Making Jelly

I spent yesterday making several batches of jelly. I love making jelly. There is nothing that compares to the taste of a home-made batch of jelly. And when you open one of those jars up over the winter, oh the taste of that jelly beats anything you can buy at the store by a mile.

I've been making jelly for several years now. I thought it was overwhelming when I first heard about it, but it's actually one of the easist preservation methods out there. You don't have to pressure can, and if you have a deep enough pot (or short enough jars) you can do this at home. I bought a canning rack at Wal-Mart for a few bucks a couple of years back, and I put this into my deep soup pot. It's a flat metal disc that sits on the bottom of the pan and keeps the jars from sitting directly on the heat.

You do need fresh fruit. Nothing moldy, or even questionable.  Think of it as a beauty contest!  Only the finest looking fruits go in!  I like to go pick our own at one of the pick-your own farms in our area. You need 4-5 cups of berries per batch, and it's more cost effective to pick it yourself and pay the bulk price. You'll also need a box of pectin. I use Sure-Jell- it's what our grocery store carries. The key to remember with jelly is to follow the directions in your pectin to the letter. I can not stress that enough! You must follow the directions to the letter! Jelly making and canning food for long term storage is not the time to experiment with a recipe! The recipes have been developed to inhibit the growth of molds and other frightening organisms that live in preserved food. Changing up the recipe could also endanger the lives of those you love. (Now, isn't that a cheery thought?)

Having said that, let's move on to the fun part!

Assemble the jars.  I use any jelly jar I have in the house!  The lids have to be new every year.  You can not re-use the lids!  (The lids are in the boxes)  You CAN reuse the bands- the hollow circular lid parts.

The directions say to crush the berries by hand with a potato masher.  I used to do that, but I've found that the blender does just as good a job.  It still leaves me with fruit chunks, but they are smaller and more evenly sliced.

Cooking the jelly.  Nothing compares to the taste of cooked jelly!  This is where I used to make my big mistakes when I first started jelly making.  I'd dump all of the sugar and pectin in and then bring it to a boil.  It would never jell, and would remain runny.  THIS is where you have to read the directions!  A portion of the sugar, and the box of pectin is added at the start.  The rest of the sugar is added once the jelly comes to a full boil.  Then, you bring the mixture to a full, rolling boil again.  Stir constantly! Once you can no longer stir down the boil, boil the mixture for exactly one minute, and then remove from the heat.  (Again, check your pectin and follow the manufacturer's instructions on the length of boiling time.)  I always use Sure-Jell, and that is the boil time for that particular brand.

The jelly has been put into jars.  I wipe the jelly off the rims, put the lids on, and then screw on the bands.  Since that big jar on the left isn't completely full, that one isn't going to be canned.  I'm going to put that in the refrigerator for us to eat tonight!

Everybody into the hot tub! This is called the "Water Bath Canning Method".   Once the jars go in, one inch of water must cover the tops of the jars in order to ensure a good seal.  The jars hang out in the water for a while.  Again, check the directions for the length of time they stay in the hot tub.  Times vary according to the fruit you are using.

Finished jelly!  About an hour from start to finish..  After the jars have cooled, check the seals on the lids.  Press down on the center of the lid.  If the lid bounces back, or pops, the seal is not complete.  You will have to refrigerate those jars and eat them first.  Make sure you label your jars with the item and the date.  I always write on the lids- it's a visual cue to myself to let me know that I've already used the lids and can't use them for canning again.  I store leftovers in mason jars in the fridge, and put an old (clean) lid on the top.  I feel better putting leftovers into a mason jar than into a plastic container.

