Today we came to the end of our pear preserves. My mother washed out the jar, and said she was going to return it, because she doesn't want her friend's mother to go to the expense of buying another jar, and also, because we might get some new pear preserves.

I really respect people who are keeping the remnants of the old barter agricultural economy going. I hope it doesn't fade in our generation, even though I have no useful domestic skills, and work days are getting longer, leaving less time for canning, gardening, and chicken raising