I Couldn't Wait Until Next Year!

Had to show you what I finished while I was gone.  I have a list of cross-stitch "to do"s.  This Shepard's Bush chart was from the early 90's.  The Herbal Husband was amazed how quick it was to finish.  He was probably thinking why didn't she finish it sooner!  Oh, well, this was what I was ripping out earlier and had to start over again!

Psst, don't let The Herbal Husband know it, but this is my favorite Christmas present this year.  He got me some wonderful language of flower books.  I'll share them later.  This is from my best friend's daughter, my almost daughter, Miss C.  It is a BloemBox for a Bumble Bee Garden.  Inside this adorable box are three 5' seed ribbons made of plantable, biodegradable tissue paper filled with premium seeds for effortless planting.  They are Dahlia Flowered Pink Zinnia (Zinnia elegans), Queen Anne's Thimble (Gilia capitata) and Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), all annuals.  Miss C called this gift a twofer because once the seed ribbons are planted, the box is way too cute not to use it for other stuff!  So Miss C and I will be busy planting them next spring after the threat of frost is gone.  So The Herbal Husband and I hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve celebration wherever you may be!  Be safe and I will talk to you in the New Year!  (Probably tomorrow!)

Wishing You All A Peaceful Holiday!

The Herbal Husband and I want to wish you a very happy and peaceful Christmas and the happiest of new years!  Going to take a small herbal timeout and enjoy some stitching time and enjoy being with The Herbal Husband and friends.  Hope you stay warm and cozy and just have enough snow to enjoy the holiday!  I will talk to you again in the new year!

My Christmas Present to Myself!

I finally finished this cross-stitch piece.  I think I started it last year at this time.  I try to do a big project a year.  Didn't get any thing finished for 2009.  This is my seventh from the Told in a Garden series.  For as complex as it looks, it is really a simple life and design and that's what I love about them.  I have already started another project and have been ripping out what I started.  A story for another time.  I have a list of projects and maybe it will be finished some day!  Movie day.  Going to see The Fighter this afternoon.  Not my kind of movie, but going to see the performances.  Saw Black Swan the other day.  A very intense movie, but a wonderful performance by Natalie Portman.  Hope you are staying warm wherever you are.  Talk to you later.

We Weren't Even Supposed to See This!

We weren't supposed to see this last night.  Pittsburgh is known for its gray cloudy days in the winter.   Sooo when the lunar eclipse was last night and the winter solstice, it was too much for The Herbal Husband.  I took the top photo of the full moon earlier in the evening.  At 3 something AM is when the second shot was taken by a sleepy Herbal Husband.  You might have to click on the bottom photo to get a better view.  The Herbal Husband said it was freezing but impressive!  Wasn't quite as good as Tufa Girl's photo.  You have to stop by!  It is stunning!  We are actually having one of those rare sunny days today!  Hope you are warm and enjoying getting ready for the holidays.  Talk to you later!

Guest Blogging for The Herb Companion Magazine!

This is my latest guest blog for the year so I wanted to give you a special treat for your holiday festivities.  Here is the link at Herb Companion magazine.  It is called A Holiday Favorite-Mini Cheesecake Bites.  Hope you had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

I Finally Get Facebook, Herbally Speaking and Herb Channeler, Part Seven!

I had a light bulb moment yesterday while visiting my wall on Facebook!  One of my favorite bloggers who has been a faithful follower of my blog from the early days, Leslie from Comfrey Cottages gave me that moment.  Her latest post is about making soap and I saw it both here on my blog and on Facebook.  On Facebook, she had a comment from EMELIE TOLLEY, one of my favorite herbal authors and one that if you need a last minute holiday gift, her books are great.  This is just a sampling of the books she has written along with Chris Mead and she is still writing because she has a blog.  Both her website and her blog are on the right-hand of this blog!  I heard her speak in Ohio 16 years ago and got an illegal photo of her on stage!  I promise Emelie I will not post it here or anywhere else!

