Rescuing Rosemary

As I lay in bed, drifting off to the news, the weather report came on and called for freezing temps. I remembered the fern, aloe and spider plants hanging on the patio and the rosemary in the hedge. Donning a hoodie over my gown and wellies over my bare feet, I ran out to rescue the plants. The rosemary is my favorite. It was left over last year's herb garden. I stuck it and other herb cuttings in an old hen and chicks pot, hoping for some fresh herbs for use during the winter. By spring, the rosemary was down to about 5 inches of woody stump. My mother has a theory for tired and ailing house plants...she "gives them over to God" and sticks them outside. So die or thrive, it's completely up to nature. Normally, I replant and nurture, but this time, I stuck the pot in the hedge around the patio and frankly forgot about it. I even planted a new herb garden complete with new rosemary. We used the rosemary from the herb garden all summer. Lo and behold...look at the rosemary from the hens and chicks pot! What a boon for fall and winter dishes. If the freeze missed the others in the herb garden, I shall bring them in for the winter. The money saved on the rosemary alone is reason enough to give it a go!

Repurposed

Once upon a time, feed sacks were made of cloth. When we started raising chickens, feed came in paper sacks. We would use them to recycle papers, line the rabbit hutch or mulch the garden. Then came the nylon bags. I didn't know what to do with them and piled them up in the shed, never wanting to add them to the trash, yet another landfill victim. Sometime later, I saw feed bag totes for sale at the feed store made by the 4H kids. I started making them for our groceries, then as gifts and recently, I have begun filling orders for them. Nothing like making a little extra cash while recycling! Shoot me a line if you'd like to place an order.

An Apple...An Idea

Behold the apple. In it's current state, a possible danger to my digestive system. More test will perhaps lead to a diagnosis and meds to alleviate the symptoms. But, that is not what the apple means to me today. It is what the apple may become. With the right ingredients and know how, it can be be transformed. Today, the simple visual of the apple means a beginning, an idea, a spark of things it can become. A neighborhood icon, The Benson Bakery has become available for rent. It has not been run as the bakery for a few years now, but the space and most of the equipment is there. Usually, I do not long for money, but today, if I had the finances, I would restore this community favorite to it's former self. Not an upscale bakery with $4.00 cupcakes and artisan breads, but a neighborhood bakery with the baked goods we grew up with. Breads in sacks, doughnuts, kringles, kolaches carried away in those cardboard boxes back to coffee and orange juice waiting at home. It wouldn't take much money to get it back off the ground, and I am on the hunt to find the finances. This is just the business our whole family could be involved in...with a little hard work and elbow grease, this apple could become a pie!

Our Little Soul in Seoul: Arm Scripture

What a beautiful idea! Blessings to Katie on her journey!

Our Little Soul in Seoul: Arm Scripture: So many of you know how I have had some tough days in this wait for Zinny. After the emotional roller coaster this summer with Korea putting...