It's time to work in the fields, garden

It is lunch time and Verena and I have the laundry hanging out on the line. The lines are all filled and we have to wait until some of the clothes are dry to hang the last basket full of clothing. Our laundry seems extra big today. With the hot weather everyone likes to shower more than once a day, making for a lot of extra wash.

Daughters Loretta and Lovina washed the breakfast dishes and swept the floors. The boys started with sweeping and mopping the basement. I need to write the column, so I told the children they can have some free time. It makes it a little quieter for me to concentrate. While I am writing this, the younger ones are outside riding their bicycles. Meanwhile, my husband, Joe, is putting in another day at the factory.

Daughters Elizabeth, 17, and Susan, 15, are detasseling corn, which they are doing for several weeks this summer. They put in some long hours last week. It was a very hot and humid week. I think the girls were starting to get worn out. On Saturday, they left at 6 a.m. and didn?t get home until 5:30 p.m. They were ready to shower and rest after they came home.

Our hay has been cut for the second time this year. It was long past due to be cut. It was actually ready for its cutting while we were in Florida, but it was just so hot. We still hope to get in another cutting yet this year.

Son Joseph had his 9th birthday yesterday, July 24. We celebrated with grilled hamburgers and grilled zucchini and also campfire potatoes, which I will share the recipe for at the end of this column. We had a cake with nine candles for him to blow out. Sister Emma also had a birthday last Tuesday, July 19, which makes her 38 years young.

We are managing to gradually get some weeds pulled in the garden. I just could not much get done out there with the heat last week. I did get some green beans canned. The boys picked the beans and helped me clean up. I have plenty of cucumbers picked to make a batch of freezer pickles. This is the last week of July, so we want to pull our onions and get them hung up to dry. I always like to get my onions out before August 1. Also, the red potatoes are ready to be dug.

Daughter Verena will have surgery on her foot on Aug. 10. Doctors will also do a muscle biopsy. We hope and pray the surgery will be a great success. She still doesn?t have any feeling in her right foot and her leg. Otherwise she is doing very well and still not having the post-concussions anymore. I cannot thank God enough that she has healed this much already.

Jacob, Emma and Steven, along with Joe, Kevin and I attended the funeral of our Aunt Katherine. She will be greatly missed.

Although not for this reason, it was nice to see my Dad?s nine other siblings again. All were present except Uncle Jake, who was unable to be there. Also, we were glad to see all of the cousins that were able to be there. We have missed out on the Coblentz reunions for probably the last five years. So it has been awhile since I have seen some of my Coblentz cousins. It was hard to believe how their children have all grown.

On the way home we happened to go past the Enos Schwartz place, so we stopped to say hi. Enos?s family used to live in Berne, Ind. in the same church district as Joe and Jacob. Enos was also Jacob?s school teacher. We asked for directions to Joe?s Uncle Ben and Aunt Margaret?s and stopped in there for a visit, too.

We continue to enjoy fresh goodies from the garden. On Friday evening we all enjoyed sweet corn from the garden. Joe wants to prepare some corn on the grill soon, it makes for a nice, juicy roasted corn. Joe removes the husks and the silk and then puts the husks back on before grilling. Joe?s dad would always cook corn in a big black kettle. He would boil the corn with the husks still on. We all went over there for dinner once, and my Dad said that was the best sweet corn he had ever tasted fixed that way in the kettle.

Yesterday we had homemade biscuits for breakfast, along with eggs, potatoes and bacon. In addition to the sweet corn, we are enjoying diced jalapenos from our garden. We enjoy dicing them and putting them on about anything.

I will share the recipe for campfire potatoes which I tried last night. I used fresh red potatoes from our garden.

CAMPFIRE POTATOES

5 medium potatoes, washed and sliced thinly

2 Tbsp. minced parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce

1 small onion sliced

6 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup shredded cheddar

1/3 cup chicken broth

Place all ingredients in double aluminum foil and seal edges well. Put on top rack of grill over medium coals. Close lid and cook 30 to 40 minutes or until tender.