Loose change date

A count of our loose change totals $17.80. It has been awhile since we have gone on a loose change date!

Loose change is something most people have at least some of laying around. Many people come home at the end of the day and empty their pockets or purse of the loose change. Some days there is more than other days but the pile slowly grows.
We like to go on what we call a loose change date. After counting up all our loose change we then plan what can be done with that amount of money.
Sometimes is only enough to go out for coffee or tea, an ice cream or maybe French fries. Other times we have enough to go thrift store shopping at one or more places. Finding bargains is always something we have a lot of fun doing.
Back when our children were just babies we did a thrift store date. We hit the jackpot and several nice outfits for the children as well as a few other items for them. The total for all items was under $5, just under the amount we had in change. We were patting ourselves on the back for doing so well. Then a problem came when we got in line to pay. The clerk did not want to take a large amount of pennies as payment for our purchases.
Standing there we were at a loss for what items to leave behind. It was too hard to part with any of the items we seen as treasures. It was a busy day at the shop and a line had formed behind us.
Then one person in line offered to buy our pennies. We do not know if he felt sorry for us or was just in a hurry. So we gave him the pennies and he gave us larger coins worth the equivalent in change. We made our purchases and left. He went home with a pocket full of pennies for his change collection.
It is always an adventure when going on a loose change date. Try coming up with your own challenge and have fun. Email us at the address below and tell us about your adventures.
During this down time in our economy we have to find ways to stretch our money, making it go further than we normally do. There are also no cost dates that can be just as fun as ones that can break the bank.
Go for a walk and tell your date what you most admire about them. Discuss what your dream vacation would look like if money were no object. Recall what your most favorite dates have been in the past. There are endless fun and uplifting topics to discuss while on a walk.
Dust off your old tennis rackets or borrow some from a friend. Play a few games at the public courts in town.
Spend and evening at home doing one of the following activities: play card or board games, put a puzzle together, or take turns reading a book out loud to each other. Enjoy each others company.
For more ideas see our March 28, 2008 blog on "Date your mate" and our July 13, 2007 blog on "Romance."

Walnut tree removal

Excavator lifting up walnut tree after it is pushed over.

This last week we had 15 acres of our walnut trees uprooted. Walnuts only last so long and then they have to be replaced. An orchard can be nursed along to a pretty old age, 60 years or more, but the quality and quantity of the nuts will continue to decline to a point where the costs of maintaining the orchard will eat up most of the returns from the crop.
Replacing an orchard is a huge job. Walnuts are large trees and they require big machines to pull them out. We hired a company to do ours. They have a large excavator that is big enough to actually push the trees over. After the trees are pushed, the excavator picks them up, shakes off the dirt and lays them in neat rows. Later, after the uprooted trees have had a chance to dry, they are shredded and the chips sent to a co-generation plant to be used as fuel.
The next step in the process is to remove the roots. Walnuts have big root systems that spread out over a wide area. It is important that as many of the old roots are removed as possible because they harbor plant diseases that will affect the new trees when they are planted. A large bulldozer such as a Caterpillar D8 or D9 with rippers is used for this task. The root pieces brought to the surface by the bulldozer are picked up by hand and removed from the field.
Once the old trees and roots have been removed, the soil must be fumigated to destroy pests and diseases that are in it. We attended a class recently regarding this. It was amazing how many disease organisms were in the soil just waiting to eat the new little trees we need to plant. Soil fumigation is an essential step – walnuts cannot be successfully planted without it.
That is actually a problem these days. State regulations have strictly limited the amount of fumigant that is available for use. This drives up prices and in some cases forces the use of inferior materials. It may even mean we have to wait an extra year before planting new trees.
To properly fumigate the field, the soil must be dry. There are strategies to dry out the soil. One is to plant a grass called Sedan grass. This grass has long roots that pull up moisture from several feet deep in the soil. After it is matured, it can be mowed, bailed and used for animal feed. The fumigation process can be started after the grass is removed.
If everything is properly done, the ground will be ready to receive the new trees. Spring of 2010 will be the soonest we can plant. But more likely it will be spring of 2011.
Looking ahead it will take four or five years to start getting a crop after the new trees are planted. It really is a lot of work and expense to replace an orchard.

Bird mobile

First picture: Single bird with feet. Second picture: Birds on mobile made with pattern found on Internet.

