Dear Diary

Herbing 'till I plotz...

I promised a photojournal entry, and you're about to get a photojournal entry.

We start with a simple, neglected herb garden:

Pictured, smol child, large rosemary Chaos is looking nervous because there was a wasp on the other side.

Chaos showing off a washing basket full of cut herbs We got a basket full of cuttings. most of them were actually useful.

This is just the LEFTOVER rosemary The leftovers. Some sprigs are bundled with the hope of making decent potential tea.

Finished Rosemary oil. It will be going out in much smaller bottles Heat-infused rosemary oil looks gross when its done, and in bulk.

Mint still being processed I had a freaking LOT of mint. So much that I'm contemplating using the bigger bottles for the gift basket. The house is going to be firkin aromatic for ages, yet.

And we're going to have plenty of leftovers to use or throw out as circumstances decree.

Not pictured: The devastation I left in my wake in the garden, and the brewing rosemary vinegar.

I cut down on the risks of botulism by blanching the rosemary I'm using for the vinegar. In three weeks' time, it's all going to be strained, rebottled, and parcelled up.

I'm going to price sealing wax, today. Going to need it for the presentation.

Post-massacre update

I have successfully mutilated the Rosemary bush and decimated the mint population The house and my hands are redolent with the scent of both.

I tried enlisting some child labour to speed up the process, but Mayhem begged off early [feeling useless and then feeling sick] and Chaos got bored of picking mint leaves.

I have a sink full of unpicked mint, soaking in water and lemon juice to stop them browning whilst I take a well-earned break. And about a double-handful

Where has all the money gone?

I discussed money issues with Beloved in the evening. As it turns out, most of the expenses were directly related to bills and paying off debts.

We're relatively debt free, right now. But we're also money poor.

And Christmas is going to be hellishly expensive, even with my frugality in the balance. For example: Beloved suggested using actual sealing wax for the gift basket stuff. Two of the lovely bottle types have corks, and they're going to need a functional seal.

I

Time for Science!

Today, when I'm done with my writing, I am taking one of the pretty bottles I got for my artisinal rosemary product gift basket[now featuring mint], and I am going to use it... FOR SCIENCE!

These are wibbly wobbly pretty bottles, and I'm doing nine of everything, but for these ones... I am measuring their collective liquid volume.

Yep. I'm filling a bottle nine times and emptying it into a measuring cup so I know how much high-quality vinegar to purchase.

We've started on our supplies...

My goal for this week and next week is to spend as little as humanly possible so that we have more money to save for Christmas.

The artisinal rosemary products are going to crap on that, more than a little. Mostly owing to the fact that I will have to purchase some tools and find a source of bulk white wine vinegar. Might have to discuss that with Beloved.

I'm doing nine bottles of dried leaves, eight of rosemary oil and six

Squeaky bum time...

We get paid tomorrow afternoon. Right now, we have about $70 collectively to get us through until then.

We have resources. A metric fuckton of tinned tomatoes, loads of pasta, loads of rice. No cheese. Or at least, no cheese that we know how to cook with.

We do have a wedge of the famous Wensleydale, but we need crackers to try it. And the kids might yet turn their noses up at it because some Americans went and put cranberries in

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A 3831-post collection

Herbing 'till I plotz...

Post-massacre update

Where has all the money gone?

Time for Science!

We've started on our supplies...

Squeaky bum time...