Catch-up time

It's been a busy couple of weeks off the ol' blog:

• I'm wrapping up my beeswax project - and have managed to get wax and/or oil on every item of clothing I own, I swear! I even went the extra mile and found someone on Etsy to make labels for me. I'll link to her shop when I have pictures of the assembled project.
• I created and ordered the calendars for 2012. I think the layout will be better this year, though not every page will have a caption. The interface I use was eating up too much photo space with the text block, even though I wanted unobtrusive lettering. Fine, be that way. 
• Cleaned, made delicious apps, and had a few people over before going to see Pink Martini in concert. I wasn't going to go see them since I've gone to at least 8 shows by them, but Groupon posted a deal for $22 tickets! It was worth way more than twenty-two bucks, too - every time I see them I remember how very happy they make me feel. Their live performance energy is just so very positive!
• I made a SUPER yummy side dish for Thanksgiving: Butternut squash, kale, and cheddar bread pudding. 
• Checked in on my various boozy projects. The nocino is incredibly bitter and undrinkable, which I think is normal for its youth. This summer I wound up making two kinds of cherry bounce; the bourbon/sweet cherry is okay, but the vodka/sour cherry is outstanding, if sweet (you add sugar).
• Knitting is also proceeding apace, but those will be held in reserve for post-Christmas posting, if ever.

Stay tuned for the wrap-up on the various projects! I might even write up the end of the beeswax story even though a couple of the recipients may then have their Christmas surprise blown. 

Wax: woot!

Success, dear readers. I filtered the beeswax and am left with something really beautiful:

How'd I do it, you ask? Well, I re-melted the wax that I'd melted into cans:

 Then poured it VERY carefully through cheesecloth I'd rubber-banded to the top of two milk cartons:

and beamed approvingly at the clean results:

I wasn't totally confident the milk cartons could withstand the heat, but they held up just fine. Once the wax solidified I peeled off the carton and weighed the wax blocks: 24 ounces! It's so lovely and I can't wait for the final steps in my project.

Waxy progression

Okay! We left off with a pot full of sludge and me full of skepticism. I somehow imagined that the wax would solidify in a tidy ball suspended in the water. I was wrong, but it DID come together:

I took this picture after I'd dislodged the disk and drained the honey-infused water underneath, but you get the idea. It was about an inch thick or so; its bottom was covered with hardened ... stuff. I scraped it off as best I could:

Then I hacked the disk of wax into bits, which took some serious brute strength:

I put the bits in some cans and set the cans in a pot partially full of water.

I also put some water in the cans to help encourage the wax to melt. I'm not sure that was strictly necessary, but it worked!

I added the contents of the smaller can to one of the bigger ones, just for the sake of tidiness.

So now what? The bottom of each can will have an inch of water or so. Then there will be some miscellaneous crap adhering to the bottom of the wax, and then a column of wax. It could probably stand yet another round of filtering before it gets used, but we'll see. I feel like it's definitely come a long way in a couple of days.

I've also done a lot of cooking in the two evenings in the kitchen: mesquite chocolate chip cookies, curried pumpkin coconut soup, muhammara, and a ravioli-broccoli-tomato-cheese bake (because I needed the can the tomatoes were occupying!). I'm a little sick of kitchen projects for the moment, but look for more wax updates in a week or so.

Waxing skepticism

Well, I got my hands on the beeswax today. I don't know if it can even be called beeswax yet - it's the cappings (ends cut off the honeycomb cells) and other messy bits.

One online source suggested putting the cappings in water on low heat. So, fingers crossed, I gave it a shot. At first it didn't seem like anything was happening.

But after a while the big ol' clump seemed to break down.

And then I could see golden liquid starting to take over.

And even more liquid:

 

Until finally it all seemed melted:

Now I'm supposed to let it cool down. The wax will allegedly form a block, with the cruddy bee bits and other detritus stuck to the bottom of the block, where I can cut it off. I dunno though: 

I find it hard to believe this is going to work. Time will tell!

Wax on

One if my friends is a beekeeper, among other identities. I've visited the hives once and loved getting to see a queen, and a new bee emerging from its growth chamber, and being surrounded by bees just going about their work. I didn't love getting stung twice! I've heard that bee keepers who get stung regularly become immune to the sting but I find it hard to believe, and would not want to get the regular sting exposure that lends immunity.

Alas, I didn't have my camera when I visited the hives but hope to return some time. For now though I'm interested in the bees for their wax. One of the hives is the most well-established and has already produced a bunch of gorgeous honey. With honey comes beeswax, and I will soon be in receipt of a bunch of it.

I've never worked with beeswax before but have another friend who has, and I've been reading up on it. Apparently it's going to be full of miscellaneous bee bits and other detritus, so you have to carefully melt and filter it before you can do anything with it. So that should be my project this week. If I don't burn down my apartment, I will document and write about it!