Sorry, these old jars are nice to look at, but are very difficult to tell if there is a good vacuum inside. With the newer metal lids with the indented dimple, once a vacuum is in place, the lids go concave. With a domed glass lid and rubber ring (yes they still sell those too), you have no sure way of knowing if the jar is air tight, vacuum tight, or has leaked at some point. The only GOOD thing about an all glass jar and lid, is that there is virtually no metal that can corrode or cause any effect on the contents. But without knowing if there is a good vacuum, you risk spoilage, or worse, botulism. I had about 30 cases of these old jars and gave them all away. Now, they are only collectables if they are the green glass type from many years ago. Nice for storing dry goods or beans, but for home canning too risky to use. Sorry.. Agreed, the Villaware with fine holed berry screen makes quick work of seedy blackberries, raspberries, etc. The Victorio model is the older one without a crank shaft seal (leaks a bit while cranking), as it also has wing nuts to hold the conical sieves on the housing. The newer models have a twist one screen helpd by a small thumbscrew, also, they have a wrap around plastic shield the helps to reduce splatter. If you haven't done tomatoes in it yet, your in for a treat..

I have difficulty understanding why Bud Wi would think we who live in NJ are misinformed about these things, but to put his/her mind at ease, this is from the State of NJ web site: "The U. S. Department of State, which has the authority to issue passports, will no longer accept any birth certificate issued by the Jersey City/Hudson County Office of Vital Statistics which contains the raised seal from Hudson County "If you are applying for a passport, you are required to obtain a new certified copy of your birth certificate from the State Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration. "Effective January 1, 2007 the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) will require that all individuals whose birth occurred prior to 1965 and whose birth certificate was issued by the Jersey City/Hudson County Office of Vital Statistics obtain a State issued certified copy of their birth certificate to conduct business with the MVC." Obtaining a state-issued b/c requires a in-person trip to the state capital or a 6-8 week mail process, which could put a crimp in your plans if you are applying for a passport for an up-coming trip. Living in NJ is not for the faint of heart. So, Bud, would you like a pretzel with that grain of salt?

Reminds me of the time my older son (about 12 at the time) got off the school bus somewhere. Where? I'm still not completely sure! (Now, this is the smart kid, not the one who really is 'dee-dee-dee'. That kid has enough sense to actually ask an adult where the heck he is, and maybe could that adult call his mom? Or better yet, to stay on the stinking school bus if he doesn't know where he is! Nope - This is the smart kid...) So we live on a tiny little street accessible only from a small street, which was under construction for some time a few years ago. Apparently one day, that small street was under so much construction that the school bus couldn't even turn down onto that street -- so they didn't. (At least, according to my kid, they didn't.) I don't know what happened to the other 20 kids or so who also live off this small street, but at some point, My Kid (the smart one) gets off the school bus alone and calls me to come pick him up. Thank goodness he had a cell phone! Him: Hi Mom - Can you pick me up? Me: Huh? Hey - You're late. Where are you? Him: Well... Me: Are you at school? Him: No - I'm on that street. Me: What? What street? What happened to the school bus? Him: Well - you know - that other street. Me: That other street? Him: Yeah - you know - that other street. Me: Near us? Him: I think so. Can you come get me? Me: You want me to get in the car and come and get you, but you can't tell me where you are? Him: Yeah. Me: That could take a while... Him: Why? Can't you leave now? Me: Yeah - but where should I go? You want me to just drive around? Him: Yeah. Me: No. Him: Wha? Me: You got off the school bus and you don't even know where you are? Is that what you're saying? And now you want me to get in the car and come look for you? What were you thinking?! Him: Wha? Me: OK - Look for a street sign. What does it say? Him: A street sign? What do they look like? Me: Wha? Him: OK - It says 'Bunker Hill' (a street, but also our neighborhood - not sure which he means) Me: OK - Now can you find another one? Him: Wha? Me: If you can give me two street signs, I'll know where you are. Him: No - there's just one. Me: Are you on a big street or a little one? Him: Sorta Me: Sorta?... Him: Yeah. Me: OK - can you see any streets that are bigger than the one you're on? Him: Yeah. Me: OK - Walk toward that street. Any more signs? Him: No Me: OK, I'm going to guess. You keep walking toward the big street, and when you get to the corner, stay there. I guessed more or less correctly, and had a nice long talk with "the smart one" about actually plugging in his brain and turning it on...

Vee, those books given as school prizes are mentioned frequently by many of the British memoirists I've been reading lately. The recipients seem to have been very proud of them. One of the East End writers related how she brought home her school prize of David Copperfield where it was enshrined on the mantel next to The Bible, the only other book the family had. Dickens seems to have been the favorite author for prize-giving. If books were ever awards to American schoolchildren, they don't seem to have been recalled as often in memoirs or diaries. It's a curious lacuna, if indeed that's what it is. I'm struck by how difficult were some of the books read by the English working class. Carlyle's Sartor Resartus is often cited as a great influence and much loved book. Really! I have no reason to doubt those claims, but I didn't try reading Sartor... until university, and about all I recall is it gave me the devil; appropriately, I suppose, when the main character is named Diogenes Teufelsdrockh -- that I do remember! What people read and enjoyed a hundred years ago can make me feel inadequate. Do you reckon they could do it because they had fewer distractions? Some of those working-class folk could show up the aristos. I remember what the Mitford girls (Nancy and Jessica) wrote about their father: He had a huge library that he inherited, though he claimed he had never read a single volume in it. But he was smug because of who he was. What a philistine! In The Intellectual Life of the British Working Class mothers are often cited as the more influential parent, perhaps because fathers worked too much to have anything but intermittent interaction with their offspring. I think that was pretty much true in the U.S., too, at least up until the 1960s, maybe 1970s. My father was interested in what we kids read, watched, and listened to, but he left it to our mother to be 'in charge'. However, I had some friends whose father dictated just about everything, and I always felt sorry for them, especially when their mother would've allowed stuff but she didn't dare go against HIM and his wishes! Vee, is it just you and I? RP sure seems dead lately. Has there been a log-in problem?