Thankful for days of quiet breathing

Counting blessings

152 - two reasons not to make the bed

153 - my little herbal heaven outside the kitchen door

154 - green herbs in red sauce

155 - tranquil rooms

156 - afternoon naps

157 - 300 year old sycamores

158 - blue shadow, green light

Green before it was keen

This vintage photo (oh my gosh, I'm VINTAGE) is my husband and I in our attempt at an American Gothic pose while proudly tending our first veggie garden, circa 1985.

We first got the gardening bug when we visited a great aunt and uncle who gave us a tour of their extensive garden. Along with great advice, they passed on to us an old black enamel canning pot and some Mason jars to "put up" what we grew. So with our Reader's Digest Back to Basics book and blissful ignorance, we plowed ahead.

Back in the day, my hubby and I grew our own veggies, baked our own bread, bought vintage clothes at thrift shops, and used cloth diapers. We already had two babies, and a third was soon to follow. All this while still in our twenties. So - were we eco-minded avant-garde recycling mavericks? Heck, no. We just didn't have any money. My sweetie was just starting out in the computer field, and I was a stay at home mom, which believe me in the eighties was not cool. Neither was wearing vintage aprons, which I did. It wasn't considered hip - it was considered weird. At least according to my babysitter, who told me that she didn't think so, but her mom did :)

So where am I going with this ramble? I have no idea. Old photos cause me to reminisce...

Our first tiny garden, on the side of our first tiny house. Keeping a vegetable and herb garden is still one of our favorite things to do together.

Each spring for the past several years, we have made a visit to King's Herb Nook, an organic plant and seed business run by a local Mennonite family.

For any of you locals who might be interested, this place is awesome and their prices are outstanding.

They are located at 1060 Compass Road (PA 10) in Honey Brook, PA

They also teach classes on growing and using edible and culinary weeds and medicinal herbs. I've taken one or two of these classes. They are very informative.

They have a small shop on the premises where they sell homemade soaps, teas, bread and grains - all organic.

The inside of this shop smells heavenly with all of the dried flowers, mints, and herbs

They also have a great selection of how-to books

Good soil!

It's the little things

Counting blessings

I want to start off by saying thank you dear friends for the expressions of condolence at the passing of my stepfather last week. Your taking time to write meant a lot to me. Bless you. It's the little things that mend our hearts and turn our eyes to all that we can be grateful for.

141 - In New Zealand where my daughter lives, someone got the idea to make a massive Mother's Day card from post-it notes. Anyone who wanted to could post a note to their mom (or mum)

142 - photos taken by our future son-in-law Rhys

143 - my honeylamb

144 - *sniff*

145 - clean windows, or letting the light in

146 - favorite seeds

147 - a bouquet of love from my church family

148 - youngest daughter's repertoire

149 - my exceedingly attractive 18th century workshoes (don't hate me 'cause they're beautiful - lol)

150 - perspective

151 - view from my bedroom window

I'm tellin' ya

Counting blessings

Life is funny. I was looking forward to telling my friend Carlo about my last post. Sometimes I would show him my blog on his ancient laptop computer, which would take for - ev - er to load. I don't know if he was that impressed with my blog. He would always ask questions like, "How did this get in there? Who's reading it? Who pays for the storage?" He made me laugh.

Carlo passed away suddenly last week. He was not only my friend. He was my mother's husband. They met and married a few years ago. He was a good man and was good to my mom. He was a hard worker who could not abide laziness. He was a veteran, a gardener, a tough guy with a soft heart. I will miss him.

134 - the camellia bush growing in my garden because of you

135 - Sitting in your kitchen watching old movies

136 - Hearing you say "whaddyamean ya never saw 'Bridge Over the River Kwai'? Ya gotta rent it. Write the name down. Ya can't appreciate it if ya see it halfway through. Write the name down - you'll forget. I'm telling ya, write the name down - you'll forget. And any movie with Joe Pesci in it. He was a great actor, Joe Pesci".

137 - Always asking about my chickens, and always acting surprised when I brought the eggs - "Your chickens laid these eggs? No kiddin!"

138 - Impressing my youngest with your ability to do a Rubix cube in under five minutes

139 - the old black and white pic mom gave me: Carlo, soldier, age 21 (handsome fella)

140 - a million other things - love you

Old school propagation

I have an elderly friend who still lives in the house that his parents built a few years after immigrating here from Italy. One day I admired the camellia bush he has growing outside his kitchen door. "My mother planted that bush," he said. "She could grow anything - fruit trees, bushes, anything. She would take cuttings, stick 'em in the ground, put a jar over 'em, and bodda-bing! - a new plant." He urged me to cut a couple branches off the bush. "I'm tellin' ya, when ya go home, stick 'em in the ground right away, cover 'em with a jar, and when ya see new growth on the branch, you'll know it worked. Ya gotta try a couple, 'cause some of 'em won't take, but at least one will. Try it."

He sent me home with a couple of blossoms, too, for encouragment.

I was skeptical. It seemed too easy. But I tried it. He was right. Two of the three I "stuck in the ground" died. But the third one...

Bodda-bing!

Moral of the story: listen to your elders. They know stuff. Thanks, Carlo.

For all things bright and good

Counting blessings

129 - April nights that are still cool enough for a fire

130 - Homemade terrariums

131 - Green green grass after the snowiest winter ever

132 - tree bark

133 - Conquering my fear/hatred of the combustion engine, or the generosity of the man who let me drive his beloved tractor

Stepping back

April is the month that I head back to work as a living historian. Cross the little bridge with me and we'll be transported to a farm in Chester County in the 1790's. Today's task will be candlemaking. In about an hour, a hundred and five second-graders will be joining us, so we best get to work. Here's a few pictures from my work day.

I'm spoiled to work in such a peaceful setting.

Time to cut the wick.

Important rule in candlemaking: don't let the fire go out...

I love my job!