Handmade paper

Handmade paper shown on left with papermaking kit at right.

Papermaking is nothing new but something we never tried doing before. After finding a kit to make recycled paper at a yard sale a few weeks ago we decided to give it a try. Priced at only $1 we could not pass it up.

The kit was unused. It included a two-piece wooden frame with a screen mesh stretched across one piece. In papermaking terms this is referred to as the mold and deckle. Also included was another screen, sponge, four sheets of blotter paper and dried flowers to add extra color and texture to the handmade paper. The final thing was a booklet with basic directions and other ideas to create paper.

Other items needed to complete the process include a blender, pan large enough to hold the mold and deckle, counter space, rolling pin and towels.

Ingredients that can be used to form the paper include junk paper from mail, newspapers, magazines, comic books, wrapping paper, contents of a hole puncher, tissue paper and grocery bags. Pieces of cloth from old garments can also be used.

The paper or cloth is then torn up into pieces no larger than a postage stamp. The amount used can vary depending on the thickness of paper desired.

Before processing begins the mold and deckle should be placed in the large pan filled with water, just enough to cover the screen.

The paper or cloth pieces are then put in a blender filled with about three cups of water. The paper is allowed to soak for a few minutes before processing. The blending starts off on low for about 10 seconds then is raised to high for another 20 seconds.

The consistency of the mixture will vary with the kind of paper used, but should be uniform with no lumps. If the paper is to be written on two teaspoons of liquid starch should be added at this time for sizing. It will keep the ink from running.

Accents can be added if desired. They can include dried or fresh flowers, leaves, grasses, pine needles, moss and lemon or orange zest. Other additions can be pieces of yarn, thread or string, lent from the dryer screen, bits of ribbon, pencil shavings and glitter.

All accents items should be small pieces, no longer than an inch, before adding. Otherwise they can become tangled around the blade.

Spices and herbs can also be used for texture and scent. Some suggestions are cinnamon, anise, basil, clove or nutmeg. Tea leaves and coffee grounds are other choices. Even a used coffee filter can be used.

After the junk paper and added accents are blended, pour the mixture into the mold and deckle that was prepared ahead of time. Once the mixture is poured it should be evened out. At this point the mold and deckle are lifted out of the water and drained. The sponge is then used to blot off as much water as possible.

The extra screen is then placed on the pulp and the deckle removed. Holding the screen in place the mold is turned over and placed on a towel. Then the mold is carefully removed and replaced with a blotter paper. A rolling pin is used to squeeze out more water into the blotter. The screen can then be lifted off and replaced with another blotter paper. Again the rolling pin is used to blot more water from the paper.

The paper is now ready to dry. It is separated from the blotter paper and left to air dry. Once the paper is dry we place it under a stack of books for a few hours to flatten it.

The choices of materials that can be used in the process are endless. We had lots of fun experimenting with different materials. Our plan is to make even more paper to use in making note cards.

Making smoothies

Smoothies made from yogurt, frozen cherries and apricots are pictured with a bowl of fresh cherries.

Summer is not quite here but the heat is! Finding ways to cool off is becoming a priority at our house. Cool things to drink are becoming the very desirable.

One drink we like to cool down with is a smoothie. They can be very pricey when purchased at a fast food restaurant or specialty store so we decided to look for ways to make our own. We looked on the internet and found an article by Mackenzie Schieck about making smoothies.

Schieck said, “Send a few simple ingredients for a wild ride in your blender and you’ll have delicious, nutritious, kid-pleasing smoothies in mere seconds.” In fact they are pleasing to us also. She went on to say, “smoothies pull double duty by quenching thirst and satisfying hunger at the same time.” They are not only quick but easy to prepare as well.

The basic ingredients are fresh or frozen fruit, fruit juice and ice. Other ingredients can include yogurt, milk, flax seeds, silken tofu, wheat germ or protein powder for extra nutrition. Sweeteners can be added but are usually not needed because the fruit is already sweet. When we need a sweetener we use honey.

Smoothies can also be made for breakfast or as a dessert. Adding an egg, oatmeal, milk or yogurt can make a good breakfast. Ice cream, sherbet, chocolate, peanut butter or coffee additions can turn it into a dessert. We even found recipes for vegetable smoothies. Maybe they would be for lunch.

Right now we have plenty of strawberries and cherries. We clean, cut and pack them in quart-size resealable plastic bags. Then we store them in the freezer for later use in smoothies and other recipes.

Buying local in season fruit is the best value for those who do not grow their own. Locally grown fruit is sweeter because it is allowed to ripen before being picked. It also does not require expensive transportation costs.

