Casseroles, Meats

Fall family gatherings a time to reconnect

We are in the final week of October. It is a dark, dreary morning. This weekend we need to turn our clocks back an hour. I still have trouble getting used to the changing of time in the spring and fall. My husband Joe, son Benjamin, and daughters Elizabeth and Susan are all at work. Daughters … Continue Reading ››
Cookies, Desserts, Uncategorized

Molasses cookies will brighten a rainy fall day

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We had a good turnout at the book signing in Warsaw, Ind., on Saturday. Thanks to all of you readers who came and for all your encouraging words! I’m wishing a happy birthday to Timothy (my daughter Elizabeth’s friend). His birthday was on Saturday. Today is another gloomy autumn day where we live. We had quite a … Continue Reading ››
Breakfast, Casseroles

October is Lovina’s 12-year column anniversary, with four preschoolers

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Another week has already gone by, which makes it time to get this column written. The weeks just fly by. I write my columns in one-subject notebooks which have amounted to quite a few in the years of penning this column. This month 12 years ago is when I wrote my first column. I think … Continue Reading ››
Salads

Grilling for 60 at family picnic: 12-layer Jell-O salad echoes colorful fall

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We have entered the month of October. It’s so hard to believe that autumn is here and the trees are showing their autumn splendor. Our yard is accumulating more leaves every day.
U-pick grape arbor
U-pick grape arbor.
Daughter Verena, 16, and I just came home … Continue Reading ››
Casseroles, Meats

A pony, A wedding, and a children’s cornfield hideaway

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A lovely Tuesday evening! It was a chilly 41 degrees this morning but warmed up into the 70s. Right now it is pretty quiet in this house. Six of our children decided to go the four miles to sister Emma and Jacob’s house. Some rode the ponies and some biked. They wanted to go see Jacob’s … Continue Reading ››
Breakfast, Cakes

Memories of loved ones flavor the week

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It’s a little after 7:00 a.m. As I look out toward the east, it looks like it will be a beautiful day. The red glow of the sun is beaming over the trees. What a sight to behold. And only our Master Artist can create such wonderful art. The four youngest children left a few minutes … Continue Reading ››
Vegetables

Remembering an uncle and enjoying an autumn haystack meal

Another week has passed, and it is time to get this column on its way. Last Friday around 8:30 a.m. sisters Verena and Susan; sister Emma and her husband Jacob; and my husband, Joe, and I hired a driver with a minivan to take us to Lafayette, Ind., to Uncle Andy’s funeral. It took us more … Continue Reading ››
Meats, Vegetables

Busy butchering day proves a blessing

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Today is our youngest child Kevin’s ninth birthday. Has it really been that long? It was also the first day of school, so he was a tired little boy tonight. Daughter Verena baked a horseshoe-shaped cake for him today since I wasn’t home all day. He requested a horseshoe cake and wanted chocolate cake. [caption id="attachment_194" … Continue Reading ››
Cakes, Desserts

Family visits and a caramel cake for summer’s end

Sister Verena’s forty-eighth birthday was Friday, August 22. She recently had our family and Jacob, Emma and their family there in honor of her birthday. We enjoyed a pizza dinner. Sister Susan made a cake for Verena but then surprised her with an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Continue Reading ››