Blog – Page 37 – Mary's Musings

Beeswax Citronella Candles

Getting ready for summer bug season? A citronella candle is always handy on the patio as the weather warms up. I figured with all the DIY ingredients I have here, it should be easy as pie. NOT! The directions to make these candles in a canning jar came from a website I read almost every day, (https://joybileefarm.com), and it didn’t sound too hard.

I collected some small canning jars meant for jam and a pound of beeswax. I had ordered citronella essential oil and the special wick anticipating this project.

From the website directions, apparently the size of the wick is important: “Beeswax is a hard wax with a melting point of 145 to 147 degrees. The wick needs to maintain the flame long enough for a pool of wax to form. This pool of wax feeds the candle flame and ensures that the candle stays lit. It’s the citronella essential oil vaporizing in that pool of wax that keeps the mosquitoes away.”

Here is my version of the recipe:

I collected the ingredients and my equipment.

First, I poured the beeswax into the measuring cup and put it into the saucepan with water. I brought the water to a boil and reduced the heat to keep it simmering.

Then, I attempted to get the wicks stuck to the bottom of the jars. The wicks were stiff with wax so I didn’t think this would be hard. HA! How to stick a small piece of metal the bottom of a glass jar so it would stay stuck while I poured hot wax around it?? I was sure glue wouldn’t work and the beeswax had not melted enough yet to dip it into the wax. So, I improvised!

I reached for my small piece of BlueStik, a reusable adhesive putty, that I’ve used to stick all kinds of things, like the back corner of a hanging picture so it sticks to the wall and doesn’t hang crooked. A tiny piece on the bottom of the metal base of the wick and it stuck just fine to the bottom of the jar.

Now, this whole business of using two sticks and a bobby pin to support the top of the wick so it stays straight up while I pour the wax, was a challenge.

It really did work once I figured it out. After pouring the wax, I could move the bobby pin down to the sticks so it held the wick straight. It really was coordination issue for me. It might have helped if the sticks were squared off instead of round…maybe pencils could work?

Anyway, I did all this while I was watching the wax melt. I’ve never tried melting that much beeswax at one time. In the future, a metal pitcher dedicated to melting beeswax would be better. Then it could just be stored without having to clean out the container when I was done. I did notice they were for sale on Amazon, of course!

Let me tell you, it took over an hour to melt a pound of beeswax! I had to add water to the saucepan before it was done. The last little bit of wax looked like a lone iceberg, smaller on top, more under the surface.

Then I added the citronella essential oil. WHEW…what a strong smell! (I guess that’s the point.)

I poured the wax into the jars, filling them about an inch from the top. I reserved a small amount of wax and kept it warm in the hot water on the stove.

Then I waited 10-15 minutes as the candle cooled and watched for any cracking. I topped each candle with a little more wax and walked away. I did not want to bump the table and dislodge the wicks. Several hours later the jars were still warm. By the next day, I could trim the wicks to 1/2 inch and put on the lids.

I now have five VERY fragrant citronella candles for the patio.

What did I learn?

Citronella essential oil is a VERY strong scent. By the time the candles were poured the whole house smelled of citronella and my stomach was unsettled. I had to find a way to counteract the smell.

Soooo…I made a batch of microwave popcorn! That was a much better smell!

I’m not sure I will ever make these candles again…or any poured candles for that matter. I think I would have to invest in a dedicated pitcher to hold the wax and figure out a better way to keep the wicks straight while they cooled. However, that BlueStik putty worked great! I think I’ll keep some on hand!

Please leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net! Enjoy!

Garden Update May 12, 2021

Exactly one year ago we had a killing freeze. With that memory of ruined tomato plants that we had grown from seed in mind, we are being very cautious about putting out plants too early. Hopefully, by this weekend it will be safe. Today we are giving the plants a shot of sunshine and fresh air, but will move them back into the shop in case tonight is still cold.

The tomato plants are doing well…they are 12″ high!

Some of the echinacea plants are doing well. Who knew they would be so hard to get started! (The three large plants in the middle of the small ones came from the plant sale last weekend!) They will be planted along one end in the garden and hopefully come up each year.

