happiness

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Water Storage & Rain Barrels Part 2

Posted on September 4, 2013 Updated on September 4, 2013

Now let’s move on to the larger containers for storage…

Water Storage Towers

You do have the option of connecting together several of the above water barrels to add additional storage, however that may not provide enough water for animals, gardens, greenhouses, & other household uses.
Please remember that this type of storage container can vary GREATLY in size depending on your needs, from small garden towers to those needed for towns.

Here we will cover the smaller versions.

First we should talk a little about how water towers work so the basics & directions make sense.

Essentially, rain water is captured in a storage tank located at the top of the tower and released through standard valves and faucets at the other end of the pipe system connected to the storage tank.

The purpose of a water tower is to provide running water with the pressure resulting from the gravity as water falls through pipes from the high tower.

A big reason for the level of reliability in water pressure is the water tower.

Tower, Tank and Pump

A water tower is an incredibly simple device. Although water towers come in all shapes and sizes, they all do the same thing: A water tower is simply a large, elevated tank of water. For example, take the water tower shown above. This tower is located in Kill Devils Hill, near Kitty Hawk, NC. It is about 165 feet (50 meters) tall.

Water towers are tall to provide pressure. Each foot of height provides 0.43 PSI (pounds per square Inch) of pressure. A typical municipal water supply runs at between 50 and 100 PSI (major appliances require at least 20 to 30 PSI). The water tower must be tall enough to supply that level of pressure to all of the houses and businesses in the area of the tower. So water towers are typically located on high ground, and they are tall enough to provide the necessary pressure. In hilly regions, a tower can sometimes be replaced by a simple tank located on the highest hill in the area.

A water tower’s tank is normally quite large. A normal in-ground swimming pool in someone’s backyard might hold something like 20,000 or 30,000 gallons (that’s a lot of water!), and a typical water tower might hold 50 times that amount!

Typically, a water tower’s tank is sized to hold about a day’s worth of water for the community served by the tower. If the pumps fail (for example, during a power failure), the water tower holds enough water to keep things flowing for about a day.

One of the big advantages of a water tower is that it lets a municipality size its pumps for average rather than peak demand. That can save a community a lot of money.

Say that the water consumption for a pumping station averages 500 gallons of water per minute (or 720,000 gallons over the course of a day). There will be times during the day when water consumption is much greater than 500 gallons per minute. For example, in the morning, lots of people wake up at about the same time (say 7:00 a.m.) to go to work. They go to the bathroom, take a shower, brush their teeth, etc. Water demand might peak at 2,000 gallons per minute at 7 a.m. — there is a big cost difference between a 500-gallon-per-minute pump and a 2,000-gallon-per-minute pump.

Because of the water tower, the municipality can purchase a 500-gallon-per-minute pump and let the water tower handle the peak demand. At night, when demand normally falls to practically zero, the pump can make up the difference and refill the water tower.

In most towns, the water people drink comes from either a well, a river or a reservoir (normally a local lake). The water is treated in a water treatment plant to remove sediment (by filtration and/or settling) and bacteria (typically with ozone, ultraviolet light and chlorine). The output from the water treatment plant is clear, germ-free water. A high-lift pump pressurizes the water and sends it to the water system’s primary feeder pipes. The water tower is attached to the primary feeders quite simply, as shown in this diagram:

If the pump is producing more water than the water system needs, the excess flows automatically into the tank. If the community is demanding more water than the pump can supply, then water flows out of the tank to meet the need.

Form and Function

Water towers come in all shapes and sizes. Take, for example, this giant peach along I-85 in Gaffney, South Carolina.

This water tower comes complete with leaf, stem and that funny crease that peaches have.

Water towers on top of buildings are a common feature in many cities.

In a city, tall buildings often need to solve their own water pressure problems. Because the buildings are so tall, they often exceed the height that the city’s water pressure can handle. So a tall building will have its own pumps and its own water towers. In the following picture, taken from the Empire State Building in New York City, there are at least 30 small water towers visible on the tops of these buildings.

Another interesting fact about water towers —

they can affect your insurance rates!

During a fire, the water demand increases significantly and may greatly exceed the capacity of the pumps at the water plant. A water tower guarantees that there will be enough pressure to keep water flowing through the fire hydrants. Fire insurance rates are normally lower in a community in which the water system has water towers.

