Greetings to all from cold and snowy Michigan! We had our first blast of winter weather over the weekend. Sunday morning we awoke to 3 to 4 inches of snow. The tree branches were covered. We still have quite a few leaves on our trees, so it made for a very scenic view. It was still snowing when we traveled the few miles to church. Our 2-year-old horse Jett had his first ride through the snow. There were branches along the road from the weight of the snow. Jett had to slow down and check it all out, so it was a slower ride. Such scenic views only our Master Artist could create!

The temperature didn’t go higher than 30 degrees today. It was snowing again this morning, and we had a few more inches on the ramp that Ben had shoveled earlier.

I decided not to have Kevin go get the mail. One time, I asked him to get the mail, thinking there wasn’t that much snow on the ground. However, the ice under the snow made his mobility scooter wheels just spin. I ended up having to get dressed, going outside and pushing him and his scooter inside. Believe me, that was much harder than if I had just gone to get the mail myself!

Maybe someday we can get him a power chair. That would have bigger wheels in the snow. He doesn’t mind going out and doing errands like that for me if possible.

I have laundry hanging all over in the living room, trying to get it dried. Our basement doesn’t have heat yet. We are having a propane heating stove installed. We have heat on the main floor, and it’s nice and cozy up here.

For over 30 years, we had a coal stove that needed to be refueled twice a day. My husband Joe is looking forward to not having this extra chore this winter. He always had to dump the ash pan and get more coal in. Sometimes, I would take care of it in the mornings when he went to work. I never could get it to heat up like Joe could. It took patience to shake down the ashes and open the vent until the newly added coal was burning nicely. I always seemed to rush it.

We have our heating stove in the basement with a big vent in the floor on top of it, so the heat travels up here. We have small cold air return vents so the heat can circulate back down. It has worked really well these past 19 years we have been in our house.

We have an open staircase so the heat can travel up to the bedrooms onto the second level. We sure hope this new stove will heat well.

Usually, I hang clothes in the basement to dry in the winter months, but with no heat down there, I decided to put the clothes racks up here and dry them. Kevin says it’s annoying to try to get around the clothes with his scooter. I have a wheel with clothes pins hung in the middle of the room where we hang our light. I hung all the socks and small items on it. If there’s a will, there is a way. By morning, most of the clothes should be dry.

Last Wednesday, my daughters, Elizabeth, Susan, Verena, Loretta and Lovina, and I, along with their preschool children, spent the day at my sister Emma’s house. We assisted Emma and her daughter-in-law Crystal with their work. Nephew Ben and Crystal are hosting church services at Emma’s house this coming Sunday. We washed walls, ceilings, cleaned furniture and windows. Emma’s daughters Elizabeth and Emma were also there helping.

Emma and I have 21 grandchildren combined. She has six, and Joe and I have 15. Ten of the children were in school, so that still left 11 children 5 and under there, including three babies that were just born this summer — all within a month. I thought we accomplished quite a bit while still tending to the little ones. I hadn’t seen niece Emma’s baby Michael in a while. They sure do grow fast. Such sweet, innocent little angels.

Almost 22 years ago, when Jacob and Emma, and Joe and I, along with our two single sisters made the move here to our home in Michigan, we all fit in a 15-passenger van. Now we are a total of 48 when we get together.

We miss our loved ones who have gone on before us. Jacob and Emma’s 8 1/2-month-old daughter passed away in 2010. Then, in a little over eight months, we lost son-in-law Mose, sister Susan and Jacob. How we still miss their presence when we all get together. Life must go on, and we know God doesn’t make mistakes. Someday, we will understand it all. Along with our sorrows, we have also had many blessings. We really do have so much to be thankful for. I will sign off wishing you all God’s blessings as we travel into the unknown future. Stay warm and safe!

Neighbor Amy brought us some winesap apples from her tree. I was really glad for them. They have a good taste for fresh eating but are also good to bake with. Try this apple pie sometime.

Apple Crunch Pie

INGREDIENTS:

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

1 cup + 3 tablespoons flour, divided

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar, divided

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 stick (1/2 cup) cold butter, cut into small pieces

7 medium to large tart apples

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

Place oven rack in lowest position and heat to 450 degrees.

To make topping: In a medium bowl combine 1 cup flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture forms moist, coarse crumbs and then set aside.

To make filling: Peel and core apples and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place sliced apples in a large bowl mixing with lemon juice, 3 tablespoons flour, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss until evenly coated. Layer apple slices in pie shell, mounding them higher in the center.

Pat topping mixture evenly over the apples. Bake 15 minutes then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes. If topping browns too fast, lay a piece of foil over the pie. Optional: Place pie on a cookie sheet or stone to bake to catch drips. Let cool completely before serving.

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.