I am alive

 "Most people Die at 25 and aren't buried until their 75" - Benjamin Franklin

"I am here not by choice but by my birth for so many years 
I doubted my own worth it's no coincidence 
I ended up where I'm at now I'm here to tell you that 
You can't kick me out 'cause I'm a permanent part of this society 
The blackest sheep agmonst a crowd of them 
I'm not the glue that holds this scene together but 
I have arrived here by way of dirty looks and rejection, and head scratching shrink 
And frustrated parents and teachers just like so many did before me and will after me 
go ahead and laugh at me you can afford to laugh 
I can't 'cause this is all I have I'm not proud I'm not ashamed 
But this is all I have and it's good enough for me 
And I am through following your truth 

I'm making my own rules" - Ben Weasel(Screeching Weasel)

On the Lake beside where I was working.

 I worked in Dorset, ON not UK yesterday. There is something about up there north of Haliburton, it's beautiful, quiet when its not tourist season (I'm a tourist). I love it up there, I could spend many a days up there killing time. There are a few gems, Looking out the tower over the land and lakes is pretty neat.

Dorset, from the tower.

The wild life, have yet to see a Moose. I haven't seen a Moose in 15 years maybe more, I have been keeping my eyes open for em.

Caught on the side of the road between Baysville and Dorset.

There is a little place on the way up there, called Cafe Diem in Norland, good eat, delicious treats, and good coffees. Lake of Bays Brewery in Baysville is my favorite place to stop, make detours on my way home from job sites just to get the seasonal brews and fill up my Growler with Spark House Red Ale. Another place in Baysville, Miss Nells, Antiques and Cafe. I wish I could live up there, but I don't know how I could afford it, and we would be really far away from our families.

Sharing the beauty, with my pretty little lady.

and Looking fucking good, up against some old gowth.

I am a Pillar of my Community

See what I did there in the title...... oh well because I have been making Pillar candles, it really isn't as funny when you have to explain it. I'm sorry.

Since filtering of the Bees wax has occurred, candles I have been making. Actually I have been making candles since before the wax was filtered I am that impatient, but so far so good..... I have been learning from my mistakes.

Making dipped taper candles is the easiest way to make a candle, but the most time consuming and the ugliest if you don't know what your doing.

I have been experimenting with different mediums for molds and how as to keep the wick centred. Two of the sizes I have been playing with seem to be working out well. I need a few more different sizes of wicks and molds to try out. This has been fun and because of this we have been burning candles everyday.

I have since run out of wax need to go make another purchase and start filtering again, I have given away all our 2" and 1.5". So I need to make some more, then I can take pictures for the Burning Wax! Tips post I wrote up earlier, so go check it out and if I haven't put up pics then check it out in about a week or two, after I get myself some more wax.

I have on order some more sizes of wicks, to try and make some better tapers, the smaller size I have is still too large, causing to hot of a flame and they are dripping which is a no-no.

Peace back to doing house stuff... lame

Burning Wax! Tips

This is a quick tips guide for burning candles; what I have learned and found about burning beeswax candles. I use most of these tricks while burning my candles and testing them.

The wick on your candle when new is going to be longer than 1/4".  Before you light the wick, cut it down to 1/4" (about 4 pennies stacked... oh we don't use pennies anymore okay well then 3 nickels stacked, or 5 dimes or 4 quarters equal 1/4"). When lighting the candle, light at the base of the wick to help soften the wax and/or melt it so that the wick has fuel to burn. A wick works as a siphon. When there is a hot pool of wax around a lit wick, the heat from the flame draws wax up the wick and it is used for fuel to create light and more heat. The wick is still burnt but much slower then the wax. If lighting the wick from the tip you will burn more of the wick before it has a chance to create a pool of wax to feed from.

When deciding to burn a candle, estimate the time the candle will be burnt for (how long is the candle going to be lit). That's when you can choose what size of candle you should light. A candle that has time to make a pool of wax right to the edge, or with in an 1/4 - 1/8" of the edge, is a candle that is burning properly. A candle that only has time to make a small pool of wax around the wick, is a candle that is going to tunnel.

Oh no my candle is tunneling, don't worry we can fix it.

If a candle wants to start tunneling there are some tricks that are easy to do.

First is hugging the candle, where you can wrap your hand around the outside of your candle and put gentle pressure on the outside, squeezing in. Be careful when doing this so as to not spill wax on yourself. The wax is very hot and will do some serious damage to your skin.

squeezing the sides in enough for the heat from the flame to start melting the tunnel.

Another method of hugging is just using your thumb or finger and pushing the edges in to the center, raising the pool of wax, to allow for 1/4" of the wick to stick out.

Press the sides in and down towards to wick evenly all the way around, while raising the pool of wax,
with out drowning the wick. Make sure to leave a 1/4" of wick above the pool of wax

Alternative method is adding more wax.  If you have wax drippings from a previously burned candle than you can add some pieces to the pool if it looks like it is starting to tunnel. Again, just add enough to bring the pool up so 1/4" of the wick is protruding.

Some people like the tunneling look of the glow of the flame behind a golden wall of beeswax. So if that's what you like than go for it. Just keep the shell of a candle and break it up to feed other candles so you don't waste any of the wax.

When you have decided that you have had enough, and want to extinguish the flame. It is recommended that you push the wick into the pool of wax to put out the flame, so to essentially wax the wick. After dunking the wick in the wax push back up to straighten out, and you will have a prewaxed wick to re-light.