emilyspoppy

My "contracted" mail driver passes my house twice too! I get my regular mail when he goes by the second time. I have purchased the largest authorized mailbox made, so many times my jewelry and other smaller sized packages will fit in it. I do this for his convenience. If I get a package that is too big to fit in the box, he will deliver it on his first pass-by. I hear the beep, beep, beep, of his small pick-up truck with a cap, backing into my yard. If the weather is at all going to be even damp over a two day period, he will have the package placed in a plastic bag and tucked up close to the wall on my house, under an overhang. I've lived here about 20 years and have had about three different drivers. They've all been good, but I got to know Mitch and he's been the best. I also will give (left in the box) a small gift for him, his wife or daughters, once in a while. I don't know or care if it's legal. I just wanted Mitch to know I appreciate his servive. Maybe you should try to be at your mailbox a couple of times and work some charm on the old dude. Maybe just leave a candle with a polite note. It sounds to me like Chefmom has her UPS guy quite interested in her or her cooking! (lol) I've read the Ten Commandments a bunch of times. I've watched the movie more than I'd like to admit, too! I've never noticed, though, one that stated; "Thou shall not flirt or suck-up" Dave

Get your DH to stop at a video store (They do know what videos or DV's are in WV, don't they?) Well anyway; Get him to rent "Funny Farm" and enjoy watching it and relaxing a bit as Chevy Chase tries to outwit Kevin Conway's character in just getting his mail simply; "In the box"! Maybe you will want to start searching around for a great big round rock before you watch the movie. You will also need some camo gear and a "friend" to assist you. Unbelieveable, but I'm sure your struggle is true! I know from your posts you are a good Christian. I'm a Christian too, but how many ioiots are you willing to allow to smack you on both sides of your face? Go to war, girlfriend! (lol) Note: Humor IS intended here. Sorry for your plight, but my contention is that you spent hard money for them to deliver to you! It's a shame when they have to do something to earn their pay to provide the service you paid for. Skip calling "Brown" corporate. The Post Office General of your territory should be listed in the blue pages of your phone directory. Do they have phone service in WV? Maybe when your DW picks up "Funny Farm" he might want to check out "Wrong Turn" too! "Redbud"

(I wuv wu! BS!!!! :highfive: Were is your avatar? Please load your avatar!) Very Nice "VD" gift.

Your home territory sounds nice. I hope you have a power generator, though. I played "BJ" a lot in college. I was usually way ahead "when the dealin' was done". The one and only time I ever played "BJ" at a Casino was a $5 min table in Ceaser's, AC. The dealer had braces on her teeth! After about 15 minutes of play time, I prayed to God that if he let me win enough times to recover my losses at the table I would NEVER play "BJ" in a casino again. I had two double downs in a row, two hands with 5 cards under 21 and two straight "Black Jacks" to end the session for me on that table. I left with exactly the same amount as I started with. I have never played any table game in a real casino again. Hey a Promise to God is one I plan to keep! Besides I hear that in NJ, God wears a pin-stripe suit and has a few tough angels that he has on the payroll! Poor NJ. It's actually a very quaint state. (NOT!) I'd take my wife to bathe in a champagne glass tub, but I know her too well. The bubbles would scare me.

My DW and are the same on slots. She is always asking how much do you have left. Can I cash out your ticket and split it with you. I know Chester well. My first cub scout gathering in the late 1950's was in the Pocono Mountains. It was lovely there then. Is it still famous for it's fancy summer resourts?

I grew up in PA! Delaware County, Chadds Ford. I'm a fan of all of the places you wrote about, except the Mt. Airy Casino. Is it a native American casino? It's unknown to me. We have a new Casino in Perryville, Md. (Cecil County) My DW's and my famiily live 15 minutes from there. My oldest brother, though, lives in Wellsboro, PA. I'm sorry I'm writing so much. It's my nature. I have been compared to a member named "dustpuppy" whoever that is. I didn't find the reference personally complimentary. I'm trying to get my style tuned down to "short and sweet".

I have worked in that state twice. Once for Howard Johnson's Restaurant chain ("Your Host of The Highways") and then for the Rustler Steak House chain. Both are now "deceased" as I knew them. I actually accepted a job lay-off because I refused to move to NJ when Sizzler Steak House chain bought out Rustler and offerred to upgrade my company car and entirely pay for the move and increase my salary. I was at that time supervising seven stores in the the tiny state of sales-tax free Delaware. I had a great and very nicely priced rental house in Dover. The NJ move would mean that I would have over 20 restaurants to oversee in the most heavily populated state in the U.S.A. "America's Garden State" my great aunt's fanny! They said they would arrange to have a realtor(s) help with a house search. They wanted me to supervise all of the Rustler managers and their operations in the state of NJ. I asked the "big boss" if he was on cocaine! (Crack was still pretty new then, I guess!) Six months later (I knew a week after being laid off that I had the job.) I moved to Southern Maryland for a better job and quality of life. A VERY good move. I did sell records in Cowtown and Berlin NJ though. I was earning about $1000 a week on top of my UE. I did actually look for a job. Was it my fault nobody was willing to hire me at $100,000.00 per annum with a 10 year contract to seal the deal? I do like the Casinos in AC, though! Love them slots! Bally's is my favorite. A real "Boardwalk Empire"! Cape May is nice too, if you can afford the cost of spending a few hours there! The ferry ride is cool too! (Hateful NJ member's posts to follow)

