 At noon, the family ate and chatted around the big oak table. Nora shared her dilemma with Henry. She was out of vinegar. Now that the eggs were boiled, the canning process for the beets must be completed. The cukes were all sliced and needed to pickle for several days in a crock full of vinegar and salt brine. The processing had to begin today. Timing mattered. Henry faced the same problem. If it rained while the hay was laying in the field, it would ruin the whole cutting.