[nw_arizona_granny]

Did you ever hear of this one:

Zhi Mu
Anemarrhena asphodeloides
Uses: Medicinal Duration: Perennial (hardy in zones 2-7)
When to Sow: Spring Ease of Germination: Easy
Chinese medicinal herb that looks and grows like a tall grass but isn’t. It spreads by underground rhizome like grasses, but unlike grasses it has fragrant yellow-white or light purple flowers that open in the evening in late summer and autumn. Used in China for 2000 years. The rhizomes are noted for their antidiabetic and antibacterial properties, and are used for pneumonia, bronchitis, high fever, irritability and insomnia.
S7150 Seeds $2.30/pkt

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X7150&show=&prodclass=Herb_and_Vegetable_Seeds&cart_id=4053937.15259

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A good one to grow:

Serrano Chile Pepper
Capsicum annuum ‘Serrano’
Uses: Culinary/Medicinal Duration: Annual
When to Sow: Spring Ease of Germination: Easy
Use when green or ripened to scarlet. Small: 2cm/1” long, 1cm/0.5” across. Thick flesh; clean biting heat. Salsas, pickled, or roasted for sauces. Heat: 7.
S4470-800 Seeds $1.20/pkt

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X4470-800&show=&prodclass=Herb_and_Vegetable_Seeds&cart_id=4053937.15259

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An Interesting herb:

Chinese Cucumber
Trichosanthes kirilowii
Uses: Medicinal/Poisonous! Duration: Annual
When to Sow: Spring Ease of Germination: Easy
(Gua lou; Tien hua fen; Chinese snake gourd) Source of anti-HIV agent, Compound Q (GLQ223), extracted from the root. Recent in vitro laboratory studies with Compound Q showed great promise for AIDS treatment because it selectively kills only infected cells, leaving healthy cells untouched; clinical trials are not yet conclusive, however. Used in China to treat angina pectoris, to reduce phlegm, and since 300 A.D. to induce abortions.
S2045 Seeds $2.30/pkt

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X2045&show=&prodclass=Herb_and_Vegetable_Seeds&cart_id=4053937.15259

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Richters Herb and Vegetable Seeds
Available by the packet and in bulk.

Most packets contain 100 or more seeds, even thousands in many cases. Packets priced $5 and up usually have less than 100.

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?show=list&prodclass=Herb_and_Vegetable_Seeds&cart_id=4053937.15259

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http://www.richters.com/

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Serrano Chile Pepper

My husband roasts those, and when I was falling asleep last night my last (coherent) thought was, "I forgot to order peppers!" Everything's still in the cart and besides I haven't looked at Sandhill or Richters yet.

My bathroom is going to become a greenhouse until we can get one put up - it stays warm and is very sunny. LOL the tub will have a piece of plywood over it until the little seeds get started. Why is this so much fun? It's so exciting, and all I'm doing is buying seeds!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

http://crafts.kaboose.com/paper-bag-gingerbread-friends.html

Paper Bag Gingerbread Friends

By: Amanda Formaro
Difficulty: Easy
Age: 5 and up
Average User Rating:
1 2 3 4 5 (0/5)
Parental supervision is recommended

Holiday Links
Christmas Crafts
Xmas Cards
Free Crafts Email
These cute little gingerbread boys and girls are fun to decorate and adorable to display!

For more activities, be sure to visit our main Christmas page. Don't forget to check out our Christmas crafts, recipes, printables, games, clip art and coloring pages.

What you'll need:
Brown paper grocery bag
Gingerbread girl and boy cookie cutters
Pencil
Scissors
Acrylic paint: white, red, pink, purple, orange, green, light blue, black
Paintbrush

How to make it:
Cut a 7” wide strip the length of the paper grocery bag.
Decide which side you want to be the front and turn over so that the back is facing up.
Place gingerbread boy cookie cutter at the left side of the paper strip. Use pencil to trace the outline of the cookie cutter.
Place gingerbread girl cookie cutter just to the right of the tracing of the boy gingerbread and trace with pencil.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you run out of room on the paper.
Use scissors to cut the outlines of the gingerbread people out, keeping them connected. Do not cut the gingerbread people out separately. If need be, cut around your tracing marks rather than on them to give yourself “padding” which will make up for any gaps between the tracings.
Turn paper over so that your pencil marks are now facing down. Decorate gingerbread with acrylic paints. Dot buttons on by dipping the handle end of the paintbrush into the paint and then onto your paper.
Use thin paintbrush to add the “rick-rack” squiggles with white paint around wrists, ankles, and skirts.
Use a thin paintbrush or black marker to add smiles them dot on pink for cheeks with handle end of paintbrush.
Dot on eyes with black or dark brown and paint on red bowties for the boys.

Tips:
Craft paper will work in place of a brown paper grocery bag. You can also use brown construction paper.
Cut individual gingerbreads to glue to cards and packages.
Glue some yarn to the back and hang as garland on your mantle or tree.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Metmom said:

I use Pomona’s pectin for jams. It allows for big batches and low sugar jams.

I use 12 cups of fruit, 3 cups of sugar and the pectin. It makes 7 pints of jam; just one cannerload.

Although it seems expensive, I figured out the cost per pint and it’s way cheaper than Sure-Jell and Certo.

http://www.pomonapectin.com/

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2146715/posts
Post 48

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Oh and thank you for all the pings!!