New Year's Blessings

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


I pray that 2012 is filled with bountiful blessings for you and yours!




We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. 
 ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

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End of the Year Inventory

Tomorrow I will finish up my End of the Year Inventory and continue working on my annual Herb Order.  At the beginning of the year I like to order a supply of dried herbs and supplies to restock the still room herb pantry.  I have some staple herbs that I always like to have on hand, such as:

Peppermint
Spearmint
Lemon Verbena
Rosemary
Thyme
Elderberries
Yarrow
Echinacea
Calendula
Lavender
Ginger
Arnica
Comfrey
Nettle
(this list is rather off the top of my head and in no particular order)
 
These are herbs that I use often and want to always have at my disposal.  I do grow many of these in the garden, but like Calendula oddly enough, some hate my Texas climate and refuse to cooperate and produce an adequate supply.
And sometimes dried is better than fresh, and it's certainly more convenient to open the pantry rather than trudge out to the herb garden when you need something such as a cup of peppermint/ginger tea in the middle of the night!

Other non-herb items in the still room pantry are:
press-n-seal tea bags
beeswax
honey
apple cider vinegar
cheese cloth
olive oil
sunflower oil
grapeseed oil
sweet almond oil
rosewater
glycerin
etc.

And of course a variety of jars, tins, and other containers for storing my herbal concoctions.  And labels.  Labels are very important items.  You won't remember what that salve in the little tins that are tucked away in the back of the drawer contain ... trust me, I know.  Label and date.  Always.

So, what's on your herbal to do list as this year ends?  
How about your goals and plans for 2012?
My first goal is to reorganize and faithfully add new material to my Still Room Book.
My second is to share more of that information here.
And maybe, just maybe, I'll come up with some pretty printables for you to use in your own still room book.
And then there is planting the herb garden ...

But right now I'm going to make myself another cup of tea and peruse the still room shelves, list in hand!

Herbal Blessings,
Catherine

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Lovely Printable Calendar

Alice Cantrell is offering a lovely, free, printable calendar featuring herbs on her site.  A Small Collection of Useful Herbs is beautifully illustrated by her daughter and filled with those things we herbie folks love- herbs!  Do visit her blog- a number of things and check out the other lovely things she has for sale in her etsy shoppe as well.
She is very talented and very generous too!

Blessings,
Catherine

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Best Recipes of 2011 Giveaway

You will want to visit Mountain Rose Herbs to enter their Best Recipes of 2011 Giveaway.  I love Mountain Rose Herbs- always quality products, always great prices, always green :) .

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Sweet Orange Lavender Mist

I made this simple fragrance mist to add a bit of aromatherapy to my day and also to refresh my skin which is feeling the effects of the dry air due from our heating system.  

Sweet Orange essential oil is said to be "brightening".   I know that I enjoy the scent and find it useful for other householding tasks such as removing sticky junk left behind by labels. 

Lavender is soothing to skin and soul, and I use it daily for one thing or another- easing a headache, relieving stress, scenting the laundry, soothing an insect bite or other skin irritation.  A first-aid kit in a bottle- that's a good description of Lavender essential oil.  

Sweet Orange Lavender Mist

36 drops Lavender Essential Oil

30 drops Sweet Orange Essential Oil

4 oz. distilled water

Add the essential oils to a  4 oz. glass spray bottle, add distilled water, and mist away.  This is just an approximation- it's tricky to count those little drops of oil as they come out of that bottle!  

I hope you are enjoying the holiday season.  I'm dreaming up plans for the coming year here at Still Room Herbs ... lots of ideas floating around in my head right now!  

Blessings,

Catherine

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Merry Christmas

Sending 
Christmas Blessings
from my home to your heart!


I pray your holiday is filled with love and laughter.

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Oh dear ...

I thought I'd just make a few tweaks to my blog ... and well, there you have it!
Tomorrow- I'll fix this ugly mess tomorrow ;) .  (sigh) ...

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Herbal Holidays

The holiday season is in full force at my house. We go from Thanksgiving right into the Christmas season around here. Herbs play a part in all of our holidays, just as they do in daily life. Spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, bay … all associated with Christmas whether in delicious baked goods, pomanders to scent and decorate the house, or fashioned into ornaments for the tree or gift giving, herbs are definitely front and center in our holidays and I hope will be in yours too.
read more at The Renegade Farmer

Please tell me which herbs are your favorites at this time of year!

Blessings,

Catherine ... off to bake an Espresso Gingerbread Cake! 

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