Today's random thoughts

I've tried to be a little more productive today. I have been working on the laundry (the pile doesn't seem to be diminishing in size, regardless of how many loads I continue to wash!) I also decided to take the empty diced ham cans I'd been saving and start making some buddy burners with them. I remember making these a hundred years ago when I was in the youth program. Even at that time, I was intrigued by them and have never forgotten their efficacy. Since we own stock in Kirkland Wipes, I usually have a box around. Sure enough, I had one flattened and ready to go into the recycle bin. I quickly rescued it and began taking it apart.

I peeled off the outer paper (with the pictures and information on it) and got down to the corrugated part. Then I cut the strips to fit inside the can. Half the box was enough to fill two cans. Not bad. All I need to do now is melt some paraffin or old candles and fill it with wax. And then voila... buddy burners, all ready to go! The information I've looked at suggests that a burner made with a tuna can will burn an average of 2 hours. My cans are about twice the depth so I'm thinking I should get roughly double the burn time. Of course it'll also take more paraffin.

Rebekah stopped by today to drop off some clothes that got mixed up with her things when everyone went camping last weekend. She asked what I was doing so I explained it to her and told her I needed to get some paraffin. So we all went up to Wal-Mart together and searched high and low. Of the FOUR Wal-Mart employees we asked, two had never heard of paraffin wax. The other two had no clue where it was and lead us in two different (and very wrong) directions. Thankfully, we are resourceful and found it ourselves. It's only sold in 1-lb blocks. I just bought one. I'm not sure how much wax it will take to fill the cans. I'm thinking maybe half a pound. Either way, at less than $3 for a block, it's still a very cheap source of heat considering I already had the cans and the cardboard.

I think my next project will be to make some fire starters, using the corrugated cardboard, some cotton yarn, and the wax. They are good to keep around in emergencies. Oh, I also bought another 1500 kitchen matches today ($3 total) and will use the paraffin I got today to waterproof them. Then Mike gave me a great idea of using the Food Saver to seal them all up.

Anyway, after shopping, the five of us grabbed a bite to eat and then headed home. It was nice to get away for a bit.

The neighbors down the street are moving out. I have never gotten to know them. But today, the boys are outside playing with their little girl. After what Ethan shared with me today, I'm not upset that he didn't get to know her sooner. I asked him about her. He said, "Her name is Juliana Marie. She's 7 but she's turning 8 tomorrow. And she broke up with her boyfriend yesterday." HUH???? Her what?? BOYFRIEND??? What in the world is a 7-year-old doing with a boyfriend? UGH. I remember when I was 7... and to me boys were still icky and disgusting. I don't think I ever thought a boy was even cute until I was about 10 or 11. I'm still shaking my head... seven years old? Really?

Anyway... back to the grindstone. I'm off to cut up more cardboard and hopefully whittle away further at my ever growing mountain of laundry.