Using an exact recipe is not necessary but good for beginners. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Spices can even be added for more flavor. Nutmeg is one of our favorite spices. Vanilla is also a nice touch.

A recipe we found on the internet is “Peach Pizazz Smoothie.” It serves two. This recipe is for fresh, not frozen fruit. Peaches will be ripe in a few short weeks here in Tehama County.

Ingredients include:

2 peaches, peeled and cut into fourths
6 large strawberries
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream

Directions:

First place the peaches and strawberries in the blender. Next add the scoop of vanilla ice cream and then blend for approximately 35 seconds.

The website for this and many other recipes is flowercarole.com.

Cleanup is also easy. After pouring the smoothies in glasses fill the blender with about two cups of water and a drop of dish soap. Turn on high for 10 seconds. Pour out soapy water and rinse. If left for a later cleanup the fruit can dry on and be difficult to get off.

As more fruit becomes ripe the flavors of our smoothies will change. The recipe choices are endless. We would love to hear from readers about their favorite recipes. Recipes sent to the email address below will be posted on our blog site for all to enjoy.

Recycling on internet

The cross-stitch kits and books that are finding new homes.

Trading unwanted items for wanted items is a way to save money. It also clears out space that was being taken up by things that we don’t want anymore. This is not a new concept but we have found new ways to do this.

People who read a lot usually have boxes and boxes of books stashed in the closet, garage or some other storage area. Most books are read only once and no longer looked at again. Trading them for other desired books is a great bargain.

The internet has become a place that gives more options to recycling unwanted items. Paperbackswap.com is one place we started using to trade our unwanted books for others we do want. The website that allows members to post their unwanted books on a list that is available for other members to request books from. Membership is free.

The only cost is postage for sending the books. When we request a book the person sending the book pays the postage. When someone requests a book from us we pay the postage. The average postage is under $3 per book. If someone wants several books from your list they can be mailed together. That saves on postage.

Beginning members receive two bonus credits after posting their first 10 books to trade. Credits are used to request desired books from the list. Every time a member mails a requested book to another member they receive one credit. Each book is worth one credit. Audio books are two credits.

We only signed up a little over a week ago. At the time we are writing this column we have mailed 20 books to other members. Three of those have already been received by other members giving us three credits.

Using those three credits plus our two bonus credits we requested five books. Two of those have already arrived. As soon as others receive the books we have mailed them more credits will be added to our account. We will then use them to request other books we want.

Another website that is helping us clear out unused items is freecycle.com. This site has many groups all over the country. There is a group right here in Red Bluff.

This is a site where members can list items they no longer need but are still usable. When other members see something they can use they contact the owner and arrange to pick up the item.

There is no cost to sign up. All items to be given away must be free. The person requesting an item must arrange to pick up the item at the owner’s connivance.

We just signed up on this site last week also. So far we have listed an offer of several cross-stitch kits. Our craft kits collection is too big and some need to find new homes. Several members made requests for them. We are in the process of arranging for one of them to come pick them up.

Other items we have seen listed include furniture, car parts, a baby carrier, a freezer and a bicycle.

Members can also request items they need. There is a limit of once a month for posting a request for a wanted item. There is no limit to asking for items others post that you want.

There are other websites that deal with selling unwanted items such as eBay and craigslist.com. We have used eBay for several years as a place to find items we want. So far we have not gotten into the selling end of it.

The sites that are the most appealing to us are the ones that let us post for free. Either giving items away or trading is what we like best. The best part of it is clearing out things we no longer need.

Grass Valley shopping

Main Street in downtown Grass Valley.

Grass Valley is a place of many types of shops. Main Street is mostly for tourists but is fun to walk down. Browsing through the shops is interesting. Just off Main Street is Mill Street with more of the same.

Not far from downtown are several thrift stores a bookstore and toy store that we made a point to visit. Thrift stores are always top on our list of places to visit when we go somewhere new to us. Next in line are the used bookstores and hobby stores.

Several of the thrift stores had good selections of books on tape. We came away with about a dozen. They are great to listen to while driving the tractor in our orchard.

We also found several interesting books. Two books are by the editors of Prevention Magazine, one titled “Pain Free” and the other “Fighting Disease.” These offer more ways to cope with problems that the standard take a pill answer we usually get when visiting a doctors office. Pills seem to cause more problems and solve nothing.

The other book we found is “Westward to Promontory.” It is a pictorial documentary on building the Union Pacific railroad across the plains and mountains. The text is by Barry B. Combs.

