The Reading Continues

Book # 10 of 2010 is...

Plain and Happy Living: Amish Recipies & Remedies
by Emma Byler

This book explains how to live simply as the Amish do daily. I bought this book last summer on a trip to Crossville, Tennessee with Becky and her family at an Amish store, but I haven't really sat down to read it until now. I thought this book might give me some ideas about how to do dishes, laundry, and cook without running water...since I am still living without that lovely amenity. I was right, the first chapter ("Running a household on next to nothing") goes into detail about how to clean, wash and cook with literally next to nothing! As Amish woman, Emma Byler says, "Not having money meant that we couldn't just go to the store to buy things we wanted...we had to make do with what we had...for medicine, gardening, housekeeping, and caring for our animals." Emma has a quick cure or fast relief for nearly everything that ails her family, along with old family recipes for everything from homemade soap to Amish wedding punch. It was a great reminder that simpler is often better, and these old ways were things that EVERYONE once knew how to do to live. I am so glad that I bought this book on that fun trip!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This sounds like a book I would love to read. My mother used to make homemade soap out of bacon drippings.
How much longer must you live without a working well?