Doing what I love...

Today, I should have done laundry. But, recovering from a cold, designing wedding invitations for one of my sister's weddings and wrangling the hoodlums who are also recovering from colds left me with an extremely bad taste in my mouth with regards to the laundry. Actually, I usually have that to begin with for some reason. It's a very hard chore for me to get into.

Allow me to back up to Tuesday, when I ran errands. It snowed in the morning--enough to cover the ground. When I left home, we were wading through wet snow. By the time we'd driven out of the grocery store's parking lot, and were headed for Costco, the pavement was dry, and the sun was shining. Gloriously. And the whisper of spring could be heard in my soul, for the first time this year. So, handily enough, the hardware store was halfway there, and the girls and I popped in to get what we'd need to start our seeds this year. Ever since Tuesday, I haven't been feeling top notch, so this afternoon I finally felt good enough to plant away...

This is the neato book my parents bought me from a lovely used book store in Wyoming. It was published in 1970... I dearly love old books like this. The author was born in Italy (home of my favorite foods!) and spent his life in Washington--the Seattle area, so while we are colder here in Wenatchee, the seasons are more similar than say, someone from Texas, or something. Reading this book is very inspiring, as you can just tell the author loves to grow his food.
YUM! Salsa! Homemade Jalapeno Poppers! Spicy enchiladas! Mexican Coleslaw! YUM!

Yum!! Petunias! Oh, wait. Nevermind. Last year I spent too much money on Petunias. I don't like spending money on annuals, I'm cheap like that. But, Petunias are one of my favorite flowers, so I'm gonna see if I can grow them from seed this year.

Shasta Daisies, and Black-Eyed Susans. Draught tolerant. Very important hereabouts. And, very pretty flowers. :-)

Kiki and Debris have been quite excited about this planting business, they couldn't wait to help.

They were sitting on my lap while they were planting, so the pics are all a little higgledy-piggledy.

So much fun!

Very precise...

Can I plant these ones? Can I? Can I?

All Done!

Fennel:

Tea made from Fennel soothes Asthma/Bronchial Congestion and also Indigestion and Gas.

A compress soaked in Fennel tea is very useful for soothing tired/swollen eyes.

Fennel Seed is delicious.

Fennel has beatiful flowers.

A bath with Fennel tea will soothe sore muscles.

In the olden days, they would add fennel leaves to their baths to reduce body odor.

What's not to like about Fennel?

I bet you didn't guess you'd learn all about Fennels amazing properties today, huh? I bet you're glad you stopped by here. :-)

Oh yeah, sage too, which is delish. Debris scribbled all over my sage marker.

Hyssop:

Can be used as a tea or made into a syrup to relieve cold and flu symptoms. Which I had me some of that right about now.

A poultice of the leaves can be used to heal cuts and bruises.

Beautiful in the garden and in floral arrangements.

Can be added to salads and soups.

I also thought it would be fun as a lesson for the girls... so many pivotal points in the Bible involved Hyssop, what a fun history lesson!

And Cumin:

Can relieve Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Fights inflammation, pain and swelling.

Aids in iron absorbtion.

Aids in digestion, and relieving gas.

I use so much cumin in the tex-mex and mexican dishes I make, I thought it would be fun to see if I could grow, dry and grind my own.

Mint Juleps. Yum. I'm also toying with the idea of making a soap or lotion with mint in it that will actually make my skin tingle. There's nothing more annoying than a minty soap or lotion that doesn't tingle. I have some mint stuff right now I haven't had a chance to try yet, so if that stuff tingles, I might not bother with making it.

Yay! My very own Cilantro. I love Cilantro. I might have to get a pressure cooker and make my own canned salsa this year. Don't trust salsa in a hot water bath canner.

Italian Flat Leaf Parsley. YUM! The most underrated herb ever.

And, so concludes my post about gardening. That is not all I planted. Just the highlights. Hopefully I can keep them alive---seems very strange to drop tiny little thingies in the dirt and expect great things from them. It worked last year, so every year I should get better at this, right?!

I noticed last year that the days I spent outside were the days I was the happiest in the evening. With that in mind I am going to attempt to spend more time outside this spring and summer. That will be better for my kiddos, as well.