Pickling memories

Thursday I had the afternoon off of work. I had taken Makiah to summer camp and thought it was going to take the bulk of the afternoon but it didn't. It was such a sweet send off though! The camp is for girls ages 12-16 and is a 'coming of age' type of camp. At the send away ceremony all the girls, parents, mentors, board members and community members made a large circle. We all did a check in on how we were feeling I said I was grateful, Makiah said she was unique, it was pretty cool. After that, the girls said good-bye to their parents and stepped into the center ring together. The parents took one step back and community members stood in the center to signify the anchors for the girls as they begin to seperate from the parents and caregivers. It was powerful. . . . the girls all then walked in a circle to see the love and support they had, then it was OFF they go! I am sure she is having the most amazing time of her life. . . . in some ways I am jealous that I am not there to be a part of it all, but I think she needed time without mom over her shoulder.

I left and went to a used bookstore, they were having a great sale so I wound up with six books to pacify me for the next month until it is time to go back to school . . .. arghhhhhhh It has been SO nice to have teh summer off!

After that I decided I had enough time to make pickles, as the cucumber vines were getting way too heavy with cukes. SO . . . here was the rest of the afternoon in pictures. . . funny how one thing leads to another. It began so innocent, I was going to make one. .. O N E batch of pickles (that is 7 jars to non-canners)

Here is how it ended up . . .



Gather two kids and a five gallon bucket. Tell the kids to pick the big cucumbers off the vine . . . . gather the last of the garlic braid from the garden and the bundle of dill you bought at farmers market because you were woefully unable to grow dill this year in your garden . . . .

Wash the cukes, cut both ends off, seperate them into a big cukes and not so big cukes. Spend ten minutes pondering what the cut off point is for a big versus little cuke. Give up and realize that the beauty of homemade pickles is that it really just does not matter. . . Begin stuffing cukes into jars and rapidly realize you have far more then 7 jars of pickles. . .. rush to the shed and find more jars as fast as you can. . . because now you have more to wash and sterilize.

Look at the clock and realize that dinner is now going to be far later . . . .

When you are done packing and processing your 17 jars of pickles, realize that maybe its ok because they look absolutely delicious. Decide that one jar should go in the fridge right away!

Then . . . realize that you still have a bucket of blackberries that need processed. Consider baking a pie but then reconsider . . . . because the canner is already hot . . . . jars are already sterilized. . . make another 6 jars of blackberry jelly to go with the 12 yo already have. . . .

Then, realize that you still have blackberries but not enough for a full batch. Raid the fridge and find the cup of blueberries stuffed in the back . . . . raid the garden and find the handful of missed strawberries. . .. mix them all together and figure if it blows. . . it will still make good syrup for pancakes .. . . process another 6 jars of jelly . . .

Look at them lining up and console yourself knowing that about February. . . . your going to be very happy that those berries are still in use . . .

When you are all done, be grateful that you have another 30ish jars for the cupboard. . . .

What is funny, is that as I was processing this food, I was thinking alot. I reflected on my marriage and how it always felt so good to be preserving food and doing my part to contribute to my family. My husband loved to come home and see the jars out, he built me a large pantry to hold soups, veggies stews and salsa. I loved the homey feeling of working all day to see something at the end of it. I knew that my work in the garden and kitchen was providing security.

I was reflecting on this, because as a single woman sometimes I wonder if it is worth it. I know it is monetarily, I know it is healthier for my kids, and I don't mean just canning . . . . I mean growing food, preserving, cooking from scratch, baking bread, clipping coupons, the whole . . . . simple and frugal lifestyle. Sometimes though it feels like it is pointless . . . .

Right about the time I reflected on that my mother came to visit. For anybody who knows me, they know that my mother and I have a very rocky relationship that isn't very nice at times. There is alot of years of pain behind the relationship . . . . but that is a story for another time. Anyway, she came into the house as I was taking a batch out. As the lids began popping, my mom got all teary eyed. She began to talk about how she misses canning and how she loved that sound. It made her feel secure knowing that was one more jar sealed off for the winter.

In that moment. . . it made it worth it. I found something valuable and good that I have got from my mother . . . . and in that moment I brought back pleasant memories for her. That made the whole day worth it.