Growin' Some Herbs...

In the late Spring, I took a class about growing herbs. It was given by a woman who owns Redlands Herb Farm with her husband and son. It was a very interesting class and she brought lots of herbs for us to grow in either pots or gardens. She said the herbs were very hard to grow in the heat of the Summer, not only in So. Florida but especially in the Keys. I remember reading that the Community Garden down in Key West had been harvested in late Spring/early Summer, and all will be replanting again in the Fall. But undaunted by this "impossibility", I purchased two herbs and two veggie plants, and repotted them in pretty clay pots and set them out on my front porch, which gets a bit of sun in the morning, then mostly shade by the afternoon.

What did I buy? Mint -- which has been doing rather well, believe it or not; I'll make some mint tea soon with those leaves. Another plant which is a cross between Parsley and Celery, but smells like Celery. I was fortunate to have some of this in my chicken salad one day... but that one has (just recently) unfortunately bit the dust. :-/ I thought it was "Borage", but I guess I got the name mixed up with another, 'cause borage tastes more like cucumber.

I also have some mini carrots -- they have to be the SWEETEST little carrots I have EVER tasted!! It's too bad their so tiny!! Perfect for a tiny person the size of an ant!! :-D LOL She said they should be potted in a deep pot so that they'd grow deep & long, but that hasn't happened. Maybe I'm supposed to do something else, I don't know. Maybe you know? :-)

...and English Lavender... she said this one was especially difficult to grow because of the Summer heat, but so far so good! It smells SO NICE when I run my hands through it! And believe it or not, it's holding up rather well!! I'm looking forward to drying & using in sachets maybe, or in my bath... or maybe in my food! '-D The woman who hosted the class made some sugar cookies with lavender sprinkled on top... how simple and how fun! :-D When I lived in IL back in the 90's, I had a HUGE garden full of lavender, right out in front of the house! It was wonderful... did I do anything with it, not then... just enjoyed the flowers and the scent mostly. NOW, I wish I had a garden full of lavender since I use it so much.

So, I've made it through a good part of this hot Summer with most of the plants! I'll take a picture to show... so you have a better idea! Coming real soon... '-)

Somebody recently gave me some pole bean seeds... but I'm not a bean person, so some lucky person may be receiving those from me. If you're interested, let me know! '-D

Electrical INfrequencies...

These past two months I've experienced various electrical INfrequencies... what about you? My internet connection has been down most of the last two months, so getting on here to update this Blog (and a *new* one)... has been extremely difficult. And a visit from the AT&T Tech Guy gets it to work for a day, and off it goes again! :-/ I've been going to the Library to use the computers within the last hour that they're open! I don't mind this though because it reminds me how much I used to really love going to the library... sitting in a quiet corner and reading; and it's amazing how fast I can do my e-mail in an hour compared to how long it takes me at home! :-) This is quite an adjustment for someone who used to check her e-mail boxes twice a day... I don't want to tell you how many I have! :-D LOL I don't check them that often anymore... maybe it's the Universe's way of telling me to GET OUT & SOCIALIZE!! LOL That there IS life outside the computer! Yes there is! '-)

Besides the computer... it seems like I also have to replace the batteries in my digital camera a little too often as well. I just about put them in, and I have to change them again! Guess my camera isn't used to taking so many pictures... I'll share when I get them uploaded. '-)

AND my cell phone battery has decided to "bulge"... as I was told by the Verizon guy, it's not very good when your battery does this... it's from "overcharging"... it can explode if you don't replace it soon. EXPLODE?!?!? That's all I'd need... So if you can't get in touch with me, you'll know why. It's either the computer or the cellphone!

So what else is new besides the electrical issues? Not a whole lot... Guess I should be writing about "green" things... just wanted to gripe about something else! I guess it all has to do with "change"... something we're all in the midst of presently.

Have a GREAT evening!

Note: The cellphone issue has been fixed... with a new battery! :-D

Morning Glories...

Morning glories were the flowers of my youth. When I was young... just outside the backdoor of our home, I planted some morning glory seeds and had a wonderful scape of intertwining vines of this beautiful flower. I think it's the color... sort of a periwinkle color that captured my attention. Wherever/whenever I see this flower, I always smile... as it reminds me of a peaceful & happy time of growing flowers.

Apparently it has some medicinal properties (China) as well as hallucinogenic properties (Mexico)... but I enjoy it for it's pure beauty!



I was reminded of these beautiful flowers while on break this morning. In back of the gallery in which I work there's a fence with the morning glories' vine trailing along the top. I just noticed today also that the inside of the flower sports a "star"... sort of like a sea star! It's nice & warming to see this flower of my youth... :-)

What's your favorite flower, and why? :-)

A HOT Show...