The next time you are out driving around, especially if you are driving through a series of small towns, take the time to notice the water towers. Now that you know how they work, you will be amazed by how many you see and by all the different forms they take!

Fun Water Tower Fact

For pilots of small, private aircraft, water towers are a huge help because:

They are large.
They are elevated, making them easy to see from an airplane.
All small towns have them.
Small towns are nice enough to paint the town’s name on nearly every tower!

If you have ever been in a small airplane flying cross-country, you know that from the air, all small towns look the same; it is very easy to get confused. When you don’t have a GPS receiver, water towers make navigation a LOT easier!

How do you design & build a tower?

Here is a sample of simple directions for a model (used for demonstration)
Get plumbing parts from (Home depot)

a short section of 4 inch plastic pipe with a glued on top
and then at the bottom glue a plastic pipe piece called a reduction which went from the 4 inch to 1 1/2 inch plastic.
Then glue in a 1 1/2 inch plastic valve
finished it with a short piece of 1 1/2 inch plastic pipe to make the downwards piece.
Turn it upside down fill it
close the valve
then turn it right side up
when you open the valve all the water rushes out pretty quickly.

Find the plumbing guy and tell him what you want to do and you can get all the pieces in 1 trip.

You can Custom Design Your Own Tower Here

http://www.water-towers.com/wtrscustomplans2.html

They will prepare a preliminary design for you to review along with a quote for your tower design.

HERE is a link for more varieties of pre-designed plans &/or Towers for Sale.

OR you can make your own

There are several ways to build water towers….

Each construction method must emphasize pressure and height in order to provide an even water pressure for a municipality or a building. As long as these basic requirements are met, a high degree of creativity can go into building the exterior of the water tower.

Below are some basics for a tower big enough for a community office building or house.

To construct a water tower, you may use a variety of materials, as long as the intrinsic design of the tower is structurally stable.

Steel and concrete will provide both stability and endurance through weather conditions. Whatever materials are used, the reserve tank of the water tower should be fully supported by columns and be at the very top of the structure.

In some cases, water towers can double as living spaces or office complexes. The basic construction remains the same, in that the water tank itself is suspended high enough in the air to generate sufficient psi for the community, but the underlying support columns can be sealed off, and other usable spaces can be created.

The simplest water tower design is for a single residential building. You may place the water reserve tank on top of the pre-existing building and utilize the structure of the building as the support.

There are alot of helpful videos down the right side of these videos on youtube, so please be sure to check them out as well.

Now we will do at least one that’s a little simpler

Water Barrel Towers

Jodie & Julie from Food Storage Made Easy really have made this an easy process!

Below is an article & video they have explaining how they did it AND some information on how you can get some discounts!

Storing 55 gallon barrels comes with Pros and Cons:

Pros
– Great solution for storing LOTS of water
– Available in multiple sizes from 30 gallons up to 250 gallons
– With additives, can extend rotation needs to every 5 years

Cons
– Slightly difficult to fill and rotate
– Not very accessible when you have to actually USE the water
– Not an ideal solution in small homes/storage areas and shouldn’t be stored outside

WATER BARREL TOWER
A couple of months ago, we were contacted by Trigen Manufacturing and we got some of their water barrel towers. Their water barrel towers solve the typical cons to the regular way of storing 55 gallon barrels. Rotating and filing the barrels is a breeze compared to when they are upright. Not only is rotation easier, it is a space saver too!Both of us got one of their 3 barrel towers. Jodi’s husband built her tower and they took a video of it in case you are wanting to know how to build the actual shelf. The shelf comes with instructions, and the shelf is pretty basic so it’s not too difficult:

Putting the Tower together:

Darin from Trigen was kind enough to come over and help Julie get the barrels plumbed and ready for filling. This video shows you the tower fully built with the water barrels on it, and how to assemble the plumbing kit:

Check out the post on the barrels they did a few months ago when they were introduced and learn more about discounts available for Food Storage Made Easy readers!

