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Rosemary Harvesting & Graphic Design

7/30/2014

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This morning I found myself outside checking on my Rosemary plant/bush. I planted it from a seedling 2 years ago and it took off like crazy. I keep it pruned back to shrub height and usually prune it after it flowers its pretty little Lavender blooms. Yesterday it was looking a little peckish. It sort of looked a bit mottled and light green.

Normally I do not water it since its over two years old now and seems to take care of itself. But every-once in a while it seems to want some extra water. So I watered it. Today it is happy and green. Though you should prune it after it blooms I have never had problems with pruning it anytime.


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Rosemary with Lavender Blooms

Rosemary supposedly prefers a sandy loam type soil and from what I understand it has a harder time growing up North which is probably why I killed my first one. I had one when I lived in the Chicago area and the poor little thing didn't make it past three months. Now that I live in Northern Georgia I figured I would try my luck again and lo an behold a Rosemary bush was born!

So back to pruning. After watering it yesterday and checking it today and it looking much better, I went ahead and pruned it back. The shape I am looking for is about waist high and the branches that are getting heavy and starting to look like they may split or crack off on the sides, I just whack those off.  Immediately my little bush looks happy. Check!

Now the most important part; harvesting them. Wait I technically just did that. Yep that is pretty much it, you cut it off and walla harvested. Okay now that you cut it off what do you do with it? Well lots of things actually. You can put it out to dry, make sure to spread it out so that all the leaves can get air. Or you can keep it fresh by putting it an air tight container and putting it in the fridge.  Be sure to rinse and dry it thoroughly because of the bugs it could have from coming from outside but don't use an anti-bacterial soap it could ruin the properties you want to keep.


Now why Rosemary? Well it is really one of my favorite fragrances and possibly one of my favorite foods. Have you heard of Rosemary Olive oil bread? YUM E!  Regardless of the delicious tastes the most important thing is have you heard about how great it is for you? It has amazing health benefits and in recent studies scientists are finding it increases your memory; especially those with brain surgeries and problems with short term memory, (guess what that is me) by 75% just by inhaling the natural oils for 15 minutes. You then put it aside and 30 minutes later you repeat. So twice a day. I have started sticking my nose in my Rosemary bush because of this and I will have to tell you how I come along. I will let you know that I was very cloudy and non functioning this morning and it seemed to wake me up at least and I am now able to semi write without my usual loss of focus.

Oh did I mention that it is supposed to help you focus too? Wow right? Who knew a tiny little evergreen well actually not technically an evergreen it is from the mint family
along with other popular and fragrant herbs such as thyme, oregano, lavender and basil. Here are some other great health benefits our little friend has; Rosemary leaves contain certain phyto-chemical (plant derived) compounds that are known to have disease preventing and health promoting properties.  Because of its natural substances which I wont go into here Rosemary has compounds that are known to have rubefacient (counterirritant), anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-fungal and anti-septic properties.

It is rich in many Vitamin B complexes.  Which I find very interesting because did you know you need vitamin B for your nerve system and memory? People like me who have brain disorders and migraines are usually low in vitamin B12. I have to give myself an injection monthly for the rest of my life. The fact that the plant is rich in vitamin B may have something to do with the memory increase? Would seem plausible.  Our little plant is also rich in vitamin A, low calorie, no cholesterol, and 37% of RDA fiber if you eat 100 grams.  Also 37% of RDA for vitamin C.  And it contains natural iron.

Now thanks to this little bush of mine this morning, my mind seems to be more awake which means I can now hopefully create a Freebie for you for August as well as the daily Freebies. YEA! Right? So I guess I have to say Rosemary not only does the body good, but the mind as well and really I don't mind eating it. And with that in mind ha ha here is one of my own recipes for Rosemary potatoes. Makes a great side dish and is a huge hit with my family.
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10-20 min prep to table time depending on what type of potato you use. Starting with  6-10 new potatoes clean and peal or use the little canned whole potatoes,. I use the canned because they are already soft and cooked and then this cooks up super fast and delicious. If you are using fresh potatoes boil and cook until they are soft enough to stick a fork through to the center. Drain. If using the canned...get your can opener, open and drain. Haha I know you are not as dumb as me but you never know...moving on. Next put them into a 4 cupish sauce pan; "Cupish" is a authentic term. I know because I said so. 
Now you will add salted butter. The real stuff people its actually better for you then the made up crap look it up. Now depending on how many potatoes you used; 6 use have a stick, 10 use 3/4. Melt the butter in with the potatoes add fresh Rosemary or you can use the dried bottled stuff but if you do add it in with the butter right away so it will start to get soft. BTW they say even dried Rosemary helps with the memory excellent right? Use as much or as little as you want for taste I ad enough to coat the potatoes well.

