The Herbal Husband and I wish you a very peaceful and healthy 2009. Thank you for reading this blog and hopefully, you will continue to find interesting, educational and funny posts.
Rabu, 31 Desember 2008
Happy New Year!
The Herbal Husband and I wish you a very peaceful and healthy 2009. Thank you for reading this blog and hopefully, you will continue to find interesting, educational and funny posts.
Selasa, 30 Desember 2008
Herbal Chai to warm things up
I admittedly have been horribly neglectful in the blogging realm. Besides the usual excuse of busyness, since September my husband and I have been living in a beautiful cabin in the woods that is pretty much off the grid. So all of my online time was carefully manged in email and www.herbmentor.com activities.
However, I soon got tired of needing to go to town all the time, so we opted for a phone and dial up internet. Now I can stay home for a week if I want! And that's pretty much what I've done this holiday season - stayed at home. During the day we get out to go snowshoeing and all other times I am nestled up by the woodstove drinking my favorite herbal chai.
Herbal Chai Tea
With the cold months I love to brew up my own herbal chai. I prefer to use cut and sifted dried herbs for this as opposed to powders, only because I prefer the texture better. This tea blend is very warming and great for digestion.
dried burdock roots, two parts;
cinnamon, one part. (a cinnamon stick or two works great)
dried or fresh Ginger root, one part
cardamon, pods ½ part
cloves – 3 or 4 whole cloves
I am fairly bad at measuring, but to make a medium sized saucepan of chai, I may double the recipe above. I let this simmer (not boil) on the stove for 20 – 40 minutes. You can also put this in a crock-pot on low at night and enjoy it in the morning along with a lovely aromatic house. I sometimes add a tea bag of black tea to my cup and I always add cream/milk and a little honey.
Although I prefer to stick to local herbs I do make an exception for the chai. In these cold months, my cold disposition can be miserable without warming herbs. When I make the above chai for both my husband and I, it's the same as above. (He is constantly complaining of the heat while I am shivering in my woolies.) If I am making it for myself, I cut the burdock and double or triple the ginger. Nice and spicy!
However, I soon got tired of needing to go to town all the time, so we opted for a phone and dial up internet. Now I can stay home for a week if I want! And that's pretty much what I've done this holiday season - stayed at home. During the day we get out to go snowshoeing and all other times I am nestled up by the woodstove drinking my favorite herbal chai.
Herbal Chai Tea
With the cold months I love to brew up my own herbal chai. I prefer to use cut and sifted dried herbs for this as opposed to powders, only because I prefer the texture better. This tea blend is very warming and great for digestion.
dried burdock roots, two parts;
cinnamon, one part. (a cinnamon stick or two works great)
dried or fresh Ginger root, one part
cardamon, pods ½ part
cloves – 3 or 4 whole cloves
I am fairly bad at measuring, but to make a medium sized saucepan of chai, I may double the recipe above. I let this simmer (not boil) on the stove for 20 – 40 minutes. You can also put this in a crock-pot on low at night and enjoy it in the morning along with a lovely aromatic house. I sometimes add a tea bag of black tea to my cup and I always add cream/milk and a little honey.
Although I prefer to stick to local herbs I do make an exception for the chai. In these cold months, my cold disposition can be miserable without warming herbs. When I make the above chai for both my husband and I, it's the same as above. (He is constantly complaining of the heat while I am shivering in my woolies.) If I am making it for myself, I cut the burdock and double or triple the ginger. Nice and spicy!
One of My Favorite Herbal Catalogs!
This is one of my favorite times of year when the catalogs start rolling in! Today it is one of my favorite herbal catalogs, Richters. If you live in the US, don't be put off by not being able to bring plants back! You can do it, but you must tell the cashier that you are from the US and going back with plants and they will give you a special receipt that is presented at the border. Mr. Conrad Richter wrote me personally to tell me that as long as I go through the Peace Bridge border crossing, I wouldn't have a problem. I haven't been there YET, but I plan to get there in the near future. Now that gas prices have plunged here, it may be sooner than later!I admit it, I'm an herbal catalog geek! I dread the time that will be no paper catalogs! For some herb farms, that has already happened. For now, I'll get a cup of tea and enjoy reading about all the new selections Richters has in 2009!
Senin, 29 Desember 2008
Slackin on the Blog
Ok, I'll admit it.
It feels like I've been slacking on the blog.
My head is all over the place.Nevermind that I did however many entries earlier in the month. Could it really have been 21? And they all actually required thought? Wow.
Today my mind has been almost on fire with possibilities. I have some really great (imho) ideas for the next few months. Sometimes it feels like there's nothing going on upstairs, and other days I wish I had my mini recorder in my pocket. Back in the days of the shop, the old brain fired constantly and ideas came so fast and thick that we both carried notepads everywhere.
And I have to really wonder. Did that crappy shopping cart have me feeling defeated???
Like for instance, I just listed some stuff on ArtFire.com. You can list original art, books, magazines, etc there. Normally I would think, "eh... that's for artisans". Right now? I'm all in!
2009 is going to be a challenging year.
Those of us operating small businesses will need to be on top of our games.
2009 is going to be a challenging year.Those of us operating small businesses will need to be on top of our games.
We will need to seek out opportunities and be willing to play along.
I have my sneakers on. I'm ready. It might even be fun!
It might be time to put heads together with some other herb-type businesses and see what we can accomplish as a group. There are lots of businesses on the Yahoo group for the magazine (where we talk about all aspects of herbs - including business), and if you're looking for such a group, join us.
In this economy, it is not a good time to be out there alone.
It might be time to put heads together with some other herb-type businesses and see what we can accomplish as a group. There are lots of businesses on the Yahoo group for the magazine (where we talk about all aspects of herbs - including business), and if you're looking for such a group, join us.
In this economy, it is not a good time to be out there alone.
Pomander Bowl Update
Yesterday was a week since I finished the orange pomanders and they have a way to go! I switched the container to a big plastic bowl. I think things will go better! They are more buried than before. All good things take time.
Minggu, 28 Desember 2008
She's so happy now.
I've been many things this weekend. It was moving time for the site and cart. It went well, I suppose, compared to some. For me, it is frightening from the first key-stroke and it doesn't get better until everything is perfect again. An entire business is effectively whittled down to fit on to a zip stick. That is very sobering.
On Friday, when things were going wrong, I was a raging she-bear. It was loud and messy, and I hate when I act that way. It's the fear.
Later, Saturday morning after a little sleep, I was plucky and willing to try different things to accomplish what was needed.
But in the afternoon when it appeared that all was for naught, I dissolved into a puddle. A hungry puddle, that felt much better after getting the first food of the day around 4 pm.
Finally around 10 or 11 (it is all a blur) everything fell into place.
In that whole 36 hours, the only thing that I did or thought about was getting that site and cart finished. And a little sleep. Oh.. and there was that hour or so when we marveled over the earthquake.
Then there was a whole AOL fiasco, but that's passed too. I'm happy.
But let me tell you why I am so happy.
For nearly a year, I've been limping along with a shopping cart that was unacceptable.
How bad, you ask? People wrote JUST to tell us how bad the cart was!
This cart did not have a comments section, so they had to email.
Payment methods were so complicated that (because I could see how many abandoned shopping carts there were) a good 15% to 20% of shoppers gave up, choosing not to keep trying.
Or worse (not for me, but for them), they would write and ask me to help them subscribe.
Figuring shipping was a nightmare. Oh, all of these things could have been fixed - if I had been willing (and capable enough with computer skills) to purchase "plug ins". $40 for this one, $50 for that, and another $100 there... Then of course finding someone who knew how to do whatever it is that needs to be done to make them work. It ain't me, babe.
There is no doubt in my mind that cart hurt our business. I could go on and on. It was bad - and it was not inexpensive either. I won't name them here, but write me if you're about to go with a cart that rhymes with Eva. K?
So if you're one of those people who wrote out of frustration, who accidentally ordered 3 of anything and couldn't get it out of the cart (and then had to write a frantic email), who couldn't figure out how to make it say Visa instead of MC, or who just had to tell us how pathetic the cart was, believe me, we heard you. It just took a little while to pull ourselves together from the last move and get up the guts to do it again.
The new cart was a dream to set up! Would you like to have a shipping base charge? No, but thanks for asking! Would you like to ask your customers questions before they go? Really? YES! How bout a simple dropdown with a few pages of clear, illustrated help? Ok!
I am confident that it will be a much more pleasant experience for our shoppers.
And she tapped her heels together 3 times and whispered to herself, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home".
On Friday, when things were going wrong, I was a raging she-bear. It was loud and messy, and I hate when I act that way. It's the fear.
Later, Saturday morning after a little sleep, I was plucky and willing to try different things to accomplish what was needed.
But in the afternoon when it appeared that all was for naught, I dissolved into a puddle. A hungry puddle, that felt much better after getting the first food of the day around 4 pm.
Finally around 10 or 11 (it is all a blur) everything fell into place.
In that whole 36 hours, the only thing that I did or thought about was getting that site and cart finished. And a little sleep. Oh.. and there was that hour or so when we marveled over the earthquake.
Then there was a whole AOL fiasco, but that's passed too. I'm happy.
But let me tell you why I am so happy.
For nearly a year, I've been limping along with a shopping cart that was unacceptable.
How bad, you ask? People wrote JUST to tell us how bad the cart was!
This cart did not have a comments section, so they had to email.
Payment methods were so complicated that (because I could see how many abandoned shopping carts there were) a good 15% to 20% of shoppers gave up, choosing not to keep trying.
Or worse (not for me, but for them), they would write and ask me to help them subscribe.
Figuring shipping was a nightmare. Oh, all of these things could have been fixed - if I had been willing (and capable enough with computer skills) to purchase "plug ins". $40 for this one, $50 for that, and another $100 there... Then of course finding someone who knew how to do whatever it is that needs to be done to make them work. It ain't me, babe.
There is no doubt in my mind that cart hurt our business. I could go on and on. It was bad - and it was not inexpensive either. I won't name them here, but write me if you're about to go with a cart that rhymes with Eva. K?
