We've had an unusually cool summer which means our garden is bursting at the seams with cucumbers, tomatoes, and herbs. With an onslaught of 20-30 cucumbers we needed a plan.
What else...PICKLES!!
So the boys and I collected our tools and received our job assignments. Colin was in charge of cucumber procurement. Mommy marked a line from the tip of his finger to the cuff of his shirt so he would know what size to look for. Seth was in charge of the pickling pot. He mixed ingredients and stirred...and stirred...and stirred. Mommy was in the middle, slicing and packing jars.
We now have 6 quarts of bread and butter pickles! Yummy!
Side Note: John and I were talking about how blog posts like these make people who check in on the blog every now and then think this is how it is all the time. Flawless domesticity! Perfect children, beautiful crops, and family time spent on things like canning pickles. The truth is this was the only thing I could think of to keep the boys from fighting which they had done all morning. Colin wanted to pretend to be gorillas and Seth wanted to play imaginary baseball and neither side was willing to compromise (even after mommy suggested gorilla baseball). Violence soon followed, more than once, and escalated quickly. So really this session of pickle making was my version of a peace summit. For the 45 minutes it took to finish it was calm and cheerful.
What else...PICKLES!!
So the boys and I collected our tools and received our job assignments. Colin was in charge of cucumber procurement. Mommy marked a line from the tip of his finger to the cuff of his shirt so he would know what size to look for. Seth was in charge of the pickling pot. He mixed ingredients and stirred...and stirred...and stirred. Mommy was in the middle, slicing and packing jars.
We now have 6 quarts of bread and butter pickles! Yummy!
Side Note: John and I were talking about how blog posts like these make people who check in on the blog every now and then think this is how it is all the time. Flawless domesticity! Perfect children, beautiful crops, and family time spent on things like canning pickles. The truth is this was the only thing I could think of to keep the boys from fighting which they had done all morning. Colin wanted to pretend to be gorillas and Seth wanted to play imaginary baseball and neither side was willing to compromise (even after mommy suggested gorilla baseball). Violence soon followed, more than once, and escalated quickly. So really this session of pickle making was my version of a peace summit. For the 45 minutes it took to finish it was calm and cheerful.
1:44 PM
Yes. Yes. All of this, yes.