Friday, December 31, 2010

Electricity is worldly, Doritos aren’t?

A quick update....

So I went shopping at our new nearby Wal-Mart yesterday and it was a little odd because there were a bunch of Amish folks shopping there too. At least my wife won’t stand out for covering her head while shopping there! Anyway, when I was checking out I noticed an Amish lady buying like 8 bags of Doritos. It was kind of disappointing. I assumed that all of the Amish made all of their own stuff. Maybe we have a particularly liberal strain of Amish near us.

We are slowly getting our stuff settled in. We have a bunch of outbuildings so there is no hurry to get everything unpacked but certain items needed to come in like our box springs for my bed (we had the mattress on the floor which wasn’t working for me) and our dining room table. It is slowly starting to feel like home as we add our stuff to the house. I am enjoying the more spartan feel in the house without so much stuff, lots of room to move around for us and for the kids.

It is nice being in the country again, I was glad to see that the gorgeous star fields we used to enjoy in Northern Michigan are right where we left them and just as beautiful when viewed a little to the south. Once we get settled in we can go ahead and order up some baby chicks and get our animal menagerie started!

We have also discovered that Indiana has some of the most Byzantine motor vehicle/driver registration laws in the country. Seriously it is a major pain to get things transferred over. They make you take the written driving test. Like I remember what all of those road signs that I routinely ignore mean.

Looking forward to having tomorrow off. We will spend most of the day unpacking but not having to get up and get ready for work will be nice. It was really warm today, in the low 50’s, but it is supposed to get chilly again starting tomorrow. At some point our internet should be up and running. I have an on-again, off-again relationship with AT&T internet service. I call them, they assure me we are all set, then they cancel my installation the day it was supposed to happen. The whole thing is very unhealthy.

Planning on doing absolutely nothing special to ring in the new year except going to be early!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

The Amish may grow big gardens and raise animals and avoid electricity, but they are the WORST when it comes to food! If its refined, they eat it!
Paula

Bean said...

The Amish generally eat a very poor diet. We live amongst a large community of Amish, our youngest daughter was babysat by an Amish family when she was in kindergarten. Mountain Dew seems to be the beverage of choice, lots of "hamburger dip", basically taco meat mixed with refried beans and cheese, lots and lots of baked goods, candy, velveeta, potatoes and Amish peanut butter, a blend of marshmallow fluff and peanut butter. A lot of the men smoke, and they buy a lot of beer and liquor. Most Amish own generators to run the washing machine, have propane refrigerators, own cell phones, a fair number own a van or truck, but pay someone to drive it, most Amish own a bobcat for farm chores.
Amish people are polite, helpful, and family focused and children truly are a blessing from the Lord. The children are raised with specific expectations, it is very clear within the community what a mans responsibility is, and what a womans responsibility is.
Amish are very friendly, and once they get to know you they will invite you to cookouts, and get togethers, and you will be pleasantly amazed to see just how many children there are when several family get together. If you are lucky there will be a "singing", you will know some songs, and not others, but it is pleasant and relaxing.
It is very important to understand that the Amish are NOT living a 1700's lifestyle, they are living a lifestyle that is apart from the rest of us, they do not shun technology, they just choose not to bring it directly into their homes. Amish business have telephones, computers, electrical equipment, fax machines, copiers, because they need these things to be competitive in the business world, but they don't bring it home, they don't work on Sunday, the well being of the community and family always comes first.
They are good people, people tend to romanticize the Amish, most of what is portrayed in TV/Movies/books is a bit far fetched. If you want to meet hardworking, faithful people you will find them among the Amish .

Laura J said...

When I lived in Ohio, we had an article in our newspaper about an Amish drug ring that had been busted. Apparently it was pretty extensive. Although I understand that we're all sinners, I never could understand how someone could reject zippers, but rationalize becoming a drug dealer. I mean, if you grow up in an inner city, I could see how you could fall into the drug life style, but you'd probably have to work on it if you grow up Amish. It certainly makes traveling to Columbia to pick up your shipment of cocaine a little harder.