Course Registration Day

I am definitely feeling a little blue and very nostalgic this morning. Our oldest child is at college this morning. It is their orientation experience. The kids were checked in last night at 5. The parents were "shooed" away, and the kids spent the night on campus, getting to know the University a little bit better and meeting other kids who will be majoring in the same field as them. I don't think there are that many kids double majoring in Math and Physics, but they did have a pretty full house when I left last night. I think the commonality there was the Math major. Anyway, the parents are invited to come back on campus this morning at 9, when we will get our own orientation. I'm wondering if they will have a workshop for us entitled "What to do when one of the younger siblings needs help with their math homework". It doesn't seem all that long ago that we were going off to our college orientation. I went to Virginia Tech. My Dad and I went down the night before and stayed at one of the hotels just off campus. We went in early the next morning, and he sat with me through all of the presentations, the course selection, the meetings with the advisors, and a campus tour. I remember him choking up as he said "I really envy you! This will be one of the best experiences of your life. You will always look back on your college years as some of the most meaningful, best, and carefree times of your life. Much of your adult life will be shaped here over the next 4 or 5 years." Personally, I was more excited about moving out of the house and being on my own than I was about the endless opportunities that lay ahead of me. Over the next five years, I suffered wonderful failures. Spectacular dissapointments. I learned much about myself, who I am, and what I truly believe to be important in my life. I found that money isn't everything, and pursuing what you are passionate about is much more important than earning a high salary at a job that you hate. I made life-long friends that I still keep in contact with. No matter where we are, when we get together the years melt away and I could swear we are all 21 again, with our entire lives and a future of possibilities laid out ahead of us. I even met my husband. Honestly, I met him the first semester we were there. And then, I was introduced to him again a year later. We finally met up and became friends our 4th year in college, when we were both singing in the choir. We started dating just months before graduation in our 5th year. Here we are now, 23 years later. I look at my son, and I see the endless world of possibilities laid out ahead of him. I see the lifelong friendships that he will make. I know that he will suffer specatcular failures, and learn more from those than he does from his successes. I also know that, more than anything else, he is looking forward to moving out of the house and being on his own. To be honest, I'm kind of looking forward to him moving out of the house, too.

We're Really Roughing It

My son and husband are celebrating Senior Week by camping and hiking in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.  I received this picture in a text message yesterday, along with the caption "We're really roughing it!"

Senior week presents a special challenge for parents.  I live in the Mid-Atlantic, and the kids here head to the beach for the week after graduation.  Ocean City is the biggest destination. Thousands of eighteen year olds descend upon the beach every year, full of hormones, youthful energy, and a lack of parental supervision.  Every year, stories filter back of the horrible things that have happened to the kids.  Rapes, pregnancies, and alcohol poisoning dominate the stories.  Kids come back with stitches, broken bones, and STD's caused by bad decisions made under the influence of friends, alchohol, or drugs.

Years ago, when I graduated from high school, we were living in Virginia.  I wanted to go to Virginia Beach with my friends, but my father refused to let me go.  Instead, he offered to take me anywhere I wanted to go in the lower 48 United States.  With no hesitation, I told him I wanted to go to California.  Two days after graduation, he and I were driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in a rented convertible.

Now, here we are, twenty-seven years after my high school graduation.  I remember my Dad telling me when I was arguing about going to the beach: "I remember what I was like at eighteen.  There is no way on God's green earth that you are going by yourself to the beach for a week."  I look at son #1 with Dad's voice echoing in my ears.  Once again, I realize that he was right.

So, we offered our son a trip.  Anywhere in the lower 48 United States.   Just him and his Dad.  He decided he wanted to go camping and hiking on the back country trails of the Smoky Mountains.

We are not the only nut cases who have taken this stance.  I know of another family that pulled their younger children out of school for a week and are currently in Disney World.  I know of another family taking both children- 1 who just graduated High School and 1 who just graduated College - to New Zeland for two weeks.  Another family I know is headed out on a cruise next week as soon as school lets out.  The daughter is currently picking up tons of overtime at work, covering for all of the kids who are currently "Down the Ocean".

As I think through the last 18 years, midnight feedings, broken bones, homework, chores, sports practices and games, cleaning up vomit in the middle of the night, refereeing fights, and trying to figure out where to get poster board at 11:00 at night, it dawns on me:  Those were the years when we were really roughing it.

This post originally appeared in my now defunct "Mom's View" blog.  I moved it to this blog at the request of my kids, who wanted to have all of the various posts that accompanied their high school years in one place.  I've matched the publication dates here to their original post date.  If you're reading these posts, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to go back through them all! 

Last Day of School for Seniors

My oldest son is a Senior in High School.  Yesterday was their last day of school.  I greeted him with a sign that said "Happy last day of compulsory K-12 school!" 

We talked at length about his last day of school.  The Seniors had plans to forma Conga Line at 2:15, but when the rumor hit the school administration, the kids were reminded that they could still serve detention on this, their last day of school.  He talked about his teachers, who have worked so hard and pushed him to do more and learn more than he thought possible.

These past two weeks have been a week of lasts:  The last orchestra concert.  The last track and field meet.  The last banquet.  The last... well, you get the idea.  It's been a time of reflecting back on everything that was, and has been.  It's been fun, remembering back to his first day of Kindergarten, laughing over the battles he had with his first grade teacher over the creation of fossils, the second grade teacher who yelled at him about reading ahead of her in the textbook.  We also reminisced about that fabulous Mrs. G. who convinced him that he could do more than he thought he could.  Mrs. M. who taught him Math for three years in elementary school, pushing him 2 levels above grade level by the time he was finished.  For the first time, he was challenged in Math, and thrived beyond all of our expecations.

