I am tired. Keeping up with our food is hard work. Trouble is, there's no turning back now. I wouldn't dream of doing anything any differently...except maybe trying to get more sleep.

Last night I was up late in a panic trying to figure out where we are going to get fresh milk come end of summer. We were officially notified last night that our current dairy and egg CSA farmers will be retiring.

Though I can easily get milk through a farmer who is affiliated with the Trad Foods warehouse, I have become very spoiled by the milk we've been getting from Jersey cows--sweeter with a higher fat content than other dairy breeds. After much research, some phone calls, and a flurry of emails, I think I have secured a spot with a farm that at least has Jersey-cross cows. I was thrilled and relieved to find that they are still accepting new customers.

This puts us one step closer to making the decision to get our own laying hens...the only thing holding us back at this point is trying to figure out what we will do with the hens once they are no longer laying. John says we should put them "in the stew pot" as most other folks do (he was inspired by our visit to the Anderson Farm a couple of weeks ago), but I'm not sure I can do that if the kids (and I) have come to know them as pets.

I am getting behind with the veggie CSA box. I pulled out all the veggies that needed to be eaten by tomorrow night so John could figure out what to do with them while I made the spaghetti for dinner tonight. (I decided I can't take the pressure all on my own right now.) We used up some zucchini in muffins and in spaghetti sauce (of course, the children have no idea), and John made a salad with the rest of the lettuce, some dill, steamed beets, and some pickling cucumbers. I still need to make sauerkraut with the red cabbage but I haven't been able to work up to it...or the bread-baking this week, for that matter. (Thankfully, I always make two loaves at a time and had some stashed in the freezer!)

In my own garden, there are so many herbs that I want to harvest and freeze but, somehow, there just aren't enough hours in the day!