Lemon balm is the bomb!

I sure hope that using the word bomb in your blog posts doesnt get you red flagged by "them". I have no idea who "them" are but they are always watching. I also dont know who "they" are either. Anyway,  lemon balm. This plant is so good for so many things. I drink it as a tea every night before bed. Since its does die back in the winter and I have the a severe addiction to all things tea I thought I better start drying it now so I can stockpile it for later. I will be doing several posts on the very easy to grow. low maintenance plant. It will take over your garden so be careful where you plant. I have it grown along my house in a partial shaded area. Its also very expensive as an essential oil so I just grow it and get all my Melissa oil that way.

Pick a bunch of leaves, put them on a cotton breathable fabric laid on an old window screen, lay the leaves out in a singe layer. cover with another towel and let dry for a few days. Seriously its that easy. Then you just place them in a jar.

If you know someone replacing their windows just ask if you can have a few screens. If you see some on the curb pick them up and take them home and wash them. You can dry all your herbs this way it takes a few days but you can do alot at once or as little as you want. 

Find your passion

Last week I was lucky to meet a few people who are passionate about some of the things they do and it was contagious. The first person I got to meet was Abigail Keam. She is an author that lives here in Kentucky and she has a few book series one of which has some honey bees in it. She talked about her books and she talked about being a beekeeper. You could tell they were two things she really enjoyed doing.

The next group of people was a jazz band putting on  a free concert at our downtown library. They were some older gentlemen and they were amazing, They didnt even have a program they just picked a song from their brain and played it. They would talk about a piece they were playing, give us a little history about the music or times and a few gossip rumors about the composer sometimes. I love to watch musicians especially when you can tell its a song they really enjoy.

The last couple we met were a husband and wife who have a mushroom farm. They were teaching us how to grow a mushroom log. Their story started with how they met, moved to a wooded area and got started with the mushrooms.

This is Mr Ladybug drilling holes in the log, plugging it with spores, sealing it with wax and hauling it to the car

We use to learn how to do things because skills were passed down through families. We dont really see much of that any more. Bee keeping use to be passed down but Mrs Keam said she really thought what would save the honey bees was hobbyists. If thats something you would like to learn about look for a local Bee Keepers Association, thats actually a real thing! Start attending meetings, ask questions, watch lots of youtube videos and next spring get some bees.

If bees are not your thing thats okay too. Getting stung isnt that fun. Poor Mr Ladybug has a terrible reaction to the stings and I barely even itch. Find things to do in your community, check out lots of books on different things from the library, ask someone you see doing something that you find interesting a million questions. If you are lucky enough to be passionate about what you do for a living thats great but if its a way to just pay the bills thats okay too, You dont have to be passionate about your work. If you find a hobby that you are passionate about and can do that regularly I think you will find it pretty rewarding and beneficial for your health and sanity.

Our little urban farm started with us watching Food Inc and being horrified with the egg industry and it just bloomed from there, We fell in love with those little chicks. We started with one 4 foot by 4 foot raised bed and we expand every year. I bought a pack of green beans seeds for $2.79 five years ago and I havent bought anymore since. I just save my seeds each year.

This is bok choy. We went to a garden class and we got to get a free pack of seeds. We chose broccoli and our friend Penny chose bok choy and we shared seeds. Unfortunately Pennys cat destroyed her plantings as soon as she went into the house. Cats are such fun animals.

Its almost berry season so if canning is something you would be interested in jellies are a great place to start. You dont have to pressure can them so all you need is a pot large enough the cover the jars tops with water.

I am still trying to learn to decorate cakes and cookies. I have limited myself to just baking things on the weekend for practice. I dont think we need to be eating deserts every night! There are some daisy cookies I made. Still not perfect and this might be as good as I ever get but I love baking and making the icing. I love mixing the colors and decorating, I even enjoy cleaning up.

 I will try to start posting some of the many things we enjoy doing along with directions and links in case you are interested. Feel free to ask me any questions and I would love to hear about your adventures as well.

Spring has Sprung!!!!!!

I think Spring has finally arrived in the Bluegrass State. I am not sure if my sanity would have lasted much longer. Lots of stuff going on in the garden and behind the scenes and I feel like I can finally blog about important stuff. With a new season comes a new do. Everyone is getting bangs and so I had to get some too.

This my lettuce that we started indoors. We got three big cuttings from it and now I am going to see how it does outside. The cost was maybe 50 cents. Not a bad deal.

Same deal with the cilantro. It looks kind of terrible but I had just watered it. Mr Ladybug has more growing so we wont be out for long. We really love cilantro.

We were all ready to harvest horesradish when we realized our pot did not drain and all the root were a icky yucky mess. They sure didnt explain that on the website we used. We were able to save several sprouts, forked over a little extra money for a decent pot and started all over. Its not failing it learning, 

Chives, chives and more chives, These things have been covered in snow so many times recently and it doesnt hurt them at all. Anyone can grow chives. If you are looking for an easy first herb to grow this is your plant. Notice the upside down asparagus sign? Our asparagus have two very wet winters and just didnt make it. This year we will make this area a raised bed for better drainage and try again. Never give up!

