Lifescapes

Carolee's Herb Farm

 

Lovely, don't you think? This is just one view of the big barn at Carolee's Herb Farm in Hartford City IN. I could have taken dozens of photos like this one, inside the barn, in the plant nursery, and in the surrounding gardens and fields, each view showing you something new. But instead, I suggest that you visit Carolee's website and check out her farm photo gallery. And the next time you're in central Indiana, make it a point to drop in. I know that Carolee will have something new and beautiful for you to see, taste, touch, smell.

When Bill and I drove up, we were greeted by a full parking lot and a cheerful welcome sign. Rain was forecast, but it mostly held off for our visit--just one brief shower while I was speaking. The event was sold out (Carolee always works hard at getting the word out about events), and I spent a delightful two-plus hours signing books, chatting with friends (all of China's readers are friends!), and talking about the Shakers and their herbs.

Then Carolee served everyone a proper tea: tiny sandwiches, delicious cakes and pastries, tea, and lemonade. All of us agreed that Beatrix Potter (surely an expert on the proper tea) would have been impressed.

After the tea, I went shopping (well, of course!). It's nearly the end of my trip, and the herbs I chose will be sure to survive the drive back to Texas. Carolee does her own propagation from "mother" stock plants that provide plenty of plant babies, and her nursery shelves are filled with culinary, medicinal, landscaping, and crafting herbs. She also has the most spectacular collection of lavenders I've ever seen--47 hardy varieties that she grows in her fields and 10 tender varieties she keeps in the greenhouse. Check out her July Lavender Daze, bring a basket, and pick your own. Think I'm a fan? You bet! (If you want to see any of these photos enlarged, just click on them).

Today's Monday, and we're beginning to wrap up the book tour. Today, Bill and I are driving over to Monticello IN, to speak to the Friends of the Library. Hope you'll be along for the ride. Then back in the car and heading south to Carmel IN, to the Mystery Bookshop. Tomorrow, the T.C. Steele Historic Site (another lovely place), and then--oh, glory, we're going home. I enjoy touring, but I am sooo anxious to get back to my garden, the dogs, the cows, and my favorite Texas landscapes. Not to mention my next writing project: the seventh book in the Cottage Tales, another dragon book. Yay!

London KY: Record temp today

The folks at the London library, in collaboration with the Laurel County Master Gardeners, held an author reception this evening. I'm at the table, having a serious discussion about plants, and Bill in the background, heading for second helpings of the wonderful food. The quiche (made from China's recipe, of course) was especially good. We had a great crowd for the evening book discussion, and the library gave me a fantastic gift: a carved and painted folk art rooster. He's out in the car right now, packed comfortably in a box for the trip home. When we get back to TX, I'll take his picture so you can see him. He's a splendid bird. I hope he'll be happy with my four other carved roosters: birds of a feather flock together, naturally.

I'm glad to report that it's stopped raining, so the drive through Ohio and Kentucky was beautiful. But when the sun came out, it brought record temperatures. Would you believe? 88 here in central KY today! (Somebody say global warming? Feels like I'm back in TX!) With this record heat, I'm sure the spring flowers will be out in a jiffy--especially since this is the weekend of the Laurel County Master Gardener Flower and Garden Show. Lots of interesting classes and workshops on Saturday and Sunday. Check it out.

And since it will be so warm tomorrow, you ride-alongs might want to wear something cool to our booktalk/signing at Barnes & Noble in Louisville. We'll be driving north to Lexington (not too far from Pleasant Hill Shaker Village, actually), then west to Louisville, through horse country. And for those of you who are wondering about the progress on the blue sock, here's a photo. I've turned the heel, finished the gusset, and started down the foot.The pattern is a basket weave, knitted in a Knit-Picks sock yarn that is just soooo soft. My fingers love it.

 

Tomorrow, B&N, Louisville. Got it? See you there!

