Cruising around the Internet last night, I found some interesting links on a couple of Extension sites: Canning Tips from Clemson 11 Years Worth of Monthly Newsletters from Kansas State University (some, but not all, applicable to home preserving) Learning Modules (Flash Based) for Canning and Preserving from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Some interesting and fun reads. I was surprised about this one from the June 2014 newsletter published by KSU: Canning Previously Frozen Tomatoes "Recommendations for home canning tomatoes are developed using fresh food. The processing procedures are specific to the fresh food characteristics. There are cases, however, when the home canner does not have enough tomatoes to justify a canning session. So the tomatoes are frozen for later use. So are they safe to can after freezing? Frozen tomatoes could pack into jars differently than freshly prepared tomatoes and cause overfilling of jars since they are softer when thawed. Overfilling can result in under-processing (and therefore possible spoilage on the shelf) and possibly under-acidification with more tomatoes in the jar than expected. Process times are dependent on food being prepared as described in the preparation steps printed with the time. The best recommendation is to use these tomatoes in something that is well cooked like stewed or crushed tomatoes. The only way to consider doing this with tomatoes is to freeze the tomatoes for a very short time of just a few weeks at most, without any other added liquid or ingredients. Then when you have enough, thaw them completely and use all the tomatoes and their juices in the pack to make the crushed tomatoes with the hot pack method." Source: Dr. Elizabeth Andress, University of Georgia

You cut a hole near the top of the bottle so you can insert your yarn and then string the end through the neck of the bottle. A yarn holder is great if you have cats or a dirty area where you will be crocheting and you want to protect your yarn, such as taking the project with you to the Little League game. I took a little zipper case that came with some free sample cosmetics at the department store to use for my needlework supply storage. I keep scissors, a 6 inch ruler, a small tape measure, safety pins for marking, a row counter, yarn needle, crochet hooks, and a few knitting things in it. Then I have everything in one place to use when I settle down to knit or crochet. Be sure to save left overs in their original sleeves, and tape them together tighter to keep them secure so that you can buy more of the same yarn and know what it is if you ever want to use the scraps in another project. If you use acrylic yarn, look for No Dye Lot yarns that will let you buy perfectly matching yarn months or years later. I like to make a copy of the page from the pattern book using the scanner on the computer. If the print is small, I enlarge it. Then I can put away the pattern book to keep it nice and mark up the copy as I need to. You can mark the row in the pattern with a Post-it note or even buy a special place marker set of a metal sheet and magnets. Some beginners like to put a bobby pin or safety pin through the first and last stitch to be sure they crochet all the way to the end.

I am writing to you grandmother to grandmother. I just moved from a 3 BR home with large FR to an apartment. It sounds like you will be living in the place alone. My input is in regard to your safety (I am 70). First the tub and shower: The most common accident elderly people encounter is a fall in the tub. Why not replace the tub with a generous shower with wide door, a grab bar and maybe a bench at the end. Also think about mobility if you ever have to depend on a walker or wheelchair… wide doors and smooth floors throughout. And no throw rugs anywhere. I did what you are describing with my clothes… no dresser for me. Everything is in the closet, including twin hanging hampers that pull out from a shelf. As soon as one is full, I know I should do a load of darks or lights, And for the nightlight idea, I found one at Home Depot for $10. Plugs in any outlet. It's dark in the daylight and bright as you want at night thanks to a dimmer switch. Love it. Electrical outlets don't have to be at ankle height… put them waist high and you won't have to bend over (ugh!) every time you want to plug in anything. For light in the closet you don't need to wire it if you select a battery-powered button light. Paint the inside of all cabinets and closets bright white to reflect as much light as possible. Now about the sofa bed. I bought one that has an air mattress instead of the dreaded mother-in-law bar. Comes with its own electric pump and blows itself up in seconds. Ethan Allen makes it. Not cheap. But because it doubles as the sofa, you don't need a bed, box springs and mattress plus outer bedding -- think economy that way. And for naps you don't need to open it. In fact, it you do something with a sofa bed idea you don't need the separate bedroom. Now you'd truly have a great room and it would feel so spacious. Make a fabric folding screen to add color and when you have visitor it would ensure privacy. And the entertainment center… you can watch TV while you work at the kitchen table if you can angle the TV… maybe an adjustable wall mount would work. For seating if you don't do the sofa bed you may like a chair-and-a-half (or two of them). Extra wide with enough room for a 4-year-old on your lap. It's a perfect grandmother chair. Why not have a big wide sink to accommodate your canning pots instead of twin sinks? Plus you can bathe a baby in a big sink!

Wow! Most of the time you need to cut through a lot of rind to get to the melon, but not so on this thread. A big shout out to @Sophie Wheeler, @Virgil Carter and @Girsh Development for shining the light on some important aspects of custom home building. As @ Sophie Wheeler opined, do the work up front. This means investing in a good set of plans and specifications as @Virgil Carter advised. It might be counter intuitive, but a well-documented, and accurate set of plans and specifications is in your builder's best interest, too--not just yours. The fewer ambiguities, the fewer "issues" will arise that tend to result in bad feelings or change orders. Good plans minimize the time required in the construction phase. It is in your best interest to select your builder early in the process and involve them during the design process. In construction there is usually more than one alternative to achieve the desired outcome and your builder can provide useful insights with regard to the cost and benefits of each alternative during design. In addition, the builder and architect can discuss the required construction details that need to be drawn, reducing the cost of design. Sometimes a detail is redundant since it's specified in the building code or something the builder does on a routine basis. Focus on those details that are unique to your project. In short, a good set of plans and specs will go a long way to ensure an on-time, on-budget completion As noted by @Virgil Carter, there are a variety of contract options from which you can choose, provided your builder and your lender are open to them. It is important to understand the risks and benefits of each alternative and choose the one best suited to your needs and the constraints imposed by your lender. Contrary to popular opinion, most builders--at least the reputable ones-- do not salivate over the prospect of change orders. In our office we have a saying: "A change is an opportunity for a mistake." There is a huge effort in implementing what seems to the client to be a simple change because of the number of individuals and trades affected by the particular change. The cost of delaying the project, researching the feasibility and cost of the change and processing all of the paperwork to all the affected individuals and trades is rarely recovered by the cost of a change order. That said, the change order process should be specified and agreed by all parties when you enter into a contract--not left as something to be worked out later. Finally, as @Girsh Development noted, nice clients get more for their money than PIA, that is, difficult clients. When issues arise, work them out with your builder in a collaborative fashion. Best wishes for a successful project.