Look at all the peppermint coming back! I see lots of peppermint tea and extract in my future.

Garlic looks great. We planted in November and it just grows. We had to put fencing on top because some really fat squirrels were trying to hide nuts and digging up the bulbs.

This is actually itsy bitsy thyme. It does and looks terrible but if you leave it alone it comes back.  Notice the cilantro sprout all by itself. Not sure how it got there but we will leave and let it do its thing.

Socks helps me in my gardening and chores. Hes such an odd cat. I guess he fits right in our family.

This ones hard to see but its sage. It looks dead to but gets new leaves and looks great, I take sage tincture every day. Its great for hormone balance.

This the spearmint. It doesnt look as hardy as the peppermint but its coming along great too.

I love long weekends!

Mr Ladybug was off 4 days and we just took things at a much slower pace than normal. It was just wonderful until this morning when the alarm went off. Even though we didnt have to get up and be anywhere at a certain time we still got up and regular time. We both agree that getting off your sleep schedule is a terrible idea and being tired when you have to get back on can last for days. But getting up and talking things at a much slower pace is the best medicine. Maybe we should find more time to take things slower.

On one of our weekend adventures we were at Rural King in the parking lot looking a colored tomato cages to turn into bird baths and bee watering stations and my hubby spotted this little ladybug. He also sends me pictures of ladybug when he sees them at work and asks me if I know them.

We took a digital photography class on Saturday. It was so informative. We live in a city of over 300,000 people and I am always so amazed when no one signs up for some of these things that we love to do. It was free and there was only one other couple. Learning a few new things really helped me get a decent picture of one of the birds on my list, A carolina chickadee. They fly in really fast to the feeder grab a seed and fly off really fast. Most of my pictures turn out like little blurs.

Around 7:30- 8:30pm is my favorite time to watch the birds. The day is winding down and they are all getting ready for bed or I suppose to roost, I was sitting in my favorite spot and about 4 feet away this woodpecker landed on the suet feeder and stayed for 10 minutes.

We let our chickens out to peck around yesterday and when I went back to the coop to shut their door so no predators would eat them in the night I got the cutest pic of these two girls. I call them the twins because they have been inseparable since we got them at a few days old.

Do you attempt new things regularly? I think its so easy to find something we enjoy doing and keep doing it forever which is not a bad thing but its good for us to attempt new things too. Mr Ladybug and I have a huge list of things we want to try. I decided to play around with cake and cookie decorating, I really love to bake but have not every been to into the decorating part. I found some cute ideas on Pinterest. I saw these butterflies but they used m&ms for the bodies and I wanted to make my own butter cream to make mine. I wanted to make my own wings too but I decided to use the chocolate covered pretzels and am glad I did or I would have been up past my bedtime making these things. I am pretty proud of my creation but am pretty sure I need more practice. I dont think my guys are going to complain either if I practice often and they get to eat my mistakes. I am sure I wont have it mastered by the end of April but I am dedicating April to desert decorating and will attempt something else in May.

A New Hobby

This was taken with my camera

Ever since Mr Ladybug bought the telescope last year I have been really in love with the moon. Seriously in love. I look for every night and on those few days you can see it during the day I am so excited. It has something to do with the first time I looked through the telescope and saw all those craters and shaded areas and I had to know what they all were. I had seen pictures in books and online but seeing them for yourself just blows you away. Just in case any of you are in love with the moon and want to learn more I thought I would share a few things.

I have started labeling everything and looking it up.

As with any hobby if can get costly real fast! Mr Ladybug is at work so I cant tell you exactly what kind of telescope we have but it cost around $280. We were able to see the eclipse last year while wearing our eclipse glasses but He has since made a solar filter that works really great too. I will post more info on the telescope our next outing with it.


The most less expensive way are the binoculars. These things are so awesome! They cost around $75 from Amazon and are from the same manufacturer as our telescope. You can also bird watch or follow airplanes in the sky. We have not had many chances to use them for star gazing but are looking forward to when it gets warmer.

Then we have the new camera. The cost was around $700. It was a long thought out process before we  made this purchase but since we will pack many picnics and head out on adventures to use them I think they are well worth the purchase and I dont think we had purchased a new camera in like 15 years.

You can also buy lots of books and find resources online.

This moon map comes cat approved.

I think the moon reminds me of a lot of people. You see them all the time but never give them much thought. But when you really look at them you will find so much more.

Let the foraging begin

This year I am really going to get into foraging. I just happen to know a couple of people who recently bought a farm with like 34 acres who are going to let me forage to my hearts content. I have also been told that if I dont die then they will think about eating what I find. But while I am stuck in the city I will have to forage for what I can.

One of the first things that begin growing are dandelions. There are amazing plants that are good for some many things. With this first batch I am going to make an infused oil that I will makes salves and cream with. Did you know that dandelion is good for your skin?

