Tuesday 26 March 2019

A Postcard A day - Tuesday 26 March 2019 - T for olive pips and lots of coffee




Hello lovely ladies, How are you all?
I thought these birthday cards were just perfect for T-Day. Yes, it was my birthday on Saturday and one of the things I like about birthdays is opening my cards over breakfast.

With all those birthday cards I'm not showing you postcards today.
I also received a few hand-made cards:


 This first one is from my hubby. Where did you get that? I asked, as it is difficult to find birthday cards here in in-land Spain. He had spotted a box of cards at the vets and had gone back later to get me a card.
This one is from a friend in the UK. Her name is Claire and she sends me a card every year.

I will post some birthday photos on Friday.

Last week hubby hooked up the trailer and we drove to Olibaza, an olive processing plant, to buy olive pips. They are a product of the process of making olive oil. We buy them now for next year as they have to dry out over the summer.

Here is an article from their magazine translated by Google. The pips or stones are translated as 'bones' but I'm sure you get the gist.


The olive bone as fuel for the oil mill and the home



If you are interested in the world of olive oil , you will know that one of the most important residues generated in its production is olive stone. But perhaps you do not know that that bone can become a magnificent clean fuel .
A normal olive olive campaign can leave in Spain up to 450,000 tons of bones that, traditionally, were taken to landfills. But nowadays it is very common for this waste to be recycled and used as an energy source .
If you have ever seen an oil mill, you will have seen the piles of bone and pulp that remain after pressing the olives. Well, that organic matter, once dry, is considered a first level biomass. Biofuel  producers crush the bones and use them to feed biomass boilers . They can be used directly ground or pressed in the form of pellets , small tablets of compressed bone sawdust.
The good thing is that you can use this biomass for the stove or the boiler of your home . And also the own oil mills use it to feed their boilers and generate the heat that some processes of their work require.

Olive bone that produces clean gas

As you know, biomass is very low pollutant and, thanks to it, it avoids burning more harmful fuels for the environment. But, in addition, there are processes to make it even more efficient and clean . For example, if the bones and pulp are subjected to a gasification process, a gas can be extracted from that biomass, which, once burned in the boilers, is more efficient in generating energy and even cleaner than direct burning. of the bone. 
Thanks to these systems, the olive bone provides a clean fuel and contributes to the olive oil industry being more sustainable and helps to protect the environment.

We use the pips mixed with almond shells as fuel for our stoves. The almond shells are relatively large and mixing them with the pips makes them 'flow' better through the hopper.


First stop: the weigh bridge
Then we drove round the corner to a mountain of ground stones/pips.
The chap came with the digger and filled our little trailer.
I walked around to see a bit of the installation. They have a special department for organic products (which they call 'linea ecologico'):
Before paying (10 cents a kilo), we had to weigh again on the weighbridge and the difference is what you pay for. This trailer full cost us 36 Euros.

On a different day, we also had business in town (Baza), and we had coffee at the bus station that we happened to pass. They always do a good cup of coffee:
Here they don't do lattes, cappuccinos and mochas etc. It's café, or café cortado (small glass that I am drinking, espresso with a dash of milk) or café con leche (hubby's drink). You can have black coffee with more water in a larger glass, and that is café americano. I sometimes have carajillo (black coffee with a dash of liquor in it. I like anis liquor). And for people that like sweet things: café bonbon. It is very popular here.
The bottom layer is condensed milk, but it is very sweet, so I don't usually drink it.

As if I didn't already have enough beverage references for T-Day! If you want to join the T-Party, make sure you have a beverage in your blog post and rush over to Elisabeth and Bluebeard who are hosts for this party.

Did I show you my haul of coffee? I have a Senseo coffee machine that works with pads. The make is Dutch and in Holland I can buy all sorts of fancy flavours. But here in rural Spain I can only get normal coffee. Well I happen to like a mocha, which is coffee with a bit of chocolate in it. Senseo's version is called Cappuccino Choco. 
I went online and I could only buy ten at a time. So I got ten!
That's it from me today.
Happy T-Day,
Lisca

18 comments:

  1. well, it looks like you certainly have had your share of coffee lately:):) Happy, happy birthday to you!!! How thoughtful of your hubby to search out that special card for you.Very interesting info about the olive pips/bones. Happy T day!

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  2. I like how you recycle the leftover olive pips for fuel. That is a good way to really use the whole product. And happy belated birthday. Looks like you had a good one. Do they celebrate with a cake in Spain as they do hre in the US. Happy T day Lisca. Hugs-Erika

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  3. Well, I missed your birthday, dear Lisca. I am glad you had a wonderful time, though. You got some absolutely gorgeous cards.

