Going to a family wedding

Part of our old house is now torn down. Last Friday Joe and my brother-in-law Jacob worked hard to get the windows out, the chimney down and whatever else needed to be done. Our old house was a split-level, so there were two floors to work on getting taken down.

The one-story part is all that is left now and that should probably get moved next week by a local Amish couple that wants to convert that portion into a shed. With the house down I will have a lot better view of the road and surrounding fields. It will be really nice once the basement is filled in and everything is leveled out.

My garden frosted last Friday and now it's history for this year. I need to go out and pick and dry the marigolds and zinnia flowers.

These make for cheap but pretty flowers from year to year. The first really cold mornings also meant that Joe started the coal-stove in the house on Tuesday evening. The coal-stove, which is in our basement, heats the whole house by moving the warm air upward through ducts into all the rooms. On that cold Tuesday we had some snow flurries and it was windy. But the house was cozy and it felt good to have the warmth come through the vents from our basement.

We might miss out on seeing the last of our old house being moved as we plan to leave on Wednesday morning for Wisconsin. This will be a short trip. We'll return home on Friday evening. On Thursday we will attend nephew Ben and Rose Marie's wedding all day. I will be a cook at the wedding, it'll be a busy day.

(Editor's note: For long-distance journeys like this one, it's common for the Amish hire non-Amish van drivers. This is what the Eichers will do for the wedding trip).

I don't know what job I'll be assigned until I get there. Usually at weddings, a paper will be hanging up on the wall telling the cooks what their assignments are. I always like it when they assign all us sisters to the same job. It's more time spent together. It seems like I get a different job at each wedding I go to. One time I got the mashed potatoes, another time the gravy.

Other times I've been in charge of the pudding or the salad. Probably the hardest job is frying chicken!

We plan to start out Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. Our three other older children will come later in the day in a separate vehicle with my sisters Verena and Susan and Jacob and Emma and family. This will give the children another half day at school. We plan to all meet back together in Wisconsin Wednesday evening. We hope and pray we'll all make it safe and sound.

We won't start heading back for home until Friday morning. This will give the driver's a good night's rest before starting for home. As far as I know the rest of my family have plans to go too. I wish everyone safe travels.

I need to get started packing this weekend. Packing clothes for 10 people can be quite a chore but I enjoy traveling. It's always good to come back to "home sweet home" though.

Meanwhile, I've had readers ask for my sweet potato recipe. Try this one for your Thanksgiving meal!

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

6 sweet potatoes, washed and pared

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 1 /4 cups water

1 /2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Cut potatoes into cross-wise slices 1 /2 inch thick. Arrange in a 2 quart casserole and mix in remaining ingredients. In a small bowl mix butter, brown sugar, water and salt until well-blended. Pour over sweet potatoes. Cover and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

EXTENDED BOOK ORDER DEADLINE: The: "Best of The Amish Cook, Vol. 1," "Best of The Amish Cook, Vol. 2," "The Amish Cook Treasury" and "The Amish Cook's Family Favorites" are available. Each book is approximately 200 pages of recipes and stories. Set of four can be purchased for a sale price of $65 (regularly $100). Additional sets for $50. Special offer ends in November. Send order to: Oasis Newsfeatures, P.O. Box 2144, Middletown, Ohio 45042 or call toll-free at (877) 583-2059. All books are packed with facts, stories and tidbits about Amish life, along with plenty of recipes. In appreciation to readers for their support through the years, anyone who orders a full set of cookbooks will receive a free copy of "The Amish Cook At Home," (book was previously going to be entitled "Amish Cook Family") a colorful photo-filled coffeetable cookbook, when it is released in early 2008. Anyone with questions can contact Amish Cook editor Kevin Williams directly at kwilliams@oasisnewsfeatures.com