So if you're one of those people who wrote out of frustration, who accidentally ordered 3 of anything and couldn't get it out of the cart (and then had to write a frantic email), who couldn't figure out how to make it say Visa instead of MC, or who just had to tell us how pathetic the cart was, believe me, we heard you. It just took a little while to pull ourselves together from the last move and get up the guts to do it again.
The new cart was a dream to set up! Would you like to have a shipping base charge? No, but thanks for asking! Would you like to ask your customers questions before they go? Really? YES! How bout a simple dropdown with a few pages of clear, illustrated help? Ok!
I am confident that it will be a much more pleasant experience for our shoppers.
And she tapped her heels together 3 times and whispered to herself, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home".
Let Us Eat Cake!
I know I'm paraphrasing Marie Antoinette when I wrote the title of this post. I'm glad we could eat cake this Christmas! Pittsburgh has so many sweet places and Jean-Marc Chatellier's French Bakery is one of the best! Dessert is usually something that I enjoy making like apple or pecan pie. This year it is chocolate mousse cake from Jean-Marc's! It was yummy!P.S. Go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It is so well done! Cate Blanchett, the best and I don't have to say much about Brad Pitt! I'll just say he's very easy on the eyes old or young!
Sabtu, 27 Desember 2008
Still working on the site...
I need to go to my quiet, happy place.
This is that place. Sigh.
There is something so evil about moving a website. It was horrible last year, and it is torturous this year. IF we get this accomplished, I hope to never move it again. Ever.
This is that place. Sigh.
There is something so evil about moving a website. It was horrible last year, and it is torturous this year. IF we get this accomplished, I hope to never move it again. Ever.
The Indoor Plants are Outside and It's A Wacky December !
Global warming is here in the 'Burgh today. It's going to be almost 70 degrees! Sooo the Herbal Husband took some of our plants outside to get a sunbath!
Notice - Website Maintenance
I'm very excited to be getting rid of the world's lousiest shopping cart and putting a nice shiny workable cart on to The Essential Herbal site today.
However, that means that the shop and site are down for maintenance today.
If you would like to place an order, please go to our sister site. Those orders will be included in the contest too.
However, that means that the shop and site are down for maintenance today.
If you would like to place an order, please go to our sister site. Those orders will be included in the contest too.
Jumat, 26 Desember 2008
Let The Herbal Shopping Begin!
I'm not an early riser. So I wasn't one of those bargain hunters at the malls this morning! My mother taught me from an early age that shopping from a catalog is a good thing. Now I have two choices, internet or catalogs for shopping. I am going to share with you some of my favorite seed catalogs and websites.Johnny's Seeds in Maine has a great catalog and website with not only great seeds, but great planting and growing information. We try to keep a catalog by the back door so we can refer to it during the growing season. I like Select Seeds catalog a lot owned by Marilyn Barlow. They have old fashioned flowers, both edible and non-edible and lots of other interesting items. Renee's Garden Seeds owned by Renee Shepherd who used to own Shepherd Seeds is another treasure. She does have retail outlets who carry her seeds, but she is a mainly internet operation. The catalogs shown in the picture are the Totally Tomatoes catalog, the Vermont Bean Seed Company catalog, Jung Seeds & Plants catalog and R. H. Shumway's Illustrated Garden Guide. The Herbal Husband liked the pictures in all of them. "They don't look like what we grow!" Some times he is right about that. It is always fun to look! Hope you enjoy some of my favorites!
Kamis, 25 Desember 2008
Silent Night, Holy Night, All is Calm, All is Bright!
This night was perfect a couple of weeks ago. There was snow, Christmas lights and a full moon!
Rabu, 24 Desember 2008
The Pittsburgh Creche and Manger Herbs
The Pittsburgh Creche was first installed in 1999 through the efforts of the Christian Leaders Fellowship, and it was reinstalled in 2007 through gifts from labor unions, businesses, the religious community and other community leaders. It is the world's only authorized replica of the creche erected in front of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is a very inspirational work of art.Some of these herbs were used in the manger bed. Bedstraw grows as a ground cover in the early spring. The legend is the flowers of the bedstraw were turned to gold from white when it was used in the manger for the Christ Child. Thyme was used in the bed for Mary to rest. Pennyroyal is said to blossom at midnight when the Christ Child was born. Rosemary flowers turned from white to blue as Mary layed her robe on the bush during her journey to Bethlehem. Juniper is a very herbal tree and protected Mary and the Holy Family in their flight from Herod. It is used particularly to decorate creches and shrines in Italy. Balsam was sought as the first Christmas tree because it was as high as hope, as wide as love and that bore the sign of the cross on every bough. It was the definitive symbol of Christmas.
Merry Christmas to everyone!
Herbal Holiday Gift Series #21 - Dropping the Ball
Ah, I'll bet you thought I was forgetting about #21, didn't you?
The truth is, in the hustle and bustle of rushing around to make sure you haven't hurt anyone's feelings or started some kind of world war in the imagination of the in-laws, we ALL forget #21. There is always that slightly sick feeling at the very end, when you realize that someone you care very much about slipped between the cracks. Let's say that all you've got right now is what's in the house or at the closest chain drugstore. What then?
It never happens with the people at the fringe of your caring. It is always one of the most important, because they are the hardest. My circle of loved ones are almost all "the hardest". Excluding my daughter who is an absolute joy because she is so easy to buy for, everyone else is difficult. Half of them get whatever they want for themselves the second it dawns on them that they want it, while the other half is trying to get "things" out of their lives.
Besides that, for 2008, our family decided to go with a January holiday... somewhere in the middle of the month. It's a lot like the story of the cobbler's kids having no shoes. We do the tree farm and shop up here during the last 6 weeks leading up to Christmas, and when it finally got here this year we just didn't have the strength. Add that to a sick family member, and POOF! you have something resembling Festivus only in January, without the "airing of grievances" or the fighting. Oh, and no alcohol.
Here are some quick ideas:
Make a batch of fudge using the recipe Rachel Ray used last year - melt a bag of chocolate chips, a stick of butter, and stir in a can of sweetened condensed milk. Pour into a buttered baking dish (mold) and chill until firm. Cut into pieces and serve (or wrap).
A coupon for Herbal Home Spa for recipient and x# of friends. This could be herbal steams, facials made with things like honey, yogurt, oatmeal, almonds, chamomile, avocado.... and then make toners using vinegars and hydrosols.
For the commuter - a card from the nearest gas station. They can gas up and grab a Joe to Go - on you.
If you happen to have a lot of dried lavender around, it makes a wonderful gift - as is! It can be used as potpourri, as a dryer sachet ingredient, as a carpet freshener, or for cooking and tea.
We have a bulk food store very near-by, and the nuts and candies are always good gifts.
What herbal project do you love to play around with? Do you have the things required so that you could make a kit for someone else to give it a whirl on their own? Better yet, offer to give them a personal class along with the kit.
And you know, I just have to say it... it is NEVER too late for a subscription to The Essential Herbal.
The truth is, in the hustle and bustle of rushing around to make sure you haven't hurt anyone's feelings or started some kind of world war in the imagination of the in-laws, we ALL forget #21. There is always that slightly sick feeling at the very end, when you realize that someone you care very much about slipped between the cracks. Let's say that all you've got right now is what's in the house or at the closest chain drugstore. What then?
It never happens with the people at the fringe of your caring. It is always one of the most important, because they are the hardest. My circle of loved ones are almost all "the hardest". Excluding my daughter who is an absolute joy because she is so easy to buy for, everyone else is difficult. Half of them get whatever they want for themselves the second it dawns on them that they want it, while the other half is trying to get "things" out of their lives.
Besides that, for 2008, our family decided to go with a January holiday... somewhere in the middle of the month. It's a lot like the story of the cobbler's kids having no shoes. We do the tree farm and shop up here during the last 6 weeks leading up to Christmas, and when it finally got here this year we just didn't have the strength. Add that to a sick family member, and POOF! you have something resembling Festivus only in January, without the "airing of grievances" or the fighting. Oh, and no alcohol.
Here are some quick ideas:
Make a batch of fudge using the recipe Rachel Ray used last year - melt a bag of chocolate chips, a stick of butter, and stir in a can of sweetened condensed milk. Pour into a buttered baking dish (mold) and chill until firm. Cut into pieces and serve (or wrap).
A coupon for Herbal Home Spa for recipient and x# of friends. This could be herbal steams, facials made with things like honey, yogurt, oatmeal, almonds, chamomile, avocado.... and then make toners using vinegars and hydrosols.
For the commuter - a card from the nearest gas station. They can gas up and grab a Joe to Go - on you.
If you happen to have a lot of dried lavender around, it makes a wonderful gift - as is! It can be used as potpourri, as a dryer sachet ingredient, as a carpet freshener, or for cooking and tea.
We have a bulk food store very near-by, and the nuts and candies are always good gifts.
What herbal project do you love to play around with? Do you have the things required so that you could make a kit for someone else to give it a whirl on their own? Better yet, offer to give them a personal class along with the kit.
And you know, I just have to say it... it is NEVER too late for a subscription to The Essential Herbal.
Selasa, 23 Desember 2008
Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, Where Art Thou, Christmas Tree?
Ok, 19 years ago when the herbal husband and I moved into this house, we haven't had a Christmas tree. The last tree we had in our apartment, it caused the herbal husband to get a cold. We went to a tree farm in below zero weather. He doesn't forget those times! We moved into this house and we were filled to the rafters! When we had our holiday party the first year, party goers said the only place we could have a tree was in the bathtub! It was a really easy decision. Although I have a lot of Christmas ornaments that will have to be sorted out. We decorate very simply these days. A wreath on the front door.
A little decoration in our dining room. The clementines on our dining table. See I did get one more clementine, a little holly and santolina! The herbal husband thought those were the oranges. He said, "Where is that other orange?" "Well, dear, those are clementines not oranges!" No comment on the loss of his beloved fruit.
So here is a photo of a Christmas tree from the herbal archives! I made it when I was drying everything that wasn't nailed down. It is from a Yankee magazine I think, but I need to get up in the attic after the holidays and come up with the directions for you. It's from Adelma. It really came together fairly easily, but you have to have a lot of dried material. This tree was about two feet when it was finished. I have to say it was quite impressive. It is now in everlasting heaven!