    Before I forget. How many pods in each of those Senseo coffee packages? Did I read eight? You will have coffee for a few weeks, at least.

    That olive oil waste is certainly efficient and inexpensive, too. I wish that was all I had to pay for heat over a winter. Of course, I know you have the cost of the almond shells, but I think it's still a very efficient way to heat your home in the winter.

    You had about as many drink references today as Susi had (grin). Thanks for sharing these and your birthday (and trip) with us for T this Tuesday.

    BTW, be sure to visit Sharon (Foxy Stamping) today. You are going to LOVE her mug!!!!!

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  4. Happy belated birthday Lisca, may you have a great, new year full of health and happiness. You got some great cards. Love the idea of all that coffee, I mostly buy mine in bulk, too as it's cheaper that way. Love the idea of using the olive waste for heating, sounds great. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

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  5. Happy birthday wishes! Your birthday cards are beautiful and I love the sentiment on the one from your hubby, so romantic 😁. Looks like you had fun on your trip, thanks for sharing! Happy T Day! J 😊 x

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  6. Happy birthday! Your cards are beautiful!
    Very interesting photos!
    Happy T-Day!

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  7. Happy Birthday! Great assortment of cards you received and wonderful photos. Happy T-Day!

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  8. Happy Belated Birthday! Those are all lovely cards :) I had no idea a source of fuel was a byproduct of olive processing. Fascinating!

    I don't drink my coffee sweet, but that café bonbon looks so pretty I'd like to try it. I like the mocha coffee, too, and am always surprised it's not a more popular flavor.

    Happy T Tuesday

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  9. Happy birthday, dear Lisca!

    Your cards are all lovely and two of them even qualify for tea! That was very thoughtful of your hubby. Greeting cards are uncommon here in Mexico also.

    Wow, that's a lot of olive pits! Fascinating info on them as fuel; and how wonderful for the environment. I wonder how long that 36 Euro trailer full will last you, but it sure sounds like a bargain compared to other dirtier fuels.

    I gather you ordered your Senseo pads from Holland. I wonder if shipping was very expensive and whether there were duties. Just in the last few years, we can now order many things from Amazon U.S. Then Amazon Mexico started two years and is gaining traction and increasing their inventory. The world is getting smaller and smaller.

    Happy T-day! Eileen xx

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  10. i think i´ve heard about almond shells for fueling before... might have been your blog i suppose. always love these infos.
    and coffee all over the world sometimes seems to me like rocket science;) and actually i love it in variations:) happy t-day (or c-day;))

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  11. oh, i forgot... happy belated birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  12. Its late, but I hope you had a Happy Birthday, the cards looked lovely and a super one from your hubby.
    I've never heard about using the olive pips for fuel, but it seems a fantastic recycling product and a good price as well.
    Happy T day wishes Lisca I'm sure you will be enjoying your coffee.
    Yvonne xx

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  13. Happy Birthday!! and I really enjoyed your post-I have not heard of olive pips for fuel but I think it is super-recycling for heat-love that.
    Years ago I used have a senseo machine with the pods-Happy T Hugs Kathy

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  14. Happy Birthday! I liked your lesson on eco friendly alternative fuels. I wish there was more of that around here.
    Happy T day!

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  15. A very Happy Birthday! What a wonderful way to start the day. Hubby gave you a gorgeous card. And what beautiful hand made cards you received.

    I don't know much about oil or fuel and the processing of it but your post was interesting.

    It is wonderful being able to find things online like coffee. We live in a rural area so we have a very limited choice of stores. We buy all our coffee and tea online by subscription from Amazon. They have the best prices and best of all, I don't have to leave my home. The internet is a wonderful thing...most of the time.
    Happy Belated Tea Day,
    Kate

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  16. Happy, happy Birthday! Stay as bright, bubbly and lovely as you are dear Lisca! Great cards! I love this sustainability of using those olive pips - Superb!
    Oh yes! Thank God for online shopping ☻☻☻ lol!
    Big hugs, and happy belated T-Day from
    Susi

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  17. Very Happy belated Birthday Lisca !! With my best wishes always!
    Your cards are very beautiful, lovely !! and I hope your day was Great !
    Thanks so much for the interesting information about the olives pips, good use of them.
    I also want to with a happy belated T-day too, sorry I´m late.
    Big hugs, Caty

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  18. Lisca, This whole thing with olive pips & nut shells for fuel is completely new to me, and I find it very interesting! Oh, and Happy Birthday! Late, as well as my T Day visit! Hugs!

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