To order call: 801-997-0575. Make sure you mention Food Storage Made Easy when you order to get the following discounts:

$20 off the Triple Barrel Tower with Upgraded Plumbing kit
$10 off Triple Barrel Tower with Basic Plumbing Kit
$10 off the Double Barrel Tower with Upgraded Plumbing kit
$10 off the Double Barrel Tower with Basic Plumbing kit

Visit Trigen Manufacturing for pricing and full list of contents. To get the discount, make a phone order and mention Food Storage Made Easy.

Pick up your barrels here:

Here is a video with FULL Tutorial on Rain Water Barrel Setup

Once again there are several links along the right side of the Youtube page that will give you ideas & instructions, so Please check them out as well.

Other Articles of Intrest associated with this topic that you will need:

This entry was posted in blogs, Comparisons, dreamweaver3959, drinks, home-made, Information, ladykira, lessons, Life, Living Off the Grid, Money Savers, Plants, recycling, Research, Studies, Tips & Tricks, Water, well-being and tagged april, Comparisons, descriptions, dreamweaver3959, happiness, information, ladykira, money savers, secrets, tips & tricks, updates.

Two Choices

Posted on September 4, 2013 Updated on September 4, 2013

Two Choices

by Wilson Cowden

What would you do?….you make the choice.

Don’t look for a punch line, there isn’t one. Read it anyway.

My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.

After extolling the school and its Dedicated staff, he offered a question:……

‘When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.Where is the natural order of things in my son?’

The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued.

‘I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.’

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball.

Shay asked, ‘Do you think they’ll let me play?’

I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play.

The boy looked around for guidance and said, ‘We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning..’

Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt.. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again.
Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the Plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.
Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s head, out of reach of all team mates.
Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling,

‘Shay, run to first!
Run to first!’
Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.
He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, ‘Run to second, run to second!’
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.
By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head.
Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, ‘Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay’

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, ‘Run to third!
Shay, run to third!’
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, ‘Shay, run home! Run home!’
Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

‘That day’, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, ‘the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world’.

Shay didn’t make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:

We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.
The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
If you’re thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you’re probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren’t the ‘appropriate’ ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.
We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the ‘natural order of things.’
So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:
Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it’s least fortunate amongst them.
You now have two choices:
1. Delete
2. Forward – May your day, be a Shay Day.
MAY GOD BLESS EVERYONE WHO DECIDES TO
PASS THIS ON IN MEMORY OF SHAY…………..

This entry was posted in blogs, dreamweaver3959, Facebook, Healing, Information, ladykira, lessons, Life, Love, relationships, Short Stories, Social Networking, well-being and tagged april, dreamweaver3959, happiness, ladykira, life.

You Want To Vaccinate My Child? No Problem, Just Sign This Form | World Truth.TV

Posted on August 23, 2013

You Want To Vaccinate My Child?

No Problem, Just Sign This Form

As of this posting NO Physician will sign this form now downloaded by hundreds of parents.

The reason they won’t sign is two-fold:

they do not want to place themselves in a vulnerable position of being negligent for not providing informed consent to thousands of other parents;
many of them realize after their own extensive research that the risks far outweigh any benefits when it comes to vaccination.

Please click the link below to read more & DOWNLOAD THIS FORM!

You Want To Vaccinate My Child? No Problem, Just Sign This Form | World Truth.TV.

This entry was posted in blogs, communication, Comparisons, dreamweaver3959, Facebook, government, Imunizations, Information, ladykira, Legal Forms, Life, Medicine, News and politics, relationships, Research, Shots, Studies, Toxic/Poisonous, well-being and tagged april, Comparisons, happiness, information, medicine, socialnetwork.

Language Lessons

Posted on August 23, 2013 Updated on August 23, 2013

Language Lessons

By Lisa Kessler


My warmest evening greetings to you, Lucius, 
as well as anyone else who may be reading 
this account. 
I wanted to chronicle the events surrounding my 
recent "secret admirer". 
I know that these modern times have been difficult
for you, my friend, and I hope that my tale might 
ease your spirit and maybe even bring hope back 
into your immortal heart. 

I also battled loneliness and boredom. 
Finding a reason to awaken each night became 
difficult for me. 
After centuries on this earth, I could no longer 
find any mystery in the world around me. 
I caught myself doing the same things night after 
night.

