Fall Swimming, Vest, and Canning Rant Part 2

What a beautiful fall weekend we've had!  On Saturday I had a few errands to run in town, so along the way, the boys and I hit the thrift store to hunt for treasure.  Since learning about the issue of BPA in snap lids, I've decided to begin the switch over to the old fashioned glass lids, which aren't being made anymore, but can sometimes be found second-hand or by asking around.  It was one of those moments where the universe answers with a gift more generous than hoped for. I found a whole box of them sitting there on the thrift store floor.  I carried it up to the the front and asked how much for the lot.  "How about four dollars?" said the cashier.  Who can argue with a price like that?

I share the concerns of many home canners who, over the last couple of years, have learned about BPA in snap lids. So far as I can understand, Environment Canada has listed BPA as a toxic substance, but our government has moved only so far as to restrict it's use in baby bottles and formula containers.  There are a couple of alternatives for home canners, like the beautiful Weck jars, and Tattler lids.  Golden Harvest also has what I believe is a BPA-free lid, but as yet I haven't seen the lids for sale without the jars.  The old glass lids went out of fashion when the snap lids with their little 'pop tops' came about, which assured a safe seal, a safer product.  Well, we learn, except for possible contamination from BPA.  The cynicist in me says, it's everywhere.  It can't be avoided, even if I switch out my lids.  But then there's the little voice that keeps me going when it comes to so many things, urging me to make just one more small change.  I put up this homegrown food for a variety of reasons, but most of all, for the health of my children.  Plus, snap lids are just one more thing to buy every year, since they don't always re-use well, unlike the glass lids, which will afford me just a tiny bit more independence from the big ol' hamster wheel of consumerism. 

While I'm ranting on about it (I believe this is my second canning rant on this blog), wouldn't it be great to see glass lids back on the market?  The old ones, like I found at the thrift store, are the same size, I can't help but notice, that fit the old mid- or 'gem' size jars that were popular for years, but have apparently gone out of production as well, though the gem snap-lids are still available.  I suppose, from a business stand point, the reusable lids weren't as profitable, and perhaps if you can sell something that requires the consumer to come back each year, rather than as a one-time purchase, well...that's just good business, isn't it?  But again, perhaps the definition of good business is slowly changing, as more of us seek out better, safer, greener alternatives.  There was some controversy over the availability of gem lids a few years back, and I remember seeing hundreds of these otherwise perfectly good canning jars dumped into the bins when we took our recycling in.  They are still widely available in thrift stores and from little old ladies having garage sales, so now is the time to take advantage of what remains of the supply.  Once I've cracked, broken, and otherwise worked my way through my supply of out-dated canning jars and lids, hopefully better alternatives to these single-use lids with BPA will be widely available.  Yes, of course they will.  Because gardening is catching on like wildfire, and that's a tip that companies can cash in on.

Who'd have thought canning could be such an issue?

And there will be lots of canning this week, after the heat of the weekend ripened loads of tomatoes in the kitchen!  It was unbelievably warm here, for late September.  We had temps up in the 30's, and celebrated the beginning of fall with a trip to the beach.

The water is turning colder now, but it was so refreshing to jump in and cool off from the heat of the day. 

Finally over the weekend, the little vest made it onto my needles.  I'm knitting up some alpaca that I spun last winter.  It's a satisfying feeling of to be knitting my own hand spun yarn for the baby.  The alpaca is quite silky and soft, and should make a nice insulating layer between the babe and the floor,

that is, if I can figure out how to finish it. 

Happy Autumn!