Kinky title :-)

Yeah, I would bring it back up to boil first then proceed.

Dave

"Kinky title :-) "

forgive me; i'm on serious pain meds.

deborah

The emergency was your own? Please be careful at the stove boiling sauce, filling jars etc if you are on meds. Do you have someone there to help you?

If you are a little fuzzy, write down your steps as you go, check them off. I know, sounds silly, but you'd be surprised how much anxiety that can alleviate later on....no did I's, or didn't I's.....

morz8, I won't be doing anymore canning this year; my sister will do it for me.

I fell when I was trying to get something out of the top cabinets; broke my arm and fractured my sacrum. i'm typing this one handed.

deborah

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm having trouble sitting in my computers chair just thinking about it. Falling is just the worst, I actively try to avoid it. And where ladders, roofs, heights didn't used to bother me at all, I don't feel like I've got the same range of motion or balance I used to have.

But again, I'm sorry for your accident, I hope you heal quickly and completely and I'm sure your sister will be fine taking care of your chili sauce for you.

That is certainly a memorable end to the canning season. I hope you're feeling better soon.

Carol

Ow-ow-ow! I'm surprised you thought to turn off the burner!

Hope the bottom wasn't scorched, and that your sister can get it canned for you (along with anything else that needs putting up this season).

Here's wishing for a speedy recovery - come back and post when you're feeling up to it, hope you're better in time for the holidays!

More best wishes for speedy recovery. Feel better soon!

Ouch! I'm also surprised that you remembered to shut the fire off.

Writing down the steps are a great idea, I would laminate it, so I could use dry-erase markers and erase after finished. I might just do that later today.

you are all very, very kind. sorry about the lack of capitalization, but it's more trouble than it's worth.

the hardest thing is that i'm addicted to canning/preserving, so I will have to live vicariously through all of you.

I guess now would be a good time to read new canning books (for next year's harvest), so any recommendations to keep me occupied would be greatly appreciated.

i'm hoping someone is familiar with a canning book that uses honey in most recipes, because we have bees now.

deborah

I had the presence of mind to fall on the ice in January, so that my canning and gardening season would not be interrupted. I was worried my husband, who has a walking disability would fall...........so I took the walk to the road to pick up the mail and fell for him. LOL

You're so sweet to take the fall for him. I understand, my husband is disabled, but for him it's breathing. He is my 'chopper'.

Wow, I am so sorry to hear about your injury!

Once you are off your pain meds you can probably can, but not lift heavy pots of water. If you get a helper for that bit you should do ok. I am glad your sis is finishing the current batch for you :).

I don't know about canning 1-handed - but if you can stand (is that less painful than sitting?) you can help. Is it your dominant hand/arm?

Maybe you can "cook" the recipe 1-handed and then your sister or DH can fill the jars, put them in/take them out of canner for you.

How are you doing now? I understand it's going to be a long recovery, but are you comfortable? Will you be able to dial back on the pain meds and do "light activity" like walking up stairs, standing at the stove, etc. soon?

I could can 1 handed, IF I had someone tighten the lids and lift the canner onto and off of stove. I do often, since my arms and shoulders are hurting most of the time from arthritis.

I always need that 2nd hand to lift the preserving pan off the stove, steady the jar while I'm filling it, and to support the bottom (with a potlholder) when I pull it out of the canner. Not sure I could can with even my non-dominant arm in a cast/sling.

Depends on the fractures, I am sure.

I was imagining maybe a cast on her forearm but fingers free and no sling, and she could steady the jar with that hand while filling it with the other. But I think the sacrum, as well as the arm, is going to mean no heavy lifting for quite a few months.

I have been working around a lot of injuries myself, lately. It takes a while to figure out what you can and can't do, and alternate methods.

For example, I hurt my knee badly and have been doing a lot of thinking, trying to come up with a way that I could get out of the bathtub once I got in, with or without help.

Oh my, that's tough. No showers? I remember badly spraining my ankle when I was in college, had to have a walking cast put on, I had the MBR in the house I was renting which had shower no tub, couldn't get the cast wet so the guys let me use "their" hall bath with the tub but I had to sit with my head toward the faucet and my left leg hanging over the side, it was really hard to get in and out but at least I could put weight on that leg.

Can your DH help you?

When we built this house, I had hubby install the grab bar in the tub. When I sprained my ankle this last time, it was very hard getting in and out of the tub, but that grab bar saved me. They can be installed easily if you don't have ceramic tile. The ceramic tile is harder. Just be sure to find a couple of sturdy studs on the back wall of tub. Install for your convenience, otherwise, get in the tub and find out where the best place for YOU.

Aw, I checked into this thread to see how Deborah was doing, and instead I find helpful comments for me! You folks sure are nice :).

There is no tile, and no shower. I have been hosing off with a hose attached to the faucet, and sitting on a stool. So far I have not figured out a method for actual bathing even with help.

But I have an idea, and might try it tomorrow :). I am thinking maybe I can pull self from tub up onto a shower stool, with or without help, and then I know I can get up from the stool because I have been sitting on it for the hosing! Getting up onto the stool is the tricky part.

Grab bars are definitely an option. You know how it is; I keep thinking it will be better soon, so not worth the bother. But that is a good point, that then the bar would be in place for the next time someone has an injury!

So, Deborah, how are you doing???

Grab bars are not cheap, and don't buy the cheaper ones. They will pay back over time. My son picked up 2 of the shower chairs that people were throwing out, so I'm saving them from the dump for future use. I also have a walker and son has a wheelchair. We share among the family, whoever needs it.

>Grab bars are not cheap, and don't buy the cheaper ones.

Oh, thank you. Because I would have -- cheapness runs in my family!

Yes, we do that too, with the sharing of injury equipment :).

sorry to have not responded sooner, folks.

Nilla, have you tried your idea, yet? did it work?

my cast comes up past my elbow and covers all but my thumb and the tips of the three longest fingers. I quit taking pain meds on Thursday, because they kept me from sleeping.

standing is easier than sitting; but it's hard to hold my arm up very long. no sling (arm needs to be elevated above my heart). when seated, I can support the arm with a pillow. compression break, arm will be 1/4 inch shorter.

i'm thinking about freezing tomatoes so I can process them when the cast is removed. will I still be able to can them do you think?

deborah