minding my own beewax

We've had another month-long project here--very short by my quilting standards--but something to work on at any rate. We have an order for "cleaned" wax--200 pounds in 2 pound "bricks", "loaves"....I don't know what to call them. It's been something.............but not too much....... We get the forty-something pound "cakes" from the warehouse..........this wax has already been processed once, but you'd be amazed at the "gunk" that's still in it. I put them in a garbage bag and drop or throw them on the garage floor to break them into chunks that will fit in my pot. The colder it is, the easier it is to break. Sometimes we put a chunk in the freezer.....works like a charm!

When I have put several pieces in the pot, I fill it about half full with water..........yep, water. And put it on the stove. It's fun to watch the wax melt and float to the top of the water where it hardens again until the water gets hot enough to keep it liquid.

Then I want the water to boil up through the wax...........yes, it can get a little exciting, but I keep a fire extinguisher handy, just in case I need it.

After it boils for 10 to 15 minutes I turn off the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. I have discovered if I get impatient and carve time off the 15 minutes, all the water has not had time to "settle" out of it and I end up with water in the bottoms of the molds...........funny, huh? This business--bees, honey, (and now wax) everything--has always fascinated me. After sitting I strain the wax through a cloth.........and pour it into bread pans. These are two pound "cakes", "bricks"......... whatever........

I love the smell of the boiling wax........I love the feel of the cooled wax when I knock it out of the molds..........I love the color..........I love to stack it up and see the results of my work........very satisfying. It's not so bad to see the check either, when it comes! Ahhhhh, the life of a beekeeper's wife!! I love it too!!!

...projects.......

I know I am not alone in having several projects in various stages of "done-ness".........I will admit some are barely started. I will also admit there are more than several.........I'm trying to finish some of these--one a month was the first goal. At that rate I would have several years' worth, I'm afraid.....but hey! you have to start somewhere, right? These are two of my "newer" projects........they are FINISHED!!! This is a Bunny Hill Pattern and fabric "Lily and Will". I loved the soft colors accented with brown. I have another top made from the same fabric........I'll show it to you when I get it quilted.

I don't particularly like afghans..........I much prefer a quilt..........but I had a hankering to crochet something and I absolutely loved the colors in this afghan.......the price was right........anyone want it? I have another project all figured out to be the "pick up" and "keep the hands busy" project to take the place of the afghan...........what a great feeling to have them completed!

March Madness...not all on the BB court

Ahhhh, March..........you have to love March. And though my Cougars lost last night, I still have to shout their praises. They have shown me how to persevere in the face of great accolades as well as the total opposite. They are all heroes at our house! Way to go Cougars!!!!!

Now..........on a very small and mostly unnoticed stage...........my backyard, really.......I have a spot prepared for the sweet peas every year. Unfortunately, they don't like the heat we get here in July through September, so we thought we'd try to extend the season by starting earlier. Our wonderful Richard planted seeds about a month ago now and I had a flat of beautiful six inch seedlings. I finally got them planted day before yesterday in my carefully prepared bed--...........here's the result so far. I'm really hoping this works.............

I planted them pretty close together.......and the white "row cover" is safety pinned to the "climbing fence". The first night I thought I had it all weighted down and pinned down only to wake up at 6:00 the following morning to a gale blowing and my cover held on by only TWO clothes pins!!! I grabbed a coat and ran out in my nightgown to fix it more securely. It has stayed put since! Thank goodness. You can see it was needed...........the next picture was the second morning..........we are having rain today and the plants still look really good. Keeping my fingers crossed..............

...AGHHH...SPRING!!!

Spring romped through town today.........no dainty little pirouette this time!! And since you "asked" for flower pictures.........here they are! Can I just say--I'M NOT READY FOR SPRING!!!! There are times when I wish I lived in Minnesota........or Maine..........or Alaska...........just think how much time I would have for sewing quilts in those climes. But then........I suppose I couldn't have the tomatoes and squash etc., that I get here. Hmmmmm.....I'm going to have to do some thinking about gratitude here.

 

The snowdrops are in full bloom. I really need to get more of them. Wouldn't they look good in a whole big "drift"?

You can see the red tips of the tulips to the right of the snowdrops. You can also see my "evergreen" weed that has been growing all winter long. They have a sod-like root system........they aren't there anymore.......this is the "before" picture....