I'd call "Brown" Corporate! I have many packages shipped here. I even get a wave or two when one of my drivers passes me by while driving. I have one guy who waves like crazy and honks his horn! They are really nice guys up/over (?) here. So is Mitch, my USPS guy! Fed-X is fine too! I went camping with my wife and in-laws one time in WV. My truck broke down and two guys who were out hunting ginseng stopped by and offerred to help. I was in trouble. I was on top of a mountain, in a primative site. I was "packing' you know what, I guess! I shoved my hand in my pocket when these two "locals" came out of the woods. I pushed the safety off! I really expected the worst, but; Not only did they make a two hour round trip to buy a part for my truck, the following day they returned and installed it. They brought tools from home. When I asked what I owed them, one of them gave me the parts store receipt. I paid it and asked how much was my "service" charge. They refused to take even a dollar. They were quite happy, though, when I gave them two new (spare) fishing rod & reels. You might have thought I gave them a small fortune. They waved like mad as they faded back into the woods. I have often wondered if they were actually angels. I love the folks who live in the "Almost Heaven" state. My step-daughter and family live in an upscale part of the state near Martinsburg, but the people, I've met up there are nice too! Your driver must be an imigrant from NJ or somewhere else!

I don't do straight soy, but I do use tealights as samplers. I suppose I have given away about 2000 of the polycarbonate flame resistant ones and burn tested over 100. I wouldn't do tealights at all if my only option were the metal foil ones. They are disgusting (IMO) in appearance and have to be reshaped by hand before wicking and pouring. I've noticed some suppliers have stopped selling them. I've never had anyone report any safety issue with our tealight gifts. We include a burning instruction/safety sheet with each free one that we pass out in a 3" X 3" zip lock bag. The two-side printed sheet is stapled to the bag. We urge they be burned in a proper holder. At times we have even passed out some holders to some of our better customers. There are/were on the market polycarbonate votive molds/holders that claim to be fire resistant and OK to burn a votive in. I don't know about all of the brands, but the first one we tested as a "holder" melted at the top and I extinquished it just about the time it was ready to catch fire. It took less than a half hour or so for the meltdown to occur. We have a small shop, but we have given up trying to sell tealights and votives. We had no sales at a price where we covered our material expenses let alone our labor. You may find your market to be different. Good luck! JMO/HTH

QUOTE: I'm about an hour from Candles and Supplies, but to be honest I think their prices are a bit high then with taxes. It's actually cheaper for me to buy from other places with shipping. Plus waiting for the UPS guy is much more fun LOL END QUOTE When I visit my family in Northern Maryland, I am within driving distance of three PA suppliers. For the same reasons you mention, however, I would only condsider shopping at one of them. I'd like to mention, though, for the record, that my UPS guy provides great service, but he and all of his other male co-workers are NOT my type. (lol)

:smiley2:

Since It was kindly started for me to post in until (if?) I get off of probation, I would like to reply in the thread with my name as the topic in the general candle making forum. This thread seems to still be active for the original thread subject. See ya there! (I just got up to make an early head call, but I will have a reply within the day at; "emilyspoppy".) Thanks! Dave

Isn't it amazing how diverse we are and how much we can learn from a site like this, I had no idea there was a SS Presto and they came in two sizes. I think I'll stick with my nylon spoons though. They blend well and are a snap to clean. ( I think I fibbed a bit!) I'm a pack rat! I continue to use the spoons even though some are a bit flat on the bottom. I think they actually stir better once they are "broken in". We keep a small crockfull of these guys next to the pots. My DW also uses them to stir the pour pots.

