I see this all the time while I am filling and capping jars prior to putting a batch in the canner. The most obvious is the way the lid sinks down slightly and the small 'embossed' button in the middle will be sunken (indented) in even slightly more. Thats what makes the ping sound. Its quite easy to see what jar is going under vacuum when you see the whole lid sink in slightly. As to a bottom rack, be sure the jars are up from the bottom by about an inch, and the water covers the the tops of the jars by about 2 inches. If your planning on doing a lot more home canning, it may be wise to look for a bigger pot and lift out rack that can hold the whole batch of jars at once. Even though they are quite heavy once loaded with filled jars, these racks have handles that will allow you to lift out the whole batch at once. There is also the invaluable tongs that grab a single jar just under the glass bead near the tops. Here, my rack is also a bit wide between the wires, so I added a cut down round piece of aluminum. It was bought at Home Depot and comes in a 2'x4' sheet with small triangles punched in it. The small triangular punched holes allow for more heat to move though. The aluminum sheet is thin enough where you can use a good pair of scissors to cut it into a round. Since adding that disk on top of my wire rack, the jars are quite sturdy and will not easily tip. Let the apple rings age a while, and they are great when served as is, or over ice cream, or even as part of a fresh fruit mixed salad. I still have a small jar of brandied cheeries my dad made many years ago. It was canned in a small instant coffee jar with plastic cover. Because of all the brandy and its constant refrigeration, it will never spoil. Might make some ice cream with the cherries and some chocolate chips.

Hi Wendy, nice to see you posting. :-) Yes, they will be pretty large pots that I would need to go up one size. I didnâÂÂt think the two I have now were all that big. I just checked and they are 16 inches high with an opening that is 17 inches across. IâÂÂm sure there are 20-22 inch pots out there, that would be just one size up. I am planning on pruning the rootball. I havenâÂÂt taken them out of their pots yet to check the condition of the roots, but I imagine after all this time they are pretty root bound. Thanks for the info about how much to prune. Oh what fun. [g] No, I definitely will not want to be up-potting further. This will be the first and last time IâÂÂm going to try it. Bill, I really like your resin pots. Very pretty! I keep forgetting about cement/concrete planters. That would be heavy enough to keep them upright in the wind, I imagine. Being able to move them into place, would be the challenge. [g] Once theyâÂÂre in place, theyâÂÂre staying as long as possible. Thanks!

Well, you cannot imagine how wonderful it was to read all your postings and with such good ideas......getting a "craft" book at Michaels is a wonderful idea, in that like you said, all the materials will be there, and will help in zone in on something or things I really would like to do. You girls are the greatest. AND I mean that so much. AND Oddie, again thank you for such a wise decision.....post it. And then reading how you got so many good things, cheaply, like a sewing machine for minimal needs, a toaster oven for crafting and such. I have two appointments at the hospital tomorrow.....that's what it is when you are a cancer survivor, and then off to the craft store.....so exciting...I can't wait. THEN, the next thing is to get my courage up and post. I owe it to you guys to at least let you see what I make. Special girls...that's what you are! *** Maddya

Thank you so much for replying Minnie. I went back to Michael's and bought the $25 pair of five or six scissors (with a half off coupon of course, I love those coupons). They cut a little better but again, some would get stuck on the metal piece on that first swipe down. Others, again, got caught on the cardstock or paper and ripped/shredded a bit and it looks so unsightly on my projects. I ended up bringing those back too. I think I will try the Martha Stewart or other "rotary cutters" next. Again, they're pricy but with coupons I can get them for about $14 or $15. I think the store might be getting tired of me buying these things and bringing them back. However, tonight I showed the gal on the returns register how they would get caught closing them down or ripping the paper. She could understand why I brought them back so I didn't feel so bad. They all know I'm a gooooood customer at Michael's!! Sal