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Lovina Has Special Times to Spoil Grandchildren and Share Family Meals

By
Guest Columnist
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Lovina’s Amish Kitchen
Lovina Eitcher,
Old Order Amish
Cook, Wife &
Mother of Eight

 

It is Monday afternoon and what a lovely March Day it is! The temperature is almost 70 degrees. The sun is shining but it’s windy. I have clothes hanging on the lines which was a little bit challenging to hang up, especially bed sheets and blankets. I love the Polygrip clothes pins. I still don’t have enough for a big laundry so I still need to use some wooden ones. The Polygrip is so much stronger. 

This weekend was busy but enjoyable. Friday around 11:30 a.m. daughter Lovina and Daniel brought 6-month-old Brooklyn here while they traveled an hour to go to a doctor appointment. She was very content here. She’s getting so active and really chatting now. On Fridays my husband Joe is usually home by 1:00 pm so he was here to help spoil her too. 

Around 3:30 pm daughter Elizabeth brought Timothy (TJ), Allison, and Andrea here while they went to town for an appointment. While at the hospital they had to take safety because of a tornado warning. Daniel and Lovina were on the way home while the tornado sirens were going off in every nearby town. It did a lot of damage in several nearby towns. Our prayers go out to everyone that lost their homes and especially to the families that lost their loved ones. The sun was shining here and it was hard to believe that only twenty miles away there was such devastation. I cannot imagine what they must have experienced to have their homes ripped apart and their belongings all scattered around. Elizabeth picked up their children around 7:30 pm. It was enjoyable to have the grandchildren here. 

Saturday morning daughter Susan and Ervin brought Kaitlyn, Jennifer, Isaiah, Ryan, Curtis and Ervin Jr here to stay with us while they went to town to get groceries. Baby Sharlene went with them. I made breakfast for the children. We had breakfast casserole, pon hoss (that was given to us from niece Emma and Menno), toast, butter and jelly.

Son Joseph and Grace came before lunchtime. They brought their bacon sides from the pig they had butchered last weekend. Joe sliced the bacon for them with our meat slicer while Grace vacuum sealed it. Joseph and Daniel Ray installed a new door in our kitchen that needed to be changed. The old one was letting in a lot of cold air this winter. This was the first door we had to change since we built the house twenty years ago. This is the main door used. Joanna (son Benjamin’s special friend) helped daughter Verena with their laundry so Daniel Ray could help Joseph. Son Benjamin was working out in the barn. We have four weeks from Sunday to get cleaned up to host church services here. 

Our supper guests were Joseph and Grace, Daniel Ray and Verena, Dustin, Loretta and children and Joanna. Joseph and Grace stayed the night here. Joe grilled chicken and wings and I made a noodle soup to go with that. We played games after supper. Marble chase and Rook were the games we played. 

Sunday, I made brunch and our guests were Joseph and Grace, Daniel Ray and Verena, Dustin, Loretta and children, Daniel, Lovina and Brooklyn, and Joanna. Also, son Kevin had a few friends here for the weekend. Brunch was fried eggs, potatoes, bacon (we sampled Joseph and Grace’s bacon), cheese, hot peppers, toast, butter and jelly. Also milk, coffee and orange juice, donuts, cookies, and coffee cake. In the afternoon Daniel and Lovina, Joseph and Grace, Benjamin and Joanna went to nephew Ben and Crystal’s house to meet baby Brinley Ranae. Joseph and Grace and Benjamin and Joanna stayed there for supper and son Kevin joined them later on. 

Granddaughter Abigail gave me a note to add in my column. She was so excited and never expected all the books she received. 

Hi, this is Abigail. Thank you for all the books people sent to me. I am making thank you notes but I do not have everybody’s address. I was so surprised when people sent me books. I did not know I was going to get some. I was so excited. That is so nice of them. 

Thanks again for being so thoughtful. Tim and Elizabeth had to throw away so much of their belongings due to the mold that took over their house including books. May God bless you for your kindness. They are in the process of getting the house emptied so it can be torn down. Anything they can save has to have a special treatment to preserve it from mold. 