What is the mortal saying? 
Variety is the spice of life? 
Well, my friend, I was a woman without variety 
and I was suffocating in the monotony of it all. 
That is until one night in February when I found 
an anonymous gift at my door.
I remember that night with such clarity. 

The water was cold when it spilled over the sides 
of the vase and onto my fingertips. 
I should have been watching the water rise, 
but I couldn't take my eyes off of the flowers.

They were lying on my doorstep when I awoke that 
night with a card that read:

There is a language, little known,
Lovers claim it as their own.
It's symbols smile upon the land,
Wrought by nature's wondrous hand;
and in their silent beauty speak,
Of life and joy, to those who seek.
For love divine and sunny hours,
In the language of the flowers. - Anonymous

I poured some of the water back into the sink, 
and quickly placed the flowers inside of the vase. 
They were so beautiful, with their happy little 
bursts of color and bright yellow centers. 
I had seen these flowers on occasion when I 
traveled along the western coast of America, 
but I couldn't recall their name. 
They looked like hundreds of small daisies.

The gift lightened my spirits, but it was the 
card that intrigued me. 
My anonymous gift giver challenged me 
with the verse. 
Over the millennia I have lived, I have mastered
many languages, but the language of the flowers? 
Could there be such a thing?

For the first time in years, Lucius, a challenge 
was laid before me, a mystery to be solved. 
With the vase of flowers centered on my table, 
I hurried out into the night. 
Excitement and intrigue fed my mind instead of 
blood. I could always feed later. 
For now, I rushed to the local library. 
After a brief mental coaxing of the guard, he let 
me inside of the building and locked the door 
behind me to assure that I would not be disturbed.

Within a few moments, I was searching through the 
botanic encyclopedia for the name of the flowers 
I received. 
Quickly I found a photo of the tiny bright 
yellow blooms. 
My anonymous friend had left me Aster flowers. 
They were in fact, from California.

The note had mentioned the "language" of the 
flowers, so what did Asters mean? 

I wandered the aisles until I found a small 
leather bound book without any of 
the library's markings on its binding.

Carefully, I slid it from the shelf and felt my 
pulse quicken when I saw the title read 
"The Language of the Flowers".

Oh Lucius, I wish I could describe how alive I 
felt at that moment! 
A delicious feeling of purpose washed over me. 

For the first time in years I was learning again, 
and living in the process.

 I carried the book back to my reading table and 
thumbed through the old pages in search of 
Aster flowers. 

A smile crept across my lips when I discovered 
that an Aster flower was a symbol. 
Asters represented love.

Who would go all the way to California to bring me
flowers as a symbol of love, and then leave them 
secretly at my door? 

Of course I thought for a moment of my Dante, 
but then I knew it couldn't be him.
Our love was timeless, yes, but over the centuries
we had grown apart. 

He was my maker, my one true love of an endless 
lifetime, but he hadn’t been my partner in 
over one hundred years. 

When I struggled with boredom and contemplated 
walking into the sun,I didn’t even know where 
to find him.

Either way, Dante had never been a sentimental man, 
and never with flowers. 
But if not him, then who?

The following night, I rushed from my resting 
place as soon as the sun began to set, 
intent on catching sight of my admirer. 
To my surprise, I found that a new flower was 
already waiting for me on the doorstep. 
No immortal could have come and gone so quickly, 
the sun was still setting.
So the mystery of my admirer's identity continued.

I brought the new yellow flower inside, 
instantly recognizing it as a single Daffodil. 

Another card was attached that read:

Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares,
and take The winds of March with beauty.
 - Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale

The scent of the flower took me back to my mortal 
home.
I remember walking through the marketplace in 
Rome as a girl.
The smell of Daffodils perfumed the air.
In those days, it was believed that the sap from 
the flower would help to heal wounds,
so many of the merchants had the bright yellow 
flowers for sale in their booths.
But I fear I am losing myself in the fond memories.

Again, I withdrew the book of flowers and looked up 
the Daffodil. 
I felt breathless for a moment when 
I read the words in the book. 

The Daffodil did have a meaning...
"the sun always shines when I am with you".

Considering that I have not seen the sun in a 
millennia, the words held an even deeper meaning 
and affection for me.
I placed the Daffodil into the vase in the center 
of the cluster of Asters.
The yellow of the Daffodil brought out the tiny 
yellow centers of the Asters, making a delightful 
arrangement that reminded me of the impending 
spring.
I couldn't help but smile each time my eyes fell 
upon the vase.
I looked forward to waking each night as my 
"language lessons" continued.