The cucumbers that we planted just a few weeks ago to get a head start are huge. We’ll plant the rest of the seeds directly in the garden.

I went to the Plant Sale last Saturday and picked up most of the herb plants I wanted. It was a cold, damp day but the sale was busy.

I found Thyme, Rosemary, Lemon Balm, Regular Basil, Purple Basil and Spearmint.

The Spearmint will go into a big pot on the patio. The other herbs will be in the small raised garden with the Chamomile that is already perking up from last year. You can sort of see it at the far end of this garden.

This year we are trying out a new raised planter that Steve and Kathy have designed and built. It sits right outside the patio door so I can keep an eye on it. I planted two kinds of lettuce and radishes there a week ago and they have already popped! This planter is also easy to cover right now if it gets too cold.

Bert is rototilling the garden today and the sun is shining. Soon it will be time to get out there and really dig in the dirt!

Please comment or email me directly if you have questions: marykisner@comcast.net! Enjoy!

Manuka: The Biography of an Extraordinary Honey

Honey is an intriguing ingredient in many skin care products; not just any honey, but Manuka honey. Finding that ingredient mentioned in many of my DIY recipes, from soap to lotion to lip balm, led me to research what was so special about it. While Wikipedia provided a general overview, this book, Manuka: The Biography of an Extraordinary Honey, by Cliff Van Eaton (2014), turned out to be an excellent history of how it was discovered and why it took so long to gain popularity.

Curiously, it was available from Amazon only as a Kindle eBook ($9.99) or as the Large Print Edition ($32.99). I first ordered it as a Kindle book and then quickly realized I wanted to read it more in-depth so I ordered the Large Print Edition too. Large print is a great idea for us old folks!

This book is described in the Introduction:

“It is a rags-to-riches tale of how a most peculiar honey became a ground-breaking medicine, along the way turning into one of the most famous honeys in the world.” (p. vi)

Manuka is a word the Polynesian voyagers, the Maori, gave to a plant they discovered when they first came to New Zealand. The plant grows uncultivated throughout both southeastern Australia and New Zealand and represents almost half the vegetation in New Zealand.

When European missionaries first brought honey bees to New Zealand in the early 1800’s, much of the honey came from the widespread Manuka blossoms. For local consumption that was fine, but when bee keepers tried exporting it to England it was difficult to sell. Buyers wanted the lighter honey from clover and other crops. The Manuka honey was darker and harder to extract from the combs.

Working to process this honey was not worth the effort. Hives were moved closer to the preferred crops of clover, thyme and heather. With so much of the area covered naturally with Manuka bushes it was difficult to control the actions of the bees.

Researching Antibacterial Capabilities of Honey

During the early 1980’s, Peter Molan, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Waikato School of Science, worked on several small research projects experimenting with local honeys to determine their antibacterial capabilities. His experiments grew to include many samples from across New Zealand documenting the sources of honey, including clover, thyme, heather and Manuka.

While the honey produced from the Manuka tree blossoms (leptospermum scoparium) was darker and harder to extract, it was very successful when tested against staphylococcus aureus…a bacteria that was very adept at developing resistance to man-made antibiotics.

By 1991, published research had determined that Manuka honey was an effective antibacterial, even after heating it or diluting it with water. A rating system for Manuka honey sold for therapeutic products was developed, represented by the following: 10+, 15+ and 20+, with 20+ being the highest antibacterial activity.

The resurgence of interest in the medicinal use of honey products prompted the author to review the history of honey in general throughout the ages. Honey’s use in medicine was considered an interesting curiosity. While honey was in common use before WWII for the treatment of wounds and burns, the discovery of Penicillin in 1928 was a game changer. Sugar production worldwide had displaced honey by a factor of 100 to 1, reducing demand. Honey was eventually regarded as just a food item.

Changing Perceptions of Manuka Honey

We now know our challenges with bacteria continue. With the advent of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, especially in wounds and sores that wouldn’t heal, stories about this special honey from New Zealand were of great interest to the medical community.

Research continues to identify the components of Manuka honey and this encourages the medical community to use it for those difficult cases of antibacterial resistance. Several chapters in this book describe the ongoing research with Manuka honey to discover its medicinal qualities.

