My 2012 Christmas Ornament Project-Lamb's Ear Style!

My Work Space!  Can It Get Any Smaller?

The Type of Pins I  Used

Starting to Pin and Glue the Leaves

Don't Look Too Closely!

Well, some projects get thrown under the bus or away from the bus and don't make the cut.  I'm always crying about the lack of space in the basement.  Somehow that translates to less space than when I started complaining.  So I'm very quiet these days.  Translation I forget what I'm doing.  The top photo was taken around the middle of November.  I was going to give you the instructions that I found online and everything for this ornament.  I think I wasn't excited about the finished product.  I get too perfect!  Sorry it's my Virgo background.  So here is a link to the lamb's ear ornament.  I also need to go buy a bottle of tacky glue.  I think it would work a bit better than Elmer's.  Though Elmer's did work pretty good.  I did a combination of things.  I also found a website that talked about using straight pins when the boy scouts made their project.  Yikes, that sounds a bit scary!  No Boy Scouts were harmed in the making of this project!

My Lamb Ear Ornament

Tacky or All-Purpose Glue (I would have used Tacky glue, but mine had dried out completely!)
3" Styrofoam ball or the size you want
8 to 10 5 or 6" Lambs Ear leaves
Straight pins
Ribbon

So you just want to make sure that your leaves overlap and that you use enough glue to glue them down.  I used straight pins with ball ends to hold the ends of the leaves down.  Then after I made my bow, I used a couple more straight pins with red heads to stabilize the bow.

I also found in my search a lamb ornament made out of the parts of the lamb ear's plant by Fairegarden in Tennessee.  Hope I don't get in trouble with the copyright thing on her photos!  Very cute and if I can remember at blooming time this year, I'm try to make one for you.  Couldn't get a caption on one of the photos, but you get the idea hopefully.  You'll have lots of time between now and this Christmas to get ornaments done!

Going to warm up now.  We are supposed to be 60 by the end of the week.  I have been exercising inside.  Much safer.  Hope you are having a wonderful day.  Talk to you later.

R.I.P. Dottie!

February, 2010 Snowstorm

Don't want you to think that this is our landscape at the moment.  This is the February 2010 snowstorm.  I am using this photo because my cousin, Dottie passed away on Friday.  My family isn't that big and the first cousins are going down like big trees!  My Aunt Wilma's children are gone in the space of seven months!  Dottie used to live in Jamestown, NY known for its big snows.  It was a sudden death, a heart attack.  She died peacefully.  Dottie was independent even as a child.  My favorite story about her was that on Easter one year, she really wanted to ride the neighbor's horse and her mother said it would mess up her dress.  So she went against my aunt's wishes and went to the neighbor's got their horse and rode it down past my aunt who was doing dishes in the kitchen.  All she could see was Dottie's head moving up and down because the window was elevated and my aunt couldn't see the horse, but she wasn't happy!  Hope you have a good visual in your mind!  She was a pistol in the best way!  Will miss you, Dottie!  She got to ride lots of horses as an adult.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to her four daughters and their families and her beloved husband, Bob.  I will leave you with my favorite poem.
 

Miss Me -- But Let Me Go

When I come to the end of the road

  and the sun has set for me.

I want no rites in a gloom filled room.

Why cry for a soul set free.

Miss me a little -- but not too long

and not with your head bowed low.

Remember the love that was once shared

Miss me -- but let me go.

For this is a journey we must all take

and each must go alone.

It is all a part of the Master's plan

a step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick of heart

Go to friends we know

And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.

Miss me -- but let me go.

                                                                                    Author Unknown

Going to warm up this week.  Will be able to see the garden by the end of this week.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

Blue Sky, Very Cold and Oh, She is Still Visiting!

Sparrows in the Tree Waiting to be Fed!

The Morning with Very Cold and Crisp!

Santa's Doe Still Here!

