Dear Readers,

Today I (Daughter Lovina) will be writing the column for Mom. I enjoy writing, and she likes a break from writing every once in a while. How have you all been doing?

We will have church services at our place in a little over a month, so it’s time to start doing some spring cleaning before then. It’s a Tuesday night, and I’m thinking about cleaning my bedroom from top to bottom. I’m only thinking about it, of course. I probably won’t actually get the motivation to do it for another week. Or maybe not at all, which would be a more realistic thought.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to open the curtain in my bedroom when I saw a spider sitting just behind the curtain. I jumped back and decided to leave the curtain closed because I wasn’t brave enough to get that close to a spider. The curtain is still closed to this day, and it’ll probably stay like that for all eternity.

Not too many days after that, I saw a similar one sitting in front of my dresser near the same window and almost stepped on it. I’m not sure if it’s the same spider or maybe a sister to the other one. Maybe I should have asked.

I ended up yelling for my brother Joseph to come to the rescue and kill it while I stood on the opposite side of the room. He was too slow; the spider crawled under the dresser, so I made Joseph move the dresser back and forth to find it, but it was nowhere to be found.

So now I’m avoiding that corner of my room, and it’s very frustrating and inconvenient. It seems almost as if I’m not the biggest fan of spiders. I know some people have spiders for pets, but that could never be me. Imagine how tragic that would be if I’d accidentally smash my pet (or maybe not so accidentally).

The other day, I stayed the night at my sister Loretta’s place, and through the night, I had to use the bathroom. Long story short, a mouse came out of underneath a heap of clothes, and it ran around the bathroom in circles, trying to find a way out. I also ran around the bathroom in circles trying to stay away from the mouse.

I ended up climbing onto the edge of the bathtub while the mouse sat in front of the door, and finally, when the mouse moved to the other end of the bathroom, I opened the door and ran out.

I realized afterward that Ralph was just as scared of me as I was of Ralph, but that didn’t make me feel any better. (Yes, I gave the mouse a nickname.) My life would be so much easier if I weren’t scared of things 100 times smaller than me.

I’m patiently waiting for the warm weather to come back, and I especially can’t wait for wedding season. (Wedding season is usually April through November in our area.) Weddings are fun, but I mostly go for the food and the free candy bars they pass out. (Don’t tell anyone I said that, though.) Mom sewed me dress a bit ago, and it’s very pretty. I loved the pattern of the dress and can’t wait to sew more dresses like it. (Or should I say, “I can’t wait till Mom sews more dresses like it.)

You know what they say, “It’s better your mom does it because if you do it, you’ll do it wrong, and she’ll have to do it for you anyway.” In case you are wondering, nobody actually says that. I just made it up because it sounds reasonable.

I’ve been wasting quite a bit of my time trying to put a fitted sheet on my bed. It’s really irritating how one of the corners pops off every time I think I almost got it.

It’s a repeat of pulling the sheet over the corner and running to the other side of the bed, hurrying before the other corner pops off. Sometimes I think these things are designed just to make us exercise.

Well, I think I’ve written enough now. I better help Mom make supper or perhaps at least think about helping Mom make supper because, as they say, “It’s the thought that counts.” And yes, people actually do say that. I didn’t make it up this time.

Have a great day! (Or Night) God bless!

P.S. I did end up making supper, and all by myself, too, so I got to give myself some credit there. Also, I went to a few book signings with my mom recently, and I really loved being able to meet a lot of you readers!

I will share the recipe for one of my favorite bars, Chocolate Marshmallow Bars.

Chocolate Marshmallow Bars
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional
4 cups miniature marshmallows

Topping:
1 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups Rice Krispies

In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; gradually combine dry ingredients with the creamed mixture. Stir in nuts if desired. Spread in a greased 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15–18 minutes or until set. Sprinkle with marshmallows; bake 2–3 minutes longer or until melted—place pan on a wire rack. Using a knife dipped in water, spread marshmallows evenly over the top. Cool completely.

Topping: Combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring continuously until blended. Remove from heat; stir in Rice Krispies. Immediately spread over bars. Chill until set.

 

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her newest cookbook, Amish Family Recipes, is available wherever books are sold.  Because Lovina is Old Order Amish, she does not have email or a telephone in her home. Lovina does not respond to comments on this website, if you would like to contact her directly, click here.