How NOT to cook a Christmas bird
Happy Festivus!
Except for complaints about the weather (It's Cold!) my 2008 list of grievances is on my cranky blog, so here, in the spirit of holiday fun, is a classic bit of silliness from Mr. Bean to put a smile on your face:
Except for complaints about the weather (It's Cold!) my 2008 list of grievances is on my cranky blog, so here, in the spirit of holiday fun, is a classic bit of silliness from Mr. Bean to put a smile on your face:
Senin, 22 Desember 2008
The Rhodies are Even Cold!
When the rhododendrons are curled up like cigars, you know it's cold! The birds at the feeders wanted extra food today. The herbal husband put hot water in the birdbath and even the sparrows were in taking baths! I don't know how people in the north country stand it. Very hardy souls! I stayed inside with a cup of wild strawberry tea and worked on some special Christmas cards from one of the English cross-stitch magazines.
Minggu, 21 Desember 2008
The Smell of Clove and Orange!
Well, here are the spoils of two days work! Not too much! But again, the house does smell heavenly from the cloves and orange fragrance. Little clove mountains! I will move these around each day for a week and we shall see next week how they look. The clementines and cloves are a much simpler process. I would go that direction for last minute decorating. Check out my post on December 18th. Happy Winter Solstice! Stay warm!
Sabtu, 20 Desember 2008
My Spice Box!
Look what I found all wrapped up in my spice (cardboard) box in my basement. My spice stash! There are bay leaves (2009 herb of the year), cinnamon sticks, allspice, whole cloves, nutmeg and rosemary. I bought these spices years ago and they are still aromatic! There is a spice business in Pittsburgh known for its different types of casings for sausages. It is called Pittsburgh Spice and it is located in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. The Strip is known for produce, ethnic markets, fish markets, bakeries and restaurants. There is a website now for Pittsburgh Spice and they have over 500 spices listed! Most have to be bought in bulk (or 1 lb. increments), but the prices are very reasonable. They do have smaller quantities, but not for all items. They also have an 800 number. So we will be busy in the coming months thinking of ways to use these spices so I can buy new next year. I will have a further update on the pomander post tomorrow. The house smells wonderful!
Contest - have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!
Between Dec 15 and midnight on New Year's Eve, we're having a little fun over at The Essential Herbal, and thought you might want to know about it.
Everyone placing an order for $10 or more worth of merchandise (excluding shipping) will be entered into a drawing. There will be 5 winners.
The prizes include:
4 ounces of TEH farm distilled lavender distillate...
A package of 10 teabags of hand blended herbal tea (by yours truly)...
A lavender wand, happily woven on the back deck here on the farm...
3 delightful soaps - also made here on the farm...
3 lip balms - another farm-made prize!
So, if you've been holding out on yourself and thinking that eventually you will get yourself something nice, NOW is the time.
Good luck, everyone! We'll contact you by email and announce it here on New Year's Day.
Everyone placing an order for $10 or more worth of merchandise (excluding shipping) will be entered into a drawing. There will be 5 winners.
The prizes include:
4 ounces of TEH farm distilled lavender distillate...
A package of 10 teabags of hand blended herbal tea (by yours truly)...
A lavender wand, happily woven on the back deck here on the farm...
3 delightful soaps - also made here on the farm...
3 lip balms - another farm-made prize!
So, if you've been holding out on yourself and thinking that eventually you will get yourself something nice, NOW is the time.
Good luck, everyone! We'll contact you by email and announce it here on New Year's Day.
The toad and the cardinal
This morning I heard a biographer interviewed on NPR who mentioned an essay by George Orwell, so I Googled it while drinking my first cup of coffee. And yes, it is worth reading. I'd call it timely - not timely in 'the round of the seasons' sense, but timely in 'the state of the world' sense.
It has a bit of that 'Be of Good Cheer' we should be telling each other right about now, a trace of "Heap on more wood, the wind is chill - we'll keep our Christmas merry still!" (a quote from the past which resurfaces in an economically cyclical manner and often encompasses the Christmas season).
Be of Good Cheer! There were red cardinals in the bare branched burning bush this morning, feeding on those brilliant berries, with deep snow all around.
Appreciate winter now.
Look forward to spring, but like an emergency dollar, keep hope tucked in your pocket and only pull it out to look at it when you really, really need it.
Here is that essay:
Some Thoughts on the Common Toad
Essay by George Orwell
Before the swallow, before the daffodil, and not much later than the snowdrop, the common toad salutes the coming of spring after his own fashion, which is to emerge from a hole in the ground, where he has lain buried since the previous autumn, and crawl as rapidly as possible towards the nearest suitable patch of water. Something--some kind of shudder in the earth, or perhaps merely a rise of a few degrees in the temperature--has told him that it is time to wake up: though a few toads appear to sleep the clock round and miss out a year from time to time--
at any rate, I have more than once dug them up, alive and apparently well, in the middle of the summer.
At this period, after his long fast, the toad has a very spiritual look, like a strict Anglo-Catholic towards the end of Lent. His movements are languid but purposeful, his body is shrunken, and by contrast his eyes look abnormally large. This allows one to notice, what one might not at another time, that a toad has about the most beautiful eye of any living creature. It is like gold, or more exactly it is like the golden-coloured semi-precious stone which one sometimes sees in signet-rings, and which I think is called a chrysoberyl.
For a few days after getting into the water the toad concentrates on building up his strength by eating small insects. Presently he has swollen to his normal size again, and then he hoes through a phase of intense sexiness. All he knows, at least if he is a male toad, is that he wants to get his arms round something, and if you offer him a stick, or even your finger, he will cling to it with surprising strength and take a long time to discover that it is not a female toad. Frequently one comes upon shapeless masses of ten or twenty toads rolling over and over in the water, one clinging to another without distinction of sex. By degrees, however, they sort themselves out into couples, with the male duly sitting on the female's back. You can now distinguish males from females, because the male is smaller, darker and sits on top, with his arms tightly clasped round the female's neck. After a day or two the spawn is laid in long strings which wind themselves in and out of the reeds and soon become invisible. A few more weeks, and the water is alive with masses of tiny tadpoles which rapidly grow larger, sprout hind-legs, then
forelegs, then shed their tails: and finally, about the middle of the summer, the new generation of toads, smaller than one's thumb-nail but perfect in every particular, crawl out of the water to begin the game anew.
I mention the spawning of the toads because it is one of the phenomena of spring which most deeply appeal to me, and because the toad, unlike the skylark and the primrose, has never had much of a boost from poets. But I am aware that many people do not like reptiles or amphibians, and I am not suggesting that in order to enjoy the spring you have to take an
interest in toads. There are also the crocus, the missel-thrush, the cuckoo, the blackthorn, etc. The point is that the pleasures of spring are available to everybody, and cost nothing. Even in the most sordid street the coming of spring will register itself by some sign or other, if it is only a brighter blue between the chimney pots or the vivid green of an elder sprouting on a blitzed site. Indeed it is remarkable how Nature goes on existing unofficially, as it were, in the very heart of London. I have seen a kestrel flying over the Deptford gasworks, and I have heard a first-rate performance by a blackbird in the Euston Road. There must be some hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of birds living inside the four-mile radius, and it is rather a pleasing thought that none of them pays a halfpenny of rent.
As for spring, not even the narrow and gloomy streets round the Bank of England are quite able to exclude it. It comes seeping in everywhere, like one of those new poison gases which pass through all filters. The spring is commonly referred to as "a miracle", and during the past five or six years this worn-out figure of speech has taken on a new lease of life. After the sorts of winters we have had to endure recently, the spring does seem miraculous, because it has become gradually harder and harder to believe that it is actually going to happen. Every February since 1940 I have found myself thinking that this time winter is going to be permanent. But Persephone, like the toads, always rises from the dead at about the same moment. Suddenly, towards the end of March, the miracle happens and the decaying slum in which I live is transfigured. Down in the square the sooty privets have turned bright green, the leaves are thickening on the chestnut trees, the daffodils are out, the wallflowers are budding, the policeman's tunic looks positively a pleasant shade of blue, the fishmonger greets his customers with a smile, and even the sparrows are quite a different colour, having felt the balminess of the air and nerved themselves to take a bath, their first since last September.
Is it wicked to take a pleasure in spring and other seasonal changes? To put it more precisely, is it politically reprehensible, while we are all groaning, or at any rate ought to be groaning, under the shackles of the capitalist system, to point out that life is frequently more worth living because of a blackbird's song, a yellow elm tree in October, or some other natural phenomenon which does not cost money and does not have what the editors of left-wing newspapers call a class angle? There is not doubt that many people think so. I know by experience that a favourable reference to "Nature" in one of my articles is liable to bring me abusive letters, and though the key-word in these letters is usually "sentimental", two ideas seem to be mixed up in them. One is that any pleasure in the actual process of life encourages a sort of political quietism. People, so the thought runs, ought to be discontented, and it is our job to multiply our wants and not simply to increase our enjoyment of the things we have already. The other idea is that this is the age of machines and that to dislike the machine, or even to want to limit its domination, is backward-looking, reactionary and slightly ridiculous. This is often backed up by the statement that a love of Nature is a foible of urbanized people who have no notion what Nature is really like. Those who really have to deal with the soil, so it is argued, do not love the soil, and do not take the faintest interest in birds or flowers, except from a strictly utilitarian point of view. To love the country one must live in the town, merely taking an occasional week-end ramble at the warmer times of year.
This last idea is demonstrably false. Medieval literature, for instance, including the popular ballads, is full of an almost Georgian enthusiasm for Nature, and the art of agricultural peoples such as the Chinese and Japanese centre always round trees, birds, flowers, rivers, mountains.
