My new offering bowl

My dear husband got me this wonderful granite bowl. Now I won't have to worry about cracking any more clay pots or anything. I love the mottled look of the natural stone and the sparkle of the mica flecks. It's perfect for me.

It's very sturdy!

It easily holds a week worth of prayer slips and assorted things to burn in thanks and reverence. I've used it and the outside didn't get hot at all. I felt comfortable setting it on the plastic table on my porch and it was great not having to bend over to add slips to the fire.

That's a dime on the rim!

Believe it or not it's part of a wonderful mortar and pestle set we found at Costco! I'd been looking for a good offering bowl after I broke the pot I'd been using and now I have one that will last for years. The pestle can be used to crush out the embers if I need to leave it for some reason. Safety First! 

Have fun!  

It's been up and down, but it's leveling out.

On Saturday May 24th I was an idiot. I also became a great cautionary tale for my nieces and nephews.
It doesn't matter how much of a hurry you're in always let the bacon grease cool before you put it in the jar. I knew this and still went to cap the jar after only 5 minutes. It slipped and I got a face and chest full of hot grease. It hurt a ton and I spent Saturday wrapped around an ice pack. Literally. A picture of my chin taken on last Monday is below. Use it as a warning to your children!
I'm healing nicely and have mostly regrown my skin now. It looks like I may get a faint scar on my forehead and another little one in my cleavage. I've been treating it with Alocane and Cocoa Butter Vaseline. I can't wait for the heat sensitivity to stop.

Ouch!

On Sunday, the day after trying to melt myself, my husband spotted this beautiful sewing desk out on the curb near his parents house. The guy was just getting rid of it and we took it home. It had a bit of water damage and the machine needs engine work, but I'm working on touching up the desk.

1956 Sear and Roebuck Sewing desk

I'm just lightly sanding it and only adding 2 coats of varnish. I want to keep as much character as possible.

I forgot to take picks before I touched up the top.

The Kenmore inside looks great and someone had put a new belt on it, but it needs work due to the stench emitted when it's running. I've carefully packed it in my sewing machines box with all its things until I can have it serviced. It's desk works great for my Singer though. I'm glad I no longer have to store it behind the couch.
Once it's done I'll take even more pics to share.

The old 1956 Kenmore.

That's what I've been busy with. Here's a nice picture of some purple flowers I saw last night to finish the post.

Pretty flowers