I think she has claimed this quilt for her own!!

As I was taking a picture of my quilt, the Princess decided she wanted to be part of the pictures!!  She stayed sitting on all the pictures I took.

Getting Ready to make potpourri

I have been busy collecting flowers for my potpouuri - some of my favorites are the sweet smelling pink  roses, some blue and pink larkspur, lemon balm lots of  lavender and red bergamont.


Here is a Basic Lavender Potpouuri recipe from "The Pleasure of Herbs":


Add 1 quart lavender blossom to 3 T. orris root pre-mixed with 10 drops of lavender oil


Variations:


Add a cup or two of dried lilac, larkspur,
cornflower, or any floral blossoms for an additional color,
or rose petals for fragrance, plus double the amount of orris root and oil


A tablespoon of ground cloves will add a spicy touch.
1/2 cup ground vanilla beans will sweeten the blend.
A cup of bergamot leaves and/or mint will add fresh liveliness.

I can't wait to get all my blossoms dried and put together for a wonderful fragrant potpouuri.

Soapmaking in the heat!!!!!!

After all the soapmaking process was done and the soap was put under a wool blanket for 24 hours, this is how it looked after I cut the squares.

The soap has been cut and will now "cure" for a few days until it gets hard and is ready to package.

This wonderful smelling lavender soap is now packaged and ready for gifts for my lavender-loving friends.





Early Harvest from the Garden

I received a recipe from my daughter on how to can cucumbers one jar at a time --
Here is the trick: after you pack your sterilized jar with your favorite pickle recipe..mine is
each quart jar gets 2 cloves of garlic, 1/8 tsp alum, 1 tbls mustard seed and
2-4 heads of dill.  The jar then goes into a 150 degree oven for 45 minutes,
then when the jar comes out you pour boiling brine which is vinegar water,
and canning salt over each jar and lids that are steralized and still hot...
todah! pickles!