Emil took off his hat and put a napkin around his waist. He had offered to help Jolena in the kitchen, but he had a lot of questions, because there was a lot he didn't know.
Jolena looked to see what he was looking at.
"Used coffee grounds," she said, and continued stirring the sauce she was making. "That's what's left over after The Writer makes her coffee.
"Does it go into the trash or the recycling?" he asked.
Jolena laughed. "Some people put their coffee grounds in the trash, but we don't. We try to recycle as much as possible, but something like this can't go into the recycling bin." Then she thought for a moment. "I don't know much about it," she added, "but I think it needs special treatment."
"Anyway," she continued, "Mandy has a special trash can for it. It's under the sink."
Emil looked at the coffee grounds. "It looks like...dirt," he said.
"Yes," agreed Jolena, "and it will be dirt, or soil, which is a better word than dirt for what it will be. It will be used to make compost, which is like soil when it's done. It makes the plants grow better."
"Did I hear someone say 'compost?'" asked a voice from the doorway. It was Mandy.
"Yes," said Jolena. "I was just telling Emil what to do with the coffee grounds."
"Good!" Mandy exclaimed. "Emil, you can be my helper, if Jolena can spare you. I was going to empty the compost container today. I need to take it out and put everything into the composter out in the yard. It takes two dolls to lift the can."
"What's compost?" Emil wanted to know. "From what Jolena said, I think it must be some kind of dirt...or soil, she said."
Mandy climbed up to sit next to Emil. "It will be," she agreed, "but compost starts out as plant material that we can't use, like garbage and grass clippings."
"And like coffee grounds," Emil said.
"Yes," Mandy said, nodding, "but even the coffee filter can go into the composter. She pulled out the box of coffee filters, so Emil could see. "That's why we use the brown ones. This is the natural color of the paper. White filters have been made white with something called bleach. Bleach isn't good for making compost."
Mandy put the box of filters aside and got out the box of tea bags. She pulled one of the tea bags out of the little envelope it was in. "We can recycle tea bags, too," she said, "but we take off the little tag, if it has one, and put that into the recycling bin."
"What else do you put into the compost?" Emil asked.
"Any vegetable matter we don't need," Mandy said. "Potato peels, vegetables that have spoiled or lettuce that isn't pretty, the stems and leaves that we don't pretend to eat. Here, you can help me with these banana peels," she went on. "We can put in the whole peel, but we need to take off the stickers and the plastic thing on the end." She handed Emil some of the banana peels, and he sat at the sink and removed the stickers.
Then Emil removed the plastic tape from the end of one of the peels.
He put the sticker and plastic tape into the trash.
Mandy had Emil help her pull out the compost container from under the sink. It's where the dolls put things that need to go into the compost bin outdoors. It was very heavy, because it was full.
Then Mandy put the coffee filter and the coffee grounds into the compost container while Emil watched. Emil put the banana peels into the compost container all by himself. He had to step on a little pedal to make the lid go up, the way he had seen Mandy do. That way he could use both hands for the banana peels.
"One more thing," Mandy said. "When I'm ready to take the compost container out to the backyard to dump everything into the compost bin, I get out the eggshells from under the sink, so I don't forget to get them ready for the compost after we dump the container." Mandy reached in under the sink and pulled out a small tub. She took off the lid, so Emil could see inside.
Emil looked at the eggshells. They were sort of smooshed. "Why don't you just put the eggshells into the compost container?" he asked.
"Well," Mandy said, as she put the eggshells up on the counter next to the blender, "eggshells don't break down quickly. We like to run the eggshells through the blender with some water to grind them up first, and add that separately."
Emil climbed up on top of the compost container to try to get the lid to close all the way. "Is there anything else doesn't break down quickly?" he asked.
"Things like orange peels," Mandy said, "and watermelon rind. We chop those things up when we're ready to put them into the compost. We don't put meat or bones into the compost," Mandy explained, "nor do we put nut shells into it. Meat and bones can attract rats and mice."
"It takes too long for things like bones and nut shells to turn into compost, so we just throw them away in the bin for yard waste. We can use grass and leaves, but the big branches don't work in the compost, either. We put those into the yard waste bin, too. The city picks that stuff up for us. They chop it up and use it in their compost."
"So what's the compost for?" Emil asked. "Jolena said it was like soil and it makes the plants grow better."
"Yes!" Mandy exclaimed. "It can be used on the ground in the garden. It gives nutrients to the plants.
Emil liked to work in the garden. The Writer had given him a big serving spoon to use to dig with, but he only dug where The Writer's husband said to dig.
He liked to help The Writer's husband dig and pull weeds. He was proud of their garden.
Emil loved the little tomatoes that just fit in his hands.
He loved pulling up the radishes when they were ready to eat.
Emil had been wondering where the radish leaves went, because they never showed up in the salad, and they weren't in the trash. Now he knew! He had seen them in the compost container, under the coffee grounds.
Now he was looking forward to putting the finished compost down on the garden...compost he had helped make!
"I wonder how the compost gets made," he said to himself. "How does that work?"
To be continued....
Note to children: Dolls are very small, so to work in the kitchen they sometimes have to get up on the counter. They are very careful to wash the countertops after they are done sitting there or walking around on it. Real children should not be up on the counter, though. It is a surface for using your hands to prepare food.
Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz or Classic Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to a charity that supports pediatric cancer, such as CURE Childhood Cancer, St. Baldrick's Foundation or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.
Like our Facebook page: The Doll's Storybook
<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>
Copyright © 2020 by Peggy Stuart
No comments:
Post a Comment