Lost most of my canning jars

We got the basement all cleared out and for some reason I forgot to check in the storage room until yesterday. Oh my what a mess that greeted me when I opened the door. I had stored all of my empty jars in cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other until canning time again. When the bottom box got wet, it got soft and caused the whole stack to fall. Out of most everything we lost down there, this one the one thing I really used. Darn it.

So I sent out an email to my homeschool support groups. Those ladies are good at finding bargains and things people are looking for. Some are farm wives or just as frugal as I am. We grow gardens and can our produce. My son told me once I was like the ant in the store of the Ant and Grasshopper. He said, "Mom, you get ready for winter". What a smart kid I have. lol

The other thing we lost was our Christmas tree. That was given to use by my mom, we get hand-me-down items from her a lot. Its not water ruined per say, it is growing mold and you just can't kill mold 100%. We don't need that in the house. We'll just save up for a new tree. No big deal.

Tomorrow, the hubby and I will be going to ACE Hardware to look for a backup battery for the sump pump. They have them, they say. We will see. The one I looked at online has a small sump pump attached to the battery. When the sensors realize the power is off, it starts working for us up to 7 1/2 hrs. When the power returns it recharges the battery. Cost is a bit much, starting at $150 and up. Yet the peace of mind that little suck will give me is priceless.