Dayton & Kenton OH

Two more super evenings. Last night, at Books & Co in Dayton, I connected with Story Circle sister Judy. Here we are. Can you see how delighted we are to be together at last? Also fun: seeing friends from the Zenia herb group and the Cox Arboretum volunteers, whom I met in 2006. At B&C, Sharon hosted a great signing, as always. Thanks to all who came out, and to Sharon for setting things up.

We took a few personal hours today, and Bill went antiquing. Have I said that he's an antique hound? He's always looking for antique woodworking and blacksmithing tools and examples of pre-industrial technology. So we stopped at nearly a dozen antique shops between Dayton & Kenton (east of Lima) so he could shop. Me? If I go into an antique shop, I'll come out loaded, and I don't need any more STUFF (unless, of course, we're talking yarn). So I stayed in the car, knitted my sock (yep, still working on the blue one), and listened to a book.

Sunny today, lovely Ohio landscape, green green grass (can I take some of it back to TX?), neat farmhouses & barns. Spring plowing hasn't begun here yet, but soon: the daffodils are out and the redbuds are blooming. Theodore Bear (thanks, Tara) felt chilly this morning, so he took a few moments to sit on a rock in the sunshine and meditate on the beauties of daffodils.

This evening, the library at Kenton OH: a large group, friendly & fun. I bumped into Candace at Arby's--a friend from meetings of the Herb Society of America. Fern arranged a book table with herbs for every book: rosemary, rue (just showing its first spring leaves), thyme, lavender, and so on--even bloodroot, freshly potted! Outstanding, Fern. I loved it. Evelyn copied pages from this blog and posted them to show folks where the tour has taken me. Evelyn, it was so interesting to see it all displayed! (Have I really traveled all those miles???) And the library (Amy, was it your doing?) assembled a wonderful basket of goodies for us to take on the road with us. Can't tell you how much fun it is to meet such creative people all along the way! You're turning a long book tour into a wonderful party.

Okay, all you riders-along. Gather your knitting and a book, because we have a longish ride tomorrow: from Lima (where we are tonight) to London KY, where we'll be at the library tomorrow night. Looks like good weather for traveling: south through Dayton, around Cincinnati, around Lexington KY, and into Shaker country. It'll be a lovely drive. Do come along.

Grove City & Dayton, on Earth Day

 

Dayton this evening, at Books & Company. Meantime, I'm having a quiet afternoon with the current sock and Theodore Bear, a gift from Tara, back in Mechanicsburg. Theodore may look like a mild-mannered bear, but he is possessive about socks, so don't try to take this one away from him--I don't think he'd actually bite, but you never know. (Thanks, Tara, for giving me such a devoted bear. He sends his love and says to tell you that he's having a great time on our trip.)

Last night, I visited with the lovely folks who volunteer to maintain the gardens at Gantz Farm, in

Grove City OH. They have a big job, because there are 10 unique gardens featuring culinary herbs, fragrance plants, medicinal, dye plants, as well as a knot garden and cutting garden. Of course, it's still very early spring here (cold, rainy, even some hail), so I couldn't see the gardens. But I've seen them before and enjoyed them. You will too--but do come back in the early summer, when the plants are showing off their pretty selves. We had a large group, good talk about the Shakers and their herbs, and some delicious pieces of homemade cake. Yum. Thanks to John, Toni, and Judy, from Foul Play Mystery Bookstore, for bringing books, and to Charlotte for handling the arrangements.

And of course, it's Earth Day. Here are some important words on the subject from one of my heroes, Robert Redford, actor, director, environmentalist, in today's Huffington Post:

So what good is Earth Day? It's a day that reminds us to take a stand every day and fight for the places we hold dear. So today, pause for a moment and take full advantage of the unprecedented array of tools we have for connecting with others and expressing our views. Speak up on Facebook, or Twitter, or go one step further and join me at NRDC's Greenlight. In today's world, you're a reporter too. Stand up for the people, creatures, and lands that inspire you to protect the environment. Reach out and tell the world about what's happening in the places you hold dear. Make your voices heard.

