The Amish Buggy Horse BOXED SET Books 1-3 (Amish Romance Book Bundle: Faith, Hope, Charity) (Boxed Set: The Amish Buggy Horse)

The Amish Buggy Horse BOXED SET Books 1-3 (Amish Romance Book Bundle: Faith, Hope, Charity) (Boxed Set: The Amish Buggy Horse) by Ruth Hartzler

Book: The Amish Buggy Horse BOXED SET Books 1-3 (Amish Romance Book Bundle: Faith, Hope, Charity) (Boxed Set: The Amish Buggy Horse) by Ruth Hartzler Read Free Book Online
Authors: Ruth Hartzler
Ads: Link
to live with a strange familye , was showing a lack of faith and was not submitting to Gott's will.
    Nettie pulled the quilt over her head, but her thoughts were still swirling around in circles, around and around in her head. Finally, she threw the quilt aside in disgust and got out of her bed. She made her way to the bathroom stealthily, until she remembered that her mudder had gone to be with Gott . Her mudder used to yell at her to bring her breakfast the second she heard Nettie awake.
    Nettie stretched and yawned, and then hurried to the kitchen, with kaffi on her mind. She sat down and looked up at the old, oak mantle clock, an engagement gift from her vadder to her mudder . It was sitting in the kitchen, on a little wooden bench. It used to strike loudly every half hour, but Nettie stopped the clock after her mudder died. The noise had always grated on her, as had its loud tick-tock. Still, there was another clock in the living room, a much quieter clock.
    Nettie shook her head and attended to the kaffi . Soon she was sitting back down with a mug of hot kaffi in her hands. Nettie took a sip and smiled.
    As the sun was already up, Nettie walked outside to feed the chickens, but to her dismay, noticed at once that Blessing was in the herb garden. He had his head down, munching away. She was sure she had secured his gate properly, and her retired horse, Harry, was still in the field, grazing.
    Nettie sighed. After scolding an indifferent Blessing for being a naughty boy and opening two gates, she led him back to the field and made sure the gate was securely latched, and then returned to the herb garden to inspect the damage.
    Most of the herbs were untouched, but Blessing had eaten all the sage and the basil. Nettie used both herbs heavily. She used sage tea for sore throats and coughs as well as stomach upsets, and used to wrap her mudder's ankles in it when they swelled. Her mudder had also found a steam inhalation of sage helpful with her spring allergies. Nettie also used sage in cooking, in chicken casseroles, in meatloaf, and in stuffing.
    As for the basil, Nettie was fond of using it too, especially in pesto, which was a favorite of hers. It was also wonderful in salads. Apart from cooking, Nettie used basil medicinally. Basil tea was excellent for soothing indigestion, and the macerated leaves were soothing for insect bites and stings.
    Blessing had eaten all the basil plants and sage bushes right down to ground level, and these were two herbs Nettie always liked to have on hand. There was only one thing she could do; she would have to drive to town that morning and buy new plants from the plant nursery. There was still money in the cookie jar basket, and by the time that ran out, she would be earning an income from gardening for the Glicks.
    Later that morning, Nettie drove Blessing to town. It was the first time she had driven any horse but Harry to town, but Blessing was entirely unconcerned by the cars that passed too close. Soon Nettie relaxed and enjoyed herself. She drove past stately, old beeches, and when she drove past the stream, she admired the spectacular colors of the wildflowers: the pale pink fading to white of the mayflowers, the bright pink of the moccasin flower, the bell-shaped blue and purple of the columbine, and the pastel pinks and blues of the somewhat disturbingly named liverleaf.
    Nettie loved the fragrance of spring, when the air was filled with the pleasant aromas of lilacs and sweet spices.
    Nettie soon arrived at the nursery where she had bought all her plants previously. It was run by Amish, and Nettie was comforted to hear the words of Pennsylvania Dutch spoken around her, mixed as they were with Englisch words. Rows and rows of colorful, flowering plants vanished into longer rows of shrubs and trees. The air was thick with the smell of manure, and the day was warmer than usual for spring.
    Nettie was sorely tempted by all the pretty flowers, the spreading Solomon's seal with its

Similar Books

Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans

John B. Garvey, Mary Lou Widmer

Tempted

Elise Marion

We Are Not Eaten by Yaks

C. Alexander London

Skinny Dipping

Connie Brockway