HerbnArts

      ...The snow was swirling all around me as the winds kicked up.  It was barely a week away from Christmas and winter had set in for real.  The icy temperatures made the snow turn into twinkling diamonds being scattered across the landscape.  This has always been a time of reflection for me as the memories of my past Christmases visit me like the Christmas ghosts from the "The Christmas Carole" story.  The ghost of Christmas Past was always an easy one to visit.  My past Christmas memories are good ones.  It was a time in my life when I was surrounded with family.  There were many presents that came my way.  We all had a good time in each other's company and there was plenty of wonderful food to be shared. My father and uncles all went to the local turkey shoots to see if they could make sure everyone in the family had a turkey for their holiday table. My dad was the best shot of them all, which mad...

     ...As the years go by and the mile markers of age count up, it has occurred to me that on the inside I still feel as though I am in my thirties.  Is my inside self trying to tell me something about aging?  Thirty-something isn't so bad, especially when the outside self is counting more like sixty-something.  These days we are constantly hearing the recalculation of lifespan from the sixties to the eighties and nineties.  So, why not 120?  Sounds good to me! That would make yours truly middle-aged.  The old joke of, "If I'd known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself," isn't such a joke anymore.   So, by the time we count up to our sixties is it too late to change the count for the better?  I say not at all.  But it is time to change our evil ways of living.  How long have any of us been disrespecting our bodies?  If 120 is the goal, then it is time to age in re...

  ...Autumn  Zen time is setting in.  I found myself sitting outside contemplating the the foliage as it  turns vibrant shades of yellow and red.  The air has taken on that special spicy quality that only happens in the fall.  Looking over the yard and its perimeters, I noticed something more than just autumn leaves sprouting in colonies.  Colorful toadstools were erupting overnight with all the rain we received in the passed few days.  At first I thought the display to be miniature umbrellas placed thee as an outdoor festival for the fairies in the woods and garden.  After a few days of observation I was amazed at the size of these toadstools.  They had begun to take on the appearance of something from outer space.  Some of the largest ones measured approximately eight to ten inches across, and were roughly six to eight inches in height. A few of these monsters were big enough to pose as bi...

     ...There are just some things that are going to be maddening in life, and they are usually little stuff rather than world-shattering conundrums.  Point in case...opening a food package that is re-sealable.  Does anyone else need pliers to open the darn things, or is that just my ineptitude creating this problem?  I refer specifically to re-sealable cheese packages.  It's not that I don't appreciate the fact that the cheese is well-sealed, keeping it from drying out. Following the package opening instructions is simple enough, up to a point.  Once the special tear line has been properly torn away, that is when I run into problems.  There doesn't seem to be enough area for me to get a proper grip to be able to make the separation of the seal.  I have had to resort to using pliers to get a grip on the packaging to be able to actually open the cheese package.  I never fail to feel like an idiot whenever I attempt to open ...

   ...It is that time of year when the newest edition of the Farmer's Almanac hits the news stands.  One of my personal delights is to peruse the magazine for the weather prediction for the coming seasons.  I like to know what's coming and how I should prepare for the weather of the season.  Should I stock up on candles?  It helps both power shortages and to push away the gloom of overcast days with no bright sunlight during the winter months.  I already know that I should have plenty of Holy Basil on hand to help with SADD.  Another treat I enjoy from the almanac is the other articles of oddball information included  in the magazine.  One such item was an article about barn quilts written by Marti Attoun.  (reference, Harris Farmer's Almanac, 2014 edition.)  Always interested in quilts and quilting, I have long thought about finding a way to bring the subject and art of quilts to the public attention here in the Akron area....

HerbnArts: Adventures With Froggie... :     ...As I entered my kitchen door I encountered a soft green stuffed toy frog lying face down on the floor.  One leg was bent at a weird a...

    ...As I entered my kitchen door I encountered a soft green stuffed toy frog lying face down on the floor.  One leg was bent at a weird angle "Ouch!" I thought.  "Bet that hurts."  From the look of it the frog had lost his last tussle with my constantly active cat Squirt.  Ever since the day that Squirt discovered Froggy stashed in a bag of plush toys I had packed away in a box, I am continually finding the smiling green toy in the most unexpected locations around the house.  Each time I come across Froggy I return him to the chair in my living room.  I'm always amazed when Froggy finds his way to my upstairs rooms.  Sometimes I even find him on my bed.  One early morning I was awakened by Erratic bouncing movements at the end of my bed.  Squirt was dancing on his hind legs while tossing Froggy high in the air.  "Oh my gosh!" I mused.  "You really put that frog through a  rough time!"  I laughed as I watc...

