Lovinas Kitchen: A day in Lovina's life

Tammy Talley, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
·3 min read

Nov. 30—3:50 a.m.: I get up with daughter Lovina, 18. She will go help daughter Loretta this morning. She always goes before or right after Dustin leaves for work. I always step out on the porch until I see she's almost to their house. It is a cold morning, and the ground has a layer of snow on it.

I then start packing my husband Joe's lunch and make him breakfast.

4:45 a.m.: Joe leaves for work.

5 a.m.: Sons Benjamin, 23, and Joseph, 20, get up to do the morning chores.

One of them feeds the horses while the other refuels the coal stove in the pole barn.

We heat the one side to keep the solar batteries and inverter from getting too cold. We keep it cooler out there than the house. It also makes it nicer to use the phone when it's warm in there. (That is where we have our phone.)

I make Joseph breakfast, but Benjamin doesn't want anything. Joseph's breakfast is a grilled cheese sandwich with a sausage patty and egg in it. His lunch is a turkey sandwich, an apple, cake, and chips. I also get his water jug filled. He works outside most days. Right now they are tearing down an old barn.

5:30 a.m.: Both boys leave for work. I take a break in my recliner with intentions to read but fall asleep. An hour and a half later, I wake up feeling more rested.

7:45 a.m.: I make a pot of coffee. Then I get some mail ready for the mailbox—mostly bills needing to be paid.

10:30 a.m.: Lovina comes back from Loretta's and washes the dishes, since I have been doing other odds and ends around the house and didn't do those. Kevin is also home, and I don't even remember what time he came down. Lovina makes an early lunch for us since we didn't eat breakfast.

I spend the afternoon getting recipes around for Susan and Ervin's wedding. I'm making a grocery list for all the things we will need to get. That takes a lot of concentration. I also write my family circle letter so I can send it along to work with Joe.

Joe works with brother Albert at the metal shop. A circle letter is a packet of letters that you read, then take your old letter out and put in a new one.

I have a few with friends and then one with my siblings. This is common amongst the Amish, where a lot of them don't have phones. I have been in a circle letter with some friends for over 36 years. We were all born in 1971, and most of our parents are cousins. We were in our early teens and now we are all grandmothers. It is quite interesting!

3:20 — 4:30 p.m.: The menfolk are all home from work.

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving! Be thankful for God's many blessings.

Pumpkin Pie

For one nine-inch pie

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 unbaked pie shell

Beat egg, then add all remaining ingredients. Stir until mixed well. Pour into shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until set.