OK, I do have to speak up in defense of the canning standards of our neighbors to the north. The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving was indeed published in Canada. The Canadian government was generous enough to subsidize publication. However, the book itself is a collaborative effort. Kingry is a Consumer Services Manager at Bernardin (Canada) and Devine is a Research/Test Kitchen Scientist with Jarden (U.S.). As far as I can tell, the book is, if anything, more stringent than the current USDA standards. The only apple recipe that requires lemon juice is applesauce. Plain apples are canned as per usual. Apple pie filling calls for additional lemon juice, but that seems to be for flavor. We had a lengthy discussion last season about the difference between the Ball Blue Book and the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving as the first does not call for lemon juice in applesauce and the latter does. You can check the link for the complete thread. It appears that the Ball Complete Book is requiring lemon juice for applesauce because many thrifty types use windfalls for applesauce and windfalls are lower pH. Here's what I said on that thread: "The only way I think it could potentially be an issue if someone is canning bruised apples, either tree-picked or windfalls. In 'The Microbiology of Fruits and Vegetables' the authors discuss changes in pH for whole undamaged tree-picked apples and bruised dropped apples. So a fresh-picked Red Delicious is somewhere around 3.98 pH but, and this is interesting, the bruised tree-picked were 4.57 mean pH and bruised windfalls were all the way up to 4.9 mean pH. Which means if the variety is one which tends to less acidity and the condition of the fruit is less than optimal, it is possible for the applesauce to be low-acid. Condition is all." On the thread you'll also see an email from Ball regarding the issue. I went through the entire boiling water bath section, all 378 pages, and found not a single open kettle canning recipe. The only inversion I found was to distribute solids in canned Habanero Gold Jelly or other recipes of that sort. The only "uncanned" recipes I found in the entire book were brined limes and lemons which are held at room temp for two weeks then refrigerated. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Confused About Lemon Juice for Applesauce

It has something to do with age, maybe location too. I know two Emmas and one Olivia, one Riley. No other children with names on that list at all, and that includes the children of my children's friends! Here in Michigan, according to the 2015 census, the most popular girl names were: 1. Olivia 2. Ava 3. Emma 4. Sophia 5. Charlotte 6. Harper 7. isabella 8. Amelia 9. Evelyn 10. Abigail 11. Elizabeth 12. Madison And that would probably explain my own small Princess, Madison Elizabeth, who I call "Mad Lizzie". However, in 1955 when I was born, the popular names were: 1. Mary 2. Deborah 3. Linda 4. Debra 5. Susan 6. Patricia 7. Barbara 8. Karen 9. Nancy 10. Donna Clocking in at #43 was Ann, but that was #893 last year. In 1955 #84 was Anne, but that was #569 last year. Angela was #220 last year, though! Annie

Shaun - I love your photo with your swap items on the pretty table with flowers and the beautiful Florida greenery outside. Sheshebop, the presents were wrapped and present so elegantly. That was a special touch on top of selecting excellent gifts. And yes, I too, yearn for the Le Creuset little pots. I've picked them up at stores many times and decided to hold off. . . but one of these days! Enjoy, Shaun. Send photos of your successes. Karen

Actually. I was wrong. Checked the University of Maine Woody Plant Hardiness Trials. Anne and two of the other Little Girls were given a rating of 1, indicating little or no damage. The time period covered by the trials - first published in 1983 - including temperatures to -30. Lyle Littlefield, now deceased, had a particular interest in magnolias, so many species and cultivars are listed and rated. There are also ratings for a very wide range of other woody landscape plants. Paul Cappellio continued the trials after Littlefield's retirement, so new material continued to be added. There is also a beautiful and very large growing double flowered magnolia stellata named Lyle's Legacy to honor Littlefield's many years of work.