The magic of candle light

I have found out that here in the South second hand stores are not many… at least that’s the case here in our little town and its surrounding neighboring towns. We only have one thrift store to serve the entire community, and it is not that great.  On the other hand, buying and selling antiques is a huge deal around here… there are as many antique shops as churches are.  Interestingly, some of these ‘antique’ shops sell more than just antiques, and you'd find a lot of the same things found in common thrift stores, such as clothing, dishes, junk jewelry, books, home decorations and so on…  they just call them “Antique Shops” here. 

One of these little antique shops I often visit is packed full with beautiful glassware.  And the cost is so reasonable you can splurge and buy as many different shapes and sizes as appeal to you.   So I got me a few the other day... 

Don't you just love giving things a different meaning to their original meaning or purpose?  Oh I know I do!  I love seeing life from a different perspective; study it from a total different angle; see it through some unique lenses and then apply it to my own life.  

It is so much fun to be able to see beyond the conventional use of things and then, be unconventional, be creative.  I didn't want to use my glassware for their specific uses in the kitchen, etc… instead, I turned them into lovely candle holders…  ;) 

Their weight and sturdy shapes make them perfect receptacles for the small tea lights.  

 

I love the soft light of tea candles and glassware… 

love how glass lets the light shine through ever so softly and romantic… 

They look so beautiful lighten up in the evening...

 
Clean them up with hot, soapy water and a little vinegar if necessary to remove any whitish film and let them shine!

PS: I want to take the opportunity to say how much you all mean to me… and how much I enjoy listening to all of you as you offer a piece of advice on how to cope with this crazy southern heat, or  what to do with a kinky garden hose… and I love it that because of you I know the names of the trees growing in my area, and I love it when you offer the name of that wildflower growing in my garden that I wasn’t able to identify, and share with me what you think that mysterious light beaming on the background of my photograph could be, or mean… how fun and constructive! 

I’m always learning from you and when I’m reading your comments I like to imagine us sitting in some garden together… over a glass of iced lemonade; you talking, me listening; taking note, learning from you, sharing life just as it is.  I don’t’ have words enough to say how much you all mean to me.  Oh, and just so you’d know, I love to read your comments to my husband ;)   “See—I’d say, that’s what we should do”, or  “hear this one: “summer is a time to lounge indoors in air conditioning or outside in cool water, more industrious activity is taken up in winter”… or “depending on how far south you are, you will be surprised at how nice some of your plants will look in the early half of winter and you'll be able to tolerate being out doors”…

Love... love it all! ;)

And to those of you for whose uncertainties I don’t have the right answer—perhaps imagine once again that you truly are a child of God and that no matter what you are experiencing, you can always make contact with that Divine Love, Joy and Peace so that you may once again feel that child-like joy and wonder of the world?  Wish you all the best!