Transforming the methods of extraction for Manuka honey, and implementing a comprehensive marketing strategy to sell the product are described at length in this book.

Manuka Honey in Skin Care Products

Manuka honey is now being suggested as a healing ingredient in skin care products. Many of the DIY recipes I use call for its use, whether for actual healing or for marketing purposes. (It does still taste delicious on toast!)

The success of the New Zealand marketing efforts can be seen in the current price for a jar of Manuka Honey on Amazon. An 8 oz. jar can range from $38 to $69, depending on its strength (10+, 15+ or 20+).

Incorporating it into a tiny tube of wound dressing (1.5 oz. tube) costs $14.99, which is 80% Active Leptospermum (or Manuka Honey).

Luckily, my skin care recipes usually call for only 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of Manuka honey in a batch of product. It is difficult to incorporate very much into soaps and salves and a little goes a long way. Whether it really works at that concentration is debatable, but it sounds good. I’d say the work of the Manuka Honey Board has been successful!

If you’d like to know more details about Manuka honey and its history, I highly recommend this book!

Please comment or email me directly if you have questions. marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

(Medical Disclaimer: Always consult with your medical professional before using any product on open wounds. Because this is a natural product made by honeybees, DO NOT USE if you have allergies to bee stings or other bee products without consulting your doctor.)

Pumping the Rain Barrels

We’ve had over 1/2 inch of rain since we set up the rain barrels on April 27, 2021. That’s 10 days! The rain barrels were probably full after the first rainfall, but today was the day Bert got around to pump them up to the holding tank in the garden. I tried to document all the details of the equipment he used, but hopefully you’ll get the gist of the process.

First, Bert put one end of a long garden hose into the holding tank in the garden. Then he ran the hose down the hill to the little pump sitting behind the shop. He says it’s about 100 feet.

This is the first barrel he will pump. He removed the lid and screen. You can see how much pollen and junk the screen collected. The red hose on the side handles the overflow if the barrel is full

And the barrel is definitely full!

The first batch of water to go up to the holding tank gets about a cup of Clorox added to keep bacteria from growing in the tank.

This is the motor he uses. It’s a 1 HP Portable Lawn Pump. It pumps the water about 100 feet uphill at 70 psi.

Here are the various hoses and cords ready to assemble.

The garden hose (red) is in the foreground. Bert is holding a siphon hose. It is larger around than the garden hose and has a quick-attach adapter.

This is the other end of the siphon hose…called a foot valve.

He fills up the siphon hose with water.

Once the hose is full, he quickly attaches it to the motor. He also adds water to the connector on top of the pump which primes the pump housing.

Hard to see in this picture, but then he loosens the bleeder valve to release any air in the pump.

Next, he attaches the garden hose to the motor and tightens it. He also tightens the bleeder valve.

The other end of the siphon hose goes into the barrel. He tucks the hose between the barrel and the supporting wooden stake so it doesn’t come out while it’s working.

And then, he turns the motor on!

In 8 minutes or so, the barrel is almost empty. He quickly turns off the motor so it doesn’t suck air.

The lid and screen goes back on the barrel and it’s ready for more rain!

Bert picks up the motor and hoses and moves them to the other rain barrel to repeat the process.

When he’s done with that, he goes up to the garden and removes the garden hose. The holding tank is now about 1/3 full (about 120 gallons). It holds about 360 gallons.

Whew! I learned a lot today. We should have a full tank by the time we transplant our seedlings.

Thanks for following this story. If you have any questions leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

Dehydrating Apples

Over a month ago, I bought a bag of nice small apples just to eat. The bag ended up in the garage temporarily while I was doing other things in the kitchen. I totally forgot to reach for them…out of sight, out of mind! Needless to say, they still looked OK but the they were getting soft. Before they were too soft to eat (that’s called rotten!) I thought I’d just dehydrate them. I know we’d eat them that way as snacks! Here are the 15 small apples:

First, I had to uncover the dehydrator. Most of the year I keep it covered and store it right outside the back door. It is already plugged in and ready to go. We keep a board on top to protect it from damage because that seems to be the place where we pile things…stuff to go out to the shop, packages delivered by UPS, etc. I went out to take a picture of it before I uncovered it…and sure enough, UPS had dropped off a package already this morning!

