Canning Tomatoes Part 1

Well, I started this post last night with great enthusiasm. I thought I would have photos of lovely jars of tomatoey goodness as a reminder of a satisfying evening of good old-fashioned hard work. Not so much.
I was all ready to get down and dirty and get my 25 pounds of tomatoes put up into jars to savor all winter. I cleaned the kitchen. I counted jars and checked them for chips and cracks. I got out all the lids and rings. I set up my assembly line. I went down and got the canning pot from its perch on top of the basement refrigerator, feeling so pleased with myself that I had all the supplies, I could find them, and this batch of canned goods would be a true bargain because of the accrued benefits of past canning experiences. Yay me! And there my enthusiasm met an obstacle. All the small equipment for canning, a special kind of funnel, a rack for the pot, a special kind of tongs, and several other things were completely missing from inside my canning pot where they usually live. They weren't anywhere around. I thought about some solutions and substitutions for the missing items, but a couple of them so simplify the process that it would take me much, much longer without them. Plus, by the time I looked at bit and tried to figure out what to do, my window of time had closed and I went to bed. So, today my kitchen will rest for the Sabbath standing ready in canning mode for a new day when I will either remember where I stored all my do-dads or I'll go buy new ones. And you know what will happen don't you? After looking for two hours I'll decide to just go buy new ones. As soon as I buy the new ones, I'll find the old ones...


but not until after I've used the new ones.