Friday, July 25, 2014

Fellowship Over Pickles

A friend mentioned a few days ago that she was planning to can a bunch of jars of pickles for an upcoming relief auction.  Knowing that her house is now as empty as mine most of the day, I offered some help.  She graciously accepted, and we spent the morning starting a batch of 5-day pickles and canning 8 jars of banana pickles.  As we worked, we talked of books we've been reading that have taught us of God and what it's like to parent nearly-grown children and what we've been growing in our gardens and what's on her canning shelves and how the world is changing.

We sat down for a few minutes and sipped fresh, cold water infused with a choice of strawberry-mint or lemon-basil ice cubes.  And we talked some more and unloaded jars from the canner and talked some more.  Then she sent me home with pints of her sweet dill and bread & butter pickles and a quart of sub peppers and instructions on how to make chocolate mint ice cream and the promise of a loan of a book as soon as she's done reading it.

I sure did leave with far more than I brought.  And to think, I get to go back next week and do it all over again . . .

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