With ALL OF MY HEART, I LOVE you all for being so supportive, but I didn't mean to cause such a stir when I mentioned my concern about how much I was posting. I'm already approaching 100 posts and I'm not even off of probation yet. It took me over a year to rack-up this many posts on the "other" board. It is my very nature, though, not to ignore any post directed at me. I hope this will all soon be just an old "dead thread". At least my part in it. I really chose this thread to steal, because I thought it was dead, which it wasn't, and I'd thought getting an "enema" rating in a thread entitled "Crap" was appropriate and pretty humerous. I would, though, like to see my part of this thread, simply be put to rest. Thanks to all who were with me! Take care, new buddies! Dave

Please remember I never even mentioned the sex of my friend. My "friend" let me know that (he/she) received some PM's from other members wanting to know who this "self appointed" "high Roller" was (Me!) I actually did appreciate the head's up, because it's really important for my own emotional health, that I want to not be thought of as arrogant or a "high roller". Our shop is doing so badly right now, for a number of reasons, mostly my health, though, that we are faced with some tough decisions not only about our candle business but our whole operation which we began in earnest in 1997. We have a pretty large investment in fixtures and infrastructure at our farmer's market shop with no lease at all. We are there at the whim of the owner & manager. It is very disturbing to be in the situation we are in right now. Of course, the "insurance denied" and unpaid hospital (three Hospitals) and doctors (over a dozen) bills are starting to arrive weekly. Our savings are dissolving and I would rather post on this board than make jewelry or candles to sell. Either is difficult while stuck in this chair. Being sick since Thansgiving with three episodes of some really nasty bugs hasn't helped either. Now we have crappy weather. It's too complicated to explain, but we will probably lose two weeks worth of sales, yet the "rent due will still accrue". (I like to rhymn things! I told a mortician buddy one time, if he got to me before they got to him, to make sure to put a great big grin on my face, but I won the race and they closed his place. (Another run-on sentence, but it is a fine rhymn.) I realize that I'm whining, but, please believe me when I say, I still appreciate my friend. A point or two (he/she) brought up was actually very accurate. When I joined another board I settled in a bit before I started posting very much. As I have mentioned, I have limited contact with others and I find this board to be very enjoyable as well as highly informative. So many members have been so kind to me already; I really feel quite happy to be on here. After I call a supplier I have mentioned in a different "buried" (I hope) post I may relax a bit. I want to explain myself to that person whom I like quite a bit. I've been around the block a couple of times, and I'm the only one that I will allow myself to call me a "chicken" without a protest, so to quote John Wayne some; Unless the moderators shut me down, I will try hard to be a good member of the board; "God willin' and the creek don't rise." Thanks once again for your concerns. I promise though, this isn't as bad as when my former girlfriend and ex-wife (now deceased) told me; "I'm pregnant"! I thought my life was over then, but a daughter, now 43 and three wonderful grandchildren later, makes me wish my still lovely second wife of nearly 40 years had made a few babies with me, of our own! I do have an awesome step-daughter and her two sons and hubby, who I love more than life itself. Sometimes we never really know when we are actually being handed a gift. I was blessed today! I woke up! It's also stopped snowing! Dave

Is there actually an "ignore" button? I can send the moderators an image or characature (sp?) of myself to represent that feature if they want one. GOD! I AM AN IDIOT !!! I'm going to see if I can't find some mittens to wear so I can't type. I'm banning myself from the board, before the moderators move in! "Enigmatic and anoying nube' Dave"

Gosh! I just can't seem to "shut up"! I recognized pretty early after I bought my first Presto that the non-stick finish wouldn't last long if we were not carefull with it. I bought a bunch of the white nylon-type spoons at thrift stores until a Dollar Tree opened up near us. The spoons will wear a bit flat after a year or two, but the pots remain unscathed. I'd rather send the spoons to the dump than the pots. I think there is three to six in a bag for a buck at DT. It's been quite some time since we bought any. I mentioned earlier that I used a stailess steel retaurant ladle, too. My wife, who usually melts the wax now, because it's too dangerous for me to do it from a wheelchair, told me she bought a couple of black nylon-type ladles also from DT. I never noticed, because I am mixing FO and dying while she is pouring and stirring and filling the jars that I cleaned and wicked and will eventually finish up. JMO/HTH Dave

To be serious again! (Hard for me) I use a 70 pound rated scale. It's got all of the nice bells and whistles of the fanciest scales, but it cost me less tha $30 shipped. I bought it on eBay. Our shop is actually a boutique DBA "Betty's Boutique" we sell and sometimes buy gold and silver jewelry. I bought a jewelers scale for under $15 shipped also on eBay. My big scale isn't accurate enough when working with small critical amounts, but the jewelers scale would do just fine. JMO/HTH Dave

All of mine are the same size, but over 4 years old. I keep one for use in the kitchen too. Since I started using Prestos I have only had one go bad. It was the element. Most, but not all of them I bought either on eBay or at thrift stores. I got the best deal at Goodwill. $5.00 and still in the box, used maybe once. The only time I will ever do the double boiler method again is when I hand-dip tapers using a dipping vat. I'll keep a Presto nearby though for replenidhing the wax in the vat.

Did you actually mean to say; "tare out the PP" ? You do know I do luv ya don't ya! I just can't help myself!

{Smiles as he goes back to bed} Still snowing! TKS (AGAIN) Me in Maryland

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