Put a cover on the vinegar and refrigertate until needed. PC will not usually do much at first, but after a year of storage the cukes will soften a little bit more if its not used. You can do an experiment. Make a batch with, and one without it. Note the differences and next year, see what the consistancy is like.

Per guidelines: Since less than 24 hours the best bet and for safe shelf storage is to reprocess with new lids but you will also have to heat the sauce back up to temp since it is supposed to go into the BWB hot. So basically it means starting from scratch. Hot sauce, clean jars, new lids, full reprocess. Dave

We're building our forever home in Michigan so I can offer personal information on some of your questions. There are pros or repeats here that will be able to chime in on a lot of your concerns. Do we need anyone to represent us in the loan/closing process? i.e. do we need to hire someone? Unless you have a complicated financial situation (all assets in trust) you don't really need anyone to represent you on the loan and closing process. Just read up on what's involved and be familiar with all the loan terms. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You may want to find a real estate lawyer to look over the building contract. Pay special attention to milestone dates, draw dates and numbers, penalties for missing milestones and certificate of occupancy, budget overages, and change request procedures. Our bank suggested to close on the land and loan at the same time to avoid extra closing costs, is this valid? We purchased our property outright with cash and used it for equity for the construction loan. If it's all being handled by the same bank and title company, I can't think of any reason to split up the process. I think there are fees associated with title transfers, but if you're buying the land in full, I'm not sure why there would be closing costs. Do we need to hire anyone during the build other than the builder? i.e. an inspector/agent? The builder will bring all their own subcontractors. Certain stages of the build will likely need to be inspected and approved before moving on, but it's not a bad idea to have a home inspector in your pocket if you don't know what you're looking at. Visit the site as much as you can and take as many pictures as you can of everything. This will help you in the future to know what's behind the walls, and also capture any quality issues with the build, even if you don't see them at first. If you know workers will be on site, take coffee/donuts when you visit. It makes you more than a faceless name their building a house for. What things are negotiable in the price of a home? i.e. what can we ask the builder to lower a price on? There's probably not much you can negotiate on price unless you change the quality /quantity of the product. It's a spec house with a large scale builder in a large neighborhood project. It's in his best interest to build quickly and move on, so any deviation from the standard will cost more money. They purchase materials in bulk to realize more savings so if you want to have that super special back splash tile, You might be able to ask for a credit, and purchase it yourself for installation. It all depends on the builder. Is there any concerns we should have about building during winter? I think the only concern would be for any concrete pouring. Winter mixes need hot water and insulating/heated blankets for curing, so there's a little extra cost incurred for a winter pour. It's not as much a concern until deep winter in Jan/Feb since you have to be careful of multiple sub freezing temps without day time thaws. Once the house is sealed up (windows, doors, and roof) temporary heat will be needed on the inside for work to progress. They won't use the final heating and ducts during the construction process because the dust would destroy the furnace. Might be some more cost because of this. What concerns or problems should we be ready for as buyers? My only experience is with a smaller builder and non-spec house so your mileage may vary (hopefully). We needed to keep a good "war chest" of cash around to advance payments on the bank draw. Accounts are kept on a monthly basis so if the lumber is purchased at the beginning of the month and a bank draw milestone isn't reached, the lumber yard might be breathing down the builders neck to settle the account. Ideally, building will progress quick enough that draws will be made in a timely manner but you might want to be prepared to cut a check for some stuff and get paid back on the bank draw. Also, figure an additional 10%-15% for cost overages and small upgrades. Don't be afraid to ask for a cash penalty for not meeting the move in date. $50-$150/week is a good starting point. See if the builder uses project planning software and ask to privy to the information. If you're getting a basement, use best practices for waterproofing. It's a huge pain in the butt to fix later. What are some asks we should bring to the builder for the home? i.e. what are things that you love in your home, or wish were included originally? If the builder is flexible, you might be able to request upgrades or additional features. Depending on if this is your final house or just a home for the next 10 years will determine if it's worth your money. Think about improved insulation/windows, structure wiring for data/av/security. Hard surfaces can be upgraded in the future, but are more difficult than cabinets and carpets. Unless you're building with a luxury home builder, every aspect of the house will be as close to bare minimum code as possible. For example, interior doors will be present a look nice new, but will be hollow core. Carpet looks nice when new, but it's builders grade and will mat down within 5 years. Insulation will be minimum code. Sockets will be spaced for minimum code, but might not be convenient or plentiful enough. Be aware of these things and see if you're allowed to request upgrades on the "bones" of the house. Structure, electrical, plumbing/gas, lighting, HVAC. Everything else can be changed with more relative ease later. Good luck!

When you do end up re-potting I'd use a slightly smaller pot it seems big for your tree but take a look at the rootball if it barly fills the pot go smaller if it mostly fills the pot just change the soil. I did the same thing with pot size with my first lemon, Put a tiny "stick" in a big pot thinking it would grow into it and would save me from from having to pot up as often. But it made watering really hard and ended up drowning my tree (also user error thinking my tree is dying it needs more water) Good luck! I think its neat you have a cool origin story for this tree and I am wishing you the best!