Canning- no Grandma attached

I have said for years that I wish I had been paying attention when my Grandma was alive. I could have learned so much about everything. I mean this lady was so incredibly intelligent about everything and I seem to have missed it! Well, I missed everything except the immense amount of love she poured down on me- which was the most important part anyway, right? Lucky for me, there's GOOGLE and "Better Homes and Gardens" for everything else. I used the BHAG for my attempt at canning yesterday. I also must give props to the kind strangers who caught me staring down the different canners in WalMart, giving unsolicited advice, which turned out to be helpful. I would wait for everyone to clear off that particular aisle, then go study the equipment. Suddenly, a kindly old feller would step around from Aisle 9 and say "Looks like you're gonna do some cannin', lemme tell you how I do it." This scenario reoccured maybe 4 times before I finally walked out of WalMart with my first pack of Ball Jars and lids and such. (The process took 2 whole days of deliberation)

So last night, after cooking up homemade spaghetti, there being about a pint leftover and about a pint of homemade salsa sitting in the fridge, I decided to myself "Tonight is the night". I commenced to put all my gathered knowledge to use. (my sweet, adoring husband lovingly says to me "Your water will boil sooner if you put the top on" well duh... at this point, the whole family, myself included was engrossed in the new iCarly episode.) Anyway, after processing, I set the two pint jars (I was only brave enough to try two for fear of utter failure) on the towels to cool. To my dismay, the lids were still popping and I couldn't figure out what I did wrong. I nearly called my Mother-in-law to see if this was a temporary condition, but I figured I'd let them cool and see what happens. Sure enough, by this morning, the lids had sucked down and I had beautifully sealed jars! This is exciting to me, as I feel so self-sustaining! I had finally done this thing that I had wanted to learn yet seemed so foreign to me! I discussed the whole exciting episode with my Mother-in-law this morning and she was happy for me but probably glad that I didn't call her at 11:00 last night to ask her a dumb question.

Now the next thing to learn about is quilting! I already know that I will not be working on this endeavor this year but when I'm ready, I know just the ladies to go to! Until then, I shall continue to perfect my salsa and the tone of my violin. That's enough to keep me busy for now, along with the usual child rearing and working. Happy weekend to my readers...all two of you!