The audio books were $3 and $4 each while the regular books were only $1 each. They were all a better bargain than even the used bookstore could offer. There books were at least half the original price and sometime more. We found only one book in the used bookstore we were willing to pay that much for.

Besides all the books we also found a few articles of clothing and a few other miscellaneous items to bring home. Shopping in thrift stores is like treasure hunting. We never know what we are going to find but we are rarely disappointed.

The toy store we visited also had plastic models and other hobby items. We found a set of 1/72 scale figures that we thought we needed. Figures add more life to a display when placed with other models.

The best store we found in downtown was a fabric store. They had a clearance sale that had a great selection of fabric for $2 a yard. Also on sale were a few craft items and patterns. We now have a larger fabric collection as well as a few more craft items.

In addition to all the shopping downtown there is a variety of restaurants. We tried two different ones during our stay. They were a nice change from the standard fare found in Red Bluff. We made the other meals during our stay in our hotel room. It had a kitchenette which made it possible to eat when and what we wanted.

On the last day of our stay we drove to Nevada City which is only a few miles away. Their downtown is similar to Grass Valleys. After driving up and down the streets a few times we decided there was nothing more we needed to shop for. We were ready to head for home.

It is always fun to visit a new place. But the best part is coming home again.

Empire Mine

Steam powered hoist used for lifting ore from the mine.

This last week we went on a little trip to the gold country area of Grass Valley. One of the highlights of the trip was a tour of the Empire Mine at Grass Valley. This mine was operated for over 100 years, finally shutting down for good in 1956. During its years of operation, nearly six million ounces of gold were produced.

In the beginning gold was found on several small surface outcroppings of quartz. Miners set up claims and began to chip away at the rocks to get at the gold. Soon digging in the ground was necessary and it became obvious that they did not know how to dig safely. Cave-ins were frequent and the mountain springs flooded their tunnels.

A group of miners worked to consolidate the mining claims. In 1851 it was known as the Ophir Hill Mine. In 1852 the mine was sold to John Rush, who changed the name to the Empire Quartz Hill Company.

During the 1910’s and 1920’s, the Empire mine was considered to be one of the most progressive and best managed. Considerable investments were made in materials and the best technology available at that time. One of the things they did was to use mules to pull ore car trains from the side tunnels to the main mine shaft where they could be unloaded. This was quite a novel thing when first done, as the miners themselves had to push the loaded cars around before that.

The mine was bought out in 1929 by the Newmont Mining Corporation. At the same time Newmont also bought another California mine. All three mines were then known as the Empire-Star Mines Company. Gold from the mines made the Great Depression something the residents of Grass Valley only read about in the paper.

The mine was doing well financially but was shut down by government order during World War II, as it was considered a non-essential industry. It was reopened in 1945, but because of the artificial government price fixing of gold to 1934 levels, the mine’s profit margins began to fall, then go negative in the early 1950’s. Even though the price of gold was fixed, prices of mining equipment and salaries continued to go up. By 1956 the miners went on strike to protest their low wages. The strike could not be settled and the mine closed down in late 1956. Most of the moveable equipment was auctioned off early the next year.

Today many of the original buildings have been demolished and only foundations remain. However, there is a group of people who want to keep the memory of this historic mine alive. They have reconstructed several of the most important buildings, such as the blacksmith shop, the machine shop and the tool sharpening shop. Also a large assortment of antique mining equipment has been brought in to demonstrate approximately what the mine looked like in the 1890’s.

There is a sign posted on the entrance to the mine offices which gives quotes of the price of gold at various times during the mine’s operation. In 1856, the price was $6.23 per troy ounce. In 1920 it was up to $20.57. By 1956, when the mine closed, the price was $35.00.

Since that time the gold prices are no longer controlled by government. It held the $35 per ounce price until August 15, 1971 when President Richard Nixon announced that the United States would no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value. The limitation on gold ownership in the U.S. was repealed after President Gerald Ford signed a bill legalizing private ownership of gold coins, bars and certificates December 31, 1974. As of April 5 of this year, the price of gold was $909 per ounce.

