Of Power Tools, Balcony, Milk Paint And Amanda Quick :)

Sorry for neglecting this journal for so long!

I've been ranting off-the record elsewhere, so if you absolutely must know what I rant about, drop me a line and maybe I'll send you the link (depending on whether I know you or not!:)

Mostly my days have been quite uneventful, minus the power tools and my family's lack of time management or any sort of organization. And it's not just my family, it's also the neighbours and the weather! Sooo...?
It's not easy to get organized or get things done (or make hay) if you depend on these 'outside' factors. I did read some Amanda Quick books, out of desperation. (Sis's fault for bringing them home!)

Oddly enough, they inspired me for eco things again! The heroines there are so brave and courageous and always getting into the oddest of messes, and out of them unscathed (mostly), and usually happily married!:)
They also have to deal with odd dilemmas and things like...
- who to trust? ('Those fossil diggers can be an untrustworthy lot!' lol! So it's not just the eco world that is full of iffy types and odd sorts?!:)
- how to date? (if you are really interested in other things - those heroines happily go about doing other things, until those brooding handsome-or-oddly-attractive heroes snatch them!:)
- how to be happy with own imperfections (all the heroines -and heroes - definitely have 'em, and are still happily in love anyway!!:)

So.. did I intrigue you yet? They are not for kids, so 18+ only. (My Grandma snickers over some scenes and only brushes past them.) They may return your faith in love (or life) or make you laugh, they are all invariably silly (and mostly look alike!) but that is kinda the point!:)

I did call some people inbetween re: eco things (and have some meetings next week!:), didn't manage to go to eco fair but did make some sort-of-hay (what is the non-hay for silos called?) helped create 1/2 of balcony (it'll be mostly glass and just polycarbonate roof. Plus, after my ranting about which color/polish would be less toxic - the neighbour painted the frames with - milk & wallpaint pigment-??!! ('You'll never guess, he said. We didn't. It looks pretty and yellow. Never thought I'd actually like yellow windows, and not sure if the black knobs really go with them??) He said wax paint (with turpentine - is turpentine toxic??) could be used on top of that for water-proofing/protection against water. (The milk paint is just pretty, offers no protection against water. And this is where the rain can be quite heavy.) I recently stumbled across the awesome milkpaint.com never thought you can just create your own lol!! :)
Not sure what to waterproof the windows with (can I get enough eco wax? How much would be needed? What about any oils or such?)

Some planks have been painted dark brown already, I called the company hotline and a friendly woman said the paint for wood outside contains an iffy preservative, so it's best to be not touched, and recommended painting over with a paint for indoors?
I asked Dad how much he thinks would be needed and he said, 'Oh don't bug me with that' or something like this, so Mum and I calculated a bit, still to do more Math..
Aunt A. suggested Dad's rash might be stress-related so we don't want to bug him with too much stuff anyway-??

Sorry if this is a bit scatter-brained, am awfully sleepy and going to bed at first possible opportunity! :) Been to a concert, a practical beekeeping class (unfortunately rainy so we didn't get to do a lot), to a funeral and a few other things... Wrote programs and ideas for a charity... Researched EU funding and project management... De-weeded some onions.. Got a pretty new pre-loved sweater (of cheerful colors!:) and tutored on global warming?? And what have you been doing? :)

Mint Tea Anyone? ;)

We have herbs in the garden, but there was very little mint this year, plenty of melissa though.
So I was very happy, when my friend Z. (the one with the gorgeous DIY BF!) offered me her mint. 'Oh, take as much as you need!' she said.

I asked her to show it to me, as I'm rather a newbie to herbs too!
Then I picked a bunch. It looked a little 'suspicious', but I thought, 'Well, there are many sub-sorts!'
Then her brother and her Mum both asked me what I was doing there, and her Mum said, 'But she doesn't have mint in her garden! She has melissa!'
'Well, she said it's mint!'
Her Mum came up to check: 'What have the two of you picked?'
'It's melissa,' she said (and my heart fell. We had lots of melissa in the garden ourselves!)
'But here, have some mint.' (lol, I could kiss her!:)
I love mint tea, and this year we only have a tiny bit - there's some stuff from years before, but it's not so strong or healthy!

mint! Source: the lovely Wikipedia!

melissa! source: Wikipedia

They are both healthy and calming and lovely - in moderation, of course!
A small bag with dry melissa leaves on your pillow is said to make you happy, so I picked some more in our garden today, for those long grey winter days! :)

Been busy re-filing my files (according to the GTD method!), among other things - our house also looks like a walnut production plant! - and found my herb files have been scattered in three places! (So hopefully next year I'll do better!)
We do have books, but I didn't bother to check!

Moral of the story: ALWAYS check the herb pics before picking them - even if you think your good friend is an EXPERT and her mom goes to Herb Club! (I wish the Herb Club weren't for older people who are already retired only!!)

The funny thing is my Mum used to think mint was melissa too, so quite possibly she had taught me wrong when I was a kiddie, so no wonder I was all mixed up, lol!

Oh, and I recycled an Amazon box-y thing into melissa dryer! He he... Our drafty attick seems an appropriate place to dry herbs, so I nickname myself Queen of Herbs even if I don't have much clue about them (yet!)

Do you pick or grow herbs? Which ones? Do you like herbal tea?
(I adore it!)