     ...As I cleaned up the garden area by my kitchen door, I rediscovered the colorful chunks of glass that were part of the decoration in my garden.  Fist-sized glass pieces had been layed around the base of a larger rock to add both color and texture to the garden design.  My Grandma Jesse had always had bright glass chunks scattered around in her gardens.  When she died I asked for the glass pieces from her gardens.  No one else in my immediate family showed an interest in the colored glass, so it was easy for the glass to come to me.  If only the others had know the story as to how Grandma got the glass, they might not have handed the color chunks over as readily.      Jesse and her siblings were originally from Byesville, Ohio.  In nearby Cambridge, there had been a glass works factory.  At one time or another various people in my family came to work at the glass works.  When I was a little kid G...

      ...Now that it is passed Memorial Day, officially summer has begun.  Typically here in northeaster Ohio the weather was cold and wet, then hot and muggy.  All of this variance took place in a 24 hour period of time.  Ah, summer...!  Just when we thought it would warm up, the bottom dropped out and we saw 40 degree temperatures at night again.  And the rains came to create a miserable start to the summer.  Everyone I talked to was grumbling about the lousy weather and asked the question of whether it would ever straighten up and stop being wet and cold.  But the last several days have given us warmer temperatures in the cool low 70's with today being a bit drier for a pleasant change.       Due to an abundance of rain all my newly potted herbs are already in need of re-potting.  The magic elixir of rain water has caused my herbs to virtually explode out of their current containers.  One ...

     ...Splashes of delicate pinks and white were everywhere as I drove into my old hometown.  Early May is Cherry Blossom Festival time and it was barely a week away for the Magic city's annual celebration of springtime beauty.  All around the center of Barberton ruffly blossoms exploding on all the trees signaled that spring had indeed arrived in  the Magic City.  Lake Anna looked like a scene from nearly a century ago with it's decorative blossoming trees reminding one of the lacy ruffles of cotillion gowns from the 1920's.  The song's refrain of "Cherry pink and apple blossom white..." crept through my thoughts as I took in natures beautiful offering to Barberton.  Church bells chimed old favorite hymns helping to transport me back to simpler times.  This was the Barberton I had always remembered.  In another time ladies in long skirts and carrying parasols accompanied by gents with Sunday-go-to-meeting attire st...

...April showers bring May flowers...As I looked down at the bricks of the walkway by my kitchen door, I spotted an independent chervil plant growing in triumph over its surrounding conditions.   Must transplant that little trooper!  It had gotten warm enough that I took some of my housebound herb plants to stay outdoors finally.  I was sure that it was finally spring as I found myself wanting to paint something.  After seeing a special aqua-colored cachet pot on the cover of a gardening magazine, I decided to paint one of my terra cotta pots with the yummy aqua paint I "just happened" to have on hand.  Does that surprise any of us?     And now, as part of my spring rituals I must buy a few potted herbs to start off the season.  a day of scrubbing up well-seasoned terra cotta pots in preparation of new plants is due.  Gathering and organizing my plant markers and potting soil is part of the ritual tasks at hand.  It hass gotte...

   ...I knew it was spring when I saw ants crawling around in the cat food dishes on my kitchen floor.  Area residents were planning parties around the annual return of the buzzards coming to Hinkley.  Go figure!  Only in Ohio would anybody celebrate one of the ugliest carrion-eaters on the planet.  But winters get pretty dreary here in Ohio, and we are a desperate people looking for the slightest glimmer of hope to break the grey monotony that sets in for four months or more.      Another indicator of impending spring for me was the increasing urge to drag something outside and spray paint it. Visions of tiny pots of new herb plants interrupted my thought processes.  A trip to the local plant nursery was in order.  Yes, I know It's still too cold to have the herbs outside.  We all know how much I hate having plants inside the house, but at this time of year, I'll tolerate them being indoors.  Besides, it makes ...

      ...As with each new year I sat down and created "the list".  Resolutions to change bad habits and to create new good habits dominate my list.  I sit and stare at the list, hoping to somehow scrunch up new energy and resolve to make the projects ahead of me become a reality.  The curse of flat surfaces is everywhere with strong ju-ju mocking me.  "I will not put up with this any longer!" I announced to the four winds.  Pitching and sorting, I began a brutal triage of old papers, bits and pieces of buttons, pens, tacks, trinkets, etc.  Feeling much like Indiana Jones searching for the Ark of the Covenant, I persevered digging through the piles of accumulated paraphernalia stacked on my kitchen table. "There's a table under here, I know it.  After all, something with a flat surface has to be holding up all this stuff!"  An hour later, I began to hyperventilate from the stress of all the decisions of sorting an...

HerbnArts: Ode to January... :       HIBERNATE...to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormate condition, as bears and certain other animals.  To withdraw or be in se...