Chapter 17

The kids were out of school and by their definition that made this the first day of summer even though the calendar said it wouldn't be for another three weeks. One of the first crops to ripen requiring long term storage had been the green beans. The family had harvested almost three bushels of beans early in the morning and now it was time to preserve them for use later. Since Vicki was essentially new to the team, she was given some of the easier jobs involved in canning.

Vicki delivered the last colander of green beans over to the kitchen table pleased to have finally finished washing them. The three kids were busy snapping beans to length for canning. John was packing quart jars with beans. He already had twenty jars ready. The plan was to put up fifty-five jars. That would give them one jar of green beans a week with a couple left over for loss or breakage.

She couldn't believe the quantity of green beans that had been produced in the garden. There were still plants that would produce beans over the next sixty days. John had a schedule for planting more beans to provide fresh green beans over the entire growing season. He was thinking about growing a couple plants of yellow beans just to provide a little variety in salads.

Making two trips from the table to the stove, she carried six jars to the pressure cooker to begin cooking them. She placed them into the water; one in the center and five surrounding it. Once she had them arranged in the cooker, she put the lid on it double checking that it was at the fifteen psi pressure setting. She turned on the burner. It would take a while to come up to pressure.

She checked the second pressure cooker to make sure that the water was at the proper level. It was ready for a batch of beans. She loaded it with six quart jars, pausing in the process to check the first pressure cooker. She put the lid on the second pressure cooker checking that it was at the fifteen psi pressure setting.

Glancing over at the first pressure cooker, she noticed that it had just come up to pressure. She set the timer for twenty-five minutes. She glanced over at the table and noticed that everyone was watching her. She smiled at them and turned back to work.

There was one more pressure cooker to load with beans. The garden had been very productive this season. They were going to be busy all afternoon canning beans. She wondered if three pressure cookers were enough to handle the job.

After putting the lid on the third pressure cooker and setting the timer for the second, she stepped back to wait for the third pressure cooker to come up to pressure.

John said, "A watched pot never boils."

"And if I don't watch it, we'll ruin six quarts of beans," Vicki said.

It seemed to take forever for the pressure to build. When it reached the proper value, she set the timer. She checked the timer on the first pressure cooker and saw that she had ten minutes to kill. She went over to the kitchen table.

While taking a seat, she said, "The first three batches are cooking."

"I wonder if we are going to have enough jars for the year," John said.

"We are going to freeze half of the beans," Lisa said.

"We are only using fifty-five quart jars. We have more," Vicki said.

There were shelves filled with jars that had been emptied over the previous year. She hadn't made a count of them, but there were a lot of them. It was hard to imagine that they would need more by the end of summer.

John said, "I'll order five more cases of quart jars and ten more cases of pint jars."

"I don't think we'll need that many. At least, I hope we don't," Vicki said.

It wasn't the cost of having so many jars, it was filling that many jars. Growing and putting up a year's worth of food was a lot of work. It was time consuming. It didn't save much money, particularly when the start up costs of purchasing equipment were taken into account. It required storage space that most modern houses didn't have.

John said, "It is better to have more than you need than to need ones you don't have."

"That's true," David said.

The discussion was interrupted by the ding of the timer. Vicki went over and turned off the heat. She picked up the pressure cooker and carried it over to the sink. She ran cold water over it. In a little more than a minute, the pressure had dropped to zero. She opened the lid and used the jar lifter to remove the jars. She added a bit of water to the pressure cooker and carried it back to the stove.

John stepped over to the stove and said, "I'll take care of the next one."

"Thanks," Vicki said.

After returning to the table, Vicki examined the FoodSaver making sure that she understood how it worked. This was another new kitchen gadget that John had purchased. They would be using it to freeze thirty pounds of green beans. From what she understood of the process, that was going to be a lot of work.

She didn't mind the work despite the fact that it was hot and tiring. Although this was her first time to join the family in canning, she understood that it was an activity that brought the family together. The hours spent around the kitchen table putting up food were hours spent talking. She cherished every minute.