Then I pulled out the manual to check how long to dehydrate apples. They provide a color-coded map to help determine how long to dehydrate foods, based on location and season. Fruit should have 10 to 20% moisture content to store well.

For May in Pennsylvania, it said a range of 51 to 70% (indicated by yellow) or 71 to 80% (indicated by green) in the instructions. Then I look up Apples and find the yellow means 11 hours, and green means 13 hours. This is very important if I want to store them without refrigerating them.

So, curious challenge for today. It was already 2:00 p.m. when I finished peeling and I don’t like to leave the dehydrator running after I go to bed. At 9:00 p.m. I turned the dehydrator off and put the apples in a zip lock bag and put them in the refrigerator. They are still a little moist inside. In the morning I can always lay them out on the trays again and finish drying them for another 5-6 hours. I think we’ll just eat them!

Here’s the process to dehydrate apples:

After washing the apples, I made a bowl of lemon water to put the sliced apples into as I peel them. That will keep them from discoloring.

Then I laid the apples on the trays.

And put the trays in the dehydrator.

I set the temperature to 135 degrees.

After 7 hours, the apples were dry on the outside but still a little moist inside. They would need another 5 hours or so to be dry enough to store on the shelf.

Those 15 apples made a small pile of dried apples.

Next time I want to dehydrate apples, I think I’ll get larger apples and use the apple peeler/slicer attachment on my mixer…much easier! At least I didn’t waste this bag of apples and we have snacks for a few days!

Please leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

Camel Ride in Eqypt in 1956

One of the things I treasure from my parent’s generation was their foresight to save many written stories of their lives. Sometimes it was an envelope of letters from a loved one overseas, or stories they wrote for historical societies documenting life “back in the day” like my Grandfather did.

Sometimes, they specifically wrote “Autobiographies” with photographs, assembled in their later years. My mother had even saved a handwritten autobiography she wrote in high school (around 1926) that shared her life up to age 12 or so.

As I get older, I feel like I’ve let the next generation down. Somehow, I was never able to document my life adventures as it happened with daily journals. In 2013, I had written several letters to my grandchildren which summarized my early life. The first story, which I posted here on April 14, 2021, titled “Born in the middle of the story,” shared some of my earliest memories. This account of my visit to the pyramids in 1956, when I was just 9 years old, was the second story I wrote for them. After this, I’ll try to continue with more memories from years ago and build my “Book of memories from Grandma Mary.”

***

In 1956, when I was 9 years old, my family was visiting Cairo, Eqypt for a few days as we traveled from the Philippines to London. We had spent a year in the Philippines while my Dad worked at the University of the Philippines.

One of the places we visited was the pyramids and the Sphinx on the edge of the city of Cairo. I thought we were going to make a long drive out into the desert because in all the pictures I saw, the pyramids were way out in the desert. But the city had grown and was quite close by.

It was hot, noisy and unfamiliar. There were camels everywhere with colorful tassels, bells and blankets on them. When they walked the bells would jingle. The men leading the camels around offered to take us for a ride…for a price, I’m sure! My brother, Mark, wanted to take a camel ride. My sister, Jean, said she would sit on a camel. I wasn’t sure about it at all.

We went to some camels that were lying down on the ground. They didn’t look so big. First my brother got on the back of the camel. He didn’t seem scared at all. Then my sister tucked her skirt to look like pants (remember, in 1956 girls and women wore dresses not shorts in public) and got on another camel. Then I was lifted up to sit right in front of her. Much higher than I expected!

THEN the men had the camels STAND UP!

We were VERY high off the ground! The men holding the camels led us around a little. I held on tight but it felt like I was going to slide down the camel’s neck.

Finally, it was time to get off the camels. First, the men had to make the camels kneel down. The men took their canes and hit the camels in the back of their front knees to make them bend down. Of course, the camels didn’t like that! They made a terrible noise! It sounded like they had been hurt but the men didn’t seem to be worried.

Once their front legs were bent, they lowered their back legs to rest on the ground. Finally, I was lifted off the camel. What a ride!