Wormwood

                              
It's Tuesday, it's Columbus OH, it's raining, and I'm between events, so I'm about to take a nap. If you're traveling along (virtually) with me, maybe you're not ready for a nap. Not much sightseeing in this immediate area, so here's something you can read about the herb wormwood. I'll get up in a bit and we can go on to tonight's event, not far from here, in Grove City. See you in a little while!

zzzzzzzzz........

Mystery lovers & herb friends

  There's nothing nicer to than meeting a Story Circle sister. Here I am with Erin Philbin, a long-time Story Circle member and former online student of mine, and now one of SCN's wonderful online teachers. Erin was one of the gang of mystery lovers who gathered at the Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont PA (just east of Pittsburgh) for a brown-bag lunch. MaryAlice and Richard own the store and have a well-earned reputation for being hospitable hosts. They're busy planning a huge party for Monday, May 4, where you can meet dozens (yes!) of mystery authors. Bill and I had a great time at the lunch--many thanks to Richard and MaryAlice for hosting us.

Then we climbed back in the car (our Honda Element, a mini-SUV), and headed toward Chagrin Falls, a small town east of Cleveland, the home of Kathleen Gips' Village Herb Shop. You can take a virtual tour on the shop's website and see all the goodies that Kathleen has collected. As she says, her shop began as a hobby, then became a passion, evolved into a mail order catalog, and into the lovely place it is today. Of course, China was busy taking notes for her shop--she spotted several items that she wants to carry. We had a meet-and-greet in the shop, then walked over to the Town Hall for an evening tea (yum!) and a talk about the Shakers and their herbs. Thanks, Kathleen. It was a wonderful evening. And if you ever visit Pecan Springs, China promises to throw a big tea party for you, too!

Bring your raincoat and an umbrella. Today, we're heading in the direction of Columbus, for events in Westerville and Grove City OH. I'm getting homesick for my gardens and the dogs and the cat, who are having a "vacation" in a nearby boarding kennel. Our neighbor says we got 3" of rain last week, which makes me very happy. Ecstatic, in fact. Maybe we'll have fresh tomatoes by the time we get home!

Blairsville PA

Lovely, lovely pear trees, blooming in clouds of lacy white along our route from southern PA to Blairsville in west-central PA, on a mild Sunday morning. Unfortunately, these beautiful trees are not beautifully behaved. Mostly wildings, volunteer seedlings of the Callery pear (imported from China in 1918, a cousin to the Bradford pear), they are definitely not a tree that you want to have anywhere near your house or car. Some people are even calling them a "plague of pears." Too bad. They are truly gorgeous.

If you're riding along (virtually speaking), you know that today's rain held off until after the session with the Indiana Herb Study Group in Blairsville PA (the confusion will clear when you know that Blairsville is located in Indiana County PA). We had a great buffet lunch (herbies are absolutely the best cooks), a good talk about the Shakers and their herbs, a book sale, and a drawing for door prizes. This is my second visit to Blairsville, and it was fun to get together again with so many friends. Thanks to Deborah Stiffler for making arrangements, and to the gals from Borders, in Indiana PA, for bringing books. And of course, to everyone who joined us and helped to celebrate Wormwood's appearance (week of April 26) on the New York Times Extended Bestseller list. Here's a photo of our party, held at the Chestnut Ridge Conference Center.

With this post, this blog will begin appearing on my book pagesn on Amazon--that is, if I've clicked the right buttons. I've been too slow in updating my Amazon blog, so I'm hoping this new link will remedy that problem. Welcome, Amazon readers! I'm on book tour for the next ten days: you're invited to ride along.