I hope this does not happen to you. I was not going to wear my muddy boots because we had a rain shower and I was sure they were filled with water. I decided to just slip on mu hubbys that were in the garage. I put a food in and it was filled with water and I started thinking how did that happen and it hit me. Its not water. Our german shepherd and peed in the boots. Gross!!!!!After sterilizing my feet I put on my boots with the rain water in them.

 I have no worries that my dandelions have been peed on by our dogs since we do not let them in our garden area and thats where I harvested them. You are going to tempted to pick every beautiful flower you see but leave some for the bees. Not just the honey bees but all the pollinators. You also need to let some go to seed so you will have more dandelion later. Place them between two paper towels or cloth napkins and let them set for a few days to dry out. This will insure that your when you are infusing them that they do not have water in them and bacteria is less likely to grow. I had that happen last year when I followed the directions of someone who did not know what they were talking about.

It doesnt matter how many flowers you pick. If you pick 1 cup flowers you will add 2 cups if oil to them in a jar once they dry. The best oils to use are sunflower, sweet almond, olive, avocado or jojoba. We will discuss diffusing methods later.

I made my meatloaf last night and have extra meat cooked and ready to go for fast future meals. Today I am cooking 3-4 pounds of chicken that will go in a pot pie, bbq and chicken with noodles. Mr Ladybug is off for a 4 day weekend and we want to spend time having fun and not in the kitchen cooking and cleaning!

I think I may be one of those people who dont like for their food to touch their other food.

My guys are on a salad kick and if you can get guys to eat veggies you should not argue. Last night I shaved a carrot and put it in the salads. I left the widdled down carrot on the island. I went to the stove to pull out the meatloaf and our beagle had gotten the carrot and taken it to his cage and was eating it. I guess hes been craving veggies too.

A Productive Start

Oh Monday. you either love or hate it. I am actually one of those who love Monday. Its a fresh start to a new week and if plan your weekend accordingly you are well rested and ready to tackle that new week.

We had a pretty relaxing weekend. We had a few errands to run and helped our married kiddos with a little project and they made us breakfast. We were back home by 11:30am. Mr Ladybug planted the cabbages and broccoli while I did a few things in the house and fixed lunch that we ate outside, We are pretty simple folks.  The boy had to be at work at 2 so we dropped him off headed out to a favorite park to play with our new camera and Mr Ladybugs binoculars then home to shower and get presentable to meet our other daughter and and her friend for dinner. Sunday was a quick trip to Krispy Kreme since we promised the boy we would go and then home for the day. As the exciting folks that we are we cleaned, did laundry and fixed a nice dinner. I think we were both in bed by 9 oclock which is why we both wake up before the alarm goes off at 6am.

We werent thinking about nothing really being in bloom yet and thought we would try to get several pictures of this same spot throughout the year. Its really a nice park. Its called Hisle Park if you are in the area. Mr Ladybug was actually able to see and airplane in the sky and follow it quite a ways. We also saw lots of cute dogs.

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Saturday evening we were outside trying to wish all the clouds away so we would be able to see the blue moon. The clouds did not cooperate so I guess we will catch it Halloween 2020. The moon really isnt blue its just one of those weird times that there are two full moons in a month that only happen twice a year like every 2.7 years or every blue moon. I just really love seeing the different stages of the moon but with all our rain and snow I am lucky to even see the moon at all!

We did get to see and picture another bird for our big year scrapbook. If you googled what a big year is in the birding world you will know that our big year is just tip of the iceberg compared to some peoples but it something we enjoy and it doesnt matter how big you go it just matters that you are learning something and enjoy what you are doing. I have some really great pictures of male cardinals but hadnt gotten a good one of a female. I think this girl is just too cute.

I tried a new pasta recipe and it was pretty good and simple. I just floured and pan fried some porn loin and sauteed some asparagus and mushrooms to go with it.  

Pasta Sauce

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

3 cloves of mince garlic

3/4 cup mild

1/2 cup reserved pasta water

Melt butter in small sauce pan, add garlic and flour and stir to get them mixed well. Add milk and stir. Do not walk away this thickened pretty quick. Slowly add about 1/4 cup of reserved water from cooking your pasta. You make need the full half cup depending on how thick you like your sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. The addiction of parmesian cheese would work really well too. This sauce can be used over tons of things and even as a sauce for white pizza.

The tomatoes and peppers are popping up. Its not too late to get yours started indoors today. They do not go on the ground outside for another month.

Tonight for dinner I am fixing meatloaf. I will be tripling the recipe to make some meatballs for spaghetti and meatballs later this week and the extra meatloaf I am making will be crumbled up to go in chili. This will make meals later be thrown together pretty quickly. I only use bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper in my meatloaf so it can really be added to and crumbled to many things without making things like tacos of spaghetti taste weird.

I have made myself a very doable list of things to accomplish today. I am sometimes guilty of putting too many things on my agenda and instead of doing a few things well I do lots of things lousy. I am trying to do better at that. I hope you are enjoying your Monday.