Saturday, noon-ish, Larry would call me when he was leaving his place so that I would have time to grab my camera and make the five mile trek to my parent’s home. 

Make sure and click on the first picture and then it will turn into a gallery and you can see the pictures much better and with more detail. 

The pond. 

Larry drilling a hole in the ice. He has this handy dandy auger thingamabob and in 30 seconds flat he has a solid eight inch hole! It was amazing to watch the first time I saw him go at it. 

He has some kind of handy dandy scoop thing that he uses to dig out the chunks of ice in the hole. 

A little better view of the tool. 

Notice, even his box is in camouflage. He is big time.  

He measured the ice using the handle, a solid 10 inches thick, maybe more. 

I felt safe walking on the ice knowing it was that thick. 🙂 

There it is, one of the half dozen holes he dug trying to find where the fish were hiding out. 

This is how you set things up so you don’t loose them in the snow. Larry knows every trick in this trade. He is a boy scout leader and if I was ever lost in the wilderness I would want to be lost with him. He knows things….lots of things and he is prepared! 

The handy dandy auger drilling machine. There is a blade at the end of the auger and it is sharp, very sharp. Once I seen that blade I better understood why it took thirty seconds to drill a hole. 

Larry didn’t really want a front view shot of him, but didn’t care if I took pictures from his back and side view. He knew I was going to put the pictures on here and felt a tad shy.

Some fishing lines, extra gloves and tackle box. 

Here he is showing me his fishing lines. Now, I really learned something here, I didn’t know you used shorter lines for ice fishing. They were so cute! Like a toy, almost, but I bet they are expensive. 

Here he was telling me he likes the one line better than the other but then something happened and his favorite line broke, so he had to use part of another line on his favorite one to make it usable. 

See, short line in the hole. Mitch is in the background. He was kind of shy too, but very friendly when the camera wasn’t clicking away. 🙂 

Here Larry is checking to see how deep the water is. He surmised it to be roughly eight feet deep right there. 

No gloves for Larry. 

He tried it over there under some brush my dad lets grow around part of the pond. Hoping it would prove profitable. 

I tried a different angle, through the brush, I took a couple of shots, and kind of liked this one.

After this shot my toes were so cold I had to be a wimp and go in and warm up in my parent’s house. I asked Larry to call me on my cell phone if he caught anything. 

He did. He said it was one small blue gill so far. I told him I would be out in a few. 

I returned to the pond to find this little feller. He looked dead. Dad and Larry had agreed that any “small ones” Larry could leave for the coons. I understand, too many small ones in the pond makes so nobody grows in there…and that’s not good for the pond or the fish. After awhile Larry and Mitch gave up, no good fishing today, only the one small blue gill was to be caught this day. 

I probably talked too much and when I was walking all over the place I probably made too much noise…I did notice when I went in the house is when Larry caught the one fish! I just had to ask my questions and try to get the best shots possible. A girls’ gotta do what a girls’ gotta do. 

I looked at the small fish, it flip-flopped, it looked sad. I knew it was alive and I looked up at my parent’s house, knowing dad said to leave any small ones on the bank..but I just couldn’t let it stay there to die. I asked Larry if I grabbed it by the tail, does he think I could throw it back in….he said, “sure”…so I did…I saved the small fish’s life this day. Dad will probably fish him out next Spring, but I don’t have to be there for that. He lives and that is all I cared about today. 

Across the road from the pond is a field. those brown markings in the snow is liquid manure. I bet the area stunk to high heaven whenever they sprayed that on there. It does make the crops grow so well, but it really stinks too! 

On the road you will see three bikers…they are the neighbor kids coming over to my dad’s property. Their dad was cutting up some trees in my dad’s woods. I wanted to take pictures of the tree cutting operations, but didn’t have the nerve. Some Amish really don’t want their pictures taken at all. I didn’t know about these guys so I left them alone. 

Here the one little boy was walking through the woods from his house to dad’s woods to help his dad cut down the tree. 

On the way home I paused in front of an Amish home to get this shot for my readers who aren’t from the area. Mr. Horse has a blanket on, this means his owner is taking care of him…very well.

One can pause on the road in Amish Country if nothing is behind you. 

More buggy shots. 

And the horse’s feet. For some reason…I wanted a shot of them. 

And that, my friends, ends my fish tale for the day. It was a lot of fun for me, probably more of a hassle for Larry and Mitch, but they blessed me by humoring me and allowing me to take pictures of the process.