AMATHIST

I am a daylily fancier. They are the easiest to grow, most varied, and probably the longest lived herbaceous flower you you can grow. By the last authoritative information i have, there were 37,000 named and registered daylilies, mostly in private hands. Still, the varieties of commercially available hybrids are overwhelming. Our gardens contain 525 varieties, and i tend to buy cheap [usually $1.50 to $2.50 a start].

But, perhaps i am preaching to the choir. Maybe you already have a yard full of, or a nearby ditch full of these flowers. So, instead of my usual lecture about them i hereby provide you with information you probably don't have. Daylilies are emergency food. It is not that you have to wait to have an emergency to enjoy them.

PLEASE EAT THE DAYLILIES

Daylilies are edible, tasty, and nutritious. Several parts of the plant can be eaten; buds for salads, blooms [open or spent] for casseroles or fritters,very early plant starts for greens or sprouts, and the roots for potatoes or pea substitute.

Daylily buds have more Vit C. Vit A and protein than string beans, okra or asparagus.

RECIPIES: [ mostly from the Handbook of the American Hemerocallis Society.]

Frozen for future use [non red varieties preferred; Blanch blooms for 3 minutes, remove, chill, drain and freeze.

Fried daylilies; Dip fresh or thawed daylily blossoms in beaten egg. Roll in a mixture of flour,salt and onion powder. Saute' in hot oil until crisp.

Saute'd Daylilies: Put thawed or fresh daylily blooms in a non-stick skillet or shallow pan. Salt and cover, allow to steam until moisture is just used up. Remove from pan, add butter if desired, Sprinkle well with onion powder and serve hot.

Daylily bud casserole; cook 3-4 strips of bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside.
Brown 2 chopped onions in the drippings. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water Bring to a boil. Add 2 quarts of daylily buds, season with salt and pepper.Cook only until tender. Add one can mushrooms and one can sliced water chestnuts. Slowly and gently fold in 1 can of cream of mushroom soup [undiluted]. place in a casserole dish, top with crumbles of bacon. Bake at 350 oven until bubbly.

Add daylily buds, sliced to your tossed salad ingredients.

At your pleasure, daylilies can be substituted for most mild flavored vegetables in your favorite recipies. If size is important, simply dice or mince.

Don't forget, Daylilies make the loveliest of garnishes and hold up well.

Fire Opal

My lord [read my husband] and i went out to supper, a fish fry. We don't do that often both because of his diet and because it is so difficult for him to make the trip and eat away from home. You see, my lord is 86 and has many medical problems topped off with Parkinson's Disease.

Can you understand what it is like to watch a once brilliant man who could fix anything from the TV to the plumbing; while Parkinson Disease dementia steals his mind? If you can, you probably are or were a caregiver yourself. [If you are, may i invite you to join us at "caregivers Refuge" found at birdsandblooms.com. Type "Caregivers Refuge" {without quotes} in the search box on the left side of the page.]

I am so blessed because my husband is still gentle, reasonable and grateful. It could have been Alzhiemers and believe me there is a difference. The major problem is his memory is shot. a while back, i asked him to take one of his many ohmmeters and test a drawer full of dry cell batteries for charge. He couldn't do it. I have since stopped asking him to do anything i suspect he might not remember how, so as not to embarrass him.

This has not been a very cheerful blog, but it is named for the fire opal [my birthstone] because our love is a beautiful and enduring as the fire in the opal.

I am Lady Jem of wellspringscreations.com

Yellow Carmadine

Hello again,

Today the gem takes us to the mechanics of having a Traditional Rosebowl.



The Rosebowl Tradition

The Rosebowl Tradition ideally begins at the birth of a girl child, but can start at any time in a woman’s life. It is started with a pretty, vented and covered dish, into which is placed a few dried rose petals from all the occasions of her life. It is nice to start with the sweetheart roses that some new fathers present to their wives at the birth of their daughters.

The rosebowl is usually passed down to the eldest daughter at her mother's passing or sooner [depending] but she has been putting petals in from the time she understands what the tradition is about.

However, this tradition is also splitable. When a second daughter is born, a pinch of the contents of the original bowl is placed in a new bowl and a new branching of the tradition is started.

I must tell you my own experience with this situation. I was a second daughter and knew from scratch that i would not receive the family rosebowl but my Mom started me one when i was small. However, that was destroyed in 1983 when our home burned down. Shortly after, my sister sent me a pinch of the original bowl contents. And i was able to begin again, with minimum loss.

Shalom for today, Lady Jem

Rose Zircon

Hello,

I am called Lady Jem [short for Jemila]. I am 5 times a great grandmother. and with my crafting partner Lady Anne, do enjoy a wide range of crafts.. One of them, in the field of ceramics, is to make Traditional Rose bowls. You can see them and some of our other efforts at ; http://www.wellspringscreations.com/ But for now, i would like to tell you about the why of Traditional Rosebowls.

Tradition of the Rosebowl

In our tradition poor society, most family traditions get dropped because they are either too expensive or too cumbersome to maintain in our mobile lives.

An exception to this is the tradition of the rosebowl. The only cost is the initial one of the purchase of the bowl itself. The bowl can be any pretty, vented, closed dish [such as a teapot], but the ones you see on our website, from the Floral Jem Collection, are each unique, and not only vented but porous for better preservation of your rose petals.

Please return to see others of the jewels in my box.

Shalom, Lady Jem

Welcome

Welcome to Lady Jem's Jewelbox.

Here you will find many musings and "jems" of wisdom from Lady Jem and others.
Please feel free to post your comments, questions, observations and thoughts.

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