Sweet Basil- A Bit On The Wrists, A Dab Behind The Ears

It just looks so sweet when you walk into the room. My mom always, and I mean always, has a simple arrangement on her kitchen table. Not usually too fancy, just something that highlights the actual flower, not the arrangement. And once you "Ooh" and "Aww" over the flowers, you step back and say, "You know, that's a precious arrangement you've got going there."

This summer she seems to be featuring marigolds from my sister's flower garden patch. Tiny vase, simple blooms, sweet placemat. Equals nice.

I used to have sunflowers, lilies, daisies, lupines, hollyhocks, peonies, Black-eyes Susans, Liatris, cosmos, Echinacea, aster,  oh my-- when did I have the time? Oh, that's right- before a kid. Now my garden has become a true cottage garden, all wild and rangy and rioting with flowers that have broken free from their designated spots. My garden reminds we of unbrushed hair- crazy! There's a fair number of weeds as well but we just overlook those. I do keep some herbs going from one year to the next and I tend my basil with great care not just because I love fresh basil for cooking. No, half the reason to grow basil is to keep some snippets in a vase, close at hand so I can catch a whiff at unexpected times. Even after the peak blooms have begun to fade, that rich lusty aroma still floats in the air. It's perfume. And after I take some nice photos of the vase on my dining room table, I take it back into the kitchen and put it on the window sill above the sink, where it normally is. We spend to much time in the kitchen that it seems best to keep it where I can see it.

And smell it!

Thanks for looking in on me today. Go stick your nose into some fresh basil (watch pit for the bees) and then come on back- we'll get crafty next time.

Summer Green of August- Peridot

Image via Just Gemstones

  

Image via PalaGems

  

Image via Rose Diamonds

Peridot. Per'i-dot or pear-a-doe, either one is used, the former probably the correct pronunciation, the later having come into common enough usage to be included in several dictionaries and other reference materials. It is mentioned in the Bible as Chrysolite, the seventh stone in the foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelations 21:20) and as pitdah and beryl on the Breastplate of Aaron, from which it is generally believed our birthstones are derived. It is not clear whether the word peridot comes from the Arabic word faridat, which means gem or if it is derived from the French word peritot which means unclear, probably for the cloudy appearance of larger stones. The French were the first to call this yellow-green stone peridot in the 18th century. Before then, peridot was known as topaz.

Image via Sew Darlene



Peridot has been mined as a gemstone for over four thousand years. At that time, peridot was mined on the serpent-infested island of Zabarjad, in the Red Sea. Legend says that jealous watchers who had orders to put to death any trespassers guarded the entire island. Peridot was brought back to Europe by Christian soldiers during the crusades. Peridot were later used in the decoration of European cathedrals. Large stones, more than 200 carats in size, adorn the shrine of the Three Magi at the Cologne Cathedral. Early miners would hunt for peridot at night because it was believed that the stone was not easily seen in day and the light of the moon or lamplight made the crystals easier to find. These early miners would mark the sites and then return in the daylight to dig up the stones. Romans called peridot "evening emerald" for this reason.



Image via Molecular Expressions



So what is peridot? Peridot is Magnesium Iron Silicate- (Mg,Fe)2SiO4- with more magnesium than iron. It is a volcanic gemstone and one of the few gemstones to occur in only one color. If it's peridot, it's green. In fact, peridot is a transparent gem quality variety of the mineral olivine and is commonly found in lava rock (basalt or igneous rocks).  Olivine is actually a fairly common mineral but gemstone quality peridot is rare. Most of the world's peridot comes from the San Carlos Apache Reservation mine in Arizona, where there are large deposits of lesser quality, though still lucrative, peridot. Foudn all over the world, fine quality peridot comes from Myanmar and Egypt, and the finest  from Pakistan, where a huge deposit of excellent stones was discovered in the 1990's in a high, inhospital Himalayan pass in the Nanga Parbat region in the Pakistani part of Kashmir. The conditions in this pass are so tough that the stones can only be mined in the summer.

