American Heirlooms - March 2021

American Heirlooms - March 2021

302-653-2411

MARCH 2021

THE RETURN OF SPRING: MORE WORK TO DO IN THE GARDEN

As any successful gardener will tell you, gardening is not a seasonal hobby. It’s a year-round responsibility to ensure you have a fruitful harvest year after year. Bethany loves to garden, and our children — who must have inherited the green thumb from her — all seem to enjoy it as well. Bethany has the knowledge and experience to know when the garden needs tending. It’s not always convenient, but that’s common with anything that has to be a priority. We rely on the garden, so we have to do what’s best when it needs it. In return, we have homegrown, healthy vegetables on a regular basis. It all starts in the soil. Every year, I send a sample of our soil to a vendor, who then offers a report on the health and composition of our soil. This helps us determine which fertilizers we should use to ensure the garden is producing a good yield. Just this past fall, I planted tillage radishes to improve our soil composition for this year’s crop. The radishes die off in the cold weather, but their deep roots will have loosened the soil and aerated it, and these plants add some humus to help with water retention. This cover crop can also control weed growth and warms the ground for planting. It’s quite interesting. The next vital component is planting. Local friends have successfully planted peas in February! That may not always be possible every year, but the lesson is that planting is not a sunny, summertime event. In this area, March is often the ideal time to get your peas into the ground. If you are not preparing, buying your seed, and beginning to plant either right now or very soon, you could soon find your garden behind the curve. With every crop we plant and each harvest cycle, our garden is always teaching us something. For example, we have had a problem where our peas never produce a good second picking. For the longest time, we would pick a nice first yield, but then the plants would die. We have been told the issue is that we are spraying our water across the top of the crop,

rather than dripping water onto the soil. We have yet to prove this is the cause, but we did get drip tape and plan to test this theory. That’s the beauty of gardening. I may not enjoy it as much as Bethany and the children do, but I can appreciate the lessons it offers. It teaches responsibility and prioritizing quality food over quantities of food. You don’t look at your garden and think of all the money you’re saving by planting your own food. In fact, by the time you finish buying the fertilizer, seeds, cover crops, and tools, you could have bought food for much less. Yet, nothing compares to fresh tomatoes, peas, and other produce grown in your own garden. I’m glad my children are learning these valuable life skills, and that they have a knowledgeable teacher like Bethany showing them how. What’s more, the food is delicious and enjoyed by us all year round. No matter what it teaches you this year, I hope your garden is fruitful. –Ethan Zimmerman

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The U.S. has the most extensive road system in the world, so it probably comes as no surprise that U.S. households have two cars (1.88, to be exact) on average. This number has remained relatively steady since 2001, but in the last year, many people began to reconsider their driving habits in light of the pandemic. With professionals working from home and students schooling remotely, many family cars stayed parked in the driveway. While this helped save on fuel costs, car owners still had to pay for insurance, maintenance, and registration, which left some people wondering if owning two vehicles was necessary.

What if your trek is longer than 5 miles? It’s tricky to say precisely how far a rider can go on a fully charged battery because an e-bike’s range is affected by speed and terrain. At a minimum, riders can expect to go 30 miles roundtrip without a problem. Some bikes can travel up to 100 miles on a single charge, and, as with electric cars, the technology improves every year. If range is less of a concern than speed, swapping a car for an e-bike may mean slower speeds and longer travel times, but not always. Top speeds vary by model and brand, but many get up to 20–30 mph. Also, you’ll save time by avoiding traffic and having to look for parking. There are, of course, some drawbacks. Highly rated e-bikes come with a hefty price tag — $1,200 at the low end and over $7,000 at the high end — which can be more than a good used car. They’re also heavy, which is bad news for anyone who needs to bring theirs up a flight of stairs. Finally, depending on where you live, e-bikes might not be a viable option for year-round riding.

Enter the electric bike (e-bike), an eco-friendly alternative, especially for those in two-car households.

Forbes contributor Scott Kramer traded his second family car for an e-bike in late 2019 and says he has no regrets. “I can share our other car with my wife when needed. Or just take an Uber. I love the two electric bikes I own and ride them religiously to do errands within 5 miles of the house.”