Only by blogging and on Facebook can you get comment from your favorite authors, herbal or otherwise.  They are great tools!  Thanks Comfrey Cottages!  Still cold here!  A broken record!  Hope you are staying warm wherever you may be!  Talk to you later!

Same Wreath, Different Look!

The bells in the middle are the old/new bit.  They need a bit of polish and a new bit of cording, but maybe after the holidays!  I remember my mother putting them on every evergreen wreath at Christmas time.  They always rang when we opened the front door inviting company inside.  It brought back a flood of good memories to see them on our wreath.  The cold weather just doesn't want to let up here!  Looks like there is going to be a white Christmas this year!  Hope you are staying warm wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

This Was A Last Minute Catch, Herbally Speaking!

I always try to make a last minute stroll through the garden.  I don't always catch tenders that should come in, but this year I did.  The Victorian rosemary or Australian rosemary (Westringia fruticosa) had been in the fairy trough and was planted in the garden because of its size.  As you can see by the botanical name, not truly a rosemary.  Very drought tolerant!  So at the last minute, The Herbal Husband dug it up and in it came.  It could be decorated with my gingerbread ornaments!  Now where did I put those!  Hope you are staying warm wherever you may be!  Talk to you later!

A Surprise Indoor Herbal Visitor!

Not the greatest photo, but  the surprise indoor herbal visitor is pineapple sage!  The Herbal Husband got a cutting of pineapple sage rooted and it is thriving in the southern living room window!  It is in between Rober's Lemon Rose scented geraniums.  They all can get white fly inside.  So we have to watch out!  Hope you are having a great day.  Off to make some tea bags for The Herbal Husband.   Talk to you later.

OMG! I Had So Much Fun Decorating The Tree!

Finished Tree without Decorations

Added Eucalyptus and Teasel to the Bare Spots

Finished Tree in the Dining Room

A Little Better View

A Closeup of the Branches

Well, I have decided that another bag of artemisia from Bed, Bath and Beyond would have helped.  I did have some eucalyptus and some teasel that I added to the bare spots and I think it added another dimension to the tree.  I just had so much fun decorating it!  Here are the directions from the 1995 Yankee Magazine's Christmas in New England:

Artemisia Tree
Materials needed:
artemisia (Silver King); you will need almost half a bushel  (2 bags from Bed, Bath & Beyond)
6-inch Styrofoam cone
clippers or shears
small pinecones (cones from spruce or hemlock are a good size)
bittersweet, pepper berries, or rose hips
dried flowers such as bachelor button, delphinium, everlasting, oregano,
pearly everlasting, statice, tansy, yarrow
tiny bird figurines
small bells
fine florist wire or a hot-glue gun

Insert the handsomest pointed artemisia spike (about 6 to 7 inches long) into the top of the cone.  Decide on a good length of the bottom branches; some people prefer a fat tree, others a skinny one.  Cut 4 branches and insert them horizontally on the lowest level of the cone, roughly equidistant from one another so they divide the cone in quarters.  They will guide you as you work around, filling in the bottom row entirely.  Repeat the process on the next 2 rows, inserting 4 "guide" branches, then filling in.  Keep turning the tree.  You may want to put it on a lazy Susan as you work so that you can keep the whole shape of the tree in mind.

With the fourth row, begin to angle the branches slightly upward.  From that point on, each row will point increasingly upward.  You should begin to lengthen the branches slightly, so that by the time you get to the top few rows, they will hug the top 7-inch branch.  Your tree should be bushy and full, with no Styrofoam showing.  Trim the tree with assorted decorations, using either florist wire or a hot-glue gun.

The tree should last for a few years if stored in plastic in a dry place.  To refresh, give it a quick shower under a spray faucet and add a few new blossoms and branches.

Still very cold and windy here!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Never The Wrong Day for This!

