waiting

As my mood wavers between excited anticipation and discouraged irritability--oh when will this baby appear...

 I harvest sun-drenched calendula

 smell the roses

 (not mine--we found these lovelies at Portland's Rose Gardens)

store away dried oregano and lemon balm for the winter

chuckle at this little one who insists on wearing her tutu to help dad in the garden.

 The garden bursts

bees work industriously

 cucumbers climb

tomatoes and beans grow tall...

...and our little corner of the world teems with life.

lavender honey lemonade

It seems that summer is truly upon us here in the northwest. It is hot, and being in the very pregnant state that I am, I've been doing everything possible to stay cool, and stay hydrated. So lemonade has been on my mind, and I finally had a chance to make up a batch this afternoon. Last year I fell in love with Heather's lavender lemonade, and using her recipe as inspiration, I created my own version with honey. And oh, is it good--really--Mt. Olympus nectar of the gods good.

If I was willing to wait a few weeks, I would have done this with the lavender and honey, to make a magical solar infusion. But I used the stove instead, and it still turned out heavenly. The violet lavender water and golden honey combine to make the loveliest rosy color--approved by the three-year-old girls among us. And the subtle, complex, sweet-tart-herbal flavor satisfies us adults.

Lavender Honey Lemonade

1 cup water
1 handful fresh lavender blossoms
1/2 cup honey
1 lemon juiced (about 1/3 cup)
3-4 cups cold water

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add lavender, cover, and turn off heat. Steep for 10-20 minutes. If possible, sit in the kitchen with your feet up while the scent of lavender fills the room. Breathe deeply. Strain out the lavender flowers and admire the violet colored water. Add honey to hot lavender water and stir to dissolve. Add lemon juice and water to taste. Serve over plenty of ice. Find a nice shady spot, close your eyes, sit back, sip, and relax...

savoring summer

While she did this...

I harvested some of this...

And worked just a bit on this...

(yes, that is my very pregnant belly poking its way into the photo...soon, soon!).

Taking a break from baby knits to start a very simple felted bowl (thinking they would make good Christmas presents) with Brown Sheep bulky Lanaloft in "Herbal Garden"  and size 9 needles.

We had a good afternoon--with the cold sprinkler, fragrant lavender, and soft wool, it was quite a feast for the senses.

Joining with Ginny for yarnalong...

Saturday Garden Journal

These days the star of our garden is the blueberry. The bushes are heavy laden, and my three year old takes such pride in filling her hands, her mouth, and the little bowls she brings out to the backyard with the succulent sweet-tart treats. This morning I awoke at 5:45 to a little curly head saying, "Mom, let's go out and pick blueberries for the pancakes." And after negotiating with her for another 15 minutes in bed, that's just what we did. The task at hand made being awake and outside at 6 am on a Saturday feel like a privilege rather than punishment. It was a lovely warm and quiet morning, the gentle light shining just so on the garden. I even took the opportunity to cut some broccoli for dinner, and to do a little slug hunting. I have to say, oatmeal with freshly picked blueberries is an entirely different experience than our usual oatmeal with raisins. And the blueberry pancakes were delicious.

We're experimenting with growing some dry shelling beans this year, just to see how it works. It would be nice to be able to grow more staple food items, in addition to veggies. Our space is so limited, though, that it's probably not practical to plant in quantities large enough to put a dent in our bean consumption. The food bank garden where my husband volunteers grew some quinoa last year, which I think would be very fun to try, too.

The peas are not thriving to the degree they did last year, but really doing quite well considering the initial slug onslaught they had to weather. We do so love snapping off a few for a snack as we come and go through the front yard.

We had a hot day today, after a long stretch of cool wet weather.  The tomatoes are growing well, but the peppers, basil, and squash are still waiting for some consistently warm temps. The herbs are thriving, especially calendula. I saved seed last year and had great results with starting them indoors this spring. I hope to get around to making some healing calendula salve before the arrival of baby brother later this summer.

The parsley is going to seed, and all the pollinators and beneficial insects love the lacy flowers. I've noticed they like chamomile and cilantro flowers, too. Anything with tiny blossoms and lots of pollen. This parsley originally came from seed saved and given to us by my late mother-in-law three years ago. I'm hoping that we'll be able to collect some seed from the plants this year to continue the legacy. It cheers my heart, the way these plants provide a tangible connection to her life and her garden.

Wishing happy gardens and happy gardening to all!

Joining in with Ginny's Saturday Garden Journal...

a cable hat

For yarn along this week I'm pulling another project from the archives. I wanted to share the finished raglan sweater for my daughter, but she has strong opinions about clothes (and everything else!) and has so far refused to put it on. We'll give it a little more time and see if we can't get a little photo shoot once she warms up to it. In the mean time, there's this...


