Happy Summer Solstice

Sunny Calendula can come out & play!

Yay, the sun is out in Seattle today! It doesn't mean it will stay, but I sure will be happier with the sun in my eyes while I am planting an new landscape in West Seattle.

In Honor of Fathers

I wanted to thank all the great fathers I know for being kind, giving and loving. I do know some gems! (You know who you are). They listen to their kids, read to them, ecourage them in their pursuits of happiness and support their kids as they learn to ride a bike! They make up stories about lost kitties and dogs on long adventures, and funny songs and rituals for bath and bedtime, & eat the burnt toast, too!

My own father is so sweet and gentle, and is always ready to listen to and encourage me in my various projects.  I remember learning to ride the training wheeled schwinn that we all learned on down the ever so slight hill in our front yard. Dad was running down along side me holding the bike and then letting it go- over and over all day saying "you got it, you got it!" until I got it. I also remember the time I went to his office  when I was in high school for some reason and was waiting out in the main office. (He was a probation officer, and sometimes we would sit on the bench next to hi office, but sometimes not- depending on who was waiting already...) The secretary of the office said the "He sure brags about you girls, I tell you what". I was amazed., I mean I knew dad loved us, but bragging about us? cool!
He came to visit with a cold & cough shortly after I made my first cough syrup. and he took it the whole time he was here and claimed it helped him quite a bit. Whether it did or not, it sure bolstered my confidence... I love you dad- Thanks for all you are and thanks for being the great father you are!

New Sister Sage Logo!

I have been in the process of re designing my labels, logo and business cards for the past few months, and I just got a few steps closer to being done!!!

Thanks to Evan & Joanna Moss at mightymoss.com for all the great work coming up with a beautiful new look for me.

They came up with a great concept of dividing up the products into categories, then using colors to help identify my products based on their uses. I ended up with 4 categories:

• orange = general nutrition
• purple = pain (and bruises)
• blue = relaxation
• lime green = coughs and colds (cough it up!).

USDA White House Garden

What if the quaint teaching garden at the White House was planted in accordance with the USDA farm bill that heavily supports commodities? Check out this article Eating from the Subsidy Garden on The Rodale Institute website. They show a map of the garden plots that are planted now in comparison with what it would look like if it was planted with the crops that are supported by tax breaks and other subsidies that encourage not so great choices. It looks a little like I would be eating corn encrusted soyburgers all day every day! and a bowl of grits! Where are the veggies?
If you have not read up on some of these crops, you should. I was surprised to find out how many other ingredients are made by extracting compounds from corn! Citric acid, which is in almost every processed food is made from corn and not just from citrus fruit, like it used to be... Most people don't know this, and if you are allergic, you could be consuming it in all kinds of other places. Not to mention that in this form there is no way to tell if it is made from genetically modified crops. Don't get me started about that!
Just get yourself some information on the food you eat!