Snow friggin' White

I spent a fabulous few hours yesterday playing in my herb garden! Originally, my intention was to re-pot a couple of herbs, shower & get dressed, and head out to a craft fair. Instead, I totally lost track of time. My yarrow desperately needed to go into a different pot. I had my thyme and oregano in the same pot for a while so I wanted to give each it's own home. I also wanted to plant the Thai Basil seeds I got the day before at Herb Day: I've never had much luck growing anything from seed, so we'll see how this goes! This past week, I noticed some yellow mushrooms blooming in my ivy and spiky plant (that I still don't know the name of) pot so I really needed to deal with that. That was not fun. I removed the 'shrooms and about an inch of the top layer of soil which was taken over by some horrendous yellow spores and mold. Truly disgusting. I hope I was able to save it! I spent a lot of time, simply pruning my herbs and spending time with them. I know that sounds like a crazy plant person thing to say, but they are alive and have an energy about them.

While I was spending time tending to my herbs, I was also visited by a few critters. Being Florida, there was of course an insane amount of geckos around, but I also saw a different kind of lizard. His back was bumpy, he skin was so pale that it was almost translucent, and he was quite a bit bigger than even a large gecko. I also got to play with two of the most adorable frogs that might be making their home in my herbs. I felt so bad displacing them, but they were in one of the plants that needed to be re-potted. I hope they come back. I even got to see a Blue Jay up close in my neighbor's tree. I felt like Snow friggin' White.

That quality time spent with Mother Nature and my herbs made me think about something I read in my first lesson with Rosemary Gladstar.

Herbs contain chemicals that have no apparent function for the life processes of the plant. However, these very chemicals have a direct and positive influence on the human body.

It's almost as if they are saying "we're good for you, here's proof."

Where the Day Will Lead...

I went into work yesterday and was having a hard time focusing on anything. It was one of those days where I really didn't have much to do and wanted to be elsewhere were it not for the paycheck. I was quite unsuspecting of how the day would turn out.

First, I found out that they are changing around our health plan at work and are also taking away half of our sick time for this coming year. We only have five sick days now which, even though I very rarely take any sick time, I still think is wrong. My boss's boss continues to gun for our department. Without going into details: I don't know what her problem is, but it feels like she has a vendetta against us. Lastly, I found out that I have to work a very long day on Thursday and come in on Saturday. It's a good thing I don't really have a life. Anyhoo, all of those extra hours meant that I got to leave work yesterday at lunchtime and not have to go in at all today. That's good at least.

So, I go home to find an Etsy Convo from my Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team friend Becky of Up From The Ashes (you must check out her amazing shop full of fairy wings, tiaras, and leather masks!!) telling me that she spotted my work on the Etsy Front Page!
My Titanium Stretch Chain Maille Choker was included in an amazing treasury curated by Green Post.

I haven't gotten any sales from the exposure, but have gotten tons of views and a few more hearts. By the way, I had hearted Green Post just recently and wonder if I made it into her treasury by that simple act. She's got an amazing shop full of eco paper, seed tags, and cards.

After that bit of excitement, I decided to head down to St. Pete to check out a store called Puckett's Store Fixtures that I had heard about from other area crafters. The place is a warehouse treasure trove of all manner of things for your business. It seems like it's mainly geared for people with a storefront, but I managed to pick up a new femaille model for $35 which I thought was a good deal. She's in really great shape and I needed a model for necklaces & such. I had to put a shirt on her, the poor thing looked so naked. I'm thinking about possibly painting her black, but we'll see.

Next stop, was a local nursery. We really haven't done anything with the outside of our house since we moved in. Admittedly, at first I really just didn't know what to do with it, but we also have had so many other big projects that we've had to deal with that it's been on the back burner. I've gotten really bored with how plain it is though, and have been thinking about doing some planting. Being stuck in a drought, however, is making me put that idea on hold a bit longer. It was fun walking around the sanctuary of the nursery and getting some ideas, though. My potted herb garden is certainly making things a little cheerier (I finally found some peppermint yesterday!) and I don't know if any birds have found the feeder yet, but it makes me happy anyway. I'm also thinking about making a garland out of seashells & twine to hang around the lanai to decorate it a bit out there.

Grocery shopping, a stop at Costco,Borders for magazines, and finally a quick browse at Target and I was finally home. I had been thinking about getting a terrarium for our sun room, but scored this adorable little succulent garden at Target for $5. I love it. It feels so Zen, which of course makes me content and happy. I might still add a terrarium later. All of this green is making me so happy lately.

Finally at around 9:00, I sat down on the couch with the cat, my Sage Woman magazine, a glass of iced green tea, and a lovely Aveda scented candle and relaxed until Scott got home half an hour later. What started as a day of scattered frustration at work turned into quite busy and delightful. You just never know where your day will lead sometimes...

Fun with Power Tools

I spent an enjoyable afternoon yesterday in my theatre's shop. I was busy starting to build some of my display items for my booth. Yes, I have a long way to go still with inventory, but this stuff has to get done at some point, too. I had an idea that I loved and couldn't wait to get started on it.

I needed to create something eye catching that would draw people into my tent, but it also had to appear rustic to fit in at a renaissance festival. I kept being drawn back to using wood; I think it makes a good balance to all of the metal that will be in the tent.

My first stop was to Lowe's to pick up some panels of lovely (looking and smelling) cedar. Once I got to the shop, I drew a couple different sized oval templates (drawing an oval is bit more complicated than you would think!). I've used a band saw before, but this was my first time with a jigsaw. Big difference: with one you move the wood, with the other you move the tool. It took a little getting used to, but I'm proud to say that I didn't screw anything up too terribly in my learning curve. It just took me a bit longer than it would have say Scott who's been using the tool for twenty years. I cut out and sanded six large ovals and twelve that are a couple inches smaller. I plan to make strands of three each, connected with handmade chain, and attached to the pipes of my tent. Step one is complete.

I also have a grand plan to make my own wood burned sign for the outside of my tent, so I played around a little bit with my burner for the first time. Fun! Oh, and I got two compliments that just tickled me: "ooh, pretty girl with power tools" and one of the guys compares me to one of my heroes none other than Rosie the Riveter.

Good Day

The tour of Twelve Angry Men is in town and one of the huge benefits of working in theatre is that I sometimes get to see things for free. =) Even more fun, Scott didn't have any cues during this one, so even though he was working, he was able to sit out front and watch the show with me. I can't remember the last time we saw a show together -- usually one or the both of us is working it. Afterwards, we went and got some dinner. We actually had a theatre and dinner date. It was so much fun! Oh, and the show was amazing!

After I left him to go and work the second show, I stopped by the fancy schmancy mall and got a free little hand cleanse, exfoliation, and lotiony massage at Aveda with their Caribbean line. Yum. Purchased a couple of hair products, too. Then, I went to the Lush shop next door because I was out of my moisturizer and got some free samples of their new products. Even more yum!!

Then, I came home to a kitty cat greeting me at the door. I had a good day.