Herbs

Growing herbs is such a pleasant, gentle thing to do. There's something very healing about the whole process. Today I harvested some chamomile, lemon  balm, Greek oregano, lavender, sweet marjoram, peppermint, spearmint, Italian parsley, and lemon thyme.  I originally hung them all on the clothesline in the sun. They looked so sweet, hanging all in a row by wooden clothespins. But as I pondered the process a bit, I realized that the cool and sometimes damp night air here in Western Washington might cause them to dampen and perhaps mold. So this evening I moved the whole operation to the guest bedroom. I strung line across the curtain rods and pinned my herbs to it. (If you read my earlier post regarding the drying of herbs, you'll know that I was avoiding this very situation; a little concerned that my family may think I'm getting a little bit daffy.) Whatever! The guest room smells wonderful, anyway! And to you seasoned herbalists...I know; some of these should really be dried on a wire mesh rack; but I don't own one yet. So we use what we have.

 

Autumn; Feast for the Eyes and the Soul

It's Monday afternoon and I should be at school. Right about now I would normally be helping Mrs. Ross show her brood of kindergarteners how to count blocks and explain how a rectangle differs from a square. Complex stuff when you're only 5. But instead I am nestled in hubby's cozy recliner sipping tea from my newly-thrifted corningware ivy teapot and blogging away. Somehow I pulled a muscle in, well, there's no delicate way to say it...my groin. Ouch! It's been bothering me for several days, but like any good superhuman; I've tried walking it off, ignoring it, stretching it; basically everything but the practical, time honored remedy-rest. My early morning walk to the loo this mornin' convinced me. I realized that limping to the bathroom was one thing, but getting up and down on my knees all day so that I can look my students in the eye is quite another. And I must say, this rest thing is under-rated. I feel pretty good! Steamy hot tea, my newly painted olive green kitchen, a bunch of autumn flowers on the desk, and our backyard squirrels are all keeping me quite entertained and feeling very mellow.
And since I've got the time; I thought I'd load some new autumn-inspired photos for you to enjoy. (I took them while 'walking off' the pulled muscle!)



A view of the back yard from my newly painted kitchen


Luscious grapes at Homestead Farms


Walking through the arbor



Crimson vine maples



and crimson winter apples on the espalier (from a neighbor's home, I dream of espaliered apples in my garden one day)


Taking a break from our walk at the 2nd tee box

A view of the 8th green

Last roses of summer

Peeking at the old John Deere through the golden leaves


Shadows on our pathway.

A fall feast for the eyes and soul.

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Tea Time; and the Trials of a Tea -Totaler

Once in a movie, a young man was visiting a very proper old woman. She offered him tea and he declined, saying, "I don't like tea." She stiffened a bit and answered haughtily, " Sir, there are over two thousand varieties of tea; do you mean to say that you dislike them ALL?"

I too, feel a bit haughty about my tea. I have certain favorites. And I detest some of those trendy new varieties, that, though they look nice in the bag; taste like grass clipping strained in water.

If a waitress really wants to irritate me, she only needs to toss a little assortment of tea on the table when I have specifically requested green tea. Then after I have sorted through the bags of licorice-mint and orange-camembert (I jest) tea; I am forced to ask for the green tea. To this request the waitress invariable gives me a dirty look and retorts; "This is all the tea we have."

And why is it, pray tell, that my favorite local coffee shop, switched to a loathesome brand of tea, just because the people who make the brand are local also? Why doesn't he switch to a local coffee, rather than that rich Columbian blend that he offers? I'll tell you why, because the local stuff tastes terrible!

Oh, the trials of a tea-totaler!

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