Due to my health condition, my freedom of movement has been very limited again in recent weeks. The heatwave certainly hasn't helped. Nevertheless, I've managed to pick up a paintbrush now and then and soak up the joys of the garden and nature. When I have trouble leaving the house, I at least take a few steps to the wild grasses in the little field behind our house. I'm so grateful for this place. I sit for a while and watch the butterflies, the swaying golden grasses and wildflowers, and the swallows flying just overhead.
I just realized that I haven't shared another batch of paintings with you here yet. I'm totally in love with the little snail painting I made. Every time I look at it, it makes me smile. It reminds me how the smallest, simplest things can have such a big impact on one's mood. I hope you're enjoying your summer days. Over here, I'm trying to save most of my energy for watering the plants, and whenever I'm feeling a little better, I try to do things that fill my heart with joy. It helps me cope with the situation a little better. Take good care of yourself & until soon again!
{Music: Between – Gideon Matthew + Flying – Gideon Matthew}
Collecting flowers,
making St. John's wort oil,
tending the garden beds,
lots of poppies,
tea time &
the first blooming zinnias.
St. John’s Wort Oil
Collect fresh blossoms on a sunny day and let them wilt slightly for half a day. Place the flowers into a clean glass jar and press them down with a wooden spoon. Then pour a good-quality oil (olive oil or almond oil) over them until fully covered. Cover the jar with a light cloth and let it “breathe” for 3 to 4 days. After that, seal the jar properly and let it sit for 4 to 6 weeks in a bright place, but not in direct sunlight. Shake it regularly. After 4 to 6 weeks, strain the oil and pour it into a bottle.
The most important areas of application of St. John’s wort oil:
Because of a new reactivation of borreliosis, June turned out to be another slow and rather difficult month. But with us being in the middle of a heat wave, things would have slowed down away. So all we can do is to cope with the 37°C temperatures in the shade and make the best of it.
Before I got sick again, I managed to preserve a lot of cherries and berries. We had so many strawberries from our garden this year that I was even able to make strawberry jam. It has been years since I last made strawberry jam and back then it wasn't even with strawberries from our garden. That makes this year's jam feel like an extra special treat.
Due to the circumstances, I took a month-long break from filming, but the little patch of St. John's wort behind the greenhouse made me pick up my camera again and film a little. I hope you are able to cope with this intense summer heat and manage to get out to a lovely river to wade barefoot in the water! I'm daydreaming about this right now!
Here is the second kitty bonnet I knitted last month using some leftover wool I still had in my yarn stash. At first, I was a little unsure about the color combination, but the longer I look at it, the more I like it. The pattern is once again from @rhirhi.knits.
