Egyptian Lavender? It Exists??

Hello! As I mentioned last week, I've planted some of my seeds (but not all, since it's been so rainy, and I think Love would have a conniption fit if I did this indoors), have almost finished my herb jars, and was able to take photos of the mini lime babies that have popped up on the tree! I haven't been out to look in the last few days, so I hope they've been surviving the rain alright, but as of a few days ago, they were there, and CUUUTE!

So first things first: I finished the jars to the extent that I have been able to store the herbs in them and put them in the cupboard, but to be completely honest, I actually forgot all about making the labels! This is probably because I'm subconsiously afraid of how they will--or won't--turn out. Meh... I'll do it this weekend, and take pictures. Honest. 0:-)

I planted the seeds last Friday, so hopefully we will see some growth soon. I know that it takes a few weeks before they officially sprout, but I'm just so excited for them to grow up into little adult plants! I also treated myself to two types of lavender when I was at the nursery, getting more soil: French Lavender and, apparently, Egyptian Lavender. Go figure. ;) I was hoping to get some Bulgarian lavender, but these will work just fine, especially considering that now I know that there even IS such a thing as Egyptian Lavender!

Like I mentioned before, Mr. Lime seems to be doing well. Here is a post-blossom photo of a few of the little survivors, as of probably 5 days ago:

Anyway, this is it for now. I intend to finish the jars this weekend, as well as make some garden labels for all my newly-acquired plants. If I'm able to catch the sun, I'll even plant the rest of the seeds!

Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Being Productive

I GOT MY SEEDS THIS WEEK!!!! I'm so excited that I don't know what to do with myself! Of course, it would stand to reason that I should perhaps start by sticking them in some dirt and giving them a drink, but I don't actually have anything to plant them in right now, so I'll have to stop at the nursery after my ballet class tomorrow to get some new pots and soil.... heh. Can you imagine me carting around potting soil in pink Capezio tights? ;-P

Anyway, since it's the rainy season, I'm worried about Mr. Lime. Certainly, he benefits from the rain, and lately he has been much happier than during the dry season, but this week it got to the point where the tree actually suffered leaf-and-blossom drop! :( I read up on it, and apparently it will feel better once the weather stops being so drippy, but I just hope we will still get at least some pseudo-limes this year... not to mention that it's been so dreary, due to the rain clouds, that it's been dark by the time I get home from work so I can't even go outside to check on the poor thing. I'll make a visit tomorrow, though, once I'm thoroughly dirtied up from the above-mentioned potting soil, as I might actually have some daylight to burn.

In other news, I know that before, I said that soon I would be in the mood for Valentine's Day, but to tell the truth, my mind oftentimes skips holidays in favor of others. Last year I was ready for Valentine's Day during the Christmas season, and this year, all I want is a good feis on St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, those don't exactly happen in my neck of the woods. Hopefully, at least, I'll soon get my head out of the clover fields and back to the heart-shaped chocolate box, where it currently belongs! ;) I do have some adorable ideas for Valentine's Day decorations, and will hopefully be able to get started on those in the next week or two. First, however, come the potting of the seeds and, of course, the herb jar project I started this week.

Speaking of the herb jars, I've gotten the labels off successfully, and am currently trying to make the lids look decent and decide on what sort of labels to make. Since I don't have a printer, let alone specialized printing paper, my labels will be done completely by hand, and attached with something probably scarily similar to generic white school glue... not that I have any idea if this will even work. I'll let you know, though, and soon, as Love wants my project out of the living room! Hehehe!

Anyway, I'm off to work on my jars. I keep motivating myself with the notion that the sooner the jars are done, the sooner I can USE them, and that's the part I'm actually excited about. :)

Talk to you later! I'm off to be productive!

Sewing, Raw Fooding, Herbing.

Hello, hello! I know I haven't posted now for, officially, over a week, but please don't hurt me! I haven't exactly been inspired until this weekend; last weekend was so hectic and this past week was a mess as well. Hopefully things will go much better this week, though! :)

I finally got to try out my Christmas sewing machine, and it is soooo cute! I'm going to have to get used to it, first, because I  haven't used a sewing machine in years, and second, because it's so small that there is no foot pedal, only a stop-go button. I feel now as though I need about 4 hands to operate it, but I can see how I will be using it with ease later. In case you are wondering, my first project with it was a pot holder, because I need more pot holders, they still function if they aren't pretty, and it's simple enough to start with a small square. x-P

This week I'm also going to be trying some raw recipes, I think. I was really into this idea before I got my appendix taken out, but you know how a catastrophe can put everything on a standstill. Anyway, we will see if it goes, and if I can actually commit to this sort of thing. I hope so, and I especially hope that my first foray into nut-butter-making won't be a complete and utter disaster! ;) Don't worry; I will definitely let you know what I end up trying! :)

Today I started "making" herb jars--and by that, I mean that I am currently soaking old jars that have interesting shapes, after which I will scrape off the glue remnants and THEN start making them pretty. Interesting stuff, eh? ;) I doubt I will actually get the project done tonight, as I went to a ballet class and am EXHAUSTED (it went amazingly well, by the way, and I'm quite smug about today's barre performance :-P ). However, I WILL let you in on my herb jar vision; check out these little lovelies:

Harry Potter herb jars from Cognizant Dreamer
Potion Ingredient Jar Set from She Creates Stuff
Harry Potter Magnet Set from Entertainment Earth
Glass Potion Jars from Cydney's Antiques

Of course, mine will be much more cooking herb-oriented, and not quite as macabre as the last three, but they're a good start! At least you know the general genre I'm going for. Also, just so you know, this is going to be my first real "I can't find it, so I'm making do" project that is posted here. That's actually the majority of my crafting and cooking, but up until now, I haven't really discussed it much in this location.

Anyway, it's 9:30 at night (oh, my!), and I'm exhausted (how embarassing). I'll be sure to post the jars, once they're wonderful and done!