Saturday, before The Phone Call

Happy things:

I picked even the tiny flower buds off the Hibiscus sabdariffa -- Roselle, the hibiscus of hibiscus tea -- and boiled down the smaller pods and buds to make hibiscus syrup. Not bad -- i think there's a slight vegetal note that probably would be absent if i hadn't included petals. It has a beautiful ruby color.

I found yards of white and black seam binding at the thrift store. I've bought spoonflower printed fleece to make lap blankets for Mom - just a little more dignified than the towels Dad uses.

The lemon grass i potted to bring inside seems to be doing well. The holy basil lost many leaves but i think three of the four plants have new growth. We'll see if it will thrive. There's only one place in the house with sunlight. This summer i found a console table that gets the plants to the level of the window and clears the air vent with plenty of room. I assembled it today and put the plants on it. I think i'll try starting some winter plant seeds inside as well, and then move those to the greenhouse, and then eventually set out.


This morning's depressions, written out in hopes of exorcising them:
( but nothing really new )

Lunch and poking at the internet has helped perk me up. Christine took a nap, too, and hopefully the elephants are at bay.