God bless!

 

PIZZA BURGERS 

1 ½ pound ground beef

1 pound of processed cheese 

1 can chopped tomatoes, drained

1 tablespoon butter

¾ teaspoon onion salt 

1 tablespoon oregano 

Hamburger buns

Melt butter and cheese. Add tomatoes and spices to cooked and drained beef. Mix everything. Put on half a bun. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, 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, PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email [email protected] and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.

Turfgrasses

By
Guest Columnist
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Photo courtesy: K-State Horticulture

I’ve had the conversation with homeowners in Harvey County quite a bit over the years about thin turf stands and wanting to overseed their lawn every year. You shouldn’t have to do that. Turfgrasses differ in their capacity to grow in shade. Among Kansas turfgrasses, tall fescue is the best adapted to shade though it isn’t all that good. Although the fine fescues (i.e., creeping red, chewings, hard and sheep fescues) have better shade tolerance, they lack heat tolerance and typically decline during hot Kansas summers. The warm-season grasses have poorer shade tolerance than cool-season grasses, although zoysia does better than Bermuda or buffalo. Where shade is too heavy for fescue, there are other courses of action. The most obvious but often impractical option is to either remove trees, or to prune limbs and thin the tree canopies. Grass will do better under openly spaced trees than under closely spaced trees. Pruned limbs and thinned canopies will allow more sunlight to directly reach the turfgrass. If possible, raise the mowing height in the shade to compensate for the more upright growth of the leaves, and to provide more leaf area for photosynthesis.

 

The thin, weak turf in the shade may tempt you to fertilize more. Remember the problem is lack of light, not lack of fertility. Too much nitrogen in the spring causes the plant to grow faster and may result in weak plants. The nitrogen rate for shaded grass should be cut back to at least half of that for grass in full sun. Late fall fertilization after tree leaves have fallen, on the other hand, is important for shaded cool-season turfgrasses and should be applied at a full rate. Irrigate infrequently but deeply. Light, frequent irrigation may encourage tree feeder-roots to stay near the surface, which increases competition between the trees and the turf. Restrict traffic in the shade.

 

Another option is to reseed areas with heavy shade each fall. The turf will look good during the fall and spring and then likely fall apart when the stresses of summer hit.

 

None of these options is very attractive. This is one of those problems in which there is not a good answer. Many times, the best choice for shaded areas is switch from a turfgrass to a more shade-tolerant plant. For example, periwinkle (Vinca minor) is much more shade tolerant than any turfgrass adapted to our area. Another option is simply to mulch the area where turf doesn’t grow well. The trees will love the cool, moist soil and the absence of competition.

 

If you would like to learn more about plants be sure to attend the “Landscape Design 101” program on March 21 at the Harvey County Home and Garden Show at the Dyck Arboretum in Hesston!

Lemon Chess Pie

By
Debbie Dance Uhrig
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It has been another one of those crazy weeks and weekends. Too much going on for a gal my age! I’m a bit delayed getting my Easter/Spring décor up and tonight when I went to the basement I couldn’t find several of my bunnies! I’ll return tomorrow to see if I can find their nesting spot. Like last week I am looking towards the Easter meal and wanted to showcase one of my all-time favorite desserts, chess pie.

I had never heard of chess pie until I moved to Platte County Missouri in 1983/84. The Christian Church in Platte City had an annual dinner with soup or baked potatoes served with homemade pie. I remember being introduced to chess pie at that time. I fell in love with this super simple pie from the south. Since Platte County was settled by Kentuckians I went back to check history and it is truly a historical favorite of this great state. However; yes, you knew that was coming, chess pie originated with the English. One of the main reasons it was so popular was because it used items that were pretty standard in most homes. Sugar, eggs, butter, milk, and cornmeal being a part of the base foundation. Many stories tell us it got its’ name when the family asked what kind of pie it was, the cook said: ‘Oh, chest pie.’ Thus, the name ‘chess’ pie stuck.