...my first project with cables. I very regrettably lost my favorite hand-knit hat in the park last spring and needed a replacement quickly. So I found this pattern and used some of the hand-spun yarn I still have from my mom's spinning days. It's course and bulky and you can feel the lanolin in it--perfect for repelling rain and snow. The pattern is a great introduction to cables--I'd definitely recommend it.

I finally finished All Creatures Great and Small, after savoring it chapter by chapter over several weeks. Such perfect bed-time reading and I'm missing it so. (Just put the next book in the series on hold at the library!) But many more books are calling out to be read--right now my shelf is full of various herb references, reflecting my growing interest in all things herbal. I have to say I'm still looking for a favorite volume or author in this area...any suggestions?

Looking forward to more knitting and reading inspiration at Ginny's Yarn Along...

simple hand-made gifts

I wanted to share a couple of very simple sewn gifts I've been working on lately. They're rather common little items, but they can be embellished to one's heart's desire to make them special and unique for each recipient.

The first project is a little lavender eye pillow--a wonderful use for the lavender we harvested and dried from our garden this summer.

It is the very simplest of sewing projects--just two rectangles sewn right sides together, (leaving an open space of a few inches to turn), turn right side out, fill with flax seed and dried lavender flowers (chamomile is nice, too), then sew up the space. These seem to be loved by just about everyone, and especially by those needing a little extra TLC. The lavender is so soothing and bestows the recipient with a very tangible feeling of peace and well-being.

The second project is yet another birthday crown. They are my favorite gift for little friends these days.

Mr. Z certainly enjoyed receiving this one, and looked like quite a superstar wearing it.  I used Nicole's tutorial at Frontier Dreams for my first crown, and have been improvising a bit for each crown since then. 
For this one, I realized I could machine sew the decorations on, which saved a lot of time from the hand sewing I've done previously.

Have you seen the Handmade Holidays inspiration over at Plain and Joyful Living? I'm looking forward to the ideas that will be shared there every Monday, and hope to post a few projects myself, as we head into the holiday season. For now, we are enjoying the arrival of autumn!

catching up

 It's been a little while since I've posted here. The funny thing about blogging is that it can become a bit of a compulsion. When I first started this blog, I found it to be a wonderful exercise in taking time to see the world around me, and to share those visions with friends. But lately I realized I was getting caught in the trap of wanting to photograph and document everything, rather than appreciating the beauty fully in the present moment. So I took a break from documenting, and it has been refreshing. I do still love this crazy medium of self-expression called the blog, though. And it has been such a fun way to connect with lovely people across the world, so I couldn't stay away for too long. Here are a few of the happenings 'round here since I've been away...

 We harvested our winter squash, and what a satisfying job it was! Our very first success with this wonderful crop. This was our giant butternut that I felt sure was at least 10 lbs (weighed in at a mere 5 lbs--guess I'm not that great at estimating weight!). I think I will turn it into a soup tonight. Any favorite butternut soup recipes out there?

 I've been branching out with the backyard tea herbs--mint, lavender, coriander, and calendula all make lovely additions.

 Finally blocked my Shalom sweater that I finished this spring when it was too warm to wear it. Hopefully more pictures coming soon!

 Trying my hand at creating kimchi for the first time. Leah over at the Adventure Learning Company has a wonderful tutorial here.  I used the daikon radishes we planted in late summer, and garlic from the garden, along with cabbage, onion, and carrots from the farmer's market (and ginger from very far away). I have my fingers crossed that I gave those lactobacilli the proper environment to thrive--we'll see in a few days.

And I'm very excited about finally tackling the task of making lotion. I have been slowly working away at finding natural, low-cost alternatives to artificial chemical-laden body-care products, and I think this one is a success. I took inspiration from Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health and from Amanda Soule's new book The Rhythm of Family, tweaked the recipe to use what I had on hand, and was amazed when it actually worked! The best part is that all the ingredients are basically edible--water, cocoa butter, beeswax, olive oil, vitamin E, a few drops of essential oil, and a few herbs from the garden. So satisfying!

Wishing you all a lovely autumn!

simple gifts: lavender bliss

I've been finding myself singing the old Shaker song "Simple Gifts" a lot lately. Such a pleasing melody, and the words convey a truth of which I need constant reminding. My daughter loves it too. "Again, again", she says, as I come to the last line.

Recently the two of us were preparing our dried lavender to store away for use in herbal recipes in the coming year.

My husband was happily occupied in his woodshop, and my daughter and I brought the drying racks full of hanging lavender down to the kitchen. We had the radio tuned to our wonderful classical station (KBPS), and discovered a lovely early music show called Harmonia. Beautiful melodies filled the room as we began to remove the lavender buds from the stems. Soon, the lavender's soothing aroma wafted into our noses and the essential oils worked their way into our fingers. Such a treat for the senses!