Twenty years later I was teaching 5th grade in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. That year we had a unit on Eqypt where we learned about the people who lived there long ago and built the pyramids. Most of the students had never seen a camel. In 1974 there was no zoo nearby. The students researched how big camels were and we built an almost-life-sized camel in our classroom. Bert helped by building a wooden frame. It was so big he had to build it in the classroom! Then we padded it with newspaper and covered it with paper mache’.

The students painted it brown and it was part of our class while we studied Eqypt. (I couldn’t find a picture of the finished camel.) We didn’t want to tear down our camel friend at the end of our studies of Eqypt so the floor under his belly became a cozy place to read. He kept us company the rest of the year!

***

Watch for more adventures from my past…posted under Around the Kisner Homestead: Memories from Grandma Mary.

Please leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

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Lunch with my big brother!

Bert and I try to make an effort to meet my brother and his wife for lunch about once a month. They drive down from Wellsboro, PA and we drive northeast from Boalsburg and meet someplace in the middle. Because of so many restaurants being closed for the last year we haven’t been able to be very consistent. This week we were finally able to coordinate a day and we met them near Lock Haven to have lunch at the Restless Oaks Restaurant just off the McElhatten/Woolrich exit of Rt. 220. (Their address is 119 Pine Mountain Road, Lock Haven, PA 17748).

This quaint restaurant serves great diner food. The ambiance is homestyle and decorated with many old cooking and farming implements. They also have quite a collection of carved wooden statues…some impressively huge! Here are some pictures of the restaurant inside and out!

This handsome fellow greeted us near the entrance.

This lovely beast was right by the entrance door!

Here were the specials of the day!

Things like these decorated the walls and ceiling around the restaurant.

This huge carved eagle was suspended from the ceiling over our heads!

On the way out, we found wonderful porch swings for sale.

And quite a few smaller statues or lawn ornaments for sale also.

Of course, I had a chance to hug my big brother. It had been way too long! We’ll have to get back on a schedule!

I love hearing from you! You can leave comments or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

If you would like to be notified when I post, sign up on the Welcome/Home page and you’ll be sent an email automatically by this wonderful program. Your email will never be shared!

Patriotic Door Quilt

Time for a new door quilt. As you might recall from my earlier posts, I needed to find a solution to the problem of putting a wreath on my front door and then squashing it when I closed the screen door; not enough clearance. Flat door quilts have solved the problem. Here are the previous ones I’ve made (starting with the Christmas stocking, the Heart in a cathedral window pattern and the spring quilt in the Dutchman’s Puzzle pattern).

I seem to be continuing with a seasonal quilt about every three months. I have also discovered that three months exposed to the sun has faded the fabric some so it was time for something new.

With some major patriotic holidays coming up like Memorial Day and the 4th of July, it was time to try a patriotic theme.

This quilt pattern is called Fifty-Four Forty or Fight. You’ll see several color variations below.

This phrase was the famous 1844 presidential campaign slogan of James Polk that contributed to his unexpected victory. The slogan was named after a line of latitude that served as the northern border of Oregon at 54 degrees 40 minutes. The slogan was not actually coined during the election but appeared only by January 1846 and was promoted and driven in part by the press. Women often stitched their political views because they weren’t supposed to voice them. That’s where this block comes from.

By altering the color arrangement of the pieces it has also been called Grandma’s Star, Railroad Quilt, Nine Patch Star Quilt, Garden Walk, Garden Patch and An Old-Fashioned Pinwheel.

When colors are arranged like in #265 below, it has been called Bird of Paradise.

As you can see, the same arrangement of blocks and triangles can be called something else if changing the colors gives a different impression.

I always want to check from the front yard to see if I have the colors right (meaning, light around the outside so it can be seen through the screen door). I think it works!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

If you would like to be notified when I post, sign up on the Welcome/Home page and you’ll be sent an email automatically by this wonderful program. Your email will never be shared! Thanks!

Setting up the rain barrels

Today was a beautiful day to set up the rain barrels. Each rain barrel holds about 60 gallons of water. They collect most of the runoff from both sides of the shop roof so we put one on each far corner.