Image via Stones and Crystals

Peridot is generally formed deep within the earth under conditions of extreme temperature and pressure. But if you came across a peridot that you really liked you might be tempted to exclaim, "This color is out of this world!" and you may, in fact, be correct. Periodot can also be found in a stony-iron meteorite called a pallasite.



Image via Wikimedia Commons



Three-foot slab from the Fukang Pallasite.
Image via Southwest Meteorite Lab



I can see this set in a plain silver frame (no backing so the light
can shine through when held up like this) as a pendant.
Image via Arizona Skies Meteorites



The color of peridot ranges from lime or apple green to olive green, grass green, and even a brownish green. While it looks best in daylight it does not change color under artificial light as some blue or red stones tend to do. Peridot's color comes from it's basic chemical composition, not from impurities. That is why it is only green, no other color. Waxes, oils, and resins will occasionally be used to enhance the look  of the stone though there are no known treatments to enhance or change the color- it is what it is. Gorgeous.



           

Image via JTV

Long confused with Emeralds, which are darker green, the most valued hue is pure green with no traces of brown or yellow. Nice quality peridot  are typically eye-clean but can contain tiny black chromite crystals or interesting inclusions that resemble lily pads.



Image via Gemology Online



The mythology of peridot  holds that Peridot was considered to have the power to drive away evil spirits and that power was even more intense when the stone was set in gold (especially at $1663.39 per ounce, as of close of market on Friday 8-5-11). It was also said to strengthen the power of any medicine drunk from goblets carved from the gemstone. It is thought to bring the wearer good luck, peace, and success. Its powers  are alleged to include health, protection, and sleep, to attract love and to calm anger while also soothing nerves and dispelling negative emotions. They were said to possess the power to dispel the terrors of night-fears and bad dreams but according to Pliny The Elder, the Great Roman authority on such matters, for peridots to work their strongest magic, they must be worn on the right arm. Pirates, on the other hand (ah ha, pun warning) believed that to be effective against evil spirits the peridot had to be strung on donkey hair and worn on the left wrist (get it-- "on the other hand". Oh stop me....). Egyptians used Peridot to clean and heal the heart.

This ring shows the more lime green of the peridot in the center stone
compared with the two small darker emeralds.
Image via luisfernando on etsy

Peridot has been long considered to be an aid to friendship and supposedly frees the mind of envious thoughts. Other legends credit peridot with bringing happiness and good cheer, luck, fame, dignity, attracting lovers, and strengthening the eyes. The list of peridot's supposed healing powers is quite impressive, from curing diseases of the liver and difficulties with digestion, to aiding in physical detoxification and help with problems with the kidneys, bladder, gall bladder, the stomach, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome. It is also said to help heal insect bites, which at this point in the summer I may be willing to actually try. Peridot has a tonic effect- it heals and regenerates tissues, strengthens the metabolism and benefits the skin. If placed on the abdomen, it aids in childbirth by strengthening the muscle contractions while lessening the pain. Oh sure, now you tell me! In short, peridot is believed, by those who believe in this sort of thing, to be a tonic for the entire body, rather than any one specific body system. It is also thought by some to be the gemstone of the first wedding anniversary, when love is still young – green and growing like a spring plant. You get another chance for your 16th wedding anniversary.

This cute little 5"x 6" calf sold online for $7475. Sorry you missed it.
Image via Aspire Auctions

So let's go shopping. When buying peridot, keep in mind that its color is more "velvety" when compared to the fire and bling of emeralds. Because the stone is so readily available, the gauge of quality is eye clean stones with no visible inclusions. The color of the most highly valued stones is a bright grass green with no yellow or olive tones but that’s very much a matter of personal preference. If you like a richer, deeper, more earthy tone, you could get an excellent bargain in a peridot piece. Larger stones are usually cloudy so clear stones greater than 4 carats can become quite expensive though the best color is usually found in these larger stones.

