4:15 a.m.
The alarm rings, and I pack my son Benjamin’s lunch. Benjamin had a long weekend. He went up to Cadillac, Michigan, camping with his friend and their family from Friday morning to Sunday night. They went mushroom hunting, but it was too early for the mushrooms in that area. We have a meal of mushrooms here that son-in-law Tim found. What a nice expensive gift with the price of mushrooms.
4:30 a.m.
Benjamin leaves for work, and daughter Verena gets up and leaves to go stay with daughter Loretta while Dustin goes to work.
5:15 a.m.
My husband Joe leaves for work. He didn’t want breakfast, as he is battling a cough again. I have his lunch packed. I decide to take a nap on my recliner until I need to help my son Kevin get up and into his mobility scooter for the day.
7:30 a.m.
I get up and make some coffee.
8 a.m.
Joe is back home from work. He didn’t feel good when he left and should’ve probably not attempted to go. I fill out more wedding invitations to put in the mail. We are behind in getting those out. It takes a lot of headwork to assign jobs for all the cooks and decide which days to come help.
9 a.m.
I help Kevin get onto his scooter and make him and me breakfast. It’s grilled cheese and bacon. I gather laundry, as I want to wash clothes today. It’s a lovely day outside. I wish I’d had more energy to get started earlier and have my laundry on the line already. It was a long weekend, and it felt good to sleep in a little. On Saturday, Joe and I put some garden out. We planted 200 plants: sweet onions, green peppers, hot peppers, lettuce, radishes, red beets, green beans, etc.
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and I attended church at our neighbors’. Joe wasn’t able to go due to his chest congestion. We mothers were all given a small plant, and the men washed dishes after lunch.
Our children treated us to a delicious supper in honor of Mother’s Day. How precious a mother feels when her children think of doing something in her honor on a day like this. Those of you who are mothers know the many sleepless nights and all the sacrifices a mother faces. Getting a special thanks from her children makes it all worth the effort. As a mother, I know I have often failed, but we are only human. We do our best, and it takes many prayers. Daughter Elizabeth has often told me that after being a mother herself, she appreciates her mother even more and sees what being a mother is all about.
10:30 a.m.
Verena is back home already. She washes dishes, etc., while I head to the basement to finally get started on laundry.
1:30 p.m.
After a few interruptions, I finally have the lines all filled with clothes. The weather is sunny with enough wind to blow the laundry dry pretty quickly.
2:30 p.m.
Joe and I leave for town for his doctor appointment. The doctor wasn’t too pleased with Joe’s condition and made an appointment for him again in the morning. I pray we will get answers soon on what causes his pain when he walks.
4:30 p.m.
We are back home. Son Benjamin is home, and Daniel Ray comes over to help for a while. He helped Verena bring in the clothes from the lines. I start frying chicken for supper.
6:30 p.m.
Chicken is ready, plus steamed potatoes, cheese, lettuce and homemade sour cream dressing. Daniel Ray leaves for home after we eat.
9:15 p.m.
Everyone is settled down and ready to call it a day. On May 10, grandson Isaiah had his seventh birthday. I haven’t seen him yet to give him his card and gift. Wishing you all a good night and God’s many blessings!
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Fresh Fried Morel Mushrooms
1 pound wild morel mushrooms
½ cup oil for frying
2 large eggs
¾ cup milk
1 4-ounce packet saltine crackers, finely crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut any large morels in half and place them in a large bowl. Cover with cold, lightly salted water. Refrigerate mushrooms for five minutes to loosen any dirt. Then, pour off salted water, rinse and repeat twice more. Crevices of the mushrooms can have little stones or insects. Thoroughly rinse mushrooms a final time and allow to drain on paper towels.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Beat eggs and milk together, and coat morels in the egg mixture. Then, toss morels in cracker crumbs. (Some use flour instead.) Cook in oil until they are golden brown on each side. The mushrooms will cook quickly. Season with salt and pepper, and enjoy!
• Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, an Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife and mother of eight. Her three cookbooks, “The Cherished Table,” “The Essential Amish Cookbook” and “Amish Family Recipes,” are available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, P.O. Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply), or email questionsforlovina@gmail.com and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.