Today daughters Lovina, 17, and Loretta, 21, and I canned 42 quarts of red beets from our garden. Yesterday we froze sweet corn and now tomorrow plans are to freeze green beans.

Loretta also started sewing on her wedding dress and I sewed on a dress for Lovina. It is almost 10 p.m. and I took the last of the red beets off the stove. I am so glad the beets are canned. Our garden seems to be emptying out gradually. My husband Joe and son Joseph picked around four bushels of tomatoes this week. I sent most of them to daughter Susan, as her tomatoes died. Susan and daughter Verena are busy canning pizza sauce and tomato juice. I didn’t have time to can tomatoes yet so am glad that Susan could use them.

We had a very bad storm go through our area last week. We had quite a bit of damage but probably the worst was losing our buggy, Susan’s buggy, and Dustin’s buggy. It was the morning after brother-in-law Jacob’s funeral, and we had parked our buggies out in the yard. Susan and children and daughter Verena spent the night here. The wind blew our buggy under the big oak trees and a few big branches came down on top of Susan’s, Dustin’s, and our buggies, totaling them beyond repair. We are so thankful that no one was hurt. Roads all around us were closed due to trees across roads, power lines downed, etc. Quite a few of our neighbors finally have their electric back on today. A lot are still without power. There is so much damage in the surrounding area. Our porch ceiling and a section of our railing was also ruined, but Joe and Joseph fixed that already.

The boys are still cleaning up our yard from all the branches and leaves scattered throughout. It also flattened my sweet corn, but we could save about half of it that was ready to freeze. The only thing that matters is we were all safe and no one was hurt. God was watching over us!

We are so fortunate this storm didn’t hit a day sooner for the funeral of brother-in-law Jacob.

On Sunday daughters Verena and Susan hosted us for Sunday lunch with a haystack meal. Our family except Joseph and Lovina were there. Joseph and Lovina went to church with Grace and Daniel, their special friends. Others at Susan’s house were sister Emma and all of her family, sister Verena, and daughter Elizabeth and Tim and children. It was a sad day for all of us. In less than eight months, three of our family are missing. Their presence is greatly missed and our hearts feel so much pain. It seems as if it’s only us that have so many taken from us. We need to trust and remind ourselves that God makes no mistakes and He is in control. Sister Emma looked so lonely when she left.

Jacob’s viewing/visitation and funeral were largely attended. We appreciated all the friends and family that came to pay their respect. Death is so final! Jacob was a kind-hearted man and will be greatly missed by many. Our church once again helped out so much!

While we were on our trip to the Outer Banks, daughter Susan and Mose would have had their fifth anniversary. It was a sad day for her. I am glad Mose’s family and some of ours spent time with her that day, since we were so far away.

I want to wish daughter Elizabeth and Tim a happy sixth anniversary, which was August 14^st.

Our goal is to paint a bedroom upstairs yet this week. Friday in six weeks is daughter Loretta’s wedding, and there is so much to get done. Dustin’s pole barn frame that was ready for new metal blew down in the storm. This is where we had planned to have the wedding service. Dustin hopes to be able to rebuild before the wedding. We will take one day at a time! God’s blessings to all!

Apple Zucchini Bread

2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
4 cups zucchini
2 apples, cored, peeled, and chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Cream sugar and eggs; add applesauce and mix. Add zucchini, apples, and vanilla and mix. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and soda. Add to creamed mixture and stir. Fold in nuts, if desired, and mix. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her newest cookbook, Amish Family Recipes, is available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at PO Box 1689, South Holland, IL 60473 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email [email protected] and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.