Sandy is Passionate about Candles
Sandy makes beautiful home-made candles in all different sizes, shapes and colors; many have seashells or dried greenery just below the surface, which really stand out in the glow of candlelight. “Candles are a passion of mine,” she confesses. She has been making them for nearly 30 years. She and her husband Frank also like to make candle holders out of manzanita or bark beetle pine branches that they’ve gathered from the forest floor. Their sculpted shapes and interesting twists make for a very dramatic centerpiece.
Sandy Ellis and her candles
Another of Sandy’s passions is crocheting—ponchos, shawls, hats, scarves and afghans. Some come in lovely shades of blue, some in rich earth tones. She also makes very affordable soaps in a rainbow of colors.
Sandy taught school for 34 years before retiring here to Green Valley Lake and Frank was an urban planner. They lived in many exotic locals, and their twin daughters were born while they were working in Puerto Rico. They also adopted two more daughters. Summer vacations were always spent camping their way to Canada, where Frank’s grandfather had built a home on a beautiful lake in Ontario. Being retired, they can now spend five or six months a year in this northern paradise canoeing, sailing and swimming.
Sandy’s first teaching job was on a Navajo Indian reservation in New Mexico. It was a boarding school, and none of her first and second graders spoke English. She had to throw away the Dick and Jane series of readers, and teach them English through experiential stories using vocabulary and situations that were meaningful for them. It wasn’t just the children who learned a lot that year; Sandy came away with a profound love and respect for their culture.
Even today Sandy continues to view the forest that surrounds her home in much the same way as the Navajos—to respect, preserve and live in harmony with creation instead of seeing it as something to “conquer and sell off to the highest bidder.” As Conservation Co-Chair of the Mountains Group Sierra Club, she is determined to save these mountains from being over developed. She also volunteers at Moonridge Zoo feeding the animals. And she spends as much time as she can with her three adorable little granddaughters.
During the 80s and 90s, she and Frank taught at Cate School in Carpenteria—she was advisor to the Freshman class and Frank taught music. Frank plays the piano, guitar and recorder with such grace and skill it is breathtaking. He also loves the theater, and last year he was on stage with the CATS production of Oliver in Big Bear. He has even written a number of songs and plays.
Last year they attended Frank’s 50th year college reunion back east because Frank was asked to be in charge of the Memorial Choir to honor the classmates who have died. Sandy beams with pride at what a great job he did and at how well the performance was appreciated.
Sandy seems forever young, full of energy and eager to try new things. Most recently she took up learning to play the bass guitar and is doing very well. She’s delighted that now she can join her friends and her husband in the Celtic jam sessions every week.
From the very first time Sandy and Frank rented a cabin here in GVL, they knew it was very special and how wonderful it would be to live here. She says it’s a jewel of a place; she loves the people, the national forest, the mountains. She loves the hiking and snowshoeing and often leads hikes for the Mountain Hiking Group. One can readily see Sandy’s profound love of nature reflected not only in her leisure activities, but in her volunteer work and artwork as well.
