My Grampa

Sunday morning, August 14th..my 96 year old Grampa fell asleep in a chair, and didn't wake up. I got the call while I was on my way to church.

We knew it was coming..but it's still hard to grasp. He grew to be a very old man..and had a long life. Oh, to think of the things he has seen..
Grandma passed away when I was only 16.
....and Mom, three years ago.

I am so thankful I got to see him one last time on our trip back in May. I've said 'good-bye' to my Grampa on more than one occasion..with the thought I'd never see him again. I knew this last time though...that was it. The children and my Aunt were outside looking at pretty rocks..and I went back inside for something. I peeked in Grampa's room while he was sleeping and watched him for a few minutes. I choked back tears...and gave him one last kiss, and then walked out the door.

This Friday is the funeral..and we can't be there, of course. So, in honor of Grampa Kiser, we'll be drinkng Pepsi and eating Twinkies. Somethings he used to enjoy on a regular basis. I'll tell the kids stories I can remember from childhood.

Jam

This is one of those time I wish I had listened to my Mama. Or watched her, to be more accurate!

I attempted to can my first homemade jam. I had two gallon size bags of strawberries in my freezer, just waiting to be mashed by some boy with plenty of energy to burn.

With my laptop on the kitchen counter, opened to a page on canning preserves-- pickyourown.org-- I gathered the supplies I had recenty purchased.

magnetic lid lifter
case of pint jars
jar lifter
no-sugar pectin

I was ready!

With children waltzing in and out of the kitchen, wondering WHAT Mama was up to..step by step I followed the directions for hot-water bath canning.

Since I have a ceramic top stove, bought new in '07, I really did't want to attempt canning with a 'real' canner, and risk cracking the top of my stove. So, I used my largest pot still small enough to fit on my larger burner setting. (I usually boil corn on the cob in this pot, so it's tall enough)

On the advice of  a friend..I twisty-tied five jar rings together to lay in the bottom of the pot for the jars to sit on. This worked 'ok'. The jars tipped sideways at an angle. I was only canning 3 jars of jam though. (I think I'll have dh cut me out a flat piece of metal to lay on top of the rings.)

Here's my final product. I'm pretty tickled! Wish I could share this with my Mom. My Dad will probably chuckle at me..since he cans all the time.

And one of my super helpers today...