Bert stores the barrels in the shop in the winter. If water froze in the barrels they would crack so we don’t use them during the winter months.

Below you can see Bert has removed the bottom section of the spouting that runs out into the yard. The concrete slab is the base for the barrel. The post just behind it will be used to tie the barrel down…if the barrel is empty the wind can just blow it away!

The he adds a shorter extension up high that will funnel the water into the barrel. He said he had to add a little piece on the end to slow down the runoff so it goes into the barrel. Otherwise, it zooms straight past the lid of the barrel!

Here’s a close up of the extension. The small piece on the bottom edge is a flap that seems to do the job of slowing down the water.

Then there is a piece of screen that came with the barrel that is held down by the lid. This filters out big stuff like pine needles and bugs.

Then the lid (with holes in it) is screwed on to the barrel.

Finally, Bert ties a rope around the barrel and to the stake so it doesn’t blow away when empty.

He stores the spouting until fall.

This barrel is ready for rain!

On the other corner of the shop the steps are the same. Here’s the logo printed on the barrels.

Finally, when the barrels are full, he will attach a hose and use this little pump to get the water up the hill to the larger storage barrel. It holds about 360 gallons of water. Then we use that to water the garden.

Seems complicated, but we’re not hauling water to the garden and the plants seem to like the natural rainwater!

I’ll share more about the process of pumping the water when we do that. First…it has to RAIN!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

I love hearing from you! If you would like to be notified when I post, sign up on the Welcome/Home page and you’ll be sent an email automatically by this wonderful program. Your email will never be shared!

Creative Mending

Frequently when I visit Kathy and family, I come home with some interesting mending projects. I think our son-in-law enjoys providing me with a sewing challenge…just because he knows I’ll humor him and produce something different! I’m up for the challenge!

He works very hard with his contracting and landscape business and his work clothes show it. This time, I came home with three items…a stuffed toy their dog Daisy had ripped with her teeth (obviously not related to his work) and two pairs of work shorts with rips in embarrassing places.

First, I worked on the dog toy. This elephant is really not a dog toy, but Daisy loves it and really doesn’t shred it; her teeth just seem to catch on the soft fabric.

The damage seemed to be right at the back of the neck. It looks like I had mended this item several times already!

First, I just pulled the sides of the hole and sewed it shut…again…with some strong thread.

Then I added a double layer of pretty hefty ribbon around the neck, right over the repair. With double knots in the ribbon, the bow might come untied but the ribbon should protect my repair. Maybe the ribbon will give Daisy something new to play with.

Now, on to the work shorts. The first pair had a big rip right in front.

The second pair was pretty shredded through the crotch!

PAIR NUMBER 1

First, I prepared two patches that would cover the holes. I cut two pieces of lightweight denim, folded them in half (right sides together) and stitched around the open sides, leaving about 3 inches to turn them right side out.

I turned them right side out and top stitched around both patches. Now the edges of the patches are finished and will not unravel when washed.

Starting with the smaller patch, I turned the shorts inside out and placed the patch over the rip, making sure it was covered by the patch.

From the outside, you can see the patch through the hole. I trimmed the ragged edges around the rip so they wouldn’t bunch up under the outer patch.

Then I stitched around the hole.

Now it’s ready for the outside patch. I could have just put another plain patch to match the shorts. However, where’s the fun in that! How about a big red heart! I turned the edge of the heart and stitched it before putting it on the shorts.

As long as it covers the hole it’s just fine.

Do you think he’ll know I love him now?

PAIR NUMBER 2

On the second pair of shorts, I follow the same procedure. It’s a little more awkward getting the patch and shorts under the sewing machine.

After sewing the patch on the inside, turn the shorts right side out and clean up the rip by trimming the shredded fabric.

Then add a top patch of your choice (in this case, another heart!). I figure maybe it will embarrass him to go get some new work shorts! HaHaHa…actually he loves them and shows them off on the job! Go figure!

If these were good shorts, I would have used thread that matched the garment and I would have chosen a matching fabric for the patch. I guess I could have just thrown them away, but where’s the challenge in that!

So, that was my mending challenge of the week! Hopefully everyone will be entertained on the job!

Feel free to leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net! Enjoy!