The other idea seems to me to be wrong in a subtler way. Certainly we ought to be discontented, we ought not simply to find out ways of making the best of a bad job, and yet if we kill all pleasure in the actual process of life, what sort of future are we preparing for ourselves? If a man cannot enjoy the return of spring, why should he be happy in a labour-saving Utopia? What will he do with the leisure that the machine will give him? I have always suspected that if our economic and political problems are ever really solved, life will become simpler instead of more complex, and that the sort of pleasure one gets from finding the first primrose will loom larger than the sort of pleasure one gets from eating an ice to the tune of a Wurlitzer. I think that by retaining one's childhood love of such things as trees, fishes, butterflies and--to return to my first instance--toads, one makes a peaceful and decent future a little more probable, and that by preaching the doctrine that nothing is to be admired except steel and concrete, one merely makes it a little surer that human beings will have no outlet for their surplus energy except in hatred and leader worship.
At any rate, spring is here, even in London N.1, and they can't stop you enjoying it. This is a satisfying reflection. How many a time have I stood watching the toads mating, or a pair of hares having a boxing match in the young corn, and thought of all the important persons who as you are not actually ill, hungry, frightened or immured in a prison or a holiday camp, spring is still spring. The atom bombs are piling up in the factories, the police are prowling through the cities, the lies are streaming from the loudspeakers, but the earth is still going round the
sun, and neither the dictators nor the bureaucrats, deeply as they disapprove of the process, are able to prevent it.
It has a bit of that 'Be of Good Cheer' we should be telling each other right about now, a trace of "Heap on more wood, the wind is chill - we'll keep our Christmas merry still!" (a quote from the past which resurfaces in an economically cyclical manner and often encompasses the Christmas season).
Be of Good Cheer! There were red cardinals in the bare branched burning bush this morning, feeding on those brilliant berries, with deep snow all around.
Appreciate winter now.
Look forward to spring, but like an emergency dollar, keep hope tucked in your pocket and only pull it out to look at it when you really, really need it.
Here is that essay:
Some Thoughts on the Common Toad
Essay by George Orwell
Before the swallow, before the daffodil, and not much later than the snowdrop, the common toad salutes the coming of spring after his own fashion, which is to emerge from a hole in the ground, where he has lain buried since the previous autumn, and crawl as rapidly as possible towards the nearest suitable patch of water. Something--some kind of shudder in the earth, or perhaps merely a rise of a few degrees in the temperature--has told him that it is time to wake up: though a few toads appear to sleep the clock round and miss out a year from time to time--
at any rate, I have more than once dug them up, alive and apparently well, in the middle of the summer.
At this period, after his long fast, the toad has a very spiritual look, like a strict Anglo-Catholic towards the end of Lent. His movements are languid but purposeful, his body is shrunken, and by contrast his eyes look abnormally large. This allows one to notice, what one might not at another time, that a toad has about the most beautiful eye of any living creature. It is like gold, or more exactly it is like the golden-coloured semi-precious stone which one sometimes sees in signet-rings, and which I think is called a chrysoberyl.
For a few days after getting into the water the toad concentrates on building up his strength by eating small insects. Presently he has swollen to his normal size again, and then he hoes through a phase of intense sexiness. All he knows, at least if he is a male toad, is that he wants to get his arms round something, and if you offer him a stick, or even your finger, he will cling to it with surprising strength and take a long time to discover that it is not a female toad. Frequently one comes upon shapeless masses of ten or twenty toads rolling over and over in the water, one clinging to another without distinction of sex. By degrees, however, they sort themselves out into couples, with the male duly sitting on the female's back. You can now distinguish males from females, because the male is smaller, darker and sits on top, with his arms tightly clasped round the female's neck. After a day or two the spawn is laid in long strings which wind themselves in and out of the reeds and soon become invisible. A few more weeks, and the water is alive with masses of tiny tadpoles which rapidly grow larger, sprout hind-legs, then
forelegs, then shed their tails: and finally, about the middle of the summer, the new generation of toads, smaller than one's thumb-nail but perfect in every particular, crawl out of the water to begin the game anew.
I mention the spawning of the toads because it is one of the phenomena of spring which most deeply appeal to me, and because the toad, unlike the skylark and the primrose, has never had much of a boost from poets. But I am aware that many people do not like reptiles or amphibians, and I am not suggesting that in order to enjoy the spring you have to take an
interest in toads. There are also the crocus, the missel-thrush, the cuckoo, the blackthorn, etc. The point is that the pleasures of spring are available to everybody, and cost nothing. Even in the most sordid street the coming of spring will register itself by some sign or other, if it is only a brighter blue between the chimney pots or the vivid green of an elder sprouting on a blitzed site. Indeed it is remarkable how Nature goes on existing unofficially, as it were, in the very heart of London. I have seen a kestrel flying over the Deptford gasworks, and I have heard a first-rate performance by a blackbird in the Euston Road. There must be some hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of birds living inside the four-mile radius, and it is rather a pleasing thought that none of them pays a halfpenny of rent.
As for spring, not even the narrow and gloomy streets round the Bank of England are quite able to exclude it. It comes seeping in everywhere, like one of those new poison gases which pass through all filters. The spring is commonly referred to as "a miracle", and during the past five or six years this worn-out figure of speech has taken on a new lease of life. After the sorts of winters we have had to endure recently, the spring does seem miraculous, because it has become gradually harder and harder to believe that it is actually going to happen. Every February since 1940 I have found myself thinking that this time winter is going to be permanent. But Persephone, like the toads, always rises from the dead at about the same moment. Suddenly, towards the end of March, the miracle happens and the decaying slum in which I live is transfigured. Down in the square the sooty privets have turned bright green, the leaves are thickening on the chestnut trees, the daffodils are out, the wallflowers are budding, the policeman's tunic looks positively a pleasant shade of blue, the fishmonger greets his customers with a smile, and even the sparrows are quite a different colour, having felt the balminess of the air and nerved themselves to take a bath, their first since last September.
Is it wicked to take a pleasure in spring and other seasonal changes? To put it more precisely, is it politically reprehensible, while we are all groaning, or at any rate ought to be groaning, under the shackles of the capitalist system, to point out that life is frequently more worth living because of a blackbird's song, a yellow elm tree in October, or some other natural phenomenon which does not cost money and does not have what the editors of left-wing newspapers call a class angle? There is not doubt that many people think so. I know by experience that a favourable reference to "Nature" in one of my articles is liable to bring me abusive letters, and though the key-word in these letters is usually "sentimental", two ideas seem to be mixed up in them. One is that any pleasure in the actual process of life encourages a sort of political quietism. People, so the thought runs, ought to be discontented, and it is our job to multiply our wants and not simply to increase our enjoyment of the things we have already. The other idea is that this is the age of machines and that to dislike the machine, or even to want to limit its domination, is backward-looking, reactionary and slightly ridiculous. This is often backed up by the statement that a love of Nature is a foible of urbanized people who have no notion what Nature is really like. Those who really have to deal with the soil, so it is argued, do not love the soil, and do not take the faintest interest in birds or flowers, except from a strictly utilitarian point of view. To love the country one must live in the town, merely taking an occasional week-end ramble at the warmer times of year.
This last idea is demonstrably false. Medieval literature, for instance, including the popular ballads, is full of an almost Georgian enthusiasm for Nature, and the art of agricultural peoples such as the Chinese and Japanese centre always round trees, birds, flowers, rivers, mountains.
The other idea seems to me to be wrong in a subtler way. Certainly we ought to be discontented, we ought not simply to find out ways of making the best of a bad job, and yet if we kill all pleasure in the actual process of life, what sort of future are we preparing for ourselves? If a man cannot enjoy the return of spring, why should he be happy in a labour-saving Utopia? What will he do with the leisure that the machine will give him? I have always suspected that if our economic and political problems are ever really solved, life will become simpler instead of more complex, and that the sort of pleasure one gets from finding the first primrose will loom larger than the sort of pleasure one gets from eating an ice to the tune of a Wurlitzer. I think that by retaining one's childhood love of such things as trees, fishes, butterflies and--to return to my first instance--toads, one makes a peaceful and decent future a little more probable, and that by preaching the doctrine that nothing is to be admired except steel and concrete, one merely makes it a little surer that human beings will have no outlet for their surplus energy except in hatred and leader worship.
At any rate, spring is here, even in London N.1, and they can't stop you enjoying it. This is a satisfying reflection. How many a time have I stood watching the toads mating, or a pair of hares having a boxing match in the young corn, and thought of all the important persons who as you are not actually ill, hungry, frightened or immured in a prison or a holiday camp, spring is still spring. The atom bombs are piling up in the factories, the police are prowling through the cities, the lies are streaming from the loudspeakers, but the earth is still going round the
sun, and neither the dictators nor the bureaucrats, deeply as they disapprove of the process, are able to prevent it.
Jumat, 19 Desember 2008
Herbal Holiday Gift Series #20 - Pet Gifts
BIRDSEED CAKES
Combine 1 oz unflavored gelatin and ¼ cup water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved and add 1 1/4 cups of any combination of seeds the birds in your area enjoy. Mix until all seeds are coated. Pack the mix firmly into molds the shape of wreaths, hearts, etc. Large cookie cutters work well. (I used ones in the shape of cats and squirrels!) Don’t forget to make a hole to add a hanger; straws or wooden skewers work well.
DOG BISCUITS
2 Tbsp margarine, lard or bacon fat, softened
1 tsp brown sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
½ cup dry milk powder
½ cup chicken broth
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup wheat germ
½ tsp salt
8 large cloves of garlic, crushed
Cream margarine and brown sugar in mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, dry milk and broth. Add flours, wheat germ and salt; knead until soft dough forms. Shape into a ball. Let stand, covered, for 30 minutes. Roll ¼ inch thick on lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with garlic; pat lightly into dough. Cut with 3-inch bone-shaped cookie cutter. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 325F for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Cool on wire rack. Store in airtight containers. (Along the Garden Path)
For cats: TIGGER'S TOMATO AND TURKEY JERKY
1 lb ground turkey
2 Tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp garlic powder
2 tsp brewer’s yeast
Preheat oven to 120F or the lowest setting. Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Line a jelly roll pan with foil and spread the meat mixture in it. Using your hands flatten the mixture to about ¼” thick. Place the meat in the oven and prop the oven door open a crack using a wooden spoon, so the moisture can escape. Bake for about 2 hours, until the meat is quite dry. Remove the meat from the oven and place another sheet foil over it. Grasping both sheets of foil, flip the meat over and peel the foil from the top. Place the meat back in the oven with the door propped open, and bake for another 1-2 hours. The meat will be red and dry, like jerky. (Cat Nips! Feline cuisine)
Combine 1 oz unflavored gelatin and ¼ cup water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved and add 1 1/4 cups of any combination of seeds the birds in your area enjoy. Mix until all seeds are coated. Pack the mix firmly into molds the shape of wreaths, hearts, etc. Large cookie cutters work well. (I used ones in the shape of cats and squirrels!) Don’t forget to make a hole to add a hanger; straws or wooden skewers work well.