My vase now contained Amaranth, 
symbolizing immortality and undying love; 
white and red carnations, 
symbolizing pure and deep love, 
and finally 
a single red rose, 
meaning perpetual love. 

I tell you, Lucius, I couldn't take my eyes away 
from the beauty in that vase.

Last night I received Ambrosia blooms with a note 
attached which read:

Love is like a river without end.
It flows and changes only to return again
to the source of its strength
the heart of its power
To the one whose love turns bud into flower.

After nearly a week of flowers, prose, and hidden 
meanings, I still hadn’t caught sight of my 
admirer or deciphered the gift giver's identity. 
But when I opened the book and looked up the 
Ambrosia, it was suddenly clear to me.

I felt alive with anticipation and desire. 
When would he come to me? Where would we meet? 
I rushed out of my home to feed and shop for new 
clothing, leaving the book open on the table to 
the Ambrosia flower. 
The Ambrosia 
symbolized old love returning.

Tonight I received the seventh and final addition 
to my bouquet. 
Tonight I added the tiny red Viscaria flowers 
to my vase. 
I stood back and admired the beauty that bloomed 
and lit up the room with its color. 
The meaning of the Viscaria was simple. 
"Dance with me."

Why am I sharing this story with you, my friend? 
Simply, because until recently, I lost my faith in 
love and romance. 
Eternal life became a monotonous chore until 
someone took the time to teach me this new language.

Only love can make eternity bearable, and love is 
still out there. 
Even for beings such as we, my friend. 
Eternally, Maya

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Epilogue:

The air was electric as I stepped into the warm 
dance club. 
So many thoughts from the mortals around me 
assaulted my mind that I quickly built a mental 
wall, silencing the chaos. 
Scanning the crowd of writhing bodies, I saw him 
standing at the bar.

His ice blue eyes locked with mine from across the 
room, and the intensity smoldering in them left my 
ancient knees weak. 
I watched him swim through the sea of mortals, 
never allowing his gaze stray from mine.

His strong arms caught my waist and drew me close 
as his lips met mine in a hungry kiss. 
I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as his 
familiar scent lit the fire of my thirst. 
His fingers tangled in the back of my hair and my 
body responded. 
How had I survived so long without his touch?

Pulling back from the kiss, I caressed his cheek 
as I whispered, 
"Dante. It is you. 
After all these years, you are still my Dante…"

He nodded, his lips brushing against my ear as he 
whispered, 
"Always, my love. 
No one else will ever own my heart as you do. 
I love you, Maya.” 

He drew back, his eyes searching mine as he took 
my hand. 
“Come, dance with me..."

~~The End~~

(For Marvin we had Walking on sunshine, a weeping 
willow tree & Schmo was my invented word.)

This entry was posted in blogs, Books, communication, Comparisons, dreamweaver3959, Flowers, History, Information, ladykira, Languages, lessons, Life, Love, Plants, relationships, Research, Short Stories, Studies, well-being, Writing and tagged april, Comparisons, flowers, happiness, information, language, lisa kessler, love, short stories, writing.

Canning tips you may not see in the manual

Posted on August 23, 2013 Updated on August 23, 2013

Canning tips you may not see in the manual

with assistance from Lindsay Seaman

Lindsay has been canning & preserving food for over 25 years, so the tips she gained through trial & error

are very helpful to avoid some of the same pitfalls.

Lindsay Seaman is a staff writer for Eartheasy.

Extending your harvest throughout the winter can be a daunting & confusing task, but canning is an efficient way to preserve summer’s bounty.

Basic Information:

There are two basic types of canners, and knowing which one to use can save you frustration & loss:

‘water bath’ for high acid foods like jams, fruit and tomatoes,
‘pressure canners’ for low acid foods like most vegetables, meat and fish.

Canning is a precision process with emphasis on sterilization and cleanliness.

You will want to have a recently published home canning book, some good ones being from Ball, Kerr (well known sources of canning supplies), and the US Department of Agriculture. Your pressure canner will also come with a reliable manual.

Be sure to read all instructions before starting.

