Over the past few weeks I’ve been finishing the semester, turning in my students’ grades and still working on my Master degree. I’m confused about it though at the moment, but all I can think to do is continue writing. It’s the irony of my life again, that I feel overlooked and withdrawn. What will I do with my GIS skills? My paper is just floating without a committee, I feel like I’m floating, I don’t fully understand what is going on, but things will work out and I will graduate. I don’t know, it’s been a very evolving time for me.
Life goes on… it isn’t always fair the way things end up. We can romanticize only for so long, over the things we took for granted, and then we just have to be grateful again for the present circumstances. We end up figuring out why it ‘had’ to be this way later on.. In the meantime, attitude is everything.
Since I didn’t have to instruct a Lab anymore on Tuesdays, I decided to spend the day creating something from my garden in my kitchen… I made Rosewater!
It turned out to be a really good idea. The process was easy, anyone could do it if you have a rosebush!
Using the plants in my garden, the honeysuckle, violets, dandelion, daises, dead-nettle, blackberry, elderberry, passion flowers, is something I’ve been wanting to do more, since I was given this time in my life to be at home so much.
Honeysuckle heart 
The rosebush here is old and very tall, I’ve enjoyed these beautiful flowers but hadn’t tried making anything with them.
I’m grateful I have this garden, it’s brought me so much joy since we’ve lived here the past 3.5 years. This summer I’m really getting things going with creating my own handmade health & beauty products. I imagine making beautiful and useful items that could be given as gifts for uplifting the mind, body and spirit. I even made an Etsy called the FerventFlowerShop – I am using my photography to make other custom products too.
I cleaned and reused the blue glass spray bottles I’d saved from the rosewater I usually purchase from my favorite Apothecary Fairy. The recipe uses lavender oil and it is divine.. her products are inspiring. I wanted to try making this simple beauty product that I love using every day. And without even really trying to measure it out, I was able to fill all eight empty 4oz bottles! It was fun, soothing even… all you do is pick roses, tear the petals into a bowl and pour boiling water over it, stir and cover, let sit for a few hours until it cools, then strain and it’s ready to be poured. It can be used as a facial mist, an aroma for the skin, and fragrant air cleanser.
My Rosewater is specially made – love and music went into it too.
The recipe for both the batches I made:
Lavender Peppermint Rosewater
9 freshly picked garden roses
1 pinch dried organic lavender
1 pinch dried organic peppermint
3 cups boiled water
Lavender Honeysuckle Rosewater
9 freshly picked garden roses
10 freshly picked wild white roses from my walk in the forest
7 freshly picked garden honeysuckle
1 pinch dried organic lavender
1 pinch dried organic peppermint
1 pinch dried organic sage
3 cups boiled water
I used simple items – just a white porcelain bowl, wooden chopsticks, and tea pot loose leaf strainer, a measuring cup, and stainless steel bowl to boil fresh water.
I had so much fun creating with flowers that I made one more batch of Rosewater.. this time with more honeysuckle than roses, and added other special ingredients! I poured it into an 8oz mist spray bottle and am using it as an all-natural air freshener… it’s wonderful! I love good smells…
Rosewater Room Spray
3 cups of freshly picked garden honeysuckle
5 freshly picked garden roses
10 garden violets
3 garden daises
2 spoon full dried organic lavender
1 spoon full dried organic hibiscus
1 pinch dried organic peppermint
1 spoon full raw TN honey
2.5 cups boiled water
I will be experimenting more! Next I want to try making infused fragrance oils. Herbalism is very useful and I live in an area rich and abundant with native plants…
Lots is happening, planetary changes, tectonic and volcanic activity is very high, big solar flares recently, Pink Supermoon, another sun halo. I just try to focus on enhancing the quality of my immediate environment and creating something beautiful.
Channeling Passions 