DOG BISCUITS
2 Tbsp margarine, lard or bacon fat, softened
1 tsp brown sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
½ cup dry milk powder
½ cup chicken broth
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup wheat germ
½ tsp salt
8 large cloves of garlic, crushed
Cream margarine and brown sugar in mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, dry milk and broth. Add flours, wheat germ and salt; knead until soft dough forms. Shape into a ball. Let stand, covered, for 30 minutes. Roll ¼ inch thick on lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with garlic; pat lightly into dough. Cut with 3-inch bone-shaped cookie cutter. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 325F for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Cool on wire rack. Store in airtight containers. (Along the Garden Path)
For cats: TIGGER'S TOMATO AND TURKEY JERKY
1 lb ground turkey
2 Tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp garlic powder
2 tsp brewer’s yeast
Preheat oven to 120F or the lowest setting. Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Line a jelly roll pan with foil and spread the meat mixture in it. Using your hands flatten the mixture to about ¼” thick. Place the meat in the oven and prop the oven door open a crack using a wooden spoon, so the moisture can escape. Bake for about 2 hours, until the meat is quite dry. Remove the meat from the oven and place another sheet foil over it. Grasping both sheets of foil, flip the meat over and peel the foil from the top. Place the meat back in the oven with the door propped open, and bake for another 1-2 hours. The meat will be red and dry, like jerky. (Cat Nips! Feline cuisine)
Seed Catalog and the Movies!
Took a break today and went to the movies with the Herbal Husband to see Seven Pounds with Will Smith and Rosario Dawson. It was intense, but very good! Also got the latest catalog from Nichols Garden Nursery in Oregon. They are celebrating 60 years of business and are taking a favorite seed from each decade and promoting them in this catalog. I'll be adding to the herbal gifts tomorrow.
Holiday Herbal Gift Series #19 - I'm cheating today
I found a great source for instructions for 3 items that can be made just a day or two prior to the big gift day, and they'll be ready. You can learn to make Bath Bombs, Sugar Scrubs, and Glycerin Soap
I need to cheat today and use someone else's instructions. It isn't because we're in the middle of a big holiday rush here. It isn't because I'm too busy baking cookies or wrapping gifts... in fact our family has decided to celebrate sometime next month. The pressure was making us crazy, and other than the fact that solstice is on an exact date and time, everything else is pretty much a made up, arbitrarily chosen date. We'll just choose our own this year.
Our brother is in the hospital. Right now, he probably has some medical staffer in his room laughing. That is his goal these days, to make the people taking care of him laugh. It's as close to control as he can get right now.
Last year about this time, my brother who is afflicted with liver disease moved into the family commune. He lives in my house. It was not a pleasant adjustment for either one of us. We'd both been living on our own for years and didn't want to make room for anyone else. However, it needed to be. We've been able to find a delicate balance that allows us both to feel like we have our own homes and some privacy.
He's on a liver transplant list and needs to be looked after. He hates to admit that, but knows it to be true.
In Chinese medicine, the liver is the seat of health. It stands to reason then that a sick liver is a very bad thing. Let me witness that. It is a very bad thing. The number of ailments that spring from a sick liver are astounding, and it reminds me of when we were little, trying to build dams over the creeks near the house with sticks and rocks... how the water always got through and we'd patch and patch, and it would still get through.
Everything is affected by the health of the liver. No matter how many patches we make, something new keeps coming up and making him sicker.
Of course, on the transplant list you lead a double wish-life. On the one hand, it is horrible to watch a loved one continue to get sicker, but on the other you know that he won't get a transplant (at least with the liver) until he reaches a certain level of illness. And in between all of that, there is also the knowledge that perhaps there will be no liver and perhaps he will be too sick to receive it if they find one.
This year I've watched my brother withstand some things that none of us ever thought people would or should survive, and keep going with a smile on his face and optimism in his heart. He is the eternal optimist. Not having his stomach tapped of fluid several times, nor an infection of that fluid, nor gigantic hernias, nor renal failure, nor pneumonia, nor nosebleeds, nor rashes, nor encephalopathy can keep him down. Not giving up driving nor his beloved Harley stops him. He makes me laugh every single day. Sometimes he doesn't intend to make me laugh, it just happens.
A year ago I resented the hell out of this man in my living space. Right now, I think he's my hero. He's taught me an awful lot this year. I hope Santa will bring him a shiny new liver. If not Santa, we can hold out for the Easter Bunny...or if there's a Tooth Fairy, maybe there's a Liver Fairy too!
I need to cheat today and use someone else's instructions. It isn't because we're in the middle of a big holiday rush here. It isn't because I'm too busy baking cookies or wrapping gifts... in fact our family has decided to celebrate sometime next month. The pressure was making us crazy, and other than the fact that solstice is on an exact date and time, everything else is pretty much a made up, arbitrarily chosen date. We'll just choose our own this year.
Our brother is in the hospital. Right now, he probably has some medical staffer in his room laughing. That is his goal these days, to make the people taking care of him laugh. It's as close to control as he can get right now.
Last year about this time, my brother who is afflicted with liver disease moved into the family commune. He lives in my house. It was not a pleasant adjustment for either one of us. We'd both been living on our own for years and didn't want to make room for anyone else. However, it needed to be. We've been able to find a delicate balance that allows us both to feel like we have our own homes and some privacy.
He's on a liver transplant list and needs to be looked after. He hates to admit that, but knows it to be true.
In Chinese medicine, the liver is the seat of health. It stands to reason then that a sick liver is a very bad thing. Let me witness that. It is a very bad thing. The number of ailments that spring from a sick liver are astounding, and it reminds me of when we were little, trying to build dams over the creeks near the house with sticks and rocks... how the water always got through and we'd patch and patch, and it would still get through.
Everything is affected by the health of the liver. No matter how many patches we make, something new keeps coming up and making him sicker.
Of course, on the transplant list you lead a double wish-life. On the one hand, it is horrible to watch a loved one continue to get sicker, but on the other you know that he won't get a transplant (at least with the liver) until he reaches a certain level of illness. And in between all of that, there is also the knowledge that perhaps there will be no liver and perhaps he will be too sick to receive it if they find one.
This year I've watched my brother withstand some things that none of us ever thought people would or should survive, and keep going with a smile on his face and optimism in his heart. He is the eternal optimist. Not having his stomach tapped of fluid several times, nor an infection of that fluid, nor gigantic hernias, nor renal failure, nor pneumonia, nor nosebleeds, nor rashes, nor encephalopathy can keep him down. Not giving up driving nor his beloved Harley stops him. He makes me laugh every single day. Sometimes he doesn't intend to make me laugh, it just happens.
A year ago I resented the hell out of this man in my living space. Right now, I think he's my hero. He's taught me an awful lot this year. I hope Santa will bring him a shiny new liver. If not Santa, we can hold out for the Easter Bunny...or if there's a Tooth Fairy, maybe there's a Liver Fairy too!
Kamis, 18 Desember 2008
Holiday Herbal Gift Series #18 - Spice Necklace
Pictured below is actually a small garland I made for a little tree. The same sort of thing can be done to make a wonderfully fragrant necklace that is fun to make and fun to wear. Sniffing around the internet prior to posting this entry, I saw that there are people making necklaces using whole cloves, and threading them longways, meaning that they are flower buds and are sort of like dried tubes. They looked very cool, but I've never done them myself. You can find instructions and pictures HERE
To make a spice necklace the first thing to do is gather the spices. Some of my favorites include:
Rosehips
Cardamom
Juniper Berry
Star Anice
Allspice
Cinnamon pieces
Hawthorn Berry
Vanilla Bean
Ginger Root
Clove
Most designs generally use the star anise as a sort of pendant in the center. You may want to draw out a design or pattern before beginning. I fly by the seat of my pants, but acknowledge that most people do not.
Remember that the portion of necklace that will be against the back of the neck should use smoother spices like juniper, allspice, cardamom, rosehips, etc., so that they don't irritate the skin.
Put all of the spices to be strung in a small amount of warm water. They can go in together - it won't hurt anything. The water will soften them and will also uncurl the cinnamon.
Using a crewel or tapestry needle and some strong thread (cinnamon dental floss is nice - and scented!) begin stringing the spices. Remember that they will shrink a bit as they dry, so string them tightly.
Hang to dry and they'll be ready in one or two days.
To make a spice necklace the first thing to do is gather the spices. Some of my favorites include:Rosehips
Cardamom
Juniper Berry
Star Anice
Allspice
Cinnamon pieces
Hawthorn Berry
Vanilla Bean
Ginger Root
Clove
Most designs generally use the star anise as a sort of pendant in the center. You may want to draw out a design or pattern before beginning. I fly by the seat of my pants, but acknowledge that most people do not.
Remember that the portion of necklace that will be against the back of the neck should use smoother spices like juniper, allspice, cardamom, rosehips, etc., so that they don't irritate the skin.
Put all of the spices to be strung in a small amount of warm water. They can go in together - it won't hurt anything. The water will soften them and will also uncurl the cinnamon.
Using a crewel or tapestry needle and some strong thread (cinnamon dental floss is nice - and scented!) begin stringing the spices. Remember that they will shrink a bit as they dry, so string them tightly.
Hang to dry and they'll be ready in one or two days.
Holiday Herbal Gift Series - #17 Tub Tea
For those of you following along, I apologize for the missed day and will do 2 entries now. We have an chronically critically ill family member and that can complicate the simplest plans. So here goes...