He has taken as many AP classes as he could for his entire high school career, for a total of 10 AP classes.  He has continued to play his Viola, and he recently ran in his first and only Regional Track Meet.  He didn't qualify for States, but he did set a personal best at that meet.  He was the only distance athlete to do that, and he was very, very content with that result.

But, instead of looking backward at what our kids have come through, I'd like to look forward for a while.  These are kids that we, as a group of parents, have nurtured together over the years.  We've chaperoned them on field trips, had them sleep over in our houses, and gotten after them when we've seen them out and about without their parents and their behavior is... well... not what it should be.  I feel like all of these kids are mine, too!

I got my wish at our final orchestra concert this week.  Our band director, Miss J., read off a list of the Seniors.  Each student was asked to state plans for the future, major, etc.  I loved hearing the list of hopes and dreams.

The last three students were getting ready to approach the microphone, and I was feeling the bittersweet nature of the moment.

The first kid approached the microphone:  "I have earned a free ride through the Coast Guard Academy, where I am going to major in saving lives!"

The second student: "I am going to U**, where I will be majoring in Pre-Med, and Minoring in Awesome!"

The third student:  "I am going to U**, where I will be double majoring in Business Administration and Glory!!"

The past was fun, but I am looking forward to the stories of glory that we'll be hearing in the future.

Congratulations to the Class of 2011!

Just Much Too Soon

A young man in my daughter's 8th grade class has passed away.  He died of Leukemia.  He was 13 years old.  This boy fought off this hideous disease for 18 months.  He missed almost all of his 7th grade year of school, instead spending it in various hospital beds in the area hospitals, fighting for his life.  This time last year, he was declared to be in remission.  When school began in September, he was present in the classrooms.  He was in my daughter's homeroom, and in many of her classes. 

Funny and happy go lucky before his diagnosis, he returned to school with a zest for life.  Happy beyond words to be back in school.  He wasn't allowed to return to playing football, but he attended the games and cheered on his team.  He teased the girls, joked with the boys, and was considered by all a joy to be around.

Then came the day in the middle of October when he did not come to school.  Whispers ran through the school that he was sick again.  The kids asked the teachers what was going on, but the teachers were just as clueless as the students.  By the end of the day, the school received the words that they had been dreading to hear: The cancer was back, and it was very aggresive. 

Tears were shed, but everyone was convinced that he would beat it this time, too.  Packages of cards and letters were delivered from the school once a week, as the kids sent him games, books, and notes about the latest goings on in the classrooms.

Earlier this week, we received word that he lost his valiant battle. 

The reaction among the kids has been difficult to keep track of.  All of them are heartbroken.  All of them are sad beyond words.  Grief has weird ways of manifesting itself.

I know as a parent, I am heartbroken beyond words.  My heart breaks for his parents.  How awful it is to watch your child struggle for life day after day... think he has won the battle, and then lose the battle at the age of 13. 

As the mother of one of his class mates and friends, I am struggling.  We've spent a lot of time talking about what a great kid he was and how many lives he's touched in his 13 years of life.  I believe that his life will have a significant impact on the lives of his friends for the rest of their lives.  But, how do I answer the "Why?"  questions:  Why did he have to die?  Why did he get cancer and nobody else has it?  Can I get cancer and die too? Why didn't the drugs work for him? 

I've done my best to muddle through the answers, finally ending with "Sometimes, life just isn't fair.  Bad things happen, and we don't know why." 

For me, my only answer has been to hug the kids - often and long.  And tell them every chance I get how much I love them.

We love you, Cam.  You will be missed.

This post originally appeared in my now defunct "Mom's View" blog.  I moved it to this blog at the request of my kids, who wanted to have all of the various posts that accompanied their high school years in one place.  I've matched the publication dates here to their original post date.  If you're reading these posts, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to go back through them all! 

Trapped in the Wal-Mart

Seriously, I was trapped in the Wal-Mart for a couple of hours yesterday.  I had just dropped by the church and thought I would run inside to pick up a thank you card for one of the kids' coaches.  That was my big mistake of the day.

