There is a lot of activity going on around here this week. Our neighbors Abe and Fredia are taking our old pole barn down to save the lumber that is still good enough to reuse. Abe, his sons, my husband Joe, and our boys have been busy taking it all apart. Last night they finished saving the rafters. Today the walls were taken down and all the wood that’s not reusable is being burned as I write this.

Our neighbor Marlin cut our oats and he will bale that crop for us. Neighbor Harlan is here digging the water line and hooking up more solar power. All three men and Joe work in RV factories and are on vacation this week. It isn’t proving to be much of a vacation for them. Joe and the boys are building a work bench in the new pole building when time allows. They want to organize all the tools.

Daughter Elizabeth is also on vacation for two weeks. The bad news is she is laid up with double pneumonia. She sure has had a hard time to recover. The doctor put her on some pretty strong antibiotics and she had to go back in for another shot. The doctor said if she didn’t improve with everything she is taking, then she would have to be admitted to the hospital. She showed improvement the next day so hopefully she can keep recovering at home. She has a hard time accepting the fact that she needs rest in order to get better. I think she worries too much that we won’t get things done before her wedding. I’m sure everything will fall into place. With all the extra projects going on, it did look hopeless for a while.

Tomorrow, July 1, is daughter Loretta’s 15th birthday. Her age is always easy to remember as she was born in the year 2000.

We have two more wedding invitations on our refrigerator. Niece Katie Edna and Ben are getting married on July 23. I was asked to be a cook. Mose and Susan and Verena will all be table waiters. This wedding is in Berne, Indiana.

And congratulations also go to Leander and Karen. They picked August 28 for their special day. This wedding is in our community.

I was happy to have a short visit with my friend Ruth and her church friends. The week was too busy to go spend some time with all of them on Monday. Maybe next year will work out.

This week I’ll share with you the recipe that we are having for supper. It is called sliced baked potatoes. I don’t measure the ingredients; I just make this recipe according to how much of each item I want on the potato slices. Enjoy! God bless each of you and stay healthy!

Sliced Baked Potatoes

4-5 raw potatoes, sliced
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4-5 green onions, chopped
1 cup grated cheese of your choice
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 400°. Slice potatoes about 1/4 inch thick and brush both sides of potato slices with butter. Place them on a cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides, turning once. When potatoes are ready, top with bacon, cheese, and green onion. Continue baking until the cheese is melted.

Optional: add sour cream on top after baking.

Lovina Eicher is an Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife and mother of eight. Formerly writing as The Amish Cook, Eicher inherited that column from her mother, Elizabeth Coblentz, who wrote from 1991 to 2002. Readers can contact Eicher at PO Box 1689, South Holland, IL 60473 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply) or at LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org.