THE LEGEND OF THE PINE TREE

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In an effort to bolster my own (somewhat thin this year) Christmas spirit and expand it throughout the year I send you The Legend of the Pine Tree:

"When the little Christ was born in Bethlehem, not only the wise men came to offer gifts - the birds, beasts and plants came, too, each one had something to offer the little Jesus, excepting the pine tree.  It had nothing to offer except its needles, and they would only prick the baby, and were not at all suitable.  But God saw how disappointed the little tree was, and told some of the stars to go down and rest on its branches.

When they did, the little tree was covered with such radiance that when the Child saw it, he stretched out his arms toward it in happiness.

From that time forth, at Christmas time, the little pine tree always bears lights which we place there in memory of the night it gave pleasure to the Christ Child." 

~~~ 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

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Here's to a happy holiday season for everyone!!  It's really hard to believe that the year is nearly over.  And since I seem to be unable to even make New Year's Resolutions, much less keep them, here is an old proverb to think about instead:  

"The difficult is done at once, the impossible takes a little longer."

~~~ 

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THE MINIATURE PONY GETS A NAME

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Those of you who are ambitious enough will be able to research this info to verify it.  His name is The Yak Killer.  That's right.  I saw it in print!  He is a biter (playing) and the method he uses seems to suggest a type of stinging insect somewhere in Africa that are called yak killers.  He seems much sweeter than that!

~~~

"Few delights can equal the mere presence of one whom we trust utterly."

~~George MacDonald

~~~

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MORE BEESWAX CREATIONS

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It would be impossible to include every variation on the rolled beeswx candle that could be accomplished.  Once you begin, your imagination will, no doubt, take over.  Perhaps not all ideas will be workable, but most will, I'll bet. Here are some to try:

• You could simply cut the sheet into equal halves and roll two candles.
• Select a sheet of green wax, cut it lengthwise into 2" wide strips.  Then cut each strip diagonally, place the wick at the widest end and roll using the same method as described in our earlier post.  When finished you will have 8 delightful little 2" Christmas trees.
•  Or make a two-toned spiral:  Using your choice of colors, cut the sheets diagonally.  Stack two triangles of different colors, roll and finish as usual.      
• You can create very thick candles by butting un-cut sheets of wax and continuing to roll until you reach the size desired.
• Stacked candles can be made by cutting the sheets of wax into various widths and butting together at the bottom, roll as above.
• Don't forget decorations!!  Beeswax contains a natural adhesive so adding glitter is easy.  And you can make cutouts from different colored sheets and stick to your candle.
• Things to remember:  Work in a warm room.  Save scraps for cutouts, beeswax can be easily repaired, you will not need extra wick for the bottoms of tapered candles.  Have fun!!

Article #8 in a series

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CREATE A HAND-MADE BEESWAX CANDLE

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Hand rolled beeswax candles make beautiful, practical gifts.  Very little time is needed to create a versital honey colored utility candle. You can, of course, choose other colors, but the natural lends itself to many different arrangements.  

You can purchase 11"X8" sheets of honeycomb or smooth beeswax and round-core wick at a craft supply store.  Do not use braided or wire-core wick!  Remember to work in a fairly warm room.

Now the fun begins.  Place a sheet of wax on your breadboard with the long side toward you and the edge protruding about 1/4".  Bend this downward, keeping it straight by aligning the 8" side to the end of the board.  Carefully turn this over so that it bends upwards.  Cut a length of wick to extend 1/2" on BOTH ends of the wax.  Lay it along the fold and press the upturned edge over the wick firmly enough to remove air but still preserve the wax.

Now begin rolling from the wick side using enough pressure to eliminate air.  Keeping the wax straight, roll the entire sheet.  Finish the bottom by tapping on a hard flat surface.  The extra wick on that end will be pressed into the wax and can still be used if you need to "turn it over" and start with a fresh wick.

There are many variations and decorating ideas which will be discussed in the future.

~~~ 

Article #7 in a series              

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THE TRUTH ABOUT BARBARA JEAN'S ACCIDENT

A mis-diagnosis has occured.  My kitten does have a broken tooth but not to the exaggerated extent that I was told.  (See my previous post.)  That Saturday evening I had to give her a can of tunafish to get her to eat, after which she enjoyed a dose of pain medicine.  End of treatment!  Sunday morning she was her old self running and leaping in her usual playing habits.  She ate a regular diet, even some dry kibble.  And she hasn't stopped since; living up to her name is easy!  And so, the appointment for surgery was cancelled, much to the relief of my checkbook.
                                    ~~~
And along those lines:

• "A dog comes when called, a cat takes a message and gets back to you."
• "Ask not what your cat can do for you."
• "If you don't talk to your cat about catnip, who will?"

                                   ~~~

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BARBARA JEAN'S MYSTERIOUS ACCIDENT

Yesterday morning Barbara Jean, the kitten, was her usual piggish self, trying to eat not only her food but Harry's and Big bear's as well.  Then she followed me around the house (running) and outside to do yard work (running).  But in the evening she seemed cranky and didn't eat well.  She cried pitifully when I picked her up, as though in terrible pain.

This morning she was unable to eat at all and wouldn't even drink water.  She seemed feverish with a dry nose and fast breathing while wailing long sad
laments, quite far from her usual bubbly self.

Being Saturday, it took many phone calls to find a vet for emergency treatment.  But, finally by 11:00 AM  she was being examined.  How very fortunate to get the appointment AND a good vet.  Her handling of Barbara Jean was amazing!
  
Turns out she didn't have a fever.  I had thought perhaps an insect bite, but I was wrong about that, too.  What she does have is a tooth broken off down at the gum-line with nerves and everything else exposed and painful.  How it happened will always be a mystery!

So she was given a shot of antibiotics, a dose of pain medicine and an appointment for surgical extraction next Thursday.  Now she's sleeping and just sort of 'complains' when I touch her.  Bless her little heart.
                                     ~~~ 
    

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