Okay I'm on the last batch of jars to go in the canner(tomato sauce) and of course the jars are all different sizes and one naughty jar is above the water by about 1/8 of an inch.. is it going to hurt the batch too much to wait in the hot water while I heat up more water to pour in? I got it going now so I hope the answer is no!
Whew! Thanks! I feel better- it is only a scant inch over the top of the taller jar but it is a nice rolling boil now. I decided to use all my odd and pretty jars for smaller amounts of sauce so that if I am home alone and want a bit of pasta I don't' have to open a whole big jar.
I have gotten jars from everyone and their brother when I first started canning so I decided to use some for the last amount of the sauce. I made 4 gallons and set the timer so that I could get up every two hours and check on it to make sure it wasn't scorching. I'm kinda pooped from last night!
I have another 1/2 bushel to make into stews this week plus probably two bushels on the vine yet! And there is a frost coming..! I'm getting the old incandescent holiday lights out and stringing them on the fencing and then topping the whole kebang with a tarp.
I've got 20-something tomato plants with lots of fruit, but it's all at the "green turning yellow" stage and frosts they are a comin' in a week or two. We're putting up our pvc pipe/plastic sheet hoophouse this evening to extend the season a bit.
I've already canned up lots of tomato sauce with farmer's market tomatoes, but I'm so looking forward to canning our home grown tomatoes!
I do have bunches of tomatoes on the vine and they are taking their sweet time ripening(but the lights and tarp have worked before) and the weather is predicted to be nice after this little frost..
But I did panic and to add to what I did have ripe the boychild and I went to a friends roadside stand and bought three of their 1/2 bushel "pick your own" tomatoes for $5 each.. I did pick one of the 1/2's under ripe a bit to give me time to recover from saucing the first bushel.
This is the second year running that I panicked and bought a couple 1/2 bushels.. but I have known these folks for almost ever and he uses mostly organic and if I ever have a reaction he has no qualms telling me what he uses.. With the coming frost my little voice keeps saying--you have an extra $10 go pick more! And the other little voice says--But can you get them all canned before your back procedure Tuesday? Those voices are gonna drive me nuts! Especially the one that keeps urging me to put more back, learn more, save more.. The big bad is coming..
. is it going to hurt the batch too much to wait in the hot water while I heat up more water to pour in? I got it going now so I hope the answer is no!
Those voices are gonna drive me nuts! Especially the one that keeps urging me to put more back, learn more, save more.. The big bad is coming.. 
