Price of gas: $3.55
Stillwater, MN
Today is pickle-making day. My aunt & uncle do this every year, and they’ve got the log sheet to prove it. Along with the recipe, they list the date they made pickles each year, kind of pickles they got, type of growing season. We head out very early (7:15 or so) to the St. Paul Farmer’s Market. It’s a good market: lots of produce variety, a few each of cheese & meat & specialty vendors, little crafts, and three big rows. Very manageable. I get some nice vinegars – mint and jasmine infused – and some cardamom sugar. Coulda made it myself, I’m sure, but this is cool. Kathy & John get pickles, and then some onions, peppers, and other veggies.
Back at home, John runs the brine while Kathy cleans the pickles and I make applesauce. The apples are puckeringly tart, but with enough sugar, it works out alright at the end. I’ve never canned, so I’m interested in seeing the whole process. One jar explodes when they try to take it out of the canner, which is certainly exciting. Fortunately, no one is hurt, and the jars are all sealed, so no real harm is done.
Following the excitement of pickle-making, it’s nap time. Uncle John & I both head off for naps, while Kathy makes “Christmas Pickles”. She takes the leftover pickles, slices them, adds onion & green & red peppers, and puts it all together in little jam jars. Very colorful. Ready to eat, while the pickles take a month before they’re good to eat. We’re off to my cousin Dan’s for his son’s 2nd birthday party, and Kathy is so excited, she can’t sleep anyway.
Dan is married to Nicole, and I’m a little shocked to realize it has been 13 years. Whoa! They have two children, Max, the birthday boy at 2, and his sister Megan, who is 5 and just started kindergarten. They also have two cats. I don’t meet Sydney, who hides, but George is magnificent and graces us with his presence.
There’s a few other children there, ranging from 2-4. The kids are kids: better before they get sugar, worse after. Need to be reminded on the concept of sharing. They dig the various toys Max gets, mostly more so than Max does. Max really appreciates the trucks, however, and even tries to stop opening presents after he finds the first truck. His parents help him out with the last few. After presents, we have brats and hamburgers – the brats are great – and then a cookie monster birthday cake. Max’s shirt is wisely removed, and he smears cake all over his face, and then his chest. Nana Kathy comes to his rescue and gets him cleaned up. The kids are getting into jammies now, and into night mode, and it’s time for us to go home. Kathy is the last one out the door. You can tell she loves her grandkids and loves being a grandma.
Grandma & Grandpa Lynch, Grandpa & Grandma Oertel, Megan;
Nicole, Dan, Max.
When I arrived, I heard Dan downstairs and walked in to say, “What does a girl have to do to get a beer around here?” Dan looks at me and says, “What are you doing here?” “I was in the neighborhood.” “What neighborhood were you in that you’re here?” Kathy had kept it a surprise and Dan’s brothers helped keep the secret. All good. Dan says, “My parents lied to me!” Yeah, Dan, it happens.
Once we’re at home, I get to talk to Tom, Dan’s younger brother and the closest cousin in age to me – we’re about 2 months apart. Tom did a similar road trip around a year ago, where he was on the road about 3 ½ weeks, just the same as me. It’s good to talk to him, easy to talk to him. Hmm, maybe we’re all growing up.
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