Why do I never learn???? I think my mother has given up on me......we get to this point nearly every year. (I think there was one year when I got my clematis cut back before it started growing.) I couldn't tell you how old it is...........she's heard my cry of agony every other year when I have to cut off some new growth.

Some will be easier to cut than others.........but still! it's so hard to get anything to grow here I hate to cut, pluck, pull, pick anything that's green and growing. Thank goodness my clematis are tough and can thrive in spite of me...

The old-fashioned lilac--a daughter of the one by the dog house in Marion.

The white lilac--the granddaughter of one of my Grandmother's.

Preparation for the sweet peas. Richard planted them three weeks ago and they need to be transplanted. I want to put some "good" dirt in here for them. Since they don't handle the heat of July and August I thought I would "extend" the season the other way.........just think!!!! I could have blossoms in another month!!!! And I'm going to plant some morning glories and nasturtiums along side in hopes that they will be ready to take over when the sweet peas start dying back...........I'm a little worried about them squeezing out the sweet peas..........I might wait a couple of weeks to plant them. I'd love to have that whole fence covered with flowers. Wouldn't that be cool!?!??? We are supposed to have a day of rain tomorrow--I wanted to get the trench dug before then. I'm afraid I'm going to "pay" tomorrow............I'll keep you "posted"!

...ahh...spring

Spring danced through town today. She was lovely.........it was plenty warm to go for a walk with Suzanne without having to bundle her up excessively. Wonderful!! Our garlic is poking up green shoots. There were people playing tennis on the courts at the school. A few members of the high school track team were standing around visiting. The parents of the junior class were preparing for the Junior Prom tomorrow night. We heard a meadow lark--the first one this year--and the train making its way through town. Some of the fields are showing a little green--I think it's the grain sprouting. And lots of the trees have swollen buds. I need to go check my daffodils..........a warm, beautiful day..........

...Discovery's final flight

I don't know if it's possible to give you an idea of what it's like to see a shuttle launch.......it is all so much bigger..........bigger than words, bigger than my vocabulary!!!! Just think of all the superlatives you know, then giant-size them, and you might be about half way there. It was absolutely spectacular!!! We were there with about 100,000+ other people..........and the experience has done a little to restore my faith in mankind. There was no "assigned" seating, of course, but there was no harsh language, no pushing (at least near us) and while there were several with seriously large camera and lens, I think everyone got a "good" shot. There were tripods everywhere and children lying on blankets. Once we got our seats set, we didn't go anywhere unless absolutely necessary. But when you have to sit for 3-4 hours, there are some "necessaries". People were just generally very nice and very helpful. And we had a great time visiting. We got up at 5:00 a.m., found an IHOP for some good breakfast, and got to our "pick up point" by about 6:30. There was a long line and some buses had already departed for the Space Center. It was a beautiful morning...

We wandered around KSC [Kennedy Space Center] and sat in our chairs until we thought we should get in line for the bus. The "line" was hardly discernible.......see if you can make it out...

We walked through more zig-zag "fencing" than I care to remember--you know, the stuff they use to fit long lines of people into small places--I think we walked a mile before we got to the bus and it was all back and forth and around. We finally made it to the bus and headed out to the causeway across the Banana River--not really a river, but that's the name...We staked out our claim and got our chairs set up. Then people started pulling out their equipment. Oh my!!!! I had taken my tripod, but I didn't set it up............you will see why..............and then we waited, and waited, and waited, and waited............we saw lots of birds, fish and a few dolphins. It was cool!! And, as I said, everyone was nice. They had some speakers set up so we could hear what was going on six miles away............we held our collective breath at every hold and cheered at every "clearance". When it got to five minutes and the Air Force had their computer glitch, we all groaned. And I'm sure I was not the only one praying. When they announced "go for launch" there was a ragged little cheer and everyone checked their cameras again. From that far away, you have to be watching or you miss lift-off. Sound doesn't get to you until the shuttle is up some distance. So we all watched! With a vengeance!! When the sound does come, it starts as a low rumble/roar, then louder and louder until you can hear what sounds to me like the actual combustion--then it's a popping, throbbing kind of very loud noise..........there are no words, sorry............it still just fills me with awe.

The vehicle assembly building, where they "stack" the shuttle is to the left. The empty launch pad is to the right of the smoke between the little mangrove islands. Yes, I felt a little empty myself...........it was over...........