One of my favorite Peruvian dishes is Causa.  The Herbal Husband usually makes this for my birthday in August.  I could eat this once a week easily.  We had a lot of leftover mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving.  Never a bad thing, but we always try and make something special out of them.  Most of the time a summertime treat.  For those of you in the tropics, this is a really good lunch or even dinner item.  Way off track.  Lots of you are done with your holiday decor.  It may be a lite decorating season here!  It is snowing here and very cold.  Hope you are staying warm wherever you may be.  I'm off to exercise.  Talk to you later.

The photo shows a single portion.  For Lifeshighway and Jim Long:

TUNA FISH WITH COLD MASHED POTATOES

(CAUSA A LA LIMENA)

Serves 12

4 (6oz.) cans of white albacore tuna, packed in water, drained

3 lb. golden potatoes, peeled (about 8 to 10 medium potatoes)

1/4 t. cayenne pepper powder (to taste)

1 t. salt

1/8 t. ground black pepper

Juice of one large lemon

3 T. fresh parsley, chopped

2 T. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 T. light mayonnaise, (not salad dressing)

3 large eggs, hard boiled and chopped

12 large black olives, pitted and chopped

In a large pot, boil and cook peeled potatoes until fork tender (about 20 minutes).  Strain water and mash potatoes by hand.  Let cool.  While potatoes are cooking, hard boil eggs in separate pan.  Let cool, peel and chop and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix tuna fish, chopped onion, chopped egg and mayonnaise to combine.  Refrigerate.  Add olive oil, salt, peppers and parsley to room temperature potatoes.  Mix so all ingredients are well incorporated.  The potato mixture should be smooth not lumpy.  Taste to make sure seasoning is evenly distributed.

In a 9" x 13" pan, spread half of the potato mixture evenly on the bottom.  Then add all of the tuna fish mixture on top spreading evenly.  Use the rest of the potato mixture for the top layer spreading evenly.

Add black olives on top as a garnish.  Chill in refrigerator until it is ready to be served (not less than one hour).   Serve in squares on organic lettuce.

Last Minute Salad Burnet!

Can you believe The Herbal Husband just went out and cut this salad burnet  just now before the rain and snow hits tomorrow!  Remember salad burnet gives you the flavor of cucumber in your salads.  I'll use it fresh or maybe put it in some vinegar.  Hope the weather is not too bad where you live today!  It's going to be interesting.  A little bit of everything!  Talk to you later!

Later in the day.  I just wanted to say that salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is an all season herb.  It comes up early in the spring and it is just finished in our garden (mid December!)  It is up to two feet tall and is hardy from Zones 4 to 8.  Having said that, it is not reliably hardy for me.  It does self seed, but never to the invasive point.  I usually can find a plant or two at my favorite herb farm in Ohio.  You can also easily start seeds indoors or plant directly outdoors in spring.  Johnny's Selected Seeds is one of my favorite sources for seeds of all kinds.  Very reliable company from Maine.

Only the Price of Seeds!

This was taken in early November.  I think we all take a ton of photos and forget what has been blogged about and what hasn't.  The Herbal Husband brought these seeds back from Peru.  When yellow, orange and red peppers are more expensive than green ones, it is fun to say you grew these your self.  These beauties were raised in a container.  We had stuffed peppers several times this season.  Always a good thing!  Well, we are off to the movies this afternoon and tomorrow before the storm hits on Sunday.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Cheep Rooms on Thursdays!

Sometimes I forget that I need to take photos of Cheep Rooms for Thursdays!  Here is one at Well-Sweep Herb Farm in New Jersey.  Hope you are having a great day!  Talk to you later.

Guest Blogging for The Herb Companion Magazine-Well-Sweep Herb Farm!

The Well-Sweep Sign

The Gift Barn Chock Full of Xmas Gifts for Herb Lovers!

One of the Beautiful Knot Gardens at Well-Sweep

Lamb's Ear Path to the Outhouse!

