It was a rough ole weekend!! My computer died, not just an “oh I need to be repaired death”, nope an all out CAPUT I’M DEAD DEATH!!! Well ya know that all my pictures are still on the hard drive that no longer works! Luckly while getting a new computer Moose was able to find out that we can get our pics off with some gizmo of sorts. He’s gonna take to work and get someone who knows what they are doing to retreive them all.
In the absence of no online time you’d think I would have got lots of knitting done right??? WRONG!!! You see something else has been drawing me in, not just on the weekend but for the past oh 3 months. Let me take you back to where it al began.
*Cue time travel music*
It all began with one innocent book, I believe it was called Born Amish that sat upon the shelf in my MIL’s spare room. She has a bookshelf full of books just across from the bed that I enjoy looking at when I’m there. Though the books never change, there always seems to be something on the shelf that catches my eye and peaks my interest. It was well before christmas that I spotted this book and was instantly intrigued. I’d always been curious about the Amish and this book was just waiting to be read. I asked if I could borrow it and that night began my adventure to Amish country. The book although interesting wasn’t really what I was expecting it to be. It basically told about the traditions of the Amish and what each of those was like for her as a child but there was no real depth, I wanted to feel like I was experiencing it for myself as a reader but what can you do. So that was fine, I learned more than I had before I opened the book and on I went. The next book popped out at me while visiting the Bookroom, I looove looking at the reduced books because there are usually alot of great books marked down to make way for new ones. The Covenant was begging me to take it home, on sale for $8 or something to that affect. I read it during breaks at work and couldn’t put it down. Being that it was a series that lead to reading book 2 The Betrayal and book 3 The Sacrifice. Part way through book three though I stopped, I don’t know if I picked up something else that caught my attention or if I was just experiencing a lull in the book but my Amish reads stopped there. It wasn’t until christmas 2006 that I was presented with 3 new Amish books by an author I was un aware of. Wanda E. Brunstetter, brought Lancaster County flooding right back to me with The Bishop’s Daughter, The Storekeepers Daughter and The Quilters Daughter . I started the first book that day I opened it and immediately I was drawn in. I don’t quite know what it was about these books that made me yearn for more, maybe it was the simple life they choose to lead, the country lifestyle that I so long for, or the faithfulness to their world, at that point I didn’t know I just wanted to pack as much knowledge of the Amish in my brain as I could. Brunstetter definatley has a way of making it all seem real. It didn’t take me long to finish all three books, I couldn’t live without them. I took them to work with me and read on my breaks, I tried to squeeze every extra second I could to read them and find out what was happening next. The reading didn’t just stop when i went back to my work, my mind pondered about what was happening next, what it would be like to be Amish and how I craved that simple life. The last of the three novels was read in Cuba, the same happened during that one. Every time we came back to the room I wanted to read another word or two. I finished it well before our trip was over and couldn’t wait to get my hands on another. Again I began to dream of the Amish life and what I would be doing had I lived in Lancaster County, its like a diease I tell ya, I eat, dream and sleep Amish. Of course with my birthday money I bought two more Amish books, the one I’m currently reading is three novels in one book.
This past week there have been many late nights, not enough sleep and intense reading. I’m into the last novel and I’ve all ready scouted out my next reads.
The best part of all this reading is that this summer Moose and I will be heading down to Lancaster County for a visit. I sooo wish I could get in on a home stay or an Amish B&B but i’m having trouble finding any on the net. We may just have to wait until we get there to find a place. If only I knew some one who knew someone I could actually see and live what its like to be them for a week, my only fear is that if I did that I just might not want to come back
Well I’ve babbled on enough, I’ll hopefully have some knitting next time for you and if anyone has Amish connections or connections in Lancaster County pllllllease let me know!