RIP June Cleaver

When I found out this afternoon that the actress (Barbara Billingsley) who played June Cleaver had died, I thought it appropriate I was having a June Cleaver kind of day...

I guess the key to having a productive day at home is to be home. I know we had one weekend in August that we didn't have much going on. But other than that, this was my first weekend totally FREE since oh, I don't know, April maybe. Crazy, I know!

So last night we enjoyed a campfire next door and today I slept in past 8 o'clock. Unheard of! I wasn't in the mood for domesticity just yet, so we went to the Cranberry Pancake Breakfast in the nearby village of Biron. Good pancakes and lots of other breakfast stuff. Plus dessert. Gotta love a place that serves dessert with breakfast! They also had locally grown cranberries for sale so I had to lay claim to 5 pounds of those.

We took the long way home, going along the Wisconsin River and seeing where there had just been massive flooding a few weeks ago. How quickly things change! It was a nice little side trip. Sort of like a Sunday drive on a Saturday.

When we got home I directed Carter to wash windows, hubby was already hitting the laundry pile and I went for a run. Hey, I had to get that out of the way before transforming into June Cleaver.

It was actually sort of a "fall cleaning" day since we were all home and could chip in. Carter did the inside of the windows and Jim got the outside. He did most of the laundry, too. I got my dusting and vacuuming done, then mopped the kitchen and dining room floor. Stupid mop busted not even halfway through so that turned out to be a much slower process than I anticipated!

After housework, it was Carter's turn to be June.

The reason I needed to get my hands on those fresh cranberries was because my guys love this new recipe I stumbled upon last year for The Best Cranberry Bars Ever. That's what they're called. And they are. So I divided my 5 pounds of berries up in to 2-cup bags and put them in the freezer. All but 2 cups' worth, of course.

I told Carter that if he liked the bars so much, maybe he should make them. He has always been my kitchen helper. Since he was probably just 2 years old. Helping decorate cookies or emptying cups of chocolate chips into a bowl or pouring vanilla or cracking eggs. You name it. Today I had him do the whole recipe while I sat across the counter and supervised. I made him wear an apron and he wore it only if I promised not to take pictures. Figures.

He did very well. He mixed quite thoroughly and realizes it is not as easy as it looks. It takes some muscle! Tonight we frosted them and taste-tested them and dang, if they still aren't The Best Cranberry Bars Ever! He did an awesome job. I told him he could make them all the time (and he probably would if we had all the ingredients).

After supper and after Jim got home from church, we enjoyed some family time for Sweetest Day (which I do not consistently remember like hubby does). We played some cards, ate cheese balls and drank some beer.

Root beer, that is. Would June Cleaver have it any other way?