I usually refrigerate this pie within a few hours of serving. It

is actually best when presented at room temperature. I thought about it for Easter because of the nice lemon twist, simplicity and closure to a heavy ham dinner.

Last week we chatted a bit about eggs, do remember to get yours a couple of weeks prior to Easter so you can peel the eggs. I get most of my eggs these days from my friend, Lucy. The shells on her eggs slip right off, she indicated it is partly due to the type of feed she uses. My deviled eggs do look mighty fine when the eggs come from her chicks!

If you’re going to someone’s home for Easter remember to take a small hostess gift. Years ago you would find me taking a bottle of nice wine, but these days I reach for a unique item that I have canned or I’ve picked up at a specialty store. Or; I take a clever kitchen tool that not everyone has. If I know the individual appreciates interesting flea market finds, I’ve also gone that route.

Don’t get too busy that you cannot find time for your self this week. It’s also time to pick up your potatoes, cabbage and corned beef for St. Patrick’s Day. Enjoy, Simply yours, The Covered Dish.

Lemon Chess Pie

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornmeal

1 tablespoon flour

4 large eggs, unbeaten

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup milk

¼ cup lemon juice

3-4 tablespoons lemon peel, zested

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Bring together the sugar, cornmeal and flour together in a bowl, incorporating together. Make a well in the center, add each egg, whisking well after each addition. Now add all the remaining ingredients and whisk the ingredients together until well blended. Pour into unbaked pie crust, protecting the crust edges, bake for around 45 minutes. You will test this pie like most custard styles, with a clean knife inserted in the center. Don’t use a table knife, use a thin blade paring knife. When the knife comes out clean it is done. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top and perhaps a mint leaf or a small wedge of fresh lemon or zest.

The Buzzards of Hinckley Ridge

By
Steve Gilliland
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I wrote a column awhile back entitled “The Greatest and the Smallest in the Kansas Skies,” referring to Turkey Vultures (often known as buzzards) and Hummingbirds. The greatest will be showing up here again in the next couple weeks, fresh from their winter vacation in South America.

A legend dating back to the turn of the century has it that the famous “Buzzards of Hinckley Ridge” arrive in the town of Hinckley, Ohio every March 15th like clockwork. In the northeast corner of Medina County, just south of Cleveland are a series of cliffs and caverns known locally as old Whipp’s Ledges that are a popular roosting and nesting area for turkey vultures. So popular was the legend that in 1957 the first Sunday after March 15th was dubbed Buzzard Sunday and a festival was planned around the event that still takes place today.

Along with the legend of the vulture’s timed arrival is the story of how that came to be. The story says that when that area was first settled, farmers began losing livestock left-and-right to bears and wolves that were native to the area. Finally, the farmers had enough and one fall, a huge mass hunt was organized resembling the coyote drives once popular here in Kansas where hundreds of hunters form a circle surrounding an entire section or township and slowly walk toward each other, tightening the circle. As the circle tightened, wolves, bears, deer and most wildlife in the area were driven toward the center of the circle, where they were shot. The story goes on to say that after everything was skinned and butchered and all useable meat and hides were taken, the dozens or perhaps hundreds of resulting carcasses were left there for the winter. In the spring, returning turkey vultures were drawn to the scent and sight of the thawing carcasses, and once there to feed, the numerous natural nesting sites among the cliffs and caverns kept them there for the summer, and to this day, keep them coming back each year.

Vultures are migratory, heading for Central and South America each fall and returning to our area from mid-March to early April, depending on the weather; we should begin seeing a few in the next two weeks here in McPherson, County. Favorite roosting places for turkey vultures are the old water towers that some small towns still have. In McPherson, KS a spring or summer evening will usually find dozens roosting on the handrail of the old water tower. In Marion, KS a couple hundred routinely spend days soaring over the town and roosting on the water tower hand rail at night.