Rosemarys That Go Into the Greenhouse Before Frost

Early November and the Pineapple Sage was Still Blooming!

Wonderful Pathway and Bed Structure

Birdbath Gives Interest in the Well-Sweep Garden

Another Beautiful Knot Garden

Cy's Exotic Roosters and Chickens!

I am so lucky to be able to travel to herb shops and farms all over the world.  One of my favorite places to stop in any season is Well-Sweep Herb Farm, Port Murray, New Jersey.  It is about one hour east of Allentown, Pennsylvania.  If you are in the area, please visit Well-Sweep and shop for your herbal Christmas gifts and plants.  It is the subject of my guest blog for The Herb Companion magazine.  It is called Herbal Travels: Well-Sweep Herb Farm.  Hope you enjoy it and that you have a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Herbal Memories-California Style!

Lots of years ago, we took a trip out to California and among the places we stopped was Sycamore Farms in Paso Robles.  Sycamore Farms has turned into Fat Cat Farms.  But back to the postcard above, it says at the top:  "Each day brings new delights here at Sycamore Farms as herbs like thyme, sage and oregano emerge from their long winter's rest.  Even the chickens seem more energetic as they search for bugs.  We're sowing seed for everything from basil to dill."  Below it says:  "Come and explore our seed selection, or just sit on a garden bench and watch the birds."

I actually have an herb from that California visit in my garden.  It is this basil mint or Mentha arvensis.  It is grown commercially in Japan, Brazil and other countries for its essential oils, which are used in toothpastes, pharmaceutical products and colognes.  It prefers a drier situation, but mine seems to be very happy in the shade and wet by the birdbath.  There are 'Banana',  'Coconut' and 'Variegata' varieties of Mentha arvensis as well.

You will get a feel for the farm from the link above.  Hopefully this "new" version will stay afloat!  Please if you are in the Paso Robles area, patronize this farm.  Got to find my photos of that trip.  You will enjoy seeing the other places we visited!  Hope you are staying warm wherever you are!  It is FREEZING here in the 'Burgh!  I hear possibly colder next week!  Yikes!   Our little furnace is working overtime!  Talk to you later!

Activity at the Feeder!

You may have to click on the photo to see a titmouse on the little house out front!  It has been busy at the feeders since it has been cold!  Hope you are staying warm wherever you may be!  Talk to you later.

Simple Christmas Decor Two Years in the Making!!

Yikes, when I take these photos I'm not quite as good as my friend, Kary at My Farmhouse Kitchen at styling my shots!  Well, the bottom part is an old celery glass from the Victorian times.  My friend, Martha from Lines from Linderhof might like the glass for one of her spectacular table scapes.  I just filled the celery glass with pine cones and a cinnamon stick.  It might look good with mini green and red Christmas ornaments as well.  The topper is a pomander that I started in 2008!  I just closed the container and The Herbal Husband moved it around the basement so I forgot about it!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  Well, since December started we have been frigid and snowy!  I guess we will have a white Christmas this year!  Hope you have had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

 BTW, I think this is a better choice.  Still the same pomander, but a different dish.  Same vintage as the other, Victorian.

Artemisia Tree, Part I

I made the artemisia tree in the top photo in the 90's.  I thought it was good to repeat this now that I had my bag of goodies from Bed, Bath and Beyond!  Here are the directions from the 1995 Yankee Magazine's Christmas in New England:

Artemisia Tree
Materials needed:
artemisia (Silver King); you will need almost half a bushel
6-inch Styrofoam cone
clippers or shears
small pinecones (cones from spruce or hemlock are a good size)
bittersweet, pepper berries, or rose hips
dried flowers such as bachelor button, delphinium, everlasting, oregano,
pearly everlasting, statice, tansy, yarrow
tiny bird figurines
small bells
fine florist wire or a hot-glue gun

Insert the handsomest pointed artemisia spike (about 6 to 7 inches long) into the top of the cone.  Decide on a good length of the bottom branches; some people prefer a fat tree, others a skinny one.  Cut 4 branches and insert them horizontally on the lowest level of the cone, roughly equidistant from one another so they divide the cone in quarters.  They will guide you as you work around, filling in the bottom row entirely.  Repeat the process on the next 2 rows, inserting 4 "guide" branches, then filling in.  Keep turning the tree.  You may want to put it on a lazy Susan as you work so that you can keep the whole shape of the tree in mind.

