lovely rose water

It doesn't seem right to me to grow something that you don't or can't use.  Aside from the enjoyment of the sight aspects of summer flowers and plants, I feel God has given everything a purpose and a use in some way and I like to have and grow things that I can use.  A couple of years ago I bought a very small book about uses of roses that was originally printed in 1938.  While it is very interesting and almost amusing to read the way words were spelled at the time, some of the recipes are more difficult and hard to follow.  So, when I wanted to make rose water in a much more simple and non-time consuming way I turned to the internet for help.  Turns out you can make rose water very easily out of rose petals and distilled water.

Rose water is well known for it's anti-inflammatory, anti-septic and anti-bacterial purposes. It is also excellent for cleansing, hydrating, purifying, softening and toning the skin.  Some roses are naturally more fragrant than others.  The rose water that I made from my own rose bush that is normally pretty fragrant outside was not so much when I made the rose water, which is ok by me.  I am now anxious for my Julia Child yellow rose bush to bloom again to have rose water in a variety of color and smell.  If only I could have known how easy this was when the wild roses were in bloom.  Maybe next year.

BTW you might want to let the water cool down a bit before squeezing the petals.

I used mine in my relaxing and detoxifying bath Sunday night.  Here is the recipe I made for my bath.  You might also want to include low lighting, a few white candles and maybe some soft music playing or a nice book if you can keep it dry.

**** UPDATE 8/27/14**** My rose water seems to have grown mold... booo... it may be better to store it in the refrigerator and probably not over a week.  I will be looking into longer term storage and what to add to the rose water to keep it fresh longer.

a tea bar

Hi Y'all!  We hosted our family's Easter gathering this year and as I was thinking of what to serve to drink I an idea!  Yay!  I am not one to drink carbonated soft drinks so I didn't want to buy up two liters that would be left at my disposal.  The guys generally complain about pre-mixed fruit tea.  Dad is the only one who can drink coffee with lunch.  So I felt to please everyone I would offer sweet tea and ice water.  A week or so before the day I remembered a day last fall when my friend Christal and I ventured to a barn sale in Lebanon, Tennessee where we were absolutely delighted, when we got through the tea and lemonade line, to find an assortment of additions for our drinks.  On a hot day it was so fun to add sliced strawberries, fresh mint and lavender water to our lemonade and tea.  So, in remembrance of the fruition, I decided to have a tea bar!

I sliced strawberries, lemons, oranges and pineapple and purchased a couple of fresh mint plants from the produce section at the grocery (planted them in pots later).   Well, you never know how things will turn out but this tea bar turned out fantastic!  All of the ladies had so much fun with it and even a few of the guys!  We flavored our water and tea with all the goodies and felt our posture rise at the feeling of a tea party on a yummy warm Easter day!