The warm, sunny days that we have been enjoying over the last month or so makes it feel like spring. And springtime is when the birds are busy building nests and laying eggs.
Putting us even more in the mood for spring was our project of building several bird mobiles. They are from another idea we found on the Internet. The web site is at: http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/2008/05/16/bird-mobile/. And the bird pattern is at: http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/birdpattern1-1.pdf. Sewing directions for the birds are with the pattern.
The birds are made out of assorted small print woven fabric. The type a quilter uses is great but just about anything similar will do. Even fabric from a dress or shirt that is no longer worn can be a good candidate for making a bird.
It takes two contrasting fabrics for each bird, one for the top of the body and one for the bottom. Solid colors can be used but prints are more interesting.
These are easy to hand sew. They are also addicting. After we made one bird we were back to the fabric pile we pulled out to find two more coordinating fabrics. And after that one it was back to find two more matches and so on. Before we knew it we had more than a dozen birds.
After making the birds we went out to collect small branch pieces to attach the birds to and make them into mobiles. We used fishing line to tie the branches together. To attach the birds to the mobile we used regular brown sewing thread and that turned into their feet. Some of the birds tended to flop upside down so we added hot glue under each one to give it a better hold on the branch.
So far we have two mobiles complete with six birds each and a few birds left over. A third mobile is probably not far behind. We are donating our mobiles to CareNet Pregnancy Center here in Red Bluff. They will give them away to clients chosen from a monthly drawing.
The mobiles are great for hanging in the window, above a baby crib or even in a child’s room as decoration. Multiple colors are best when using for a babies room as it will keep them more interested.
Individual birds can be given feet with two shank type buttons. This makes them stand on their own. Then they can be placed on a windowsill, table or even in a flower arrangement. But we bet you can’t make just one. It would be like eating just one potato chip.
For an example of a single bird with button feet we will post an additional picture at the blog site listed below. Pictures at the blog site are in color and can be enlarged to see details.
Have fun crafting a few dozen birds. Let us know how they turn out.

Fan-folded heart

Red fan-folded paper heart.

Valentine’s Day is one week closer. And for those who are looking for something easy, we found it. Fan folded hearts.
Thanks to the Internet again there are many sites to look at for ideas. This one was posted on a blog site called http://blog.craftzine.com/. They have many posts with craft ideas. Some even have links to directions and patterns for the craft shown.
The heart we made pictured above is from a regular size piece of red printer paper. The corners are rounded off to make it look like the shape of a capsule. Then it is fan-folded lengthwise with about one-inch folds for this size paper. To finish, it is folded in half and glued at the center. A string can be added for hanging.
It would be easy to make several dozen of these and hang them in the window for decorations. They are even easy enough to use as a craft project for children.
Complete directions for the fan folded hearts are at http://worldofwhimm.blogspot.com/2009/01/fan-hearts-tutorial.html. Pictures for each step are also shown.
Many types of paper can be used for this project such as: printer paper, wrapping paper, scrapbook paper or even pretty paper bags with cute designs on them. The size can also be changed to smaller or larger depending upon the size of paper.
Other crafts ideas we like at the blog site listed above include: recycled light bulbs made into hanging vases, cards made with scrap trim shaped into flowers, wall art and handspun recycled newspaper yarn.
The direct links to each of these in the order listed above are: http://craftershock.com/blog/2009/01/06/turn-your-old-light-bulbs-into-hanging-vases/, http://www.craftstylish.com/item/9581/how-to-make-fringe-flower-greeting-cards, http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=289329.0 and http://greenupgrader.com/2138/handspun-recycled-newspaper-yarn/.
Many posts are submitted each day at the Craftzine blog site. So we bookmark the directions right away for the ones we are interested in. Otherwise they are hard to go back and find a second time, especially if it has been a few days.
Another way to look up what we want on this blog is to go to the list of craft categories listed on the right side of the blog. Our favorite categories include: recycle, refashion and paper crafts just to name a few.
There is also an archive listed by the month. We clicked on Feb. 2008 to see what Valentines ideas were listed last year and came up with this one: http://www.dailycandy.com/kids/chicago/article/34902/Gleaming+the+Cube. The file containing the pattern for this idea is at: http://www.orangebeautiful.com/valentine.pdf. It is a printable pattern to make a decorated cube to hold little goodies.
And finally a recycling idea to make a coin purse out of an audio cassette from last February is here: http://www.chezlin.com/2008/04/cassette-tape-tutorial/#more-16.
Have fun browsing for new craft ideas. Share your favorites with us.