#17 TUB TEAS
Aside from the hundred years here or there when bathing was considered dangerous and wicked, we have always enjoyed our baths. Entire vacations and resorts are planned and built around mineral springs. In many places the water itself is thought to cure, bringing throngs to soak in it. 
Currently, new homes are built with luxurious spa-baths….huge tubs, multi-head showers, heated floors, and built-in speakers. Once again we are turning to water to sooth our cares and wash away the worries of the world. Bubble baths are fun occasionally, but those of us who enjoy our herbs can concoct delightful additions that far surpass a brief wave of bubbles.
To assemble the apothecary, begin at the grocery store. Powdered milk, Epsom salts, sea salt and oatmeal are good bases to start with.
At the herb shop it gets really interesting. Choose some (or all) of the following:
Chamomile ~ Lavender ~ Rose Petals
Comfrey ~ Irish Moss ~ Tarragon
Elder Flowers ~ Calendula ~ Lemon Balm
Mints ~ Rosemary ~ Violet Leaf
Also wonderful additions, but optional are:
Rose water ~ Orange Water ~ Aloe extract
And essential oils:
Relaxing
Lavender
Frankincense
Chamomile
Uplifting and Energizing
Eucalyptus
Currently, new homes are built with luxurious spa-baths….huge tubs, multi-head showers, heated floors, and built-in speakers. Once again we are turning to water to sooth our cares and wash away the worries of the world. Bubble baths are fun occasionally, but those of us who enjoy our herbs can concoct delightful additions that far surpass a brief wave of bubbles.To assemble the apothecary, begin at the grocery store. Powdered milk, Epsom salts, sea salt and oatmeal are good bases to start with.
At the herb shop it gets really interesting. Choose some (or all) of the following:
Chamomile ~ Lavender ~ Rose Petals
Comfrey ~ Irish Moss ~ Tarragon
Elder Flowers ~ Calendula ~ Lemon Balm
Mints ~ Rosemary ~ Violet Leaf
Also wonderful additions, but optional are:
Rose water ~ Orange Water ~ Aloe extract
And essential oils:
Relaxing
Lavender
Frankincense
Chamomile
Uplifting and Energizing
Eucalyptus
Grapefruit
Peppermint
Peppermint
Exotic/Romantic
Patchouli
Jasmine
Ylang Ylang
Cheering
Bergamot
Tangerine
Petitgrain
Mix the dry ingredients well, and store in a pretty jar or canister.
To use, muslin bags are very handy but a square of light cloth works well too.
Tie about ¼ cup of the mix into the cloth.
Fill a ½ gallon pitcher with very hot water and steep the herbs, etc. for 10-15 minutes.
Patchouli
Jasmine
Ylang Ylang
Cheering
Bergamot
Tangerine
Petitgrain
Mix the dry ingredients well, and store in a pretty jar or canister.
To use, muslin bags are very handy but a square of light cloth works well too.
Tie about ¼ cup of the mix into the cloth.
Fill a ½ gallon pitcher with very hot water and steep the herbs, etc. for 10-15 minutes.
Herbal Christmas Decorations--Pomanders (UPDATED)
Nothing is cheap these days. I was hopeful that this craft would be something that would be inexpensive to make for the holidays. I still think it might be. These dusty things are actually dried oranges studded with cloves called pomanders. I made them many years ago (more than ten years) and actually they still have some scent to them. I just happen to be reading the December issue of Good Housekeeping magazine yesterday while getting a haircut and came across an article using clementines and cloves. The decorated clementines as shown in the magazine may last for a little while. I still think they make a very natural decoration if you like that look at the holidays. Click on the Good Housekeeping link above and it will take you to the page. I think it is a beautiful presentation. I just did one so you can see. A box of clementines is $6.99 at our grocery store. The Herbal Husband said, "How many of my clementines are you going to use?" "Only one...at the moment.!"
The word pomander comes from the French pomme for apple. It refers to the round shape of the early scented balls, and amber from the fixative, ambergris. Pomme d'ambre became pomander. They were traditionally medicinal and worn to counteract odors. I found Valencia oranges which have a thinner skin than navel oranges were easier to decorate with cloves. The clementines would be equally as good as the Valencia oranges. If you are doing this with children, using an apple may be easier for them to learn at first.
I did have to buy navel oranges which have a thicker skin (which may take longer to dry) and I will use an awl to poke holes in the orange to add the cloves. Everything Adelma tells you not to do! I use masking tape to tape the middle stripe off and then take my awl and put the cloves in. Once all of the cloves are inserted, I remove the masking tape. I have a plastic bag full of spices which hopefully still has the right amount of scent. Adelma talks about using 2 teaspoons of ground cloves, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of powdered orris root for each pomander. Orris root is a fixative that holds the scent for a longer period of time. If you have allergies, you may not want to use orris root. You might try using pieces of corncob or cellulose fiber along with clove or cinnamon essential oil instead of the orris root. I would place that mixture (corncob and essential oil) in a glass jar. Shake it until the pieces have absorbed the oil and no longer stick to the sides of the jar. I would combine the spice mixture with the essential oil mixture. You want to place the finished pomanders in a bowl or container (I use a glazed bowl or dish.) open to the air and roll them in the powdered spices for about a week. Change their positions each day. For 6 to 8 apples or oranges you will need:
1/2 pound whole long-stemmed cloves
1 cup (about) ground spices, including:
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1/4 cup ground cloves
1/4 cup ground nutmeg and allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup powdered orris root (or 1/4 cup of corncob and 5 to 10 drops clove or cinnamon essential oil mixture)
Next week is Christmas so they may not be finished, but your house will smell wonderful at the very least. While they are drying, you do not want to store them in a closed container. They need to be in that open bowl. I use gold ribbon to add additional decoration. I will add a picture or two to this post to show you the finished product. Adelma says you can refresh your pomanders by washing them in warm water, rolling them in a fresh spice bath and adding a drop or two of clove or cinnamon oil and tying them with fresh ribbons. I think the only issue I would have is that after washing them, be sure they are dry before putting them in the new spices.
The finished pomanders can be given to guests on New Year's Day as a good luck wish. They can be used as a moth chaser also.
Rabu, 17 Desember 2008
Our Holiday Greetings for Everyone!
I got a little sidetracked today by getting our Christmas cards written and sent. Sooo we are sending our greetings to all of you for a festive season! This card is a Pierre Joseph Redoute drawing of Amaryllis bresiliensis from Choix des plus belles fleurs. It is courtesy of Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So if you are in the Pittsburgh area, you should visit their galleries in the Hunt Library on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University. Their current exhibit ends this Friday, December 19th and then there will be a break until the new year. Hope you enjoy the season with family and friends!
The Essential Herbal Magazine - Jan/Feb '09 Preview
A new issue is out and we know you're dying to see what is inside. So, as we do with every issue, we'll post the cover and table of contents. I'm thrilled to have dragged a couple shy ones kicking and screaming into the fold (just kidding). Marti Graham sent her first ever article, Ricci Ackerman joined us, and Patty Sigman photographed the cover.
Patty and I go way back (as in 7th grade, sharing clothes, way back), and it makes me so happy to be able to use her work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Crossword Puzzle ~ Winter Wordplay
Field Notes from the editor
Kitchen Remedies, Susan Evans
List Article ~ Childhood home remedies that don't seem so silly anymore
Bay Recipes, staff
Down on the Farm ~ Herb of the Year 2009 ~ Bay, Michele Brown and Pat Stewart
Winter Shrub, Kimberly Gallagher
Never Enough Thyme ~ The Noble Bay Wreath, Susanna Reppert Brill
Suburban Herbie ~ Lessons from the Garden, Geri Burgert
SouthRidge Treasures ~ Winter Herbal Projects for the Home, Mary Ellen Wilcox
Chocolate Pudding with Bay, Susan Belsinger
Beeswax: Natural Compliment to Herbs, Marti Graham
The Soap Pot ~ Soap Inspirations from the Calendar, Alicia Grosso
Louisiana Lagniappe ~ Savory Herb Bread Pudding, Sarah Liberta
Candlemas, Betsy May
Valentine's Day is Coming! Ricci Ackerman
Damiana Cordial, Sarah Campbell
As always, this issue is filled with how to do things with herbs, delightful recipes, information and that feeling of sitting around the table with a bunch of friends, having a cup of tea while sharing what you know. You can check out subscription information at our website: The Essential Herbal Magazine
Also as always, I must once again express my profound thanks to the people who so generously contribute to The Essential Herbal and make it exactly what it is. Thanks you guys!!! You are wonderful!
Patty and I go way back (as in 7th grade, sharing clothes, way back), and it makes me so happy to be able to use her work.
TABLE OF CONTENTSCrossword Puzzle ~ Winter Wordplay
Field Notes from the editor
Kitchen Remedies, Susan Evans
List Article ~ Childhood home remedies that don't seem so silly anymore
Bay Recipes, staff
Down on the Farm ~ Herb of the Year 2009 ~ Bay, Michele Brown and Pat Stewart
Winter Shrub, Kimberly Gallagher
Never Enough Thyme ~ The Noble Bay Wreath, Susanna Reppert Brill
Suburban Herbie ~ Lessons from the Garden, Geri Burgert
SouthRidge Treasures ~ Winter Herbal Projects for the Home, Mary Ellen Wilcox
Chocolate Pudding with Bay, Susan Belsinger
Beeswax: Natural Compliment to Herbs, Marti Graham
The Soap Pot ~ Soap Inspirations from the Calendar, Alicia Grosso
Louisiana Lagniappe ~ Savory Herb Bread Pudding, Sarah Liberta
Candlemas, Betsy May
Valentine's Day is Coming! Ricci Ackerman
Damiana Cordial, Sarah Campbell
As always, this issue is filled with how to do things with herbs, delightful recipes, information and that feeling of sitting around the table with a bunch of friends, having a cup of tea while sharing what you know. You can check out subscription information at our website: The Essential Herbal Magazine
Also as always, I must once again express my profound thanks to the people who so generously contribute to The Essential Herbal and make it exactly what it is. Thanks you guys!!! You are wonderful!