Green sand beach- Papakolea Beach of Hawaii's Ka'u district.
OK- it's olivine and not technically peridot but the thought is cool enough that I'm going with it.
Image via Indian Cinema Fans

So now that all of our insect bites are healed and that pesky irritable bowel has cleared up, we need to take care of our sweet green peridot. August's birthstone is a rather soft stone and needs to be protected from bumps as well as extremes in temperature changes. Always remove your peridot (really, any gemstone) before doing the chores around the house and yard, avoid household chemicals, and put on makeup, hair spray, lotions, and other cosmetics before you don your gems. Even though peridot is formed under extreme heat and temperature conditions deep within the earth, it wears easily once it has breached the surface. Avoid prolonged exposure to harsh sunlight as this can fade the stone. Clean your stone with dishwashing detergent or a mild commercial cleaner. No ultrasonic cleaners allowed. Soak for 10 minutes or so in a warm soapy solution, clean with a soft brush, rinse, and pat dry. Store your peridot in a soft pouch so that it is not scratched by harder stones such as those mean ol' diamonds.

OK gang-- let's go strolling over some grassy green meadows!



Rough peridot, white topaz, freshwater pearls. $2400
Image via Amy Ming Jewelry Blog



Image via Crystal Dragon



Peridot mining operation in Burma.
All of you OSHA people take a deep breath.
Image via Palagems



Peridot on top of magnetite.
Image via Exceptional Minerals

Image via Indian Fashion Frills

 

Rene Lalique "To Have & To Hold" Bird Engagement ring, circa 1904.
Image via Stylehive

I love this ring.

An antique-look original though the stones are genuine peridot.
Image via Cydneys Antiques



From All That Glitters Gallery at San Diego Natural History Museum
Image via WikiRism

Note- if anyone visits the Butterfly Brooch Collection at the San Diego Natural History Museum, would you pick one up for me? Kidding! But do zip me an email and tell me how gorgeous the collection is so I can be happy with you.

And with the arrival of this month's butterfly, we have arrived at the end of our look at the peridot. I know that we are coached to "value the most valuable" but anyone who knows me understands that I don't always hold to that way of thinking. I value what I value, I like what I like. So it may not come as a surprise that I prefer the peridot, with its sweet, lime green, sunny disposition, over the darker emerald. The peridot seems more accessible to me, and I like the idea of that friendliness. Well, after all, the peridot is supposed to enhance friendships.

Thank you each for fluttering through the jungle with me today. Go outside now and enjoy some real grassy greens- if they haven't dried up in all this heat. Yow! Stay safe and cool out there and I'll see you next time.

Carina's Dala Horse CraftAlong

I jumped in with both feet, or maybe that's with all four hooves, after seeing the Dala Horse Craftalong over on Carina's Craftblog.




Image via Carina's Craftblog

 
Carina, along with Hanna (iHanna), Kathryn (The Pickled Herring) and Pam (Gingerbread Snowflakes), are running a Dala Horse Craftalong through August 21st. Go immediately to Carina's post here for the details and/or click on the Dala Horse Craftalong button in my sidebar to go to the Flickr group. You will love the pictures of the beautiful horses that have already been added to the pool. I tossed in my IKEA Dala Horse Hack from last year just to get in on the game.

I had tremendous fun decoupaging this gal. Just wish I had photos of the wonderful mess. We have a saying at our house- "You're not having fun if you're not getting dirty."

I originally found Carina's lovely blog last summer when we were both enrolled in Sister Diane's Blog Tune-Up class over at Craftypod. I was immediately drawn to the colors of her blog as they are My Colors (in spite of how my house looks now- my husband drew the line on the amount of pink in the decorating. Party pooper) and it made me think back to the days when I used to do mostly cross-stitch but a bit of embroidery as well. I sat at the dining room table for a couple of hours on Sunday tracing one of my Dala Horses and doodling around with embroidery pattern possibilities. That was the easy part- now I need to chisel out some quiet time to actually do the work. Oh, and such "work" it will be, toiling away with needle and embroidery floss. Whoa is me and all this "work."

