Candles

Something quick and odd. For no real good reason, I’ve been re-using wax from burnt out candles to make new candles. It is a total waste of time and effort, but what the heck?

Besides, for some obscure reason, I have always hated seeing anything go to waste. In the 1980s, I was one of those annoying people who took home the coffee grounds from the machine at work so I could feed the roses in the yard of our (rented) house. And I went through an intense recycling the papers stage.

Sometimes Martha will glance at me and say, “I don’t like the look in your eyes…” because she can tell I’m trying to figure out something to do with a piece of trash that ought to be chucked ASAP. (I think she first said that when she caught me eyeing empty egg cartons and wondering if I could fill ‘em with dirt and use them to sprout vegetables. I mean, heck, they look like little flower pots, don’t they? Don’t answer that.)

Anyway, candles are my thing right now. I’ve always hated the fact that most of the wax in most candles doesn’t get used. It just sits there. So, at some expense in both money and effort, I’ve been taking used candles, clawing out the unused wax, and making new candles with it.

The expression you’re looking for is, “He’s not serious, right?”

Alas, I am.

Anyway, in the photo here you may see the fruits of this week’s labors. These are all my most recent candling efforts, burning away merrily. The one in the dark blue glass is interesting in that I didn’t even have to melt the wax in my trusty, DIY-double boiler. It just got so soft in the Texas sun (it was over a hundred today) that I was able to press it like modeling clay into the container and it happily supported a wick.

Me and my candles...

So next time you’re feeling sorry for yourself, remember that, yes, there’s a guy (me) who has spent hours melting wax and stringing wicks for candles when, instead, he could just buy ‘em by the gross from eBay and never break a sweat….

Sad, really.

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Special note: I posted the above to Facebook. Martha then added to the comments, “It’s true. Every word.”

Scary when our spouses know us so well.

Anyway…

Until next time…

Onward and upward.

~mjt

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Copyright©2021 Michael Jay Tucker