Over the next few weeks, as we approach Valentine's Day, I'll be revisiting some of the herbs associated with love and romance.. When it comes to matters of the heart, there are no limits to the human imagination in pursuing, wooing and attempting to ensure their love will be returned. Some of the uses are romantic and beautiful, elegant and sublime. Some are tender and heart warming.
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Herbs can add a sensuous dimension to all aspects of life. Their beauty, aroma, flavors and touch delight. Some are showy and enticing with an distinctive and noticeable fragrance. Others you might walk by, or even step on, and not even notice! Often the greatest gifts are found in herbs you might not immediately notice. Hopefully these little snippets will entice you to learn more about the endless history and legacy of these treasures. 

Our  herb series continues with the Rose, the Queen of Flowers and the undisputed floral symbol of love. The Society of American Florists predicts that nearly 250 million roses will be sold for Valentine’s Day. 

The rose is a perfect example of beauty, romance and sensuous living. She is a vision of delight, her petals are velvet, her fragrance is divine and her delicate flavor is sublime.  i wish you all the gifts the rose offers - love, friendship, beauty, romance and sensuous pleasures. 

In February a dear friend's mother died. I created a comfort journal to help her process her loss and give her comfort while remembering her loved one. Since then I have made several more but this is my favorite - probably because her mother's favorite flower was the rose.  The comfort journal provides quotes, writing prompts, and a list of ideas for self care. I asked her a few questions about her mother so I could customize it - her favorite color, flower, song, etc. If you have a loved one who has lost someone dear to them and likes to journal, you might want to make a comfort journal for them. 

One of my recommendations in the Take the Rose Instead Course - Guaranteed Weight Loss, one beautiful choice at a time, is counting first! instead of drinking one glass of water at a time, count first by filling a pitcher. It is much easier to keep track of how much more you need daily if you can see it.

Mycala knows I love flavored waters! This is one of my birthday presents - a Fruit Infusion Pitcher. It came with a book called Cool Waters which contains "50 refreshing, healthy, homemade thirst quenchers". Everything they recommend is natural and healthy with no sweeteners or processed products in any of the recipes. I can hardly wait to create some recipes with fresh herbs!

The session on water is below, first with the rationale and followed with the action step.

Thank you Mycala! Tomorrow - Strawberry Apple Ginger!

When the body sends a signal that we are thirsty, nothing satisfies like pure clean water!  70 % of our bodies are made of water and replenishing has numerous benefits. Unfortunately, we often wait too long before we hydrate. One study states that if you wait until you are thirsty, you are already becoming dehydrated. 

If you need to be reminded, or would like additional incentive to drink regularly throughout out the day, consider these reasons to drink water. 

• Water flushes impurities out of our systems.
• It helps us maintain a neutral Ph 7, strengthening our immune system.
• It contributes to weight loss by suppressing the appetite. Drink a glass of water 30 minutes before you eat. You'll be amazed how much it fills you up and you'll eat less.
• One of the leading causes of headaches is becoming dehydrated. The glass of water may be as, or even more, beneficial than the pain reliever you are taking to relieve your headache. Next time, take a glass of water first, wait 15 minutes and see if you still need the pill.
• It keeps cells plumb and moisturized, giving a more youthful look.You’ll be less likely to get dry skin, psoriasis, eczema, and even wrinkles.
• Drinking enough water increases your metabolic rate.
• Water has the ability to dilute cancer causing agents and has been credited with reducing bladder and colon cancer.
• I drink a glass of water as soon as I get that “I’m hungry” feeling. Stopping for water fills my stomach and allows me to assess if I really need food, or if there is something else going on. I am committed to drinking water daily but my biggest challenge is that I lose count! So I have a simple solution.
  

Find a beautiful pitcher - something that will make you smile every time you open the refrigerator door. You’ll need a container that can hold eight glasses of water. Fill it with water in the morning, cover, and as the day progresses, you will have a visual indicator of how much more you should be drinking. 

• Simple and effective. I rarely had enough water when I poured one glass at a time! This way I can easily see how much more there is to drink and pace myself.
• You may chose earthen ware pottery, cut glass crystal, a funky modern blown glass - chose a container that delights you as you reach for it. 
• Then use your imagination to make your water even more enticing. Sliced cucumbers and mint, or lemon slices and borage flowers will take it to another level! 

This showed up as a memory on Facebook and prompted me to repost. I've had it out since January  and in these challenging times, it's kept me focussed and provided peace of mind. 

