The Paper Factory Grinds to... a Halt

Today was an exciting day in the rag trade. Good stuff was going on at the newspaper as Mr. Field Notes writes about.

Back at home, I momentarily suffered a setback in making paper. Naturally it coincided with 4 big orders I need to complete this week. Midway through one batch, I couldn't get the blender to start up again. I don't what happened to it - whether the water seeping into it shorted out the wiring or the frequent, heavy demands wore out the motor or something else entirely. While I finished pressing the pulp I had already made, Mr. Field Notes fetched me a new one. I marveled at its pristine condition, but put the old carafe on the new body and pressed on.

The sheets I made turned out beautifully — more richly fibered lunaria pod paper.

The other setback was more comical: Mr. Field Notes' ear protector muffs broke when he put them on. My dad sent us two pairs of the type of ear muffs used on shooting ranges so you don't go deaf during target practice, but more relevant to us - so we don't go deaf while I make paper. I use Smith & Wesson; he uses Winchester. The plastic piece that attaches the padded ear cover to the headband snapped right off his as he put them on.

He found some old-fashioned ear plugs but not before joking around by wrapping the earmuffs to his head with a towel - walking head wound style.

The finished product looks something like this:

That's baby Yuki up there being a cute little Busted Stuff model. She's 15 weeks old now and about 45-50 pounds. And, yes, she has busted some stuff - nothing big. We've got a bunch of squeaky toy critters in sick bay waiting for operations.