With the fourth row, begin to angle the branches slightly upward.  From that point on, each row will point increasingly upward.  You should begin to lengthen the branches slightly, so that by the time you get to the top few rows, they will hug the top 7-inch branch.  Your tree should be bushy and full, with no Styrofoam showing.  Trim the tree with assorted decorations, using either florist wire or a hot-glue gun.

The tree should last for a few years if stored in plastic in a dry place.  To refresh, give it a quick shower under a spray faucet and add a few new blossoms and branches.

I do work with a lazy Susan.  It makes it easy to see where you have holes in the tree.  I do like the look of a "fat" tree.  Hope the photos help.  I didn't have time to work on it today and maybe not tomorrow, but I will have more photos for you later in the week.  Hope you had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

So Just As I Was Leaving...

 

for Allentown,  Julie from Laughing Horse Art awarded me this and I'm very honored!  It is required that I pass it on to other worthy bloggers.  That I will do but after I answer the award questions first:

1.  If you blog anonymously are you happy doing it that way; If you are not anonymous, do you wish you had started out anonymously so you could be anonymous now?
  I started out anonymously and then because I guest blog for The Herb Companion magazine, they outed me.  I'm OK with having my name out in the blogsphere!

2.  Describe one incident that shows your inner stubborn side:
I don't think there is just one!  I'm a very stubborn person.  If I think I'm right, look out!

3.  What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?
My authentic self.  Very happy with my weight loss and happy I'm still alive and blogging!

4.  What is your favorite summer cold drink?
Lavender hibiscus lemonade

5.  When you take time for yourself, what do you do?
I read about herbs, garden in the herb garden, walk around my neighborhood, have lunch with friends and work on my blog!

6.  Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life?  What is it?
I think I would like to publish a booklet or book about herbs.

7.  When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever, the shy person, or always ditching?
  Very shy!  Painfully so!  So there is hope for the very shy person in your family!

8.  If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment of your life-what would you see?
The most poignant moment was when I was told my adopted dad had been killed in an automobile accident.  It was the worst day of my life.

9.  Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?
I think it has become easier for me the more I have blogged because there is always someone out there that can relate to what is going on for you.

10.  If you had the choice to sit down and read or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?
Oh, this is an easy one.  Reading would be the choice.  I have a big book collection and haven't read everything.  Also, because I was a legal secretary for almost 17 years and the phone became a problem for me.  Hate to hear the phone ringing!

My vote for some great blogs (in no particular order) (and I know there are so many more out there!) are:

Carol from Silver Spring Acres
She has been through a lot this year, but she is still blogging and moving forward!

Melissa from Fancilicious Fairylands
Just for her sheer energy alone, she makes the most of everything she does and those gypsy caravans!  You've got to love them!

One of my favorites from way back at the beginning, Tufa Girl from Texas Tufa!
Always love the gadgets on her blog and she is always coming up with new ones!

Seanymph from Mermaids Treasures
She is always coming up with great easy recipes and she is a canner!  Love those quart jars!

Alyssa from Boston Bee
Again when you get to my age, youth is important!  Alyssa has a great vibe to her blog and energy to match!

Sharon from Corgis in My Garden
Just love her miniatures and her dogs!

Pat from The Journal of Taylor's Outback
Pat blogged from her trip to Alaska and she quilts.  Something I can't do!  Very impressive!

