Author: Emily Sara Smucker
-
Blogmas 2018: Christmas Parties in Delaware
Friendsgivingmas I’m part of a friend group in Delaware, which is quite nice. It’s a way to get social interaction without the stress of feeling like you have fifteen people you should call up and schedule a time to hang out with. My first week here they hosted a Thanksgiving dinner/$5 gift exchange, which they…
-
Blogmas 2018: Christmas Songs that Don’t Make Sense
A reader suggested that I do a blog post about my favorite Christmas songs. Instead, I decided to post about Christmas songs that don’t make sense. Does that make me a cynic? Perhaps. But seriously, as a writer, lyrics matter to me. And Christmas songs are in a category of their own as far as…
-
Blogmas 2018: Seven Affordable Gift Ideas for Single Brothers
Buying gifts for your single brothers is tough. Trust me I know…I have three of them (although before you single ladies rush to befriend me, you should know that two of them have girlfriends this year). As a general rule, single brothers don’t sit around dreaming of pottery tea pots and vintage books. If they…
-
From Ohio to Delaware
I came to Delaware because I missed the ocean. The morning I left Ohio, I woke up to find another layer of snow on the ground, and wistful flakes drifting from the sky. It was beautiful, but I was terrified to drive in it. So I lazily packed up the rest of my things, drinking…
-
Giveaway Winner/Life Update
And the winner of my extra copy of I Capture the Castle is…Rachelle Zook. Congrats, Rachelle! I sent you a Facebook message with the details. As far as a life update, I have less than a week left in Ohio. I’m planning to drive over to Lancaster PA on Monday, where I’ll spend Thanksgiving week before heading…
-
I Capture the Castle (Musings/Giveaway)
The week before I left Oregon, I was at a thrift store in Roseburg when I found a first edition hardcover copy of I Capture the Castle. I Capture the Castle is one of those comforting books I feel I must always have with me. My softcover version was packed and ready to go, but I replaced…
-
The Real Holmes County
It rained so much it almost felt like Oregon, only with prettier trees. I took to driving the wending, back roads, because they told me that’s where the “real Holmes County” was. Sometimes I was lost on purpose, and sometimes on accident. After my long road trip east, after Texas and Tennessee, it seemed to…
-
Ladies: We Need to Stop Calling Awkward Guys “Creepy”
I’ve heard it from so many Mennonite girls, including, unfortunately, myself. We gather into groups, giggling about boys. “Ugh, Bill just creeps me out,” we say, and then regale our listeners with hilarious tales of poor, uncool Bill and his attempts to flirt. Let me list the reasons why I think this is destructive behavior…
-
Thoughts on Amish/Mennonites and Education
I walked into town. It was a perfect, crisp fall day. Everywhere I looked there were either Amish people, or people staring at the Amish. A big yellow school bus roared up the street. It was full of adorable Amish children, with their bonnets and bowl cuts, peeking out the windows. Now I was staring…
-
From Paris to Berlin
This weekend I packed all my belongings back into my little car, and drove north to Berlin Ohio. Yep. First it was Paris, and now Berlin. What’s next? London, Kentucky? Rome, Iowa? Ooh, I hear there’s a Mennonite community in Athens, Tennessee, although I was just in Tennessee. As I was returning my library books…
The Girl in the Red Rubber Boots 