My life has taken many odd twists and turns lately, none more strange than my plunging into the world of pies, pie pans, pie boxes, donut pans, donut boxes, shipping costs, online bargain hunting, return policies, and restaurant supply sites.

Since the Amish can’t use computers, Moise and  Barbara have asked me if I could shop online for them. I am almost addicted to doing things for the first time. And I love learning things.

Moise and I have had some exhilarating online shopping discoveries, Moise sitting behind my left shoulder and whispering questions and ideas and considering costs very carefully. He makes the final decisions.

I order the boxes and pans and have them delivered to our farm. When they come, I put them in the car and run them over to the farm – they sell a goodly number of donuts and pies.

The girls always come running out and taking the heavy boxes from me; they have no trouble hauling them around and ignore me when I say I can carry them.

Barbara and I have regular discussions about the merits, costs, and appeal of different boxes and pans and talk a lot about the sizes of pans and boxes. Do they have see-through tops? How many in a box? What are the precise measurements?

In this case, the boxes and pans were not simple to find, and we needed exact measures, fast delivery, and free shipping.

We consider shipping costs, the number of boxes and pans, their individual cost. Between that and the Mansion, I’m thinking about a new career as a professional online shopper; I’m really getting good at it.

Barbara agonized about ordering a smaller pie, people were telling her hers are great, but couples living without children can’t eat them all. Would she consider making a smaller pie for single or older people?

So she agreed, and I got to work; I ordered a small experimental number of 4″ inch pie pans and 5″ boxes. She is very excited about the idea. So the 4″ Amish pie is here.

This morning, when I went there this morning with a new box of pans, Barbara and the girls were excited, rushing to show me the first small pie, which I instantly bought for $3.  They wanted to give it to me, but I wanted to be the first buyer.

(I told Barbara I thought $4 was a fair price for a homemade small pie, but she is leaving towards the $3 price for a conservative Amish person.)

They might go on sale as early as tomorrow. I have to say I love the look and feel of these small pies. As a diabetic, I rarely eat pies, but I will take a bite of Maria’s now and then drooling to take a bite.

This is the first pie I was ever instrumental in helping to create, and I am oddly proud of that.