Monday 25 February 2013

Make do and mend...

Many years ago, some friends gave us an old recycling bin (they had just been issued with wheelie bins) and over time, it has had numerous things stored in it, usually associated with our fire.

DB came to show me it had badly cracked in two places. Was it thrown out, was it heck! No, he disappeared to the garage and a few minutes later was back to show me his 'stitching' handiwork, he was duly praised!
A few days ago I posted about going into some woods to gather two carrier bags full of pine cones that were just beginning to drop and were a little damp. They were tipped out into a large compost bag tray (the plastic things 2” deep x 4 feet long x 1 foot wide) and placed under the car to slowly dry out. No wonder they had been so heavy to bring home.

This morning, we went back to gather more before any wet weather returns, but this time, only had one heavy duty bag for life with us. Once home, they were tipped into repaired green container.
You can just see the two repaired cracks, back left and middle front.

11 comments:

  1. Waste not want not - brilliant repairs.

    We collect pine cones to start the fire too, nicely stored in the open section of our landlords wonderful large oak framed garage.

    Sue xx

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    1. We are bringing them in little by little to dry then they will be store elsewhere.

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  2. may be a silly question, but do you burn the pinecones?

    Gill

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    1. Yes we do. Not always with kindling to start the fire but more likely when its refusing to take and needs a little boast. We use around 6-8 at a time. They are also good on open fires but you will need a fire guard as they sometimes spit, which doesn't matter in a wood burner. We also make sure we clean our chimney regularly as burning these and other softwood, leads to a build up of tar.

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  3. I m always on the look-out for old crayons and candles stubs at garage sales. I melt them and dip the pinecones in them.
    Not really necessary but nice to burn and better than using pallet wood which is treated with a lot of chemicals including arsenic.
    Better to gather twigs for kindling if you have no pinecones.

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  4. The pine cones seem to burn well on their own but I have seen wax dripped onto them to give in a bag as a present. We often gather twigs and are lucky that we have so many places we can just walk to and do so.

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  5. A friend uses pine cones too, sometimes with wax if she has candle subs left.
    I occasionally use the tumble dryer and always save the fluff from the filters as it's useful for nesting birds, but sometime ago I saw a web site that uses it to make fire lighters. I made my friend a load of them for Xmas - she was delighted with them. Fill empty egg box 'pockets' with the fluff, any nut shells and dried orange peel (I save them specifically for this purpose) then melt old candle stubs and dribble the wax over the top. She only needs a couple of them to light her log burner and they smell good too!
    Oh, I've just remembered my Sister in law uses pine cones for her parrot - he loves to play with them and when he gets fed-up he rips them apart :o)

    Rose H
    x

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    Replies
    1. Obviously pine cones have many uses them, good idea about keeping the parrot entertained. I think I may be too lazy to use the tumble dryer fluff but it is a very good idea.

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  6. Replies
    1. Thanks Hilde, oh by the way, the heels on my knitted slippers are now getting too thin, should I patch them or just knit a new pair? Thought if I discard them, I could cut them up and put them on the compost heap.

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  7. This will be such a help to me. I just watched my trash man rip a neighbors bin because he likes to grab it by the handle when full and ...oops.. the expected tragedy ensues. Now when my turn comes, I'll know how to mend the bin ...thanks!

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