It’s been quite the busy week since I last posted. On Friday, Helen and her three wonderful daughters – Meredith, Abby and Serena – picked me up and we drove to the Amish store she wanted to visit. Unfortunately we got lost, but maybe it was a blessing in disguise. We ended up first at Ben Zook’s house, where she got directions from his son, who was out chasing a herd of beautiful horses. Mr Zook is a farrier and I am dreaming of owning one particular bright bay that was out in the field! We still got lost, so we then stopped at Helen’s friend Candy’s house. She was going to the store too, so we made a little caravan of cars and kids. Before we left we stopped to admire the herd of dairy goats her eldest daughter Veronica tended and the dozens and dozens of birds…chickens…ducks…and a 50 pound turkey, according to one of her boys. I was having the time of my life, especially when four kittens popped off the porch and demanded some pets!
We finally found the Amish farmstead. The store was in an old house. No sign, nothing to indicate it was a store. An elderly lady named Gertrude tended the store. It was dark and cold since there was no electricity. It was like stepping back in time. Racks and shelves of goods in all the rooms of the house and the old farm kitchen turned into an herbalist shop and baking center. Everyone shopped and bought great things…new boots for the girls, herbal medicines, and toys for the children. Gertrude and Helen even tried to trace their family trees to see how they were related!
As I stood outside the plain white house while waiting for the others to join us by the cars, I couldn’t help but remember my times in Manhattan. Just like this plain white farmhouse, what met the eye on the outside was never like what was inside. Here I stood before an old farmhouse that if I drove past I would never know was a store. Plain on the outside, inside brimming with an Aladdin’s cave of farm treasures. In Manhattan, I would often walk past plain gray and concrete skyscrapers, then an occassion would arise when I’d have a meeting or appointment in one. I remember stepping into one building in particular on West 23rd street and just stopping to stare at the art deco friezes lining the walls. I must have had a peculiar look on my face because a security guard approached me. “Are you all right? Can I help you?” “I’m just admiring this gorgeous artwork. They don’t make buildings like this anymore.” He looked at me like I was crazy. But who crafts bronze friezes of mythology anymore? Here I was starting at Hercules and the Lion, Pegasus, the three graces, and the months of the year in stylized 1920’s beauty….and white marble floors and walls in the lobby, richly veined in charcoal gray…..
What meets the eye is rarely what is on the inside. How true this is of buildings, and of people. Many people look like those buildings, like the farmhouse and the skyscraper; plain on the outside but containing a treasure of wisdom and beauty inside.
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The shed update! Shed is almost done. I’ve posted a photo here. John is up on the roof hammering in shingles. We filledl two and a half more beds with compost and soil on Sunday. I’m still sick from the spider bites I got on Friday, but it’s okay. It will get better. Darned thing was in my towel in the bathroom. I never saw him but he sure made his presence known. I always get so sick from spider bites!
