What's In My Teapot?

If there is one thing I have learned as a mother, it is that children will alter your life forever and your plans in the blink of an eye. For instance... This morning our family, dressed nicely and behaving well, was enjoying a pleasant drive to the church in Maryland where Wesley & his family first joined the plain people because the church was celebrating it's 50th anniversary when suddenly, 10-15 minutes from our destination, the toddler opened his mouth and threw up. Just. like. that. Without warning, the day had just switched from Plan A to Plan B. Now what? The first thing we had to do on this new course was obvious: park by the side of the road and clean up the mess. Once Parker and his carseat had been restored to as much cleanliness as was possible with a wipes and a change of clothes, we had a decision to make... Should we take the chance that this was a case of carsickness, albeit his first, and go on to church? Should we all turn around and go home...

It is said that you learn something new every day. Well, today I learned that in the language of flowers, or floriography , a peony means anger! Funny, because I am writing in a kitchen scented with peonies and the last emotion I feel toward that lovely vase of blooms on my table is anger! Nor would I consider them a good flower of choice to give to someone I was angry with, so don't get worried if I show up on your doorstep with a vase of peonies!!! So I guess it can be deduced that not all flowers speak the same language! May's book of the month,  A Memory of Violets , by Hazel Gaynor, talked a lot about flowers, and, in particular, showed the contrast between the beauty of flowers and the poverty of the flower sellers of London. I must say that this book never become a favorite. While the history in the story was interesting, and I enjoyed reading about London and the flower sellers during the Victorian Era, I like a book that I can't put down, and...

I am not sure if this post is random because it was the day for that type of review and my herb garden was uppermost in my mind, or if the post is random because that is the style of gardening that best describes me, but I suppose either way if the shoe fits I might as well wear it!!! The fact is, I have come to realize that I am not a professional gardener! Rather, my planting and plucking tends to be whimsical at best, disorganized at worst!!! Instead of consulting my herb books (and I do own several reputable ones!) and making organized & alphabetical lists, I go to the greenhouse, feel inspired by all the lovely options, and begin choosing plants and putting them in the cart according to what catches my eye, which means that when it comes to herbs, especially, that is just about everything !!! And then I get home and realize I already had a garden sage. Sometimes my random approach begats plants that thrive and even come up the next year (which is always a pleasant ...

I was scratching my head over what children's book to post this week when the thought occurred to me that I would just give you a peek at 5 of the most popular books on our shelves these days. Now when I say popular , you must understand that this means two things: 1. Popular is anything you read on an average of one or two times a day. 2. What's popular can change quickly. Especially if the book belongs to the library! This happens to be a benefit if they do, because then if they become too popular , there is such a thing as returning them!!! Probably if this list was about which titles I wished would be popular for my children, it would look a little different, but even in book choices my children have a lot to teach me. Even if the first lesson is patience over the 17th reading... Elasa found  Ripley's Fun Facts & Silly Stories 2   at the library last week and has been reading it and blessing me with little tidbits such as, some clouds weigh as...