in other news

I am going to attempt canning again. I canned some of our figs last year into preserves, but as I went to open a jar the other day to make Knox a peanut butter and jelly (or preserves) sandwich, I smelled the figgy spread. Though the lid was sealed, the figs themselves were ruined. I believe I must not have used enough sugar or cooked them long enough (to get all the impurities out), because it had ferminted. Yuck. It smelled like fig mouthwash. So, after throwing out that batch of preserves (and the stinky sandwich that Thankfully I had smelled before anyone ate it) and slightly discouraged, I located the rest of the jars of "preserves," that I now can rename "not-preserves," and threw them out, too. This afternoon, however, I am going to get more plants from a local grower and try to keep them alive so that I can try to can all over again. This time, under the watchful eye of my experienced Mother-in-law.