Candle in the Wind

I'm going to be back here and answering comments here properly tomorrow, all being well, but I thought I'd share today's adventure. 

I bought a BIG candle a few years ago, perhaps two and a half years or similar. I bought it cheap from Home Sense because I liked the jar it came in and only realised a little late that it was a citronella candle. Citronella candles should really only be burned outside as while they can deter insects, they can also make people feel poorly. In the past, I've been one of those who felt poorly after being near a citronella candle, and I am still unimpressed. 

I was looking at the dratted jar and wondering if I should just throw the whole thing out. However the jar is just the sort of thing I like, and DH agreed. I thought I may be able to dig out most of the wax if I softened it by putting the whole thing in a big pan of water. DH suggested burning it out, and we could leave it outside on the steps going down to the kitchen. 

The problem was, the house is far from air tight and I was starting to feel woozy. I suppose I could try burning the darned thing further away from the house, but I'm twitchy enough about leaving candles unsupervised, even if they are on a level surface, hidden from the street and away from anything flammable. I definitely don't feel like burning it out nearer the street and certainly not for the length of time it would take to get through the wax. It would take hours! I also have a sneaking suspicion that if I try and melt the wax and clean out the jar, I'd still be left feeling poorly. 

And it was a horror to put out as it was left on the floor outside the door, which was hard to photograph so I moved it onto the steps after it was out, but it also hard to lean down far enough to blow the thing out. I had to seal off the air with a baking sheet!

Hugs and good health to all.