Suddenly, it struck her that John had used preserving food as a tool to preserve the family. He had used it thusly when she had been working. He was using it now to help heal the family.

Tossing the directions for the FoodSaver onto the table, she looked over at Lisa. She asked, "Are you happy about getting your motorcycle driver's license?"

"You bet," Lisa said. "It's so great being able to go where I want when I want."

It seemed odd to Vicki that a person could get a motorcycle operator's license before an automobile driver's license. In terms of danger, a motorcycle was far more dangerous than a car.

"You know that I worry every time you get on that bike," Vicki said.

"I know what I'm doing," Lisa said somewhat defensively.

"She's a good rider," David said.

Vicki said, "I know she's a great rider; I've seen her on the motocross track. Knowing that isn't going to stop me from worrying about her. I'd die if anything happened to her."

Lisa rolled her eyes. She might complain about her mother's worries, but secretly it pleased her. It was comforting to know that her mother was concerned about her. It was a whole lot better than the alternative and she knew it.

Returning to the table, John asked, "Are you sure you don't want a bigger bike?"

"I like the one I have, Dad."

"Okay," John said. "It is just that a bigger bike is easier to see."

"I know," Lisa said.

They had that discussion many times in the past. She liked having a maneuverable bike she could handle easily. He wanted her to have a bike that was more visible. He asserted that the real problem for motorcyclists were the other idiots on the road.

Vicki said, "I better get back to loading the pressure cookers or we'll never get done."

Dave got up and said, "I'll help you, Mom."

"Thanks," Vicki said giving him an appreciative smile.

Deciding that it could probably be done faster if they started all three pressure cookers within minutes of each other, the others in the family joined in the task. Once the cookers had come up to pressure, the family returned to the table.

Conversation flowed around the table in an easy relaxed manner. At times the topics were light-hearted while at other times serious topics were addressed. Plans for the summer were made and adjusted. Vicki sat back and watched her family.

Rose was going to a robotics summer camp for two weeks. She apologized to her father for not going to the gaming camp. He had laughed it off claiming that she probably knew more about the topic than the instructors. David and Lisa echoed his claim. Vicki requested that if she brought home a robot that it be house trained since she wasn't going to follow it around picking up robot poop. Secretly, Rose planned on adding robot poop to her project.

Lisa was staying at home for the whole summer. She was planning on running a little market selling some of the food grown in the garden. She figured the fruit and vegetable stand would keep her busy while bringing in a little money. She'd spend an hour or two in the morning picking whatever was ripening at the time. At different times of the summer it would be different crops. During the afternoon, while people were driving home from work, she would spent the time at the stand selling her harvest. She was sure Rose would join her in running the stand after returning from the computer camp.

David was working a part-time job at the local cable company. He was hired to write little spreadsheet applications for use by the advertising salespeople. It wasn't going to be too challenging, but it was a real job and he was proud of having found it. He felt it would give him an advantage when applying for a computer science program in college.

John's plans were to be a gentleman farmer. There were always little chores that had to be done around the farm. Every two weeks he would plant more carrots, radishes, lettuce, and beans. He would harvest the crops when they ripened. He would make the little repairs that had to be performed to keep the farm running smoothly.

His plans included afternoons taking a quick cooling dip in the stream with his wife when others weren't around. There would be two meals a day when he was surrounded by the family. He looked forward to evenings spent on the porch drinking a glass or two of wine with his wife while watching the stars.

Of all members of the family, Vicki's plans were the simplest and most rewarding. She was going to spend as much time as feasible with each member of the family. It might mean hooking equipment up to a tractor, washing motorcycles, or even learning how to ride a motorcycle. She would go shopping with the girls. She would spend time in the fruit and vegetable stand. She could see teaching Lisa the art of running a business. She felt the young woman would enjoy running the fruit and vegetable stand.