On about a medium heat you will let the butter melt with the potatoes and start stirring them around in the butter so they get nice and coated with the rosemary and the butter. Let them brown just a bit. Now the best part. You know that Parmesan shaker of cheese you use for spaghetti and pizza? Yeah you can use that but don't. They make a better one that has 4 cheeses including Asiago. Try and find those Kraft ones that have a blend of more than one instead because they are so much tastier. They are not as easy to find though so if you can't find them just use the regular because it really is good too.

Start adding the Parmesan to the potatoes while stirring.  You want enough to give them a really good coating. Keeping it on medium heat and continue stirring and coating. The cheese will start to melt down and clump to the starchiness of the potatoes. Little will be left in the pan if you let it melt down enough and coat the potato. Your potatoes will have a lumpy consistency look to it.  And that was it you are done; DELICIOUS. Garnish with a fresh sprig of Rosemary and side it with your favorite meat.
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Marketing Award

7/28/2014

 
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I am very excited to share with you that I won an award today for Marketing on a team promotion for North Georgia Made's Christmas in July sales Event. The event featured the North Georgia team and special items created for the Pre-Christmas sales event. How did I win the award? I created many individual treasuries containing featured shops and items and advertised them to the Etsy shoppers.  Super proud to be part of a very proactive Etsy team. You can visit them by clicking the little purple button on the right side bar.

The Stove

7/27/2014

 
Today I was working on editing some free content for you all. You can find this cute little stove from 1886 as a free download on the Freebie page.  What I did was remove the background then converted the image to a negative. Then back again to Black and white. The reason for this is to remove the sepia background and get as clean a white background I can get so that this image can now be used for crafting purposes. You can see and download the copy of the original on the Freebie page. If I had left the image as a negative I suppose it could have been used as a chalk board drawing.
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However I found that since the detailing on this is so tight that leaving it a white image kind of made it blurry and a little "wonky". Its my official Blog word. "Wonky" get used to it because you will see it a lot.

Anyway after reading further down and especially about my Etsy team Norga, go on over to the Freebie page and check it out. OH also make sure to stop and visit the Specials page. I have some incredible deals like a package of digital designer images worth 20,000 for Fifty bucks after using the $9 off coupon.  Can you imagine getting 20,000 worth of content for nearly free? I bought this deal myself that how incredible it is. No they don't pay me to critique the packs either. I just know from experience. I have now bought over 20 packages from them and they are priceless to me.  Anyway you will be seeing all kinds of cool content in the future as I use more and more of what they have.

Lucy

7/26/2014

 
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This afternoon I went to go see the movie Lucy with Scarlet Johansson. Ok first let me say its' really no better then a C rating. Now from a graphics stand point there was some cool effects. They also had a way of referencing parts of the movie to the wild or old black and white films. Now that was excellent and I wish they had kept that up through the whole movie. Anyway this movie has too many loose ends and this doesn't make sense because... You know the type of movie. I was also sitting next to a couple where the woman kept gasping or saying "Oh No" through the whole film. Made me wonder if she ever leaves her couch.

The movie is rated R for a good reason though. Lots of killing, blood and guts. You know the good stuff that makes it an R. Which I have to say was refreshing since movies in my opinion have gotten a little too soft because Hollywood wants every dollar they can squeeze and you cant squeeze dollars out of the under 18 crowd unless they sneak in.

Well anyway none of this was really my point. What I did like about the movie is that it kind of coincided with my feelings of the natural order of the world. I have always felt that we are all one. Part of "The One". One energy flowing splitting off into more energy. When we die we don't really die but become essence, energy, free flowing to go anywhere no longer tied to one outlet but becoming one with "The One" Source.  Imagine being able to see feel and experience everything like a ray of sunshine traveling millions of miles to touch on a surface. It makes our lives seam so much smaller and minute in retrospect. Which is why we really need to treat each other better and with more respect. Our time here is so short compared to the world that goes on around us and in the time it takes to blink we are gone. Making this side of your life easier and more simple sometimes it just as easy sharing a smile or a coffee.

I for one am excited to share my minute time with you before I become something larger then what I can comprehend today. Take time today to reflect on the good you do, the positive you generate and squash the bugs of negativity beneath your boot.

~lady T

The New Site

7/26/2014

 
I really appreciate everyone who has stopped by and are stopping by each day. This is my dream site as it incorporates all of the things I have wanted to bring you together in one place. Originally I had links to this place and that place and now its all here in one place.  I now have an opportunity to share some great content, tips, projects and have space for you the users to post content. This makes me super happy because I love to share and see what you guys are up to as well. So please stop by everyday. I will be creating buttons so that you can share my site on your site. If you want to trade buttons for space I am up for that as well. I would love to have a few partners. So please take the time to look around and drop me some feedback. Don't be shy. Lord knows I am not.  See you round the blog :)
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