The following article was written by Darrel Martin for “The Christian School Builder” and is published with permission from Rod and Staff Publishers. Our lives are ordered by the purposes of God — good purposes. Paul wrote, “Who art thou that repliest against God?” (Romans 9:20). It is not wise to insist that our perception of life is superior to God’s. But the question “Why do I have to be me?” persists! Children feel “so different.” Even adults sometimes compare themselves to others as a basis for comments and complaints. Since our minds insist on this question, we should attempt to answer it. But this should be with the understanding that we are not trying to take control of choices God has already made for us. Creation gives us some of the answer. For God’s reason, there is an eagle. For God’s reason, there is an ant. For God’s reason, there is me … and you. The

fact that we were created should not intimidate us. Rather, it gives dignity to life. We are what God wants us to be. He chooses to give us the place in life that will serve His purposes. Many times, those purposes exceed our understanding. But it is our privilege to humbly take our place in God’s plan. Like the strokes of an artist on his canvas, our lives contribute to the beauty of God’s completed picture. God depends on us to give ourselves to the constraints of life so He can accomplish what He determines as beautiful and best. God gives us life; He gives us the gift of being the people we are. There are numerous things in life that we do not choose. But we can choose to be satisfied with our lot in life. We can find rest in what God has ordained. We can focus on what we can do and on the choices we are allowed to make. This is far more meaningful than lamenting our inabilities.

We share life with many other people. For our lives to complement one another, we must be different from each other — unique. It would be impossible for our lives to blend if we were all “circles” or all “squares.” God has ordered quite a diversity to create an effectiveness for His purposes that only He can perceive. Our lives do not only contribute what we can give. We also contribute by receiving. The “great need” we have, which seems so objectionable to us, is really an opportunity for the other person to do their part. Instead of lamenting what I cannot do, I need to be more willing to let others do things for me. When the question “Why do I have to be me?” comes up, let us humble ourselves and contribute what we can. God is the Master of life. He has called me to be “me.”

2 • THE SWISS CRAFTSMAN

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INGREDIENTS • 1 egg • 3/4 cup milk • 1 tsp salt • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese • 1/2 cup quick oats • 1/2 cup onion, chopped (optional)

• 1 lb ground venison or hamburger • 2/3 cup ketchup • 1/2 cup brown sugar • 1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard

DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. In a bowl, beat the egg and milk. Stir in salt, cheese, oatmeal, and onion. 3. Add venison or beef and mix well. Shape into a loaf in a greased baking dish. 4. Combine ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard and spoon over loaf. 5. Bake uncovered for one hour.

Photo by Megan Leigh Zimmerman

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Brought to you by KCS Builders of American Heirlooms and Penns Creek Furniture 291 Blackiston Rd. • Clayton, DE 19938 Phone: (302) 653-2411 • Email: [email protected] The Swiss Craftsman

Inside this Issue Springtime in the Zimmerman Garden Page 1 Could an Electric Bike Replace Your Second Family Car? Being Me: An Excerpt From ‘The Christian School Builder’ Page 2 A Wild Connection to Learn More About God’s Creatures

Venison Cheddar Meatloaf Page 3

The Best Cleaning Tool is in Your Kitchen Page 4

Lemons don’t just add a tart flavor to your favorite desserts or cool you down in a refreshing drink on a hot summer day. In addition to bold flavors, lemons also have powerful cleaning properties. Their acidity and oils cut through grease and can sanitize many of your household items. The best place to clean with a lemon is in the kitchen. For the microwave, simply juice a whole lemon into a bowl of water, then plop the used peels into the bowl. Microwave the mixture for a few minutes, let the bowl cool before removing it, then wipe away the grease in the microwave. You can also use this method for your oven. For odor-blocking properties, you can use a lemon as an air freshener. Leave half of a lemon in your refrigerator to trap and block potential smells and toss old lemon rinds down the garbage disposal. Run the disposal to clean the blades and freshen up the sink. As for your kitchen tools, don’t toss them out without trying this lemon trick first. Start by sprinkling salt on a wooden cutting board, then slice a lemon in half. Using half the lemon (flesh-side down) like a sponge, scrub the board really well.

Wipe and remove the leftover lemon juice and rinse the board before using it again. Not only will the board appear cleaner, but it also won’t smell as bad, and the bacteria will be gone. You can also use this method to polish dining ware, spruce up copper, and even remove stuck-on food from plates. Now, here’s the real secret: Once you master kitchen cleaning a la lemon, you can use these same principles to clean other parts of your house. For example, salt and lemon can be used to scrub grimy sinks and faucets, while a few squeezes of lemon juice in a cup of water makes an excellent cleaning solution for mirrors and windows. You can even make your own reusable cleaning spray by fermenting lemon peels — and the peels of other citrus fruits — in white vinegar for two weeks. Remove the peels after two weeks and spritz the mixture over surfaces you need to clean!

4 • THE SWISS CRAFTSMAN

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