"Don't Bogart That Can......Man"

So...you're probably asking yourself....what does a throw-away line from the 1994 Gen-x coming-of-age film "Reality Bites" have to do with canning vegetables? (actually....I'm sure you AREN'T asking yourself this....BUT....if you were....the answer would be: Nothing....except maybe the word "can".) It's been a really long night so....forgive me if I'm a little mental.
Right now it's 1:27 am. I've been at this since 8:00pm. Part of me never wants to see another pickle again for the rest of eternity....the other part of me wants to eat nothing but...
Anyhow...this is my first attempt at canning. I don't have a pressure canner so anything that I can has to be able to be processed in a water bath canner. The first victim was a huge batch of pickles:



27 quarts in all. I've read a million articles and blogs about canning. Everyone seems to have their own take on it. I'm coming to find that it's more an art than a science. You ask 100 gardeners how to can pickles and you'll get 100 different takes on the how-to specifics. I took the knowledge that I found and added my own spin....At the end of the day....I'm hoping for an 80% success rate. I guess that means....out of the 27 jars I processed tonight....I'm hoping for 21 or 22 of them to seal properly.
If that happens...I'll be thrilled.
I'll letcha know tomorrow how things panned out. As for now....I think I'll finish my drink and then head on to sleep. This stuff's like a part-time job...the "simple life" certainly is work....but fun work.