Wanting to invite a bit of plant magic into your life?  Consider planting a tea garden.   I love to drink herbal teas and for the past few years I've been making my own.  This is especially lovely in the summer growing months as you can wander in your garden picking flowers and leaves to steep.  Each day you pick you get a slightly different blend.  That’s the start of the magic.  Once your batch of petals have steeped you have a delicious and refreshing drink.  Perfect hot, lukewarm or with ice.  One pot is good for the day.

 

You don’t need to invest a lot of money for this delightful activity.  Plants for sure and also a teapot with a stainless steel strainer.  You could use a smaller tea strainer but a teapot with a larger strainer means you can use bigger pieces and not worry about stems.  A well crafted teapot is an excellent investment.

 

Beyond the sheer pleasure of drinking your homemade brew making your own tea is an act of sustainability.  “Believe it or not, the humble teabag often contains a non-biodegradable plastic called polypropylene, which releases billions of microplastic particles every time you brew a cuppa.”  We are learning more each day about how invasive plastic is in our daily life and any chance we get to eliminate plastic is an opportunity we should take.  In the long run, you will also save money while  adding a bit of pleasure and ritual to your day.   Tea making will become an act you look forward to.   

 

Here’s a list of my favorite plants.  No worries if you don’t have a lot of space, these plants will do fine in a container.

Peppermint- this is the backbone of my herb blend.  Super fresh taste and very, very easy to grow- that means it can be invasive so choose your spot carefully.  What I love about the mints besides being easy to grow is they add bulk as well as flavor.

 Fancy mint- this can be a flavored mint, my favorite is Pineapple but there are many varieties.  Wander the herb aisle at your favorite garden shop to find the variety for you.  In my garden zone these tend to be a bit tender and often will not over winter.

Chamomile-  has a mellow, gentle flavor slightly “appley” flavor and known to help you relax, even get sleepy.  You can scatter seeds and lightly cover with soil or transplant.  Chamomile often selfs sows so keep your eye out the following spring.

Calendula- this bright orang/yellow flower is pure sunshine and happiness.  Their favor is a bit spicy and peppery adding a nice tang to your brew.  It’s a very sturdy, forgiving plant and can adapt to a lot of different soil types and selfs sows.

Lavender- has a bright floral flavor, too much is considered “soapy” but it’s one of my favorite additions to my brew.  It’s important to pick the right variety for your area as it’s a perennial.  Be sure to ask at your garden center for the variety that’s right for your area.

Brewing your own tea is an easy way to add a peaceful ritual to your day, add a bit of flavor to your life and to enjoy a plastic free, very sustainable drink. ENJOY!

Seriously, not a big Valentine's Day fan.  Ten years ago, on a cold, snowy Feb 14th I signed the first of many divorce papers.  But something happened this year- perhaps its the almost 2 years of Covid craziness but I felt the need to send a bit of love out into the universe.

I decided to make my own Valentines.  I put on some music, found some old magazines, a glue stick and random bits of paper.  Just like a 12 year old working on a fun school project I had a blast.  

You don't have to make cards.  Buying cards from local artist is a great way to support talent.  There are so many cute small batch cards.

Of course, you don't need to make "Valentine" cards.  It's always appropriate to send a message of cheer to a family member or friend.  I love to send and receive mail.  It's so much fun to open your mail box and instead of a bill or letter from the IRS, there's a card from a friend.

XXOO

"A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day.  We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women's achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world."

"From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge."  The IWD website invites everyone to share a photo with your hand up high to show you are in.  More details on their website.

It's a bit unclear about how IWD began but it's rooted in fighting oppression and inequality and possibly the garment industry.   One of my favorite quotes is from history.com-

"Brooklyn, writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman (of “The Yellow Wall-paper” fame) told the congregation of the Parkside Church: “It is true that a woman’s duty is centered in her home and motherhood…[but] home should mean the whole country, and not be confined to three or four rooms or a city or a state.”  This rings so true this year with the inauguration Of VP Kamala Harris.

I loved Emily Stochl's Pre-Loved Podcast: International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. It's such an interesting slice of history and the campaign to get consumers to "look for the union label" needs to be reinvented into "shop small and indie".  

We're celebrating IWD by the makeover of one of our favorite and nourishing cremes.  Meet "Everyone creme"- made for everyone and designed to be used everywhere.  Formerly our #resist creme the new label celebrates moving forward, taking care of ourselves so we can take care of others and our planet.

We hope you take some time to celebrate all the accomplishments from the past, look towards the future ready to face challenges and of course taking care of yourself. 

We all have sweaters with holes in them.  Instead of throwing them up turn them into wearable art using the simple buttonhole stitch to mend and strengthen any holes or tears.  We take you step by step through the buttonhole stitch as well as how to use it for mending. Happy mending!!!!

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Welcome to mending.  This week we are looking at the basics and starting your very first mend.  Learn how to choose a spot to mend, cutting a patch, as well as the simple but definitely not basic running stitch.  Have fun and happy stitching!!!!

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