You all have added something to my life and I hope you accept this little award in the spirit given.  Don't worry about passing it on right away.  It took me a month!  I know you are all busy with the holidays, so just pass it along when you can!  Thanks Julie and ladies for your inspiration!

Herb Channeler, Part Six!

It's just gotten silly how far behind I am.  So I promised Carolee of Carolee's Herb Farm a few weeks ago that I would blog about her website.  Haven't been to her farm yet, but some day we will meet, Carolee!  Several weeks ago, I was searching on Google for herbal sweatshirts and found Carolee's website.  Since I love herb books, I decided to treat myself and buy her autobiographical/fictional tales of her life and starting her herb farm.  They are chock (my new favorite word) of herbal information and recipes.  She has been growing herbs for a long time, but got her herb farm started in 1992.  It is somewhere between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne near Hartford City, Indiana.  So you should go visit next year when the herb farm opens April 1.  If you are looking for a last minute herbal holiday gift though, check out all her books and products she sells at the link above.  I have also added her website as a link in my favorites list on the right hand side of this blog.  I'll just keep putting up posts until I get caught up!  Ha!  As you know, I get interrupted by The Herbal Husband's movie cravings and other nonsense!  It is ridiculously cold here already!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be!  Talk to you sooner than you may think!

Leaning Tower of Herbs!

Been busy the last couple of days in my newly cleaned up workspace.  I would have gotten more done, but we are taking our friend, Jim, out for dinner at Friday's.  Dinner at Friday's on Friday!  We hardly ever do that!  Those coupons they give are enticing!  This is a little leaning tower of herbs that hopefully will yield some tea blends, anise hyssop, mint, lemon balm and, of course, lemon verbena.  I have also started the artemisia tree and I promise to have those photos over the weekend.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later!

My Herbal Cabinets

I don't have a minister of mint or a secretary of basil, but I do have a cabinet or two of herbal information that I use when I do presentations. Now that the growing season is really over in the herb garden, I am getting to work inside.  I was a legal secretary in my former life and organizing files were one of my least favorite tasks.  However, it makes it so much easier to find what is needed.  I also have collected zillions of magazine and newspaper clips and I need to just keep what I need.  I actually found a first map of my first garden in the early 90's.

Ah, it brings back memories!  If you click on it, you will see all of the herbs and flowers it had.  I got and still get a little carried away with herbs and flowers, but happily, I might add.  Sorry my posting has gotten later and later.  It is cold and blustery here and we haven't even gotten to winter yet!  I have a list of things to get to, including an award that my buddy Julie gave me way back in November, the artemisia tree, do a couple of tea blends among other things!  Hope you had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Just in Thyme (Oh, I mean Time!)

I was looking at the beautiful herbs that were covered with frost on Jim Long's Garden blog the other day.  Little did I know that we would have snow after 50's and over 2" of rain yesterday!  But it wouldn't be December without some snow!  Yes, I know I said it, DECEMBER!  Where has the year gone?  Down the clothes chute!  Fortunately at our house I was too big to get inside!  My mother would have expired on the spot!  It would have been perfect too, but the chute part was too small!  I think I did send my baby dolls down at least once or twice.  Sorry mom!

Here is the front garden.  Looks a little fairy like, doesn't it?  Well, want to finish my post before my exercise and I think a movie this afternoon.  The new Russell Crowe movie filmed here in the 'Burgh, The Next Three Days.  BTW, Love and Other Drugs is a good one with Jake the cutie Gyllenhaal (Had to look that up!) and Anne Hathaway.  Also, filmed in the 'Burgh.  And I was going to say Unforgettable but it's Unstoppable with Denzel Washington.  It was also filmed here.  The Herbal Husband saw that one on his own and liked it.  Busy place, Pittsburgh!  Forgot about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!  That's what I'm going to see!  Hope you are having a great day.  I'll get back to the herbal posts eventually.  Way behind as usual!  Talk to you later!