Going for something just a bit different.

So anyway, back to the Dala Horse Craftalong. Click on the Craftalong button in the sidebar to visit the Flickr group. Then go over to Carina's and get the details, then join in the Flickr group fun with your project(s). I hope to have something show you later- it's been decades a couple years since I've done any embroidery so who knows what it will look like.


Thanks for visiting today and I hope to see some of your Dala-gals in the Flickr group- let me know.

Blueberry Zucchini Heaven

When I taste tested this bread, right out of the oven, I wasn't so sure the recipe, from All Recipes, was going to be a keeper. But we'll get into that in a minute. Click over to the recipe at allrecipes.com for the instructions. The ingredients are pretty straight forward- the usual bread ingredients plus our zucchini and blueberries. I did add about a half a cup of walnuts. Does that mean I can claim credit for an original recipe? Oh, well, just asking.

I'm not going to do an entire tutorial:  I frankly don't have that kind of time today and the recipe is linked above. So I guess that makes this more of a recipe review than anything else. As I mentioned, the "keeper" status of this recipe was initially in doubt. The bread, while fresh and warm from the oven, had an odd, almost tin flavor going on. Not wanting to jump to judgement on something like Blueberry Zucchini Bread, I let the bread cool. Ahhh- much better. We're thinking it was the blueberries that tasted "over the top" while the bread was still really warm. Slather on some butter or cream cheese and we're golden.

I had been thinking I would get the loaf out and try for some better photos than what I had quickly snapped off when the bread was first out of the oven. Then I looked over at my husband just in time to see him down the last bit of the bread. "You gotta make some more of this some time." He said, licking his fingers. Spending the night in the 'frig seemed to help the bread's flavors develop and it turned out to be a nice recipe.

Mmmm- look at those pretty blueberries and the lovely zucchini bits. Keeper!!

So get some zucchini out of the garden before they are as big as a car and bake up a couple loaves of this bread: one for you, one to share. Or two for yourself, it's your call.

Thanks so much for flittering by today. Be sure to flitter on back.

Music All Around Us- Guitar Strings

Photo by Joey DiMuli via 365 Project

I've been coming across all kinds of music videos and posts lately about unexpected places we find or are inspired to create music, unusual interpretations or use of music, and just raw musical talent, both in plain view and hidden in surprising places/people.



Photo via Piano Playing Info


I took piano for years and while I'm slowly descending further and further into "out of practice", I still like to plink away at the keyboard when no one's listening. I've even been known to sing, though the comments and accompaniments in the background have become rather cacophnous as the dog population in our house has increased.

Photo via Life With Dogs

But I grew in a home with music, thanks to the interests and genetic gifts of my parents, and though I myself have only a fraction of their musical talents, I have just enough to know what I'm lacking. So when I come across incredible and unexpected music, be it quirky, cute, or glorious, I feel a deep appreciation for the gift of music. Thought I would share some of those encounters with you from time to time because there is, after all, music all around us.



Image via Barcelona Photoblog





Image via West Virginia Old Time Musicians





Photo via Thoughts By Dakotah's Mom



Image via Photo Mish Net





Photo by Andrew Rogers via Daily Sentinel



Photo by Brittany Randolph via Flickr

Sometimes it's the actual music that amazes- either the composition or the talent of the performer, sometimes the effects of music. Sometimes it's the attempts at music, or maybe it's what music is actually doing right in front of our eyes and ears that we can't see or don't notice that is captivating. The video below is an example of music, or in this case the musical instrument, doing what we know it does but we are able to see it from a new perspective. Hope you enjoy.

It Wasn't Just Hitler

(Warning- this post is for history buffs. There are no cute crafts, sinfully yummy recipes, or whimsical reminiscences. Not even any butterflies. Sorry, but History is what I read and like to share. Expect more. You've been warned.)