Well, I discovered that the butterfly bushes which mostly have their leaves are being eaten by our visitor from the North Pole.  She was up on our hillside, but as I was doing my exercise she came down to under the grape arbor and was feeding on the butterfly bush!  Never a dull moment!  Well, here is a very blue sky, but a very cold day!  Not at all like we had last winter.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  I have to work on getting down to the basement.

Saw Les Miserables yesterday.  What a tour de force Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway are.  I'm not going to bash my Russell Crowe's singing.  It was a visually stunning movie!  Going to see it again because some times the second time, it becomes clearer.  Loved the music and the staging.  I admire the director, Tom Hooper for seeing the vision.  Amazing.  Talk to you later.

Happy New Year-2013-Views of the Herb Garden and a Sunny Day 'Burgh Style!

Yes, This is a Typical Sunny Day in the 'Burgh!

The Butterfly Bush Still Hangs in There!

A 'Berggarten' Sage Peaking Out!

The Always Hardy Germander!

Well, I had to remind you that this is a typical sunny day in the 'Burgh.  We usually don't have sunshine until mid January at the earliest.  I might be exaggerating a bit, but it feels like we don't have much sun in winter.  We were rate 39th out of 40 cities with the number of sunny days and I think you want to be first on that particular list.  I think the other photos are self-explanatory.  Herbs and the butterfly bush do survive even with a blanket of snow.  It's the insulating factor.  It is very cold here at the moment.  We sorta glided into the winter cold temperatures.  We are having a pork dinner tonight and I'm making it so I had better get my act together.  Hope we all have a great 2013.  Talk to you later.

Lemon Verbena Lady's Herbal Year in Review-2012

January-A Bit of Snow Covering the Herb Garden

February-Always Nice to See the Herb Garden in Winter

March-The Apothecary's Rose Has Come to Life

April-The Herb Garden Made the Herb Society of America's Calendar

May-Lemon Verbena Coming Back in the Herb Garden

June-My First Attempt at a Video in the Herb Garden

July-The Last Time I Had a Repost in The Herb Companion

August-Was the Year for Sunflowers in the Garden

September-Last Issue of The Herb Companion Sold

October-'Cup of Sun' Nasturtiums Were Wonderful

November-Lemon Verbena Thriving on a Western Facing Windowsill

December-The Herb Garden As We Began 2012 Covered with Snow

 I'm not sure how we got to this point already!  New Year's Eve and the end of 2012.  I think overall it was a good year in the herb garden and in the garden overall.  The Herbal Husband and I got it back into shape after being away a lot of last year.  We had very hot early and then we cooled down for the end.  Seems like we started with and ended with a blanket of snow.  February and March were mild by winter standards in southwestern Pennsylvania.  The herb garden was a calendar selection in the Herb Society's calendar for 2012 in April.  May brought the triumphant return of the lemon verbena from the ground in the herb garden.  One of my greatest achievements in 2012!  In June I attempted a video tour of the herb garden.  July brought the last repost of my guest blog, The Herb Channeler for The Herb Companion magazine.  August was sunflower month in the garden.  They were gorgeous!  September brought the end of The Herb Companion magazine after almost 24 years of publication.  October was the month of nasturtiums.  November should be a highlight of Thanksgiving, but no we bring you my lemon verbena in a container on a windowsill in full leaf!  It is usually two sticks when it comes inside. December has been cold these last few days and finally snowy!  I had a few trips to NYC and southeastern PA with my friend, Bonnie.

I have started guest blogging for Mother Earth Living magazine, but I have also decided to take a short break from that to do some research and refresh my herbal mind.  I'll be back blogging for them in March, 2013.  As for resolutions, I'm not big on that.  I have been going through the 1,100 plus posts and trying to make them more finder friendly.  I'm not sure I'm succeeding.  I have pulled out a few of the classic and contemporary herbal authors and their books and may do some posts on their herbal lives and thoughts.  I also need to get down to my workspace and do some herbal tea blends cause it is just too cold out there at the moment and too white with snow.  So if you have any thoughts about what you want to hear and see in 2013 from Lemon Verbena Lady, please let me know.  Oh, I may try to do a few more videos in 2013.  I would like to say Happy New Year to all of my blogging friends and faithful readers!  May we all have a peaceful and safe celebration for the new year!  See you in 2013!

