December 2012 – Page 2 – The Herbangardener

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The other day I found my baptism candle in some old stuff.

I tossed it in the trash — no need to keep that.

But then the next day I had a cool idea for a candle holder, so I poured some sand into a jar and fished my candle back out of the garbage.

I’ve never liked tapers because they’re so tippy and drippy, but this holder is the solution! The sand keeps them stable no matter how thin or wide they are, and it catches all the wax drippings.

Now I’m sure this idea has been thought up before by someone, somewhere — but I’ve never seen it done.

And so now that I’ve found a good way to hold tapers, I’m going to use them a lot more because they seem to give off more light than pillars or tea lights — maybe because there’s less wax in the way.

And I do like the simple aesthetic of the sand and the jar and the warm glow of a candle…

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~ I’m once again joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition. ~

Gratitude Sunday is a time to slow down and remember those thankful moments that graced our week. One reason I love keeping a daily gratitude journal is because it helps keep things in perspective for me. Each Sunday, I open my journal and share some of those moments with you here. If you’d like to join in, just leave a comment!

Gratitude is powerful energy. I love hearing others’ gratitudes!

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– A cold, cloudy day. We’re having a wacky, ultra-warm and sunny late Autumn here, and I miss the true seasonal weather!

– Well, okay, then again I’m also thankful for the warm, dry weather — it makes bicycling easier, and I can be outside lying in the sun which of course is great too! (But boy, some snow sure would be fun at some point…)

– Taking a sun bath on the floor with my cat.

– Watching a European Christmas program with Rick Steves on PBS. Have you seen that one? I enjoyed it so much.

– Attending a Waldorf school winter fair this year with my mom. I’ve been wanting to visit that school for a long time, just to have a look around and see it and feel it and gather impressions of it. It was lovely. What a beautiful, gentle introduction to the world those little children are getting. (For a lovely Waldorf blog, check out bendingbirches2010.blogspot.com.) Do you have experience with Waldorf — especially middle school or high school age? Care to share any pros and cons?

One of the holiday fair activities -- raw materials were provided in abundance, and children could create any little habitat they wanted, with the help of glue guns. It was great seeing kindergarten-aged children handling glue guns with such ease. Children are truly more capable than we give them credit for.

This classroom had been transformed into "Cookie Heaven" -- decorated by the 6th grade class, with 'semi-heavenly' live instrumental music provided by students hidden behind screens. When you walked in, it was very quiet except for the music. The 6th graders, dressed as angels, would guide the small children through Cookie Heaven, allowing them to choose a cookie (vegan & gluten-free of course). It was beautifully done, and also a riot!