Bethlehem, Gettysburg, York

If you're riding along on our book tour, maybe you noticed that we got lost again--this time in Bethlehem PA, on our way to the Moravian Bookshop. My fault. I was paying attention to my knitting when I should have paid attention to the map. Many thanks to John, a real sweetie who stayed on the phone and navigated us through the labyrinth of streets and bridges in Historic Bethlehem to the bookstore, where a group of China's friends and fans was waiting...and waiting. We were only a little late, and they were patient, bless 'em. We had a good talk, the group asked thoughtful questions, and we had a drawing for two giveaway books: first editions of Thyme of Death and The Tale of Hill Top Farm. Thanks to Christine for making arrangements.

We had the afternoon off, so we found our way out of town (faster than getting in) and headed for the  National Military Park at Gettysburg, to tour the battlefield, something that both of us really wanted to do. We're great fans of Ken Burns' film, The Civil War, and have wanted to see this important battlefield. A moving, sobering experience. On a spring day, with clear blue sky above and green grass all around, there's a heartbreaking sense of peace here, peace and loss, hardly blunted by the passage of time. This is the North Carolina monument, sculpted by the same artist who produced the presidents on Mount Rushmore. 

Today: an exciting, happy day at the 11th York Herb Festival, where I met literally hundreds of readers of all three mystery series, signed lots of books, and talked about Wormwood, the Shakers, and their herbs. This is Molly, my helper at the book table. Thanks to her, and to Susanna (of Rosemary House), who set up the book sale. The festival attracts about 2,000 people, and there was certainly a lot to see, admire, sample, and taste. Fun for everybody.

Now, Bill and I are headed downstairs for a glass of wine and some nibbles, and then dinner. Tomorrow, we're driving west (through rain, maybe?) to Blairsville, PA. Hope you'll join us!

Rosemary House

 

Rosemary House is a beautiful place in the spring. If you had time to wander around the garden this evening, you saw the trays of herb plants, daffodils, tulips, the goldfish pond. The book table was set up to one side, and there were plenty of refreshments. And then dinner--oh, yum! Here's Nancy's menu, every bit of it delicious (of course: it was adapted from China's & Ruby's tea room recipes), and served at beautifully decorated tables. If you'd like to try some of these dishes, click on the links for the recipes.

Herbed Cheese and Crackers
Raspberry Mint Iced Tea
Ruby's Salad with Orange-Ginger Dressing
Quiche with Thyme and Lavender
Carrots Vichy
Cheese and Sage Biscuits (scroll down to the bottom)
Rosemary Cookie
Orange Chocolate Tea Bread

And after dinner, I got to talk to the group about the Shakers and their herbs. You can find some of my notes and some background material for the talk (plant lists and a garden plan) on the Wormwood web page. A special treat for me: a hug from Jinni Turkelson, who stopped for dinner on her way to DC to see family. Jinni, such fun to meet you at last!

Mechanicsburg is a lovely old town, named for a settlement of mechanics who made and repaired Conestoga wagons in the early 1800s. If you had to miss tonight's event but you'd like to know more about Rosemary House, visit Rosemary's Sampler, Nancy's and Susanna's blog.

Bill and I will be heading east to Bethlehem tomorrow (about 90 miles), to the Moravian Bookshop. The mystery group meets there at 10:30 in the morning. Should be good weather for a drive. Hope you're coming along.

Happy dance!

Breaking news! Wormwood has made next week's New York Times extended bestseller list. Yay! Special thanks to all China's friends and fans around the country. You're the ones who've made this possible. I appreciate it more than I can say.

An incident-free (translation: no mistakes, no accidents) drive around DC and Baltimore this morning, to Mechanicsburg, which is just south of Harrisburg PA. Bill and I are taking a little break right now before tonight's signing/dinner at Rosemary House & Sweet Remembrances. I talked to Susanna a little while ago: she said the dinner is sold out. But we're having the signing at 5 in the garden--plenty of room there. If you're riding along on the tour (virtually speaking), pop on a sweater. Sunny but coolish here in Mechanicsburg this afternoon.