Yard sale time

This garage sale sign at Antelope and Gilmore advertised a sale on Alta Vista. That is miles and miles west of Red Bluff! Plus the address was written so small we had to pull into the parking lot to read it.
Spring is the time for yard sales to go into full swing. We decided to find out what was out there this last weekend. First we looked at the yard sale ads in the Daily News. This is the easiest way for us to plan a route ahead of time.
There were not too many but we decided to go out anyway. We did see some signs posted that led us to a few others that were not in the paper. Some of these did not work out as they are small signs usually on a busy street where was no way to read the address. The one pictured above was nowhere near the location of the sale.
We tried to follow the way the arrow pointed on a few of these signs hoping there would be more signs ahead. For some there were and some left us guessing and frustrated. We had to give up on a few that had no additional signs pointing the way.
The ones advertised in the newspaper were the best. One, we were able to find them due to preplanning. Secondly we thought those had more items to browse through. Along the way we also met a few Daily News subscribers who read this column.
Our first stop was the jackpot hit for us. Not only was it an advertised sale but it was the largest. We scored big. Our arms were loaded down with items that caught our attention. The stop only cost us $8 and it was our biggest haul!
The prize item from this stop was an unused paper making kit. Other items included two large bunches of silk flowers, a wire magazine holder, candle holder and more.
The next stop only netted us a bottle and spout with which to pour seasoned oil and two small dipping bowls to match. The cost there was $2. This yard sale began on Friday and we were shopping on Saturday. This is probably why we came away with so little at this stop.
Next we happened upon one unadvertised sale. At this stop we found an extra large pocket knife for $3. This will be good as an extra when working in our walnut orchard. Sometimes it is hard to carry many tools around. The large pocketknife can fit in the small cubby on the back of our four-wheeler we use to get around on.
The next place we stopped netted us a large shopping bag of four bags of Spanish moss and one floral foam brick for the bargain price of 50 cents. In our opinion one can never have too much Spanish moss when making floral arrangements as well as other crafts. Also before leaving we found three heavy duty wire shelves for $5.
One final stop before heading home was at Dinner My Way next to the movie theater on Main Street. We had heard that they now have “Ready-to-Go” meals available during their normal business hours. This was going to help us help someone else. We learned of someone who was going through chemotherapy and needed some help with meal preparation. Picking up several “Ready-to-Go” meals for them was a way we could help out.
With gas prices being so high it makes sense to us to do as much in one trip to town as possible. So our Saturday was not only a fun day but we were able to get an errand done also.

Walnut pollination

No bees needed here. Two walnut flowers seen in foreground with catkins behind.

It is pollination time for walnuts! Our sinuses are plugged and we go about sneezing all day. We are asked occasionally how the walnuts get pollinated. Do they need bees? What color of flowers do they have?

Walnuts have both male and female flower parts on the same tree. The pollen does not have to be transported by bees but is simply shed from the male flowers, called catkins. The pollen is physically very small and light and is moved throughout the orchard by wind movement. Pollen can travel quite some distance. Studies have shown that in certain orchards the pollen came from trees over a mile away.

With walnuts, the time of pollen shedding does not always overlap well with the time of female flower receptivity to pollen. Hence, although most walnuts are self-fertile, they sometimes require another walnut variety that comes out later for pollination. This condition is referred to as dichogamy.

The female flowers are very small, with two feathery leaves open to receive pollen. They are not a typical flower with petals, and do not have a flower color as such, being green with a slight tinge of pink. When the flower is pollinated, a nut will develop in that place.

Nearly all commercial orchards are co-planted with a pollinator variety to ensure the main crop gets enough pollen to set nuts. In fact, at this time of year the pollinators can be readily identified in an orchard by the fact that the other trees will be putting out some leaves while the pollinators do not yet have any. In some orchards, entire rows of trees are put in as pollinators, which now appear as rows of leafless trees.

The pollen shedding characteristic of walnuts is a very efficient way to spread pollen. It is even sometimes over-efficient. Certain walnut varieties are very susceptible to being over pollinated. When that happens, the flower withers and falls off. This is bad because where there is no flower, there is no nut. In some orchards overall production can be decreased by half or more because of this problem. There are some steps that can be taken to mitigate the effect of over pollination and there are some chemical treatments which have proven effective.

All kinds of plant pollen are present all the time. There is really no way to get away from pollen altogether. People used to move to desert areas to get away from pollen, with the idea that desert plants are sparse and thus produce generally less pollen. That does not work anymore now that so many people live in the desert and have taken their favorite plants with them.

Walnut pollen has been identified as one of the worse offenders when it comes to people being allergic. In areas where walnuts are commercially grown, such as Red Bluff, there is an enormous quantity of walnut pollen in the air during the months of March, April, and May. Continual exposure year after year eventually leads to allergic reactions in most people.

There is really no easy solution for the pollen exposure problem. Most of us can not take a three month vacation. So we just have to make the best of it. For us taking an allergy pill and wearing a dust mask while in the orchard helps alleviate some of the reactions.

Our October 19, 2007 blog discussed walnut varieties.