For today’s post, I figured I would go over some of the things that I mentioned in my Mark 13:28 article. Let’s see what all I accomplished during my time off this summer! 

• Canning

I waterbath canned so many things this summer. We had an abundance of rhubarb (hello Victoria Sauce, Hot Rhubarb Grilling Sauce, Rhubarb Raspberry Jam, Rhubarb Strawberry Jam, Spiced Orange Rhubarb Jam, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling, and Rhubarb Lemonade Concentrate), some peaches that were gifted to us (Peach Butter), and some pears (where I canned Pears in Syrup and Pearsauce – a new favorite of Matt’s). I didn’t get to pressure canning this year (I stayed a bit too busy for that), but it is still on my list of things to learn!

• Gardening

Gardening actually turned out pretty good! Our raspberry bushes did great, we got cute little baby potatoes, the onions grew well (the jury is still out on the garlic), the chives were sprouting, lettuce and cucumbers also did great! The rhubarb, of course, did spectacular. We had a few odd herbs and such that did good too, and the carrots are still in the ground growing. Overall, I think it was a successful first year of gardening! We got a composter and are going to try making our own compost, and we already have plans to expand/better our garden for next year. 

• Cooking/Baking

I worked on my cooking skills over summer, as I made nearly every lunch for Matt since I was home, and quite a few dinners, too. I also baked quite a few rhubarb items this year. I made a rhubarb upside down cake, which tasted great, I just have issues with some textures so I wasn’t a fan of the mushy fruit part. I also made brookies, cookies, brownies, lemon meringue bars, and rhubarb pie tarts. 

• Bonus

Violin lessons started this month, and hopefully they will continue for quite a long time! I am still looking into starting an at-home bakery/canning business, but that will require more research. I had looked and asked many churches around if they would help me start an American Heritage Girls troop, but no one was interested. I may try again next year. I also became involved with 4-H shooting sports again, which was really nice to do this summer. I also continued learning, and went to a conference for K-12 STEM Education, too. On top of being an adjunct faculty, I got another part time job teaching biology to online homeschool students that started last month. 

I stayed quite busy this summer, which I think was a good thing. I had enough time off that I wasn’t stressed the entire time, but I still did enough that I feel I accomplished some things, as well. It was also nice getting to go home and see family, and take a couple of quick trips this summer, too. 

What did you learn/do over summer this year?

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