PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

The best time to learn and perfect a new skill is definitely NOT when you're under the gun. You need time to make a few mistakes along the way and learn from them. For me, 2009 will be the year that I finally take all of the knowledge gleaned from countless books and blogs and actually put it into practice. I had thought about posting a list of things that I will be trying this year and checking them off as I go along, but really it's just too much pressure. Better that I just post about it after my attempt even if I failed miserably....like this....

How NOT To Light An Oil Lamp:

Can you spot the difference between the two lamps? Can you guess which one I tried to light for the very first time?

That's right...the one on the left. And right after I cleaned up the little bits of charred wick, wiped off the ceiling, put the fire out and stopped laughing, I realized that as simple of a job that this is, I still didn't know how to do it properly. What if it had been a life or death situation? It's one thing to stockpile items you think you may need, but unless you practice with them, we're simply not prepared. Lesson learned. Resume laughing...