Pickling our dream life at the farmers' market

Once again, Roger proved that he is a proficient pack mule, Dominic proved that he is the boy-of-a-thousand-grimaces, and I proved that any chore can be made fun (case-in-point: corn-shucking) if you pretend reluctance to let the kids join in, when we descended like a swarm of locusts on the farmers' market.

This is why it's helpful to have a summer bucket list: So that when a lazy Saturday morning presents itself and the kids demand, "Whatarewedoingtodayhuhhuhuh???" while you're still in bed, you can tell them to go pick something from the bucket list... and then lock the door after they clamor out.

It's surprising how much fun you can have at the farmers' market -- the kids love counting out peaches and cucumbers, finding just the right tomatoes, sampling everything. And I love seeing that connection of farm-to-table: Dirt still clings to the fresh-dug potatoes, morning dew still shines on the crisp lettuce leaves. And I love that Kroger, a wax coating, and slick packaging don't come between the grower and the consumer. That's how it should be.

Catherine and I have a plan: Someday we will own a farm with goats and chickens (me) and horses and rabbits (her). We will ride horses every morning, make jam and cheese in the afternoons, and sew quilts in the evening. Vincent and Daddy can live next door. Monica, who is forever a baby in Catherine's fantasy, will live with us and will actually sleep through the night. Dommie can live down the street. His farm will be filled with old firetrucks.

I like her fantasy.

We're starting small, though, before we transition to our self-sufficient Little-House-on-the-Prairie lifestyle. For now, Catherine attempts to snare rabbits every time we take a walk by dropping carrot bits in front of bushes. She sews tiny quilts for her Playmobil people. The other night she sneaked out of bed to watch me make strawberry jam. Today we are pickling cucumbers. And when I decide to reopen the closed subject of getting chickens, Roger's sweet little daughter will play a prime role in the begging.