Flower pot heater update

I got the cheap tealights yesterday, after plowing through many higher priced fundraising versions, this is a thing, but I can't do it right now. 

There's a special domestic violence tealights fundraiser here for the women's shelter which I encourage everyone who can, to support, but I need cheap tealights.

Years ago I worked secretly, security issues, with the local women's shelter, my office in a different organization being  a remote counseling location where women could come. 

It was a women's organization, so the cover story if necessary for any violent spouse was that she wss signing the kids up for programs. The deal was that I'd vacate the office so the trained dv counselor could meet with the woman needing help.

I also hid at home more than one woman, separately from any program,  known to me, to escape abuse. One got in touch recently, now in a new life, long established happy relationship, never forgot me. That caused a few tears, I can tell you. It's not why I did it, just a huge bonus.

Anyway back to the clay pot heater.

I set it up with three tealights, it ran for four hours, and was too hot to touch. However, the heat didn't travel more than a few inches. I think it needs some sort of fan, but I need to figure out how that won't blow out the tealights. So far so good though. It definitely heats up very well.

And I'm still in drawing mode

Just seemed appropriate. 

Happy day everyone, keep well, stay safe, if you're not safe please try to get help. 

We know the most dangerous time is when you leave, and then you need help and I trust you can find it. A women's shelter or women's organization is usually better than the local police department, sad but true.

Photo AC 

Textiles and Tea, plant pot experiments, drawing

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea featured a hugely inventive weaver, writer, math major and bilingual experimenter in textiles, clay and printmaking.

Never met a loom she didn't like -- see the inkle loom up there? She's experimenting with inking her weaving to make prints from it too. And as you see, she's interested too in 3D effects. She's Canadian, in Quebec, and a true talent.

Check her website, too.

Meanwhile, at home, experiments were happening, too. I've been wanting to try making a little radiant heater using tealights and clay pots, so I tried it. 

First with one pot, Then two, with hole in the smaller inner one covered with a coin. That worked better.

Now I need tealights, having used the two Diwali ones, and I'm thinking of making a hundred hour candle using Crisco. I'll pick some up this afternoon and we'll see. 

The idea is just to create a little nonelectric radiant heat, though you extinguish the candles when you're not present, don't leave them unattended, usual precaution.  As you see, the fireplace is a safe surface to try this on.

There's a huge range of videos about this, from hellbent engineers with rods and bolts and gantries and flyover hinged flanges snd I dunnowhatelse, all the way to a lovely old English bloke peacefully making a simple two pot one to keep his greenhouse from freezing. All men, I noticed.

The experiment was paused when Gary came over with the latest gleanings from his plants for me.

Now prepped and frozen for future veggie pancakes or something. 

And I did a drawing

Speaking of the weaver who does math above, just a reminder of who taught the west a lot of what we know about math and astronomy

And before I leave you, here's a great cute overload

Happy day everyone, cook on if you're in the midst of Thanksgiving, be relieved if you aren't, but either way, enjoy your day, oops, I'm a poet and I don't noet.