Perhaps you’ve had the opportunity to watch the first video about our visit to Levi’s house. That video shows Levi’s beautiful property and a little about him, but there is so much more than appears on the screen.
Levi has a wonderful wife, Lucy, who was just as wonderful as Levi is. She welcomed us into her home and made us feel like her house was our house. She was open and friendly, and I could’ve talked to her for hours!
I soon learned that Lucy has a wonderful garden – including lots of vegetables and even fruits like blackberries, blueberries and black raspberries. Her basement is filled with jars of jellies, tomatoes, and pickles that she’s canned. One thing on their shelves I didn’t recognize; Chowchow, which is a southern dish with green tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers (for those of us who didn’t grow up in the south). She sent us home with a jar of black raspberry jelly and a jar of chowchow, so we’ll try it soon!
Although I could tell she didn’t feel great, Lucy was more than willing to show us the garden and the barn. The garden was a very steep walk up the hill in their backyard, but even in the winter it was evident that warmer weather will bring beautiful plants and large harvests. I could see Lucy and Levi’s love for gardening from the effort they put into keeping up such a big garden. Now, I really want to add some blackberry bushes to our garden! We’ll see what dad thinks about that.
It was a rather chilly day, and before long all of our noses were bright red and we were ready to head inside. Before we got in the door, one of Lucy’s grand-kids said, “I want peanut butter and ice cream!” Little did I know that I was about to experience a truly life-changing dessert. Originating from a boredom of vanilla and chocolate pudding, one day Lucy decided to add peanut butter to pudding instead. It was an instant hit. With the days of making pudding behind her, now she adds peanut butter to vanilla ice cream. The ratio is simple: one spoonful of peanut butter for one bowlful of ice cream. Then she stirs it until it’s smooth and incorporated completely. The resulting slurry is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. 10/10, would eat again.
That was only the beginning! She had made a peach cobbler, which my mom says was delicious. Upon hearing that I couldn’t eat anything with wheat in it, she scurried off to another room and returned with an entire plate full of chocolate covered peanut butter balls and whatchamacallit bars and fudge. Oh my goodness, they were good. I may not have gained the freshman 15 from Purdue, but if I had spent much more time with Lucy, I know I would have.
Of course, the best part about Lucy was her stories. She grew up in a family with 22 kids, and has 65+ grandkids and great-grandkids. Even though I only got to talk to her for a few hours, by the time I had to leave, I really felt like she was my friend.
Lucy and Levi, along with the other people I’ve met through Tractor Time with Tim, continue to prove that farmers, both full-time and hobby, are down-to-earth people. Every YouTube comment, every GTT post, and every interaction we have with the tractor community brings us joy – both in your positive words and the knowledge that we’ve found a network of fun, enjoyable people to be friends with. I can’t wait for more opportunities to meet more of you and make even more friends!
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