We made a big mess, but really, when the mess is made of fragrant lavender flowers, can it be called a mess? It was certainly a pleasure to clean up. 

The fifteen minutes we spent engaged in this activity felt so serene and joyful. It seemed that all was right in our little world and everything was just as it should be--like the line from Simple Gifts:

 And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 

   'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

In these moments of serenity,  I can feel the frayed edges of my being come back together, the tight knots in my muscles loosen, the space in my heart grow wider and more hospitable.  These moments seem so rare (serene and toddler are not often found in the same room, at least in our house!) that I want to take note and remember them with gratitude. They truly are gifts. 

weekend reflections--chicken challenges and lavender lemonade

This was a rough week for Dolly, our Cuckoo Maran hen. I came home from work last Friday to find our Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens open on the kitchen table, and my husband decked in latex gloves, tending to this poor girl.

She had a prolapsed oviduct, and her hen companions had started to peck at her. (For those of you curious about this condition, plenty of information is available online...but for the weak-stomached, I will spare the details here). After some first aid and clean up, we put her in a makeshift hen hospital (our old brooder where the chicks spent the first weeks of their life) in the basement for some convalescence.

We kept her there for a week with food and water, and a few breaks to run outside for fresh air and greens. This weekend, we re-introduced her to the rest of the flock in the main coop. So far she seems to be holding her own...she certainly isn't withering away. But I don't think she's completely out of the woods. We are breathing a sigh of relief, though, and hoping she is through the worst of it.

  

Storey's Guide has a lot of good advice, and I wish I had read this particular sentence prior to our experience with Dolly: "Before any problems occur and while you are unemotional, determine in advance exactly how much time and money you are willing to spend nursing sick chickens." (p. 170)

Keeping chickens in the city is a tricky endeavor. When happy hens are clucking about the yard eating slugs and laying eggs, it seems quite idyllic. But when a chicken gets sick, more challenging issues arise. If we lived on a farm and were raising hens on a large scale, we probably would have culled Dolly by now. But it seems more difficult to make this decision in the city (the mere logistics of killing a chicken in the city are a bit daunting). We try not to think of our hens as pets, yet we value their lives as we value the lives of all creatures, and don't want to end them needlessly. We aren't able or willing to spend large amounts of money on vet bills for these animals, but we want to give them a chance to recover if they do become ill or injured. After talking to vets and researching, mulling and worrying this last week, I still haven't determined our plan for sick chickens exactly. But my understanding of the ethics and practicalities of raising animals for food in the city has certainly deepened. We will watch Dolly and do our best to provide our hens with a healthy environment, and tackle each new challenge as it comes.

After all that, it sure was good to sit down with a refreshing glass of Heather's lavender lemonade. I thought I had missed my chance to make it this summer when the nights got so cold that I found myself pulling out the wool blankets. But then the lavender flowered again, and the sun's warmth returned, and I couldn't resist the opportunity.

 This beverage is amazing...like drinking lavender. The whole house smelled of the stuff as the lavender steeped in the syrup. Heavenly! Heather writes about how lavender lemonade will make you feel like a lady, which is very true (even when you're wearing grubby gardening clothes, and not a calico dress). But my husband will attest that it can be equally enjoyed by a Carhartt-clad man working in his wood shop.  

I believe he called it the best lemonade he's ever tasted. Do give it a try yourself!

The making of an herbal salve

This year I've been so inspired by the herbs growing in our garden. They require little of us, yet they bestow us with such beauty, aroma,  flavor, healing, and cheer. Not to mention the pollinators and beneficial insects they attract to the garden.

Recently I experimented with making a solar-infused herbal oil and then turning it into a healing salve. The process went something like this:

Gather calendula petals,

chamomile blossoms,

and lavender flowers.

Toss them together,

and shake off the bugs.

Place in a jar and cover with olive oil, then set in the sun for a week or two while the herbs release their healing properties into the oil.

Strain the oil through cheesecloth, squeezing out every last drop of herbal goodness.

Grate some beeswax and warm with the oil till melted (you will want a grater designated specifically for this purpose, as the beeswax is very difficult to clean off).

Pour the magical golden potion into jars,

let cool in a place safe from little toddler fingers,

And there you have it!  Salve fit for a queen, or a humble gardener as the case may be. I have to say, the solar infused herbal oil is amazing--the scent is nearly tangible. And when combined with the beeswax, it works wonders to soften and protect hard working hands and sun-dried lips. Not just for women, either--my husband loves it too.

As a disclaimer, I'm still very much a beginner in the process of making herbal salves and potions. I was so excited about how this experiment turned out that I wanted to share it here, but this is not meant to be a tutorial. If you're looking for more specific instructions, find a local herbalist or check your library--there are lots of books with herbal recipes. I used Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health. You Grow Girl, by Gayla Trail also has a great recipe for an herbal balm for gardeners.