Selasa, 16 Desember 2008
Winter Wonderland
Walking along...
Singing a song...
Doesn't this make you want some cocoa?
Later, the kids went out to do something crazy. Molly wanted to ride on a sled hitched up to the Frogmobile, while Rob drove. Naturally, nobody saw anything wrong with that... so as they dashed across the back field I grabbed the camera to document this moment of brain absence. It was not nearly as dark as it appears in this picture, but isn't it beautiful?
I love the way kids take advantage of weather like this. We sure did when we were that age.
Singing a song...
Walking in a Winter Wonderland.
The snow is falling softly on the tree branches down the hill. You can just barely see the silos off in the distance, and they rise almost from an icy haze. There is nothing more beautiful than the view out the office window on any given day... especially when everyone is home, safe and sound.
The snow is falling softly on the tree branches down the hill. You can just barely see the silos off in the distance, and they rise almost from an icy haze. There is nothing more beautiful than the view out the office window on any given day... especially when everyone is home, safe and sound.Doesn't this make you want some cocoa?Later, the kids went out to do something crazy. Molly wanted to ride on a sled hitched up to the Frogmobile, while Rob drove. Naturally, nobody saw anything wrong with that... so as they dashed across the back field I grabbed the camera to document this moment of brain absence. It was not nearly as dark as it appears in this picture, but isn't it beautiful?
I love the way kids take advantage of weather like this. We sure did when we were that age.
Herbal Gifts for the Holidays, Part 2!
Yesterday I gave you a tiny selection of herbal books for the herb lover in your life. Today I thought I would give you ideas for gadgets, spice blends, cookbooks and calendars that you may not have thought about in this busy season.
The Herb mill chops up both dry and fresh herbs and you don't have to be right-handed to use it! The Herb Keeper keeps three bunches of different herbs fresh and even keeps asparagus fresh. The mortar and pestle grinds all of those spices and there is also those small coffee grinders that work for spices also. I like hand powered gadgets! The garlic press is a must for anyone trying to mince their garlic cloves. You can also use a small grater like Rachel Ray. The nutmeg grater is a staple at The Rosemary House and on their blog, Rosemary's Sampler. A lot of these gadgets are at your local kitchen stores; but please if you have an herb shop in your area, patronize it!
I enjoy using herb blends. Two of my favorite places to get those blends are The Rosemary House (no surprise there) and The Village Herb Shop. The Village Herb Shop is a great herb shop in Chagrin Falls, OH outside Cleveland owned by Kathleen Gips. Chagrin Falls is a charming village with falls and lots of small businesses and good places to have lunch. Kathleen has great herbal classes (I helped her teach a class on lemon verbena!) and special events for her herb club members. It is a great way to spend a day. The pictures below show The Rosemary House's famous Roastmary, The Mayor's Magic Mustard and Susie's Garden Herbs and Garlic. There are two blends from The Village Herb Shop are for Herb Butter and a herb blend for pasta. They each have recipes and suggestions for uses.
Don't forget herbal cookbooks and calendars. Nancy Reppert's outstanding cookbook, Sweet Remembrances Recipe Collection can be purchased and I'm sure she would be glad to autograph it through The Rosemary House and her own website, Sweet Remembrances Tearoom. The other cookbook, It's About Thyme is by Marge Clark, who tragically died in an automobile accident several years. It is available through Bookfinder or your favorite search engine. Also, Amazon has a lot of herbal gadgets and herb books. The herb calendar is by Maggie Oster and is one of my favorites because it gives you herbal hints with a new topic each month.
Don't forget homemade items like jelly, homemade pasta sauce, apple sauce, herbal cookie mixes, breads, teas, and herbal blends to name a few. Your family and friends will appreciate the time you gave to put your herbal products together. I know mine do! Tomorrow more herbal gifts that you can do yourself! Hope you will join me.
Holiday Herbal Gift Series #15 & #16
Gift Ideas #15 and #16 are all from early issues of The Essential Herbal Magazine
#15 SWEET TREATS
Winter Solstice Candy
This ganache is super easy to make, but it doesn't taste that way!
8 oz White Chocolate finely chopped or in chips
3/4 Cup Full Fat Coconut Milk or Creme De Coco (found in the drink mix aisle)
2 T Butter
1 T Vanilla or Coconut Extract
Put the chocolate into a large bowl and set aside. Heat the milk in the mocrowave till it boils and then poor over chocolate. Stir it till smooth. Put in the fridge and stir occasionaly until cooled. Then beat it till firm and lightened in color. This can be used to ice a cake or rolled into balls. After I made balls I rolled into coconut so I now have Winter Solstice candy! It can also be used to celebrate Full Moons.
recipe from Holly O'Brien
Holiday Nuts and Berries
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup shelled green pistachios
1 cup dried cranberries
Blend together for a colorful, delicious and almost healthy snack to serve over the holidays.
from Christie at RadicalWeeds.com
#16 SOME SWEET FACIAL GIFTS
Cleansing Mask:
4 tablespoons rolled oats
2 teaspoons dried chamomile
2 teaspoons dried parsley
Blend the dried ingredients to a fine powder using a blender or coffee grinder. Package these in a pretty glass or plastic container and add the following directions*.
*Measure 1 tablespoon of the dried ingredients into a small glass bowl. Add 1 tablespoon honey and 1-2 tablespoons very hot water and mix well. Let stand 5 minutes. If mixture seems to thick add a small amount of hot water. Apply to face using gently circular motions and leave on for 2-5 minutes. Rinse face with warm water. Store unused cleanser in refrigerator and use within 5 days .(Chamomile and parsley are antibacterial and honey & oatmeal are softening.)
An extra touch would be adding a nice jar of honey to the basket.
Follow the cleansing mask with a nice steam facial:
Herbal Steam Facial:
2 tablespoons dried chamomile
2 tablespoons dried comfrey
2 tablespoons rose petals
2 tablespoons dried peppermint
2 tablespoons dried rose geranium
Mix above ingredients all together and package into a nice plastic bag or pretty container and add the following directions*.
*Measure 2 tablespoons of the herbs into a small saucepan and simmer in 2 cups of water for 5 minutes. Pour into a heatproof bowl. Bend over the bowl with a towel draped over your head and allow steam to touch your face and neck for up to 10 minutes. Pat dry.
Follow the steam facial with this toner:
Lavender Toner:
4 ounces of witch hazel
15 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops chamomile essential oil
Mix all together and pour into a nice container with a flip top spout and attach the following*.
*Apply to clean face with a cotton ball. This helps your skin to return to its normal pH level.
Finally end your facial with moisturizer:
Lavender Geranium moisturizer:
4 ounces of unscented lotion base
10 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops geranium essential oil
Mix all together and pour into a plastic container with a flip top spout or wide mouth small jar. Add a nice label and of course you can use other essential oils. Please make sure you are familiar with the special qualities of the EO before deciding to use them. Using purchased unscented lotion base just gives the lotion a longer shelf life.
*Apply to cleansed and toned face nightly.
Here are two recipes for bath items to add to your basket. If you want to make your gift a little more special add a votive candle and perhaps a soothing CD or cassette tape.
The above ideas were contributed by Theresa Nolt
#15 SWEET TREATS
Winter Solstice Candy
This ganache is super easy to make, but it doesn't taste that way!
8 oz White Chocolate finely chopped or in chips
3/4 Cup Full Fat Coconut Milk or Creme De Coco (found in the drink mix aisle)
2 T Butter
1 T Vanilla or Coconut Extract
Put the chocolate into a large bowl and set aside. Heat the milk in the mocrowave till it boils and then poor over chocolate. Stir it till smooth. Put in the fridge and stir occasionaly until cooled. Then beat it till firm and lightened in color. This can be used to ice a cake or rolled into balls. After I made balls I rolled into coconut so I now have Winter Solstice candy! It can also be used to celebrate Full Moons.
recipe from Holly O'Brien
Holiday Nuts and Berries
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup shelled green pistachios
1 cup dried cranberries
Blend together for a colorful, delicious and almost healthy snack to serve over the holidays.
from Christie at RadicalWeeds.com
#16 SOME SWEET FACIAL GIFTS
Cleansing Mask:
4 tablespoons rolled oats
2 teaspoons dried chamomile
2 teaspoons dried parsley
Blend the dried ingredients to a fine powder using a blender or coffee grinder. Package these in a pretty glass or plastic container and add the following directions*.
*Measure 1 tablespoon of the dried ingredients into a small glass bowl. Add 1 tablespoon honey and 1-2 tablespoons very hot water and mix well. Let stand 5 minutes. If mixture seems to thick add a small amount of hot water. Apply to face using gently circular motions and leave on for 2-5 minutes. Rinse face with warm water. Store unused cleanser in refrigerator and use within 5 days .(Chamomile and parsley are antibacterial and honey & oatmeal are softening.)
An extra touch would be adding a nice jar of honey to the basket.
Follow the cleansing mask with a nice steam facial:
Herbal Steam Facial:
2 tablespoons dried chamomile
2 tablespoons dried comfrey
2 tablespoons rose petals
2 tablespoons dried peppermint
2 tablespoons dried rose geranium
Mix above ingredients all together and package into a nice plastic bag or pretty container and add the following directions*.
*Measure 2 tablespoons of the herbs into a small saucepan and simmer in 2 cups of water for 5 minutes. Pour into a heatproof bowl. Bend over the bowl with a towel draped over your head and allow steam to touch your face and neck for up to 10 minutes. Pat dry.
Follow the steam facial with this toner:
Lavender Toner:
4 ounces of witch hazel
15 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops chamomile essential oil
Mix all together and pour into a nice container with a flip top spout and attach the following*.
*Apply to clean face with a cotton ball. This helps your skin to return to its normal pH level.
Finally end your facial with moisturizer:
Lavender Geranium moisturizer:
4 ounces of unscented lotion base
10 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops geranium essential oil
Mix all together and pour into a plastic container with a flip top spout or wide mouth small jar. Add a nice label and of course you can use other essential oils. Please make sure you are familiar with the special qualities of the EO before deciding to use them. Using purchased unscented lotion base just gives the lotion a longer shelf life.
