I had no idea that there was controversy over the different types of wax used to make candles. The three main waxes are paraffin, beeswax and soy. If you surf around the web you'll find sites that claim paraffin is polluting and harmful and only beeswax or soy should be used. Other sites claim that there are basically no differences between the three main kinds and everything should be fine if the candle is handled and burned properly.
One site that started me looking around about the whole issue has beeswax candles and one of the benefits that they point out is how long their candles burn. Quiet Light Candles is an interesting small business and I am planning on trying some of their candles. They have a page of tips about burning candles which was very informative. We are working on updating the Therapy Resources site, have to take down the Christmas decorations, stay tuned....

Duane Keiser from A Painting A Day blog has posted videos of himself creating the postcard sized paintings. I just watched Godiva. Fun! Anyway, your group might enjoy watching the video and then maybe trying to create their own painting in a day. Keep in mind that in September Therapy Resources is posting the Apple in Pointilism drawing on the Therapy Resources INC site again for everyone to try. This is a popular page that has been posted several times. The instructions will be on the Cook Create Cultivate page and an activity page about the artist, Pat Schermerhorn, will be on the What's the Story? page. The pages will be posted September first for about a month maybe longer.

I thought this t-shirt from Busted Tees, was funny, so I ordered one and just as I was clicking submit the order I got kicked off the site. Well I had to try again but I waited until the next nite because in the meantime I e-mailed the company to check and find out if the first order went through. It hadn't so I submitted it again. Once in a while a customer says they had trouble submitting an order on the Therapy Resources site. This is just to let you know it happens, you are not alone. :0)

Visiting a couple of the wineries in the Portland area was fun and in one case adventurous. We decided to visit Hip Chicks Do Wine in Southeast Portland. The trip there was half the fun. We wove around the streets in the southeast after we missed one of the turns on our directions. We started seeing their signs and finally found the little winery which is housed in a warehouse and painted an eyecatching shade of purple. We chatted a little with one of the owners while we tasted their wine. We added a few of their bottles to our growing collection. Ok how are we going to get them all home on the plane? We did it no problem just some creative packing was required. Today I'm wondering if a wine tasting page would work for the Therapy Resources site. I'll give that more thought in the next month or so. Anyway last Sunday we took a bottle of their Vin Nombril (Belly Button Wine) to my cousin's house for lunch and enjoyed it's fruity flavor with our meal.

We were just in Portland Oregon and one of the things on the top of my list to do if we should happen to have any spare time was to visit the new Stash Tea retail store. Turns out we did and the store was only maybe 10 miles or so from downtown Portland. Its a small store, nicely laid out with a view to the work area and most importantly samples of their tea to taste. There were three available when we stopped by and we tried them all while I tried to figure out what to get for my friends. I bought some loose tea for everyone and myself of course. They also have the bed and breakfast promotion which is a great deal buy three boxes of Stash tea (easy, right?) and get a free night stay coupon at a participating B&B. Time for a tea party and tasting.

Check the calendar for June 16 today seems like it will be a good day for a pucker party since it will be hot and sunny and lemonade is great on these kind of days. Father's day is Sunday and then the first day of summer arrives followed closely by the July 4 holiday. The next few weeks are busy and not just with special days that are coming up. First we are heading to NYC the beginning of next week which although it will be hot should still be fun. I'm looking forward to visiting MoMA, which has recently reopened after renovation and maybe taking in a show. Then we are hosting some company for a few days. Not too long after that we head out again this time to New Jersey. Then it should quiet down for a couple of months.

The days go by so fast and there is too much work and too little time. The month flies by before you know it and its time to update the site again. This month there is a lot going on; Nursing Home Week, International Pickle Week, Backyard Games Week and Arthritis Month are all featured on the Therapy Resources site. Check out the solitaire game on the Computer Capers page while you are visiting. Why not make some tissue paper flowers this month to celebrate a special occasion?

On the Therapy Resources site each month there are creative ideas posted usually on several different pages, Amiable Activity, Cook Create Cultivate and What's the Story? are three that come to mind right away. I like to craft, paint, draw, crochet, knit, bake, sew, read, write and a whole lot of other things that I can't even think of right now. I have spent some time learning about and trying a lot of different things and this comes into play when the pages are being updated. Some of the inspiration for the pages also comes from reading and web surfing. One site that I came across a couple of years ago encompasses quite a few of my interests and has become a favorite of mine to visit. Craftster is a fun, fresh and sometimes irreverent craft site that like I said has a little bit of everything. I read the blog and check out the great ideas and creations that people come up with on a regular basis. I think a craftcon somewhere in my neighborhood would be great. Now how to go about it. hmmmmm....

The other day I asked one of the admin. people for a pencil. He responded that he hadn't heard about someone using a pencil for a while. Well I found a box of pencils in the supply cabinet but guess what? No point on the pencil and no sharpener to be found anywhere. Well as these things go I ended up using the admins mechanical pencil for my little editing project. Still I wondered about regular old fashioned pencils. Then today I came across mention of this blog: Pencil Revolution and spent quite a bit of time reading and checking out the links. I especially enjoyed the pencil clock the review of the dux sharpener ( I would like to get one), The BigBlack Pencil and The Original Computer Graphic. At the Therapy Resources Inc. site we post an art therapy activity called An Apple in Pointillism by western artist Pat Schermerhorn. She gives instructions to complete the activity with colored markers but now I'm thinking colored pencils would be great to use as well. Excuse me I'm going to get my pencils out and go buy a sharpener online......