June is a lovely month. We’ve had a good deal of mild, even chilly weather. But it’s beginning to warm up now. Summer is here and we are jumping in with both feet.

7:40 am Dishes to wash. I generally like to have several things going at once, but I often need a clean sink in order to do this! So, depending on the day, I am either putting clean dishes away from the night before or I am washing dishes that didn’t get washed.

8:16 am Getting both yogurt and cherry jam going on the stove top. My oven is on also… artisan loaves baking back to back today!

My flower attempt turned out pretty cute.

9:26 am Cherry freezer jam made and cooling. This is my second attempt at freezer jam. I usually can it. But, I was seeking a bit of a quicker preservation method for jams this year. Not much to the process. My kids sure love it!

9:26 am Second loaf of artisan sourdough out of the oven and cooling. I have to say I was tickled with the way these turned out!

9:37 am Yogurt cooled to 115* and ready to be jarred for fermenting. We seem to need about half a gallon of yogurt per week to week and a half these days! It is great for homemade smoothies and you can turn those smoothies into popsicles, too.

9:57 am As I listened to a podcast, I decided to sort and thin my jar rings. They have been a nuisance lately and with making the cherry jam, I realized they needed a little organization.

Saved a good amount upstairs and strung the rest on twine by size in the basement.

10:51 am Before lunch, I went out and cut some yarrow, roses, and lavender for bouquets and drying. Aren’t they lovely? If you’ve never looked into the benefit of herbs, do so. There are several helpful books as well as podcasts. These three are even perfect for different teas. Imagine going out to your yard and making your own herbal teas….

11:00 am I was able to get the bouquets made and into the fridge before lunch. These were for a road trip to see a dear friend. I used two small antique bottles I had found at a recent stop- they are perfect for wee bouquets. The others are wrapped in wet paper towels and wax paper for easy transport and keeping things fresh.

1:30 pm My six year old and I cleaned out the coolers from the meat bird haul. She wanted to get wet and we needed the cleaning done. Win-win! The coolers dried in the sunshine.

The rest of the day was spent in cleaning, trip prep, and rest time with family. The following day I went on my road trip to south eastern Missouri. So, I did needed to get some final things accomplished before heading out. Meal prep, laundry folding, and final dishes washed. I asked my Sweet Husband and kiddos to put them away for me while I was gone.

Lunch: scrambled egg hash with sourdough loaf and cherry jam (what else??)

Supper: chicken and rice casserole with sauerkraut and salad