Finished this book lthe other night. In 1933, William Dodd became the US Ambassador to Germany. In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson follows Dodd's first year in Germany (there's a bit a of wrap-up at the end). Dodd, a history professor, had studied in Leipzig during his college years and went into his tenure as Ambassador with warm feelings toward the German people and nation but no diplomatic experience. Dodd was not Roosevelt's first choice for Ambassador. Or his second. Or third. In fact, Dodd was embarrasingly low on the list. No one else wanted the job. While the persecution of the Jews, initially subtle, was beginning to be discussed in political circles, Dodd felt that most Jews were over-stating the problems in Germany and strove to be neutral on the issue. Dodd and his daughter Martha both looked at life in Nazi Germany with rose-colored glasses, wanting to believe in it's innocence and quaintness. Consequently, it was almost a full year before Dodd and his family (wife, daughter, and son) came to understand the truth of Hitler's threat to the world. The last straw was the June 30th 1934 purge of the leadership of the Storm Troopers, then led by Ernst Rohm. Hitler, as did many of his loyal fellow leaders, saw the Storm Troopers, the SA, as a threat to the traditional German military and their own political ambitions. Between June 30th and July 2nd, Storm Trooper commanders and supporters were arrested and executed for treason. No trial, just executed. This purge became known as the Night of Long Knives. Hitler declared to the German people that he had averted an attempt by certain SA leaders to overthrow the German leadership and was thus justified to naming himself judge during the purge. Hitler claimed just over seventy traitors were executed but the historical record shows that individuals who opposed Hitler, such as a priest, journalists, Jews, and others were killed in the action. Some estimate the casualties closer to 700. We will most likely never know the exact number, but for the shootings to have continued for three days indicates that the violence was more widespread than the Nazis wanted the world to believe. We see clips of Hitler giving speeches in which he is ranting and spitting like a mad man (huh, image that) but to read some of the translations is interesting. Hitler was a master orator and manipulator (oh and a lair, just sayin') and the German people by in large, at least in the beginning, swallowed his speeches hook, line, and sinker. Later it was fear that kept them silent. The Night of Long Knives was a pivotal truning point for the German people, who had been increasingly dissatisfied with Hitler and his Nazi tactics, his initial use of the SA as his personal bully army as part of the reason. By regining in the SA, the German people believed Hitler had actually eliminated a threat to their security and way of life. Some did see it for the dire warning that it was.



Image via Traces





Larson's book focuses mostly on Dodd and his daughter Martha, who had several affairs with high ranking German officials, as well as a man who turned to to be a Soviet spy who has been tasked with recruiting Martha to spy for the Soviets. Martha was, as they used to say when it used to matter, a floozy. Dodd and his left-leaning daughter could not have been more opposite if they had tried. Larson provides an interesting look, through diary excerpts and official cables, at how the US Embassy functioned, Dodd's struggles as Ambassador, the daily lives of those living in Germany, and gives insights as well into the Nazi leadership and the psyche German people after WWI. It wasn't just Hitler. Himmler, Goebbels, and Goring to name the big three were power hungry- oh let's just say it- lunatics- who manipulated Hitler and used his mental instabilities to their own advantages.

Image via Amazing Discoveries



There was a point, around the time of the Night of Long Knives, when Hitler could conceivably have been stopped. Had Roosevelt heeded the increasingly dire reports from Dodd and other Embassy personnel, as had the leaders of other countries from their personnel, things may have turned out differently. But for some reason, which Larson wonders about but does not pursue, Roosevelt and other world leaders did not want to speak out against Hitler. In The Garden of Beasts, however, is an interesting look inside Nazi Germany in the years immediately prior to World War II.

This is just a brief peek inside In The Garden of Beasts. Visit Pittsburgh Live for a better review. I like Erik Larson, having read everything he's published since happening upon Issac's Storm several years ago and would recommend any of is books.

So call dibs on the best reading chair, pour a glass of iced tea, and get to reading. I would love to hear what book you've got your nose into.