Lavendar!

I harvested about 4 pounds of lavendar yesterday and oh my goodness, my house smells so fabulous! I can already see tons of potpourri, dream pillows and creamy, luscious soap! I am growing herbs in pots on my deck and they seem to be doing well so far. My side border is really beginning to come to life! All the perennials that I planted last year are doing great this year and I am harvesting from some of them. Next year, should be a bumper crop of herbs and flowers!

I am making some new recipes for dream pillows and potpourris that are just delicious.

More to follow!

til tomorrow~

Catching Up

Gee, where has all the time gone? I have been so busy! Randy has been home for his summer vacation, and we have worked non-stop in our house and yard. The transformation is amazing! I can't believe how much we cleaned out, decluttered and organized in just a few short weeks.

He is back at school now, and I worked a temp job last week, so I am now back to blogging. I have been trying to catch up with my reading on all the blogs, and I still have a few to go, but I am starting a new week tomorrow, so I am sure that I will get caught up.

I am making great progress on simplifying my life. I am very pleased! I am still struggling with making ends meet, but I am determined to make it work. I have been getting some really good ideas from the blogs. Thank you so much ladies! I am working on making more soap and dream pillows for my Etsy shop. I harvested a ton of lavendar yesterday and my kitchen smells so wonderful. I am planning a garage sale in 2 weeks, and I have signed up for a consignment sale in the fall. Life has a way of forcing you to make changes doesn't it? I think that all these changes have been very beneficial for me, even if at times, it doesn't feel that way. I am very positive about the future and I am feeling that my life is FINALLY going in the direction that I want and need it to.

til tomorrow~

Summer

Summer is definitely here. It is very hot and humid in Atlanta, and the herbs just love it! I have some large rosemary bushes in the side border and down by the mailbox that are just loving the hot sun. My neighbor, Liz, cuts a few sprigs as she walks her dog sometimes, and that helps the rosemary. My side border is doing very well this year, it has many herbs as well as flowers, roses, peonies and a big butterfly bush. I have herbs growing in pots on the deck, and it is nice just to walk out and snip a few when I am cooking. I made this delicious BBQ sauce last week, and it was nice to walk out on the deck and clip a small bouquet of thyme to add to the sauce. I am planning a raised bed for the side of the house over by my side border for next year, so that I can grow more tomatoes and maybe some cucumbers. The bed will be built in the fall and left to settle til spring. We never seem to get enough rain, and watering is sometimes a chore because the beds are in different locations, but it is all worth it. Fresh herbs are just fabulous!

til' tomorrow.....

Gardening with Herbs Then and Now

I have been downsizing and working on simplifying my life. In this process, I have been cleaning closets, cabinets, bookshelves and various other things in my home. As I have been working in my office/studio, I have discovered that I have a large variety of books on growing herbs. When I started growing herbs in the early 90's, I wanted to know everything that there was to know about them, and so I bought every book I saw. Not only that, I kept every article from every magazine and newspaper that I came across. Needless to say, I have a vast collection of herbal information. I even started files with a single file folder for each herb and began collecting material and filing it in these files. Over the years those files have grown and are now bulging with clippings, articles, snippets, poems, pictures, recipes, medicinal information, etc. I have decided to scan all these pieces of paper into my computer and store them on a flash drive. The amount of space I will gain by doing this is just tremendous, not to mention the fact that all my information will be right at my fingertips at anytime that I need something. It is amazing to me that when I started in the 90's, I didn't even own a computer, just a greenhouse, large backyard gardens and books, books and more books. We have certainly come a long way in technology, and little did I know then that someday I would have all this info in a little notebook computer that I carry around with me............

'til tomorrow

Correction

If any of you emailed me at gardenlynnrh@gmail.com to order the Making Compost information, I apologize that I have not sent it. I just discovered that this email is not working, and I don't know how long it has been this way. If you did email me for that info, please send another email to

lynnherrin@yahoo.com

Thanks so much!

New Soaps and Dream Pillows

It has been a while since I posted, but I have been so busy working on new packaging for the soaps and making the potpourri for dream pillows. I also make all the pillowcases, so I have been extremely busy. I have also been growing an herb and tomato garden. I am still working on my project to simplify my life, which if you read my other blog, you are familiar with. I am hoping that starting today, I can post everyday. I have a ton of how-to info on herbs, flowers, gardening in general and composting. I will post them here from time to time, and maybe even have a running list of what is available that you can email me to get.

'til tomorrow!

The Future is Bright!

The wedding was beautiful, and everything was perfect!  I am glad that all the preparation and planning paid off for Tiff and her family.  Parker and Tiff are off on their honeymoon, and all is right with the world.  I have really started to get my simplifying under way.  I am shocked at all the stuff that I have in my house.  I am doing really well though.  I took 3 large bags of trash to the can this morning from the kitchen alone.  The puppies are still a handful, so I am not getting as much done each day as I had hoped, but I am still making progress.  Randy has been helping me at night, and we have done some heavy duty cleaning out.  I have some really good ideas for changing some things in my house, and I am putting them in my sketchbook when I take a break.  I have to take breaks more often because of my foot, but I am going to the doctor tomorrow, and hopefully will have surgery soon, and then my foot problems will be over.  I am so happy and feeling so much better since I am not sitting behind a desk all day.  I have even lost a few pounds by watching my diet and the activity that I have been getting.  This is exactly what I have been hoping for.  After the wedding on Saturday, Richard, Kate and kids spent the night and Sunday we had lunch on the deck.  It was so relaxing and fun.  These are the kinds of days that I want to have more of.    Things are looking up!  God has been so good to me, and I am determined to repay him with obedience and thanks.

love ya'll~