Get a Grip!

I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror this morning, applying my makeup, when I happened to glance down and saw a spot of red on my front at around waist level.  My heart gave a jolt and the first thought that popped into my head was "Aaargh!  I'm bleeding.  Something is hemorrhaging!"

Well, after I fumbled for my glasses and stuck them on, I looked closer and discovered that I had accidentally buttoned my bathrobe to my pajama top.  (I'm not the brightest bulb when I first get out of bed. Apparently I'm not even the brightest bulb after I've been up for awhile.)

"Get a grip," I thought.  And just like that, my mind was off and racing on to the topic of getting a grip on difficult things to open.  Are you finding it harder to open jars these days?  Maybe they're no problem for you, but I'm having to resort to a variety of tools to get many jars and cans open as I get older.

One of my favorite tools is this little red number called a "JarKey."  I got mine at Bed, Bath, and Beyond several years ago.  It works like a dream on jars that have sealed lids.  You just hook it under the lid and lift until you hear the vacuum seal "pop."  Then you can easily twist the lid off.  

The yellow "splat" in the upper right of the picture is a rubber gripper.  You'll often get these as promotional freebies at trade shows, etc.  Sometimes that is all I'll need to open a jar if I just need a little more traction than my slippery hands.

This bottle cap opener is one I got from Pampered Chef.  It's been hanging on the side of our refrigerator for several years thanks to a handy magnet on the other side of it.  You can use one end to open bottles.  The other end with the round circle can fit over some 2-liter bottles and then you can twist the tops off (although I'm finding that some of the more recent Coke and Pepsi bottle tops are now too big to fit into this circle).  One of the handiest features is the slotted end by the circle.  You fit that over a bottle tab and lift.  It works great to open pop can tabs and spares your fingernails.  Yay!

The Commander likes this tool (also from Pampered Chef) that has a "V" shape gripper.  You put the jar lid into the "V" until it won't slide into it any further and then you twist.  I can't ever get it to work but it seems to work for him.

If all else fails, I resort to my mom's old tried and true method.  I grab a knife and whack it all around the top edge of the jar lid.  Then I try to open it.  If it still won't open, I repeat the procedure but this time I grab the jar and whack the top edge of the lid on the counter.  That is usually enough to loosen it up so that I can twist it off.  If it is still being stubborn, I go find the Commander and say, "Honey, can you open this for me?"

Well, now that I know I'm not bleeding to death, I think I'll open up a jar of peanut butter, make myself a PBJ sandwich for lunch and keep plugging away at a book I'm trying to finish in time for our Mystery Book Club meeting on Wednesday evening.  Bon appetit!