Still Some Green Even with Snow!

This is a butterfly bush that is still surviving outside close to the house.  This is why this plant is on so many invasive species lists.  With the snow we are getting today though it may be buried when we go to shovel.  Well, as I always say, it is winter kids and if you don't want snow you need to be in a warmer location!  The sound of snow blowers in the background is annoying, but necessary.  Hope you are warm and cozy wherever you may be.  Got to work on the outside.  Talk to you later.

A Nice Warm Lunch on a Frosty Day! Well, Not Really!

Once again the tropical Herbal Husband comes up with a satisfying lunch.  If you can't quite tell by the marvelous photo, it is avocado topped with chicken salad, a hard boiled egg and tomato and lettuce and maybe a couple of big green olives (a weakness of mine).  The avocado is a healthy fat, the chicken salad is made with lite mayo, a hard boiled egg is my favorite quick protein snack and tomato and lettuce is just great nutritious  filler.  I sprinkle it with a Tuscan Sunset Italian salt-free blend from Penzeys Spices.  Perfect.

Well, it is just cold and snowy here.  Take a look.

We got that gray 'Burgh day going on.  I think tomorrow may be a sunny day and I will get out and take a few sunny photos.  Promise.  Gotta go and work for my next lunch by shoveling a path to the car and getting the car cleaned off!  Talk to you later!

Gotten A Bit Crazy in the Snow Department!

Birdies Going Crazy Trying to Get the Food in the Birdhouse!

Christmas Dinner-Chicken Divan-Divine!

Have to Have These at Holiday Meals!

Well, hope you all had a wonderful Christmas day.  I have to say I was relieved to get up this morning and be able to drive down to the grocery store and get some needed items.  The forecasters were just enough off to allow me to get there and back before the snow started to come down.  Thank God for the wrong forecast!  As you can see in the photos above, the landscape has become snowy.  Sorry for all of you in the warm climates, this is Christmas weather and winter is a season and I will always love it.  I said on Facebook last night ask me again in ten years, but for now, I really still love it.  Don't have to commute in it and can stay home and watch it come down with my mug of tea!  Now don't let the power go off!

I think the other two photos are self-explanatory.  Christmas dinner last dinner was delicious.  I just have been wanting to make this dish for a while and what better time than Christmas.  The chicken divan was divine and those crescent dinner rolls just filled in that carb gap to soak up the sauce.  We were even invited over to the neighbor's dinner, 30 plus people and a sick hostess with a throat sickness that she always seems to get.  We decided to pass and stay in the calm and quiet and be able to eat in our sweats.  The neighbor's older son even invited himself to our house!  I said you are always welcome.  He stayed in the merriment.  I'll catch you up with more photos later.  We aren't going to get a large amount of snow like they thought, but I hear the pinging of icy rain on the windows.  A good thing to be staying inside!  Stay warm.  I'll talk to you later. 

Getting Ready for the Snow and BTW!

Well, Merry Christmas everyone!  I was awakened this morning by The Herbal Husband screaming get your camera and come take a picture of Santa's helpers.  We always get a visit this time of year by at least one of them.  This year was two of them.  The doe was under the grape arbor and once she got up and started to walk out of the garden, we saw she was limping.  The buck had his velvet antlers.  Never a dull moment for us.

They may come back later on to stay for the night.  I'll post another shot of the two of them on my Facebook page.  Hope you are having a great Christmas.  My turn to cook and I'm making Chicken Divan.  Here's a link for my recipe, Chicken Divan.  Snow, freezing rain, a general mess coming our way tonight.  I told The Herbal Husband, "Just chill!  We don't have to go anywhere!"  Always a good thing.  Stay safe wherever you may be.