Turkey vultures are amazing birds, the main employees of God’s cleanup crew that can in fact eat diseased meat without any ill effects. I often wonder what it would be like to glide and soar above the earth like they can. Everyone likes a good legend, and who knows how much of Hinckley’s past that drew the buzzards there in the first place is true, and how much is just legend. One thing for sure is that vultures do arrive in Hinckley Ohio like clockwork every March 15, which this year also happens to be the 69th annual Buzzard Sunday. As an ex-Buckeye myself, I hope to take Joyce there some year to enjoy the spectacle, even if it means Enjoying Kansas Outdoors from afar.

Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected]

Meaningful Living in Rural Communities: Pathways to Productive Aging

By
Guest Columnist
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0

Living in rural communities offers unique opportunities to promote successful aging. Incorporating a purposeful lifestyle, developing social connections and engaging in daily physical activity is essential to achieving positive health outcomes and quality of life.

Finding purpose includes exploring the activities you already engage in and being open to new possibilities. Engaging in motivating activities provides a framework for a purposeful life. The selected activities can promote health, foster a sense of identity and give a sense of purpose in life while aligning with personal values and interests. While some daily activities are performed without much thought, identifying others may require careful exploration.

In rural communities, consideration of the physical context is also essential. The American Occupational Therapy Association provides a framework that incorporates reflection on personal values, interests and prior life experiences. This approach, along with establishing priorities and goals, can be a valuable way to explore daily activities and create new opportunities for engagement that enhance purpose in daily life. To align life purpose with a rural context, it is essential to incorporate outdoor activities, find creative ways to connect with family and friends and explore opportunities with local groups. Activities can be modified to support evolving interests, abilities and desires.

Establishing and maintaining strong social connections is critical to promoting healthy aging in rural communities. Older adults in rural areas may experience social isolation due to limited opportunities for interaction. This can be due to changes in overall health, technology barriers (limited internet access or limited computer or smartphone skills) or physical barriers (limited community mobility or driving restrictions). Social isolation can pose physical, psychological and behavioral health risks. Engaging in meaningful activities with others can help build relationships, find purpose or fulfillment and develop new hobbies or skills. Educational programs or groups are an excellent way to explore new leisure activities or learn strategies to improve health and well-being. Reaching out to family or friends, visiting your local senior center, attending community events, or joining a club can all provide a sense of connection, purpose and well-being.

In addition to staying socially connected, developing a regular physical activity routine is essential for older rural adults. Adults over 65 should set goals to strengthen their muscles and improve their balance by engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. Moderate physical activity increases breathing and heart rate, but you should still be able to talk while active. Beneficial activities include brisk walking, dancing, riding a stationary bike or NuStep, using weights or resistive exercise bands, gardening or participating in water aerobics. Consider setting a goal to move your body for 30 minutes each day to reduce sedentary time. Sedentary activities include watching TV, reading, sitting or lying down. Prolonged sedentary behavior increases the risk of poorer health outcomes among older adults. Intentionally participating in meaningful activities throughout the day will reduce time spent sedentary. Reduce sedentary behavior by standing during commercial breaks, walking around your home

after a meal or stretching after reading the paper or playing cards. Incorporating the strategies mentioned in this article can promote well-being and enhance quality of life.

Whitney Lucas Molitor, Ph.D., OTD, OTR/L, BCG, is department chair and associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of South Dakota. Lucas Molitor is a licensed occupational therapist in Iowa and South Dakota. Her research interests include health promotion and productive aging. Allison Naber, Ph.D., OTD, OTR/L, is the academic fieldwork coordinator and an associate professor in The Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of South Dakota. Naber is a licensed occupational therapist in Minnesota and South Dakota. Her research interests include occupational performance and life balance, particularly as they relate to healthy aging. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and TicToc Programming includes On Call with the Prairie Doc®, a medical Q&A show (most Thursdays at 7pm, on SDPB, YouTube and streaming on Facebook), 2 podcasts, and a Radio program (on SDPB, Sundays at 6am and 1pm).

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