Mending

     If you read the title and envisioned stacks of clothes, thread and needles, getting your sewing machine out, then you need to think again.

     I mend books! I have been volunteering at the Orem Public Library. I work in mending! I love my work in mending.

     I work in a large room on the second floor of the library. It has wall to ceiling shelves along a 30 foot wall. These shelves are filled with books. Some are new books that need to be processed. Processing requires; covering books with book covers, stamping all books and media with Orem Public Library stamps, placing the scanning tags, book labels and bar codes, then entering them into the system. I don't handle new books. Some times I have to put the scanning tags and enter into the system older books.

     I mainly repair children's books. Children are very rough on books. We get books that have torn pages, are dirty, need covers replaced, need covers cleaned. I have found food smeared on pages even under book covers. I have found dead bugs in books. Crayons, pencils and pens decorate some books. Probably the most irritating cleanup is when an adult underlines in a book. We then have to go through the book, page by page and erase the underlining. Some of it is prolific!

     Sometimes books come in wet. The wet books are first put in a freezer and then after a few days are put in a press where they stay for about a week. This helps to dry them out and flattens the pages as much as possible.

     To repair a torn page, we use a special glue. It looks just like Elmers white glue. Except it has tiny fibers in it. We take a paint brush and put the glue along the edges of the tear. then put the pieces together so they can bond. We use wax paper on both sides of the repair until it dries. 

     On Monday, we get all of the Hold requests for the week that are in mending. These books are then located and I get to do the repairs so they can go out the next day.

     The best part of mending is the people that I work with. We talk about things we have been doing, things we like, books and movies that we like. Most are employees at the library. Some are volunteers.

      There is Hildred who is my direct supervisor. She goes through every book that comes into mending to determine what needs to be done to them. Then every book that has been mended goes to her again to check that the repairs are done. She does specialized repairs regarding spine repairs, replacing end sheets, making new labels and bar codes.

     Brenda works in mending and processing and also works at the front desk. It turns out that she lived in Vegas and went to the same High School that I did. She lived in the 9th Ward at the same time as me and was best friends with my cousins, Brent and Brenda Stewart. It's a small world.

     Bev is someone who I first met in line at Target two Christmas' ago. We were in line together behind a lady who was buying sales items. We started chatting and then found out that I had just left the library and she was late to go the library. After that, I changed my hours so that I could go in when Bev was working. She works with media items; DVD's, cassettes and CDs.

     My favorite volunteer is Sherry. She actually lives in my ward on Center Street. She has been a volunteer at the library for many years. She has her degree in English and is a very interesting person. She is a strong Democrat and we disagree on almost every political issue. But I still like her.

All of these people are older than me. Two of them are in their 70's. Horray for old people!!!

The Apple Butter Kettle

     I have in my possession an old copper kettle that belonged to my great-grandparents, Daniel Ambrose Landis and Ida Elizabeth Teeter Landis.

     It is very large and I have used it for years to hold firewood. Now it has sat in one of my bedrooms. If we ever need to cook up a large quantity of something, we can.

     Here is a pic of my Great-grandparents out in a field. Please note the cow and the chicken in the background. I am not sure what they were doing, maybe laundry?

Aren't they cute?



     APPLE BUTTER

16 medium apples                                                                           2 teaspoons cinnamon

]4 cups sugar                                                                                  1/4 teaspoon cloves

Wash apples, remove stem and blossom ends; do not peel or core. Cut apples into small pieces. Add 2 cups water; cover, simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until apples are soft. Press through a sieve or food mill. Measure 2 quarts apple pulp.

Combine apple pulp, sugar, and spices in a large saucepot. Cook slowly until thick enough to round up on a spoon. As pulp thickens, stir frequently to prevent stiking. (If too thick, add a small amount of water or apple juice for desired consistenc.) Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Can in water canner. Yield: 5 half-pints

I am sure that this recipe would have to be quadrupled ten times to fill the kettle.