It's that time of year! This has been our of sight, out of mind since the move in July. My course prompted me to look for it and display it again. It's helpful to reflect on what I cherish, what I want to create in my life and business, what I want to surrender and release, and why I know these things are meant to be. Hope it prompts you to do a map of your amazing life! I love the ocean and roses. Create your map with things that are personal to you!
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Mycenea brought me a gorgeous bouquet of roses!

"Orange roses - a literal mixture of yellow and red, orange roses were seen as a bridge between friendship symbolized by yellow roses and love represented by red roses. They can be an expression of fascination, or a gift to say 'I'm proud of you."  Aw! Hope so!
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Mycenea, Nancy and I met for dinner at Rockbass and shared appetizers and desserts as well as lively conversation. The food and view were divine. It's one of my favorite restaurants in Harrisburg. 

The Millennium Music Conference featured almost 400 artists and bands through the Harrisburg area. Mycenea's band, Pleiades, with Ross Kennedy and Chuck Kembring, was featured at 10:00 p.m. at the Coliseum on my birthday! A once in a lifetime gift and a memories I cherish!

Our trip was overflowing with fun that ended much too soon! Thank you to Nancy for planning weeks ahead to ensure that my birthday would be filled with memorable moments!

The festivities continues when I returned home! Mycala took me to the Melting Pot for a full course fondue experience!  We had cheddar cheese fondue with veggies, breads and applies followed by the house garden salad. Next came surf and turf with a variety of vegetables and six sauces. The meal ended with Pure Chocolate fondue with cookies, cakes, marshmallows, strawberries, pineapple and bananas. Bliss!

This morning I journaled on my new couch, enjoying my roses! One of the best parts about going away is coming home!

Today I decided to paint roses on the journal I made before giving it as a gift. The rose on the cover also has the recipient's name so I'm not going to share it because I don't want to take the chance that she might see it. She has no idea it's coming!
But I will show you the rose I painted on the first page of the journal next to the lace pocket. I love the way it turned out. It has a raised effect. I was delighted that it didn't seep through the hand made papers. The paper has such a delicate look but will be perfect for journaling, and I can be assured that pens and paints won't seep through!

Also painted and sent out a few cards today - one to a friend whose mother just passed, a get well card, a birthday card and one to send congratulations.  It seems there are reasons to send them as quickly as the paint meets the paper. Roses are appropriate for so many occasions. 

My violet post was the last in the series of herbs that are associated with love and romance. There are many more but Valentine's Day has come and gone it seems a good time to close. 

For those of you who check in from time to time, you know I love roses  I have them all over my house and recently I've been living with, and painting, white roses. But one of my favorite white roses has been around for a very long time. 

Today's treasure is my great grandfather's white ivory rose autograph book from January 1, 1899. At one time the velvet cover appears to have been a bright red but it is faded from age. The softening makes it ever more beautiful. I feel that way about a lot of vintage treasures - buildings, fabrics, people . . .

Albert was born on November 4, 1876 and died on January 31, 1951.He was 23 years old when he started this autograph book. I don't know who gave it to him or much more about it. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it when I was a little girl and decided to leave my autograph. I'm not proud of my contribution. It's not nearly as elegant as the rest, but I loved the book and wanted to be part of it.  Years later, my grandmother laughed and told me she thought he'd want me to have it.. Maybe it's just as well that I left my mark. No one else seemed nearly as impressed with it as I was. 

I have no idea what this says! I must have known at the time?

This is one of the first autographs in the book.

January 1, 1899
​Dear Cousin,
Leaves may wither,
Flowers may die,
Friends will forget you
But never will I.
Guess Who.

Here's another. 

January 1, 1899
When you get married 
And your old woman gets cross
Come over to our house 
And eat apple sauce.
Ever remember Dec - 29, 1898
Ida

This little book, plus some posts I'm planning to do based on a recent exhibit I visited, have inspired me to begin a new category for my blog posts - vintage. This will be the first.

There will be more from this book - there are 40 pages and I'm only including a few for now.
There are autographs from Daisy, Albert's wife (his fiancé at the time), and later from his daughter, my grandmother, and some very cynical entries from my mother. Apparently I wasn't the only family member inspired to leave comments after his death. 
It's an interesting mix and gives me some insights on my family. 

Preparing the layered metallic backgrounds and adding the gold trim can take longer than painting the roses!  These colors delight me but they don't always translate well through the camera.