*Apply to cleansed and toned face nightly.
Here are two recipes for bath items to add to your basket. If you want to make your gift a little more special add a votive candle and perhaps a soothing CD or cassette tape.
The above ideas were contributed by Theresa Nolt
Senin, 15 Desember 2008
Herbal Gifts for the Holidays!
The Herbal Husband and I went shopping today. What were we thinking! The stores were packed with shoppers and the choices were very picked over. However, we did have success for the husband! Thank goodness! Now I would like to give you some last minute book ideas for that herb gardener in your life.
First, my favorite book is Bertha Reppert's Mrs. Reppert's Twelve Month Herbal. It is a year in the life of Bertha Reppert and her garden, founder of The Rosemary House in Mechanicsburg, PA. As you know by now in reading my blog, I truly love, respect and have learned so much from this talented family. Bertha passed away in 1999, but left a very rich legacy. This book will be a favorite for you as well. Each page is a day in the life of Bertha Reppert, has the weather conditions and a quotation and a recipe, a craft or just the doings of the day. For example, today's entry, December 15 mentioned it was snowing and talks about the herbs of the creche, pennyroyal, bedstraw and thyme. I think The Rosemary House still has copies available. It is a wonderful addition to any library.
My second choice is Adelma Grenier Simmons, Herb Gardening in Five Seasons. Don't forget the fifth season is Christmas. It is a classic herb gardening book written in early 1964. The book begins with "Happy is the herb gardener through all the seasons and the years." I couldn't agree more. It also has lovely line drawings of the herbs in the Dictionary of Fifty Selected Herbs. It can be found on Bookfinder, one of a number of search engines for finding out of print or even in print books.
My next favorite is a fictional series of books featuring China Bayles as a criminal attorney who gave up her professional career to open an herb shop. Maybe a fantasy of mine once upon a time! She gets mixed up in the murders of the town she lives in. I have heard Susan Wittig Albert speak here and her blog is one of my favorites. I think she is up to Number 17 in the series or may be more. You can find both hardbacks and paperbacks of the China Bayles series at Amazon, Bookfinder, maybe Rosemary House or other herb shops across the country.
My last choice is the fictional series of books featuring Theodosia Browning who owns the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston written by Laura Childs. Theodosia is always stumbling into a murder scene. Ms. Childs adds tea recipes and tips at the end of each book. There are nine books so far in this series. You can find them at Amazon, Bookfinder and maybe tea shops in your area. Thousands of books and really just a very small portion of my favorites. I feel books are to be treasured and the digital age is upon us. I will share more favorites later.
Minggu, 14 Desember 2008
Holiday Herbal Gift Series #14 - Massage Oil
Making Massage Oil is quick and easy once you've got the ingredients. If you're an herbal enthusiast, you've probably already got them! If you don't use this one now, save is for Valentine's Day.
All we need are:
Base oil - Fractionated Coconut, Jojoba, Apricot Kernal, Avocado, and Sweet Almond are all choices and there are many others. Mostly, you want a nice oil with no scent of its own.
Essential oil - For something that you'll be using over large areas of skin, go with essential oil over synthetics.
Essential oil - For something that you'll be using over large areas of skin, go with essential oil over synthetics.
Decorative bottles - Hopefully you've got some around, but they are easy to find at craft shops. IF they have corks, you'll want to "line" the cork with plastic wrap (wrap the bottom portion of the cork before inserting it into the bottle). We learned the hard way that corks can sometimes act like a wick.
Handmade labels - Either using your trusty computer and printer OR handwriting them, cover them with wide clear packing tape to make them water and oil proof.
To blend the massage oil, first choose the essential oil or if you're adventurous (or experienced) put together a combination of eo's to make a delightful scent.
For each ounce of base oil, add 3 to 5 drops of essential oil. The amount is often quoted as 10 drops per ounce, but because massage oils are used all over, it can quickly become overwhelming. Keep the amount low.
You'll find over 200 pages of great ideas, recipes, and articles filled with information in The Essential Herbal ~ Under the Sun, available on our website.
Handmade labels - Either using your trusty computer and printer OR handwriting them, cover them with wide clear packing tape to make them water and oil proof.
To blend the massage oil, first choose the essential oil or if you're adventurous (or experienced) put together a combination of eo's to make a delightful scent.
For each ounce of base oil, add 3 to 5 drops of essential oil. The amount is often quoted as 10 drops per ounce, but because massage oils are used all over, it can quickly become overwhelming. Keep the amount low.
You'll find over 200 pages of great ideas, recipes, and articles filled with information in The Essential Herbal ~ Under the Sun, available on our website.
Wildlife in the Backyard and Maybe Santa's Deer!
We have mostly gray squirrels in our yard. Sometimes a red squirrel. Yesterday this appeared on the driveway. I think it's a grey squirrel in disguise! It disappeared as quickly as it came.Today we looked out and two "rein" deer were lounging around our backyard. Better call Santa and tell him to start rounding them up!
Sabtu, 13 Desember 2008
Some Everyday Stuff
The days are going by so quickly here that there is scarcely a moment to see what the camera captured and report in on how things are going. So I'm squeezing this in between the 21 craft day entries.
Part of the pleasure of having a blog is how easy it is (and surprising sometimes) to look back and see where things were last year, the year before, and so on.
This past week should be recorded as one of the gloomiest I can remember! The weather stunk. It rained and rained until finally on Thursday an enormous storm hit a vast part of the eastern US. There was snow in Louisiana and massive ice in New England. Parts of the north east will be without power for several days.
Here in Lancaster County PA, all is well now. The ground is sodden, but it stopped raining and the sun has come back.
So before all that happened, we had a gorgeous weekend. There were so many people walking over the hillside choosing their trees that we didn't have more than a minute to talk to anyone.
On my way down the hill to get to the shop, I snapped a couple of pictures. The first is some wild grapes on a waist-high tree stump. I just love the vibrant colors of the moss and the curli-cues of the grapevine.
Then, it appeared that some confused hen or duck had been dropping eggs beneath this fir tree... until I noticed the two collapsed "eggs" off to the side. These are some sort of fungus/mushroom.
As I get closer, things are starting to hop at the farm. Rudy is on the alert, and knows where EVERYONE is at all times. The green Frogmobile is his particular target, and never leaves his attention.
The last picture is a project I was asked to do for a ... okay... I'll just say it... for a STAR!!! She wanted a couple of aromatherapy kits for friends. Inside are 10 different oils - some in small vials, some in slightly larger bottles. There is a bottle of a carrier oil, and some fun containers (spray bottles, roller bottle, corked vial) to use with their own creations. Since they have to ship to the big city, I made up a sort of potpourri with some of the ingredients that are represented by the essential oils in the kit (and a few that are not) and used that to cushion the bottles inside the jar that is being used to hold the whole kit and kaboodle.
Now that was fun. They can go into the mail on Monday and almost everything will be done then.
Part of the pleasure of having a blog is how easy it is (and surprising sometimes) to look back and see where things were last year, the year before, and so on.
This past week should be recorded as one of the gloomiest I can remember! The weather stunk. It rained and rained until finally on Thursday an enormous storm hit a vast part of the eastern US. There was snow in Louisiana and massive ice in New England. Parts of the north east will be without power for several days.
Here in Lancaster County PA, all is well now. The ground is sodden, but it stopped raining and the sun has come back.
So before all that happened, we had a gorgeous weekend. There were so many people walking over the hillside choosing their trees that we didn't have more than a minute to talk to anyone.
On my way down the hill to get to the shop, I snapped a couple of pictures. The first is some wild grapes on a waist-high tree stump. I just love the vibrant colors of the moss and the curli-cues of the grapevine.
Then, it appeared that some confused hen or duck had been dropping eggs beneath this fir tree... until I noticed the two collapsed "eggs" off to the side. These are some sort of fungus/mushroom.
As I get closer, things are starting to hop at the farm. Rudy is on the alert, and knows where EVERYONE is at all times. The green Frogmobile is his particular target, and never leaves his attention. The last picture is a project I was asked to do for a ... okay... I'll just say it... for a STAR!!! She wanted a couple of aromatherapy kits for friends. Inside are 10 different oils - some in small vials, some in slightly larger bottles. There is a bottle of a carrier oil, and some fun containers (spray bottles, roller bottle, corked vial) to use with their own creations. Since they have to ship to the big city, I made up a sort of potpourri with some of the ingredients that are represented by the essential oils in the kit (and a few that are not) and used that to cushion the bottles inside the jar that is being used to hold the whole kit and kaboodle. Now that was fun. They can go into the mail on Monday and almost everything will be done then.
St. Lucia's Day
The people of Sweden celebrate St. Lucia's Day, who brings sight to the blind, food to the hungry and light in the midst of winter darkness. The Festival of Lights or Little Christmas is the favorite Swedish Advent celebration. She was a real person born in Syracuse in Sicily to wealthy Christians in the third century. While still young she vowed to remain a virgin and dedicated her life and fortune to the Church. Her mother tried to arrange a marriage with a young pagan. When he was refused, he denounced her as a Christian. Miracles preserved her from a brothel and death by burning, but finally she was martyred by a sword thrust through her neck.St. Lucia is represented carrying a flame or burning lamp, because her name comes from lux meaning light. St. Lucia's Day is a festival of fire and light, with two ceremonies, one at home and one in church. The Lucia Queen or Lucia Bride in the early morning darkness of December 13th is dressed in a long white gown sometimes decorated with stars. She wears a bilberry crown fitted with lighted candles as she goes from room to room to awaken family and guests. She brings them hot coffee and buns made with saffron or flavored with cardamon. Next she visits the barns with coffee and food for the farmhands and extras are given to the animals.
In the church ceremony, Lucia has a similar dress and crown. She enters the church with boys dressed in blue with peaked caps decorated with stars. They carry star-topped staffs, like the boys who make the rounds on Epiphany.
In both ceremonies, Lucia brings light into darkness, fire against winter cold and the promise of sun and new life in spring! Light some candles today and celebrate St. Lucia!
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