Even though you follow the instructions carefully, you can still make mistakes.

The following tips may help, and they apply to both water bath and pressure canning.

Tips from Lindsay

Be organized

Lay out all the equipment and ingredients before starting food preparation.
Try using the dishwasher to preheat your jars

Canning jars must be clean and hot before filling. You can pour hot water into the jars to preheat them, but it is convenient to time your dishwasher load so the hot jars are ready when you need them. Preheating the jars prevents them from breaking when filled with hot foods and hot additives like syrup.
Avoid placing hot jars on cold surfaces

When removing processed jars, place on tea towels or layered newspapers. I like the newspapers because it easier to clean up the mess afterwards. Never put freshly processed jars on a cold surface, or they may break.
Don’t ‘clunk’ the jars

Make sure not to ‘clunk’ or tap hot jars together when removing them from the canner because hot glass breaks easily. As a general rule, be gentle with the jars throughout the process.
Avoid drafts when removing jars

Canning is a hot business and the temptation is to open all the windows. This is fine until you take the jars out of the canner. Then, you should consider closing nearby windows and doors because a cool draft can break a hot glass jar.
Use a footstool if necessary when removing jars from canner

Ideally, the bottom of a pressure canner should be about waist height. This is so you can see inside and have good control when lifting the jars out of the canner. If you are short, you may want to use a footstool for easier and safer jar removal.
Let it be

Once you’ve set the glass jars on the counter, avoid moving them, as this may interrupt the sealing process. Be patient, as the lids may take a long time to seal. A sealed jar usually has a visible indentation of the lid.
Store it cool, dry and dark

Store processed jars in a cool (50 – 70 degrees F), dry and shady place for best results. In our home, we store jars under the kids’ beds and other indoor locations that won’t freeze.
Consider using a magnetic lid lifter

The jar lids must be preheated in hot water before using. They can be tricky to lift out to set on the jars. Tongs will work, but magnetic lid lifters (wands) will make it easier.
Label everything meticulously

Use a permanent marker to label lids with the month, day and year. This helps you keep track of different batches, rotate your stock and identify batches for comparison purposes.

Success breeds success. By following these tips and recording your own, you will feel encouraged to pursue the art of home canning in future seasons, and make home food preservation part of your family culture.

TIPS from Others:

Kathy

If the kitchen is drafty or you have a window open you can still take jars out of the canner–just slip them under a bath towel as quickly as possible.
Don’t store sealed jars with the bands on them as the bands trap moisture and may become stuck or moldy.
After jars have completely cooled and sealed, give them a bath in warm soapy water to remove any residue from stuff that may have leaked into the canner water. This prevents sticky moldy jars in the pantry.
After you empty your jars, wash them and store upside-down in the boxes to keep them clean until next season&#039s canning. You will still have to wash them before canning, but at least they will be free of dead bugs from your basement 🙂

Diane

Here’s another tip to check if the jars are sealed.

After they’ve cooled (give them a day) take a pen or pencil and tap the center of each lid. You’ll notice the difference in sound as you tap.Sealed jars make a ping like note. Unsealed jars make a plunk. So you’ll hear a ping, ping, ping, plunk. The plunk is the one not sealed.

Q&A:

Ruby

Hi I was wondering if anyone has tried canning homemade tomato soup with noodles in it.

I make a hamburger, macaroni, and tomato soup that I would love to can.

I’m not sure if I would use my pressure canner of hot water canner. Any advice.

Greg Seaman

You should use the pressure canner if you will be including meat in the soup.
Also, it is common to add a bit of lemon juice when canning tomatoes, about 1 tablespoon per pint. You can add it bit of sugar to offset the citrus as an option.
You should consult a good reference (the USDA is an excellent reference for canning) because different foods have different storage characteristics.
The quality can go down over several years, but we find that the canned foods rarely spoil.

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34 Medical Studies Proving Cannabis Cures Cancer | TruthTheory

Posted on July 31, 2013

34 Medical Studies Proving Cannabis Cures Cancer | TruthTheory.

34 studies showing that marijuana cures cancer, categorized by the type of cancers being cured in each study.

As you sort through the articles, note that the consistent theme between them is that cannabis shrinks tumors and selectively targets cancer cells.

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