I heard the "ping" and you're right, they're awesome!! That was fun ... stressful but fun. And I think I'll be much more relaxed next time when I know what I'm doing much better. Thanks so much for all the help and advice. I was worried about this but it all seemed to go pretty well. I might even take some pictures tomorrow of my efforts, once the jars have cooled for their 12-24 hours. 1 more question. If you're making a recipe, like Annie's Salsa or a cooked one like that and you add too much of something that is important to the pH, like an extra tomato, or too much of a fresh herb because you read the directions wrong, by mistake ... can you just add a little extra acid (vinegar) to the mix and let it go, or is it a major problem and you have to toss the batch and start again? Can adding a little extra acid compensate for small measuring mistakes? I do want to find a rack, the towels worked but were cumbersome and difficult to work with. I thought maybe next time I could use one of those racks that you put pies on to cool after cooking ... I have one that fits perfectly in the canner and it seems to be able to handle the heat. Perhaps that would be better. I also used towels between the jars so they didn't bang into each other. I did use the grape leaves, I didn't see your post in time. I guess if they taste bitter or odd, we'll know why and I won't use it again next time. Everyone seems to be a fan of pickle crisp, I'd never seen or heard of it but clearly I'll have to look and see if our grocery store carries it for next time! Again, thank you all so much for your help. I'm so glad I canned my first vegetables from the garden and I'm also glad I'm done for the night, lol. My feet hurt from standing so long! Thank you!!

bodica, Very good advice. It is hard to remember to pause and enjoy the experience. I assume we will never do this again. This is supposed to the the "forever" house. :) Days when we make a lot of progress, we are on cloud nine. Days when we don't it hits us hard, but, we will get there and I know it will all be worth it. Analogous to having a baby... sdionnemoore, I love talking to people who are at the same point as us. I really love the SW Blonde strip and all the colors on it. Please post pictures as your paint goes up! I'd love to see them. Humble gold will be the main color in our house, but there are a lot of different colors as well. Here is a link to our blog if you are at all interested in seeing some of them. Good luck with your painting also! Jaymie

Gojenny, Canlawn, Catamount90 and anyone else that can benefit from this: PLEASE NOTE: I DO NOT SELL THESE - so I have no stake in this - other than this is a way cool product for next to nothing, and it works like a charm: It's called a "Dishwasher Mount" - It's sold through Braxton Bragg - contact Rob Etter at 856 - 207 - 1424 to get ordering info. Using this brackett eliminates you having to drill any holes into the underside of the countertop material (what ever that material is - like wood, laminate, solid surface, Stone, Quartz, tile, concrete, "Green" products, etc......... Here is an article I wrote for the Slippery Rock Gazette (an Industry Trade Magazine) December 2008 - page 20 There's a link to the Slppery Rock Gazette - Article at the bottom of my post....... Look at page 20 Here are some pics; Looking up from underneath - the screws hold the dishwasher to the mounting bracket Is this cool or what? I wish that I had invented this cool litte device, but at a sale price between $5.00 & $10.00 USD - I don't think I'd be gettin rich very quickly... but what the heck - It's STILL a COOL IDEA, and I USE THESE NOW ALL THE TIME!!!!! Hope that this helps you and all others looking for an easier way to mount a dishwasher!!! kevin Kevin M. Padden Fabricator, Trainer & Consultant to the Natural Stone Industry www.azschoolofrock.com Here is a link that might be useful: Slippery Rock Gazette - Article is on page 20

Best of luck with your remodel! Mine is in week six and heading into the homestretch! Things I hadn't thought of ahead of time that I wished I had - the lighting plan. Go to an lighting store with your layout and have them give you a recommendation on overhead and undercabinet lighting. There are so many options available today than just 6" cans. Also the color, location and orientation of the outlets, especially on the backsplash area. Paint color - took me 3 weeks to find a paint color I liked. Make sure you have extra trim - my contractor needed to use some extra trim molding so I had to order more which held things up. Also pick out your cabinet hardware and decide where you want to place them on the cabinets. As everyone said, take lots of pictures and get some earplugs! It can be very noisy at times! Good luck!