The Amish people have always been farmers. They’ve tirelessly worked the land since their ancestors came over to this continent in the 1700’s. But fewer and fewer of the Amish rely on farming as their primary source of income. Farming is becoming less economically feasible. Still almost every Amish family I know keeps an extensive […]
Sitting in a meeting at work (shhhhh, don’t tell) I was pondering what to write for this blog. I wanted to chat about a subject we can all relate to—so, my mind went to—Marriage? Nah. Motherhood? Nah. Anxiety? Nah. Friendship? YES! We all need friends. As a girl, we moved often. For a number of […]
June 16, 2010 was a monumental day in my life. It was the release day of Maid of Murder, my very first mystery novel. The book went on to be nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel, attracted the attention of the world’s best literary agent, and led to the release of twelve […]
Have you read Love Finds You In Charm, Ohio? Did you know that it is going to be a movie?! It was filmed right here in Sugarcreek and Charm. Love that! Want to win a copy? Sure you do! Details on how to enter are at the end of the post. Building on the success […]
My son, who has always been a geography buff, has gotten me hooked on a History Channel show called “How the States Got Their Shapes.” (We’re watching on Netflix if you want to check it out.) One of the humorous features is when the host asks people who live in a state what they know […]
What do you think of when I say the words Amish schoolhouse? Did you picture a small white frame building in a secluded rural spot, with children in Amish clothing playing ball or tag outside? That’s the most common image we have, especially of the Pennsylvania Amish. But Amish schooling wasn’t always so peaceful. In […]
The Final Reveille released this month, and it’s my first mystery in the Living History Museum Mystery Series. The series is about a fictional living history museum and farm in Ohio. The first novel takes place during a Civil War reenactment on the Farm. Unfortunately, one of the attendees to the reenactment is found dead, […]
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, one of my favorite paintings, hangs in the Chicago Institute of Art. When I laid eyes on the original painting for the first time, I was stunned. Pictures do not do it justice. The painter, George Seurat, a Pointillism master, used thousands of tiny dots […]
Amish girls learn to sew when they are very young—even two- and three-year-olds can help Mamm by picking up scraps and keeping the sewing area tidy. In a few years they will be able to thread a needle and learn their stitches by sewing squares of fabric together—though it takes some practice to attain the […]
“I don’t know how to make ends meet here anymore. … I won’t be able to subsist here much longer.” That’s what one immigrant said about leaving Europe. Taxes, inflation, exorbitant rents, and the threat of war made leaving look better than staying. This was especially true in central Germany and Switzerland, where the Amish […]