Just about the same time I pulled into the parking lot, the back-hoe that was digging in the parking lot of the bank hit a gas main.  The driver of the back hoe hit the ground running, fearful of a gas explosion.  Unfortunately, he forgot to turn the engine of his machine off.  Since the gas main was leaking, no one was allowed close to the back hoe to turn it off.  They had to wait for the fire department, in full protective gear to show. 

The police officers and construction workers onsite were shuffling all of the shoppers out of the lots and into the Wal-Mart (which was deemed to be safer) while they were waiting for the fire department.  Needless to say, traffic came to a screeching halt while ALL of the roads were closed down. 

I was enjoying watching people whiz around the Wal-Mart lot, looking for a way around traffic when I was told I had to go inside of the store where it was "safer".

I'm no genius, but somehow, I don't think that cruising around the Wal-Mart for an unknown period of time, armed with a credit card is a good idea. 

I live in a fairly small town, so I actually had a pretty nice time cruising around the Wal-Mart.  I ran into my daughter's retired 5th grade teacher and her father.  I ran into my aerobics teacher.  I ran into some friends I hadn't seen in a couple of months, and I found a couple of summer employees who are home from college for the summer, that had been in Boy Scouts with my boys.  The Subway did a lot of business as we all bought our breakfast, and pulled the tables into one great big table and had a huge gab-fest.  People would get up and move around the tables periodically as they finished one conversation and began another.  Dates for lunch were set, plans for barbecues were made, and pictures were proudly displayed.  It was probably the best, most productive, and fun two hours I've spent in quite some time!

Eventually, the fire department sounded the all clear, and opened traffic on the main roads again.

I picked up the Thank You card for the coaches and headed out on my way.

I'm not certain, but I think being trapped in the Wal-Mart for two hours, forcing me to slow down and talk with friends old and new was probably the best mistake I have ever made.  I need to make more mistakes like that!

When the Power Goes Out

I was reading a very disturbing article in the paper this weekend.   We had a very heavy snowstorm last week, and branches came down over the power lines, knocking out power to several thousand people.

The person who was being lauded in the article for his "resourcfulness" was cooking indoors on a kerosene stove.  A kerosene camp stove, with the cylinder of kerosene attached to the side.

Let me repeat that:  cooking indoors on a kerosene stove.

Any kind of combustion produces carbon monoxide.  Kerosene, propane, natural gas, wood stoves.  That is why they all call for ventilation.  Wood stoves have a chimney that directs toxic fumes out of the house. 

Kerosene, propane, and natural gas should be used outdoors unless if your house is properly vented for an appliance that uses one of these fuels.  Every year, we hear of people who have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.  Some of these people were running a generator inside the house.  Some turned the natural gas on the stove on high to heat the house because their electricity went out.  Some are heating indoors with an enclosed kerosene heater.  Even cooking indoors can cause a build up of toxic gases.

So, what should you do?  Shovel off your outdoor grill and cook outside.  Put your kerosene stove out on the picnic table and cook.  Put your generator outside of the house.  Attach a chain and lock it to something sturdy, but keep it outside!!

If your electricity does go out and your house is getting cold, here are a few things to remember:
1) Find one room for your family to hunker down in.  Seal the exits to the room.  Hang blankets over the door, but know that this room is going to be your home base for a while.   Bring in your blankets, your extra clothes, games, knitting projects, whatever.  The body heat of several collective people will warm the room some.

2) Fireplaces suck heat right out of a house. 

3) The electronic ignition on pellet stoves and natural gas stoves will not work without electricity.  Many models have a battery back up.  If you have extra batteries for that stove, pat yourself on the back!

4) Wood stoves will put out a really hot heat.  Make certain you open the damper before you build your fire.  Hopefully, you have used your woodstove before the power goes out, so you know how to regulate the damper and vents in order the keep the smoke drawing up the chimney and get the most heat possible out of your wood.

5) If you are on a well, and you don't have a battery back up, know that you can melt snow to provide water.  You can use this water to drink, to cook with, to brush your teeth, and to flush your toilets.  Trust me, you want to flush those toilets. 

6) Unplug all of your major appliances as long as the power is out, especially your electronics.  The power surge from the lines suddenly coming back on can fry sensitive electronics.  Also, the power drain when the electric company finally gets your power back on and it is suddenly powering ALL of the major appliances in the neighborhood can cause the electricity to go back down again....

Stay safe and warm during these cold days!


This post originally appeared in my now defunct "Thrifty Living" blog.  I moved it to this blog at the request of my kids, who wanted to have all of the various posts that accompanied their high school years in one place.  I've matched the publication dates here to their original post date.  If you're reading these posts, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to go back through them all!