I was invited to do an art show with a fellow glass artist this past Sunday @ Hawk's Cay Resort just north of Marathon. Veronica Guitierrez is a stained glass artist in Key Largo, dabbling in mosaics. To me, she's a "master" glass artist... having been involved with glass for over 20 years!

Anyway... it was BLOODY HOT, as I like to say!! It was a trial show for the resort, they offered it *free* to Keys' artists, whoever wanted to come out and BRAVE the HOT Marina area for the whole weekend. Keys' artists don't generally do Summer shows here because it's just too hot all around; that's why many travel up to New England or the Midwest & do those shows -- it's A LOT cooler! '-D I don't know... maybe they do down in Key West, but they may be on the waterfront where it might be cooler. I believe 7 artists showed up on Saturday, and only one came back on Sunday (Gyotoku - fish prints). We did the show on Sunday... so there were only 3 of us there. We did well... made a few customers, Veronica gained a new student (thanks to me), and a possible commission (also thanks to me, I think!). I'm hoping that when I step on the scale tomorrow, it'll tell me that I lost a few pounds due to all the sweating I did that day! LOL

It was FUN to do the show... I haven't done one for several years and that was when I did the jewelry shows. I enjoy seeing customers, but I really don't enjoy all the set-up and breakdown and sweating it out. But this wasn't a bad one considering there were only 3 of us there... the odds were with us! '-)

These ring colors are popular these days:

Fruit & Greens...

Recently, like in the past month, I've signed myself up for Annie's Organic Buying Club. Annie & her husband used to run Delicious Organics (outside of Miami) delivering organic food/veggies/fruit from West Palm Beach to the Lower Keys. But now... she's doing the Organic Buying Club; which basically combines everyone who's interested to purchase fruit & veggies for a much lower price. There's a small share and a large share, plus you can order extra fruit. The latter is always a nice bonus!

I'm a total believer that fruit & veggies are good for everyone's bodies and souls. The MORE you eat of them, the better you and your body feel in the long run. I can't say I'm a total Vegan... I DO still enjoy pork, chicken, and fish... no, correct that: I LOVE pork (couldn't NOT have it for any length of time!), but most of the time I do prefer to eat fruits & veggies, and have tried numerous times to eliminate processed foods -- it's difficult, but I limit them. Harry & David's Moose Munch isn't organic or vegan... but it sure as heck tastes great!! LOL

Anyway... Annie has her Buying Club in a variety of cities around FL, not just in the Keys. I've tried the small share initially, but found it wasn't enough fruit for me, but good on the veggies. Now I get the large share every 2 weeks (believe it or not, for one person!!), and there's plenty of fruit, but now there's TOO many veggies... but I deal with it. It's good for me and I need to eat more green veggies, so that's how I rationalize it! LOL

Annie includes lots of recipies for the veggies you receive, like kale, spinach, beets, chard. But I just found a website that has some additional recipies that are less complicated and more to my liking -- Earthbound Farm. They not only give recipies for a variety of veggies, but pictures, where it comes from, colors, etc. You'll probably learn more than you ever thought you would about kale!! :-D LOL I've never been a fan of Spinach, wondered about I guess because Popeye ate the whole can! But I just saw a really scrumptious looking recipe I can't wait to try: Spinach & Tuna Linguine -- YUM!! Check out this pic @ right. I also just printed out Orange-Glazed Beets; my Mom always used to tell me how her grandmother made her eat Beet Soup, which really never sounded good to me... so I'll try this recipe instead. '-)

I'm gettin' back into cooking again, which I really enjoy! Cooking "good for ya" stuff! So... if you want to eat more fruits & veggies... give Annie's Buying Club a try. For what you get and the price you pay... it's a STEAL!! Then visit Earthbound Farm for some awesome recipies (they also sell organic food).

Visit: Annie's Buying Club, Earthbound Farms

Natural Sunscreen for Kids...

Here's an interesting article on the Organic & Thrifty blog about Natural sunscreen for kids & adults... focusing on Omega-3 fatty acids, and eating healthful, all natural from scratch meals (no packaged or fast foods).

Sometimes the higher the SPF goes, it seems like the product doesn't have enough coverage. So maybe changing our diets can/will eliminate sunscreen all together! '-)

Visit: Organic & Thrifty

Don't know if you've heard...

Starry Night Creations, my fused glass business, is now operating full time (4 days) out of the David Mellor Fine Art Gallery in Islamorada (MM 81.9)! I'm so happy about this!! I'm also selling David's artwork as he's having Visa return problems (he & his wife live in the UK).

I've been fusing daily... and producing some rather interesting creations! Fused glass plates, sushi plates, and of course, more rings & pendants, and Glass-cast dolphins. In fact, I have a drawing this month for a "Free custom glass dolphin - winner's choice [valued up to $65]" -- read about it in the Blog on the website!

As soon as I have the pics downloaded, I'll post one or two here!

Stay tuned...

Visit: Starry Night Creations, David Mellor