Transitioning into Winter

We had our last market yesterday; the Boulder County Farmers Market Holiday Market. I readily let out a big sigh of relief when markets end. Its hard work packing things up every Friday and then getting up early every Saturday to set up at Farmers Market. However. Even though we love getting to meet new people every week and show off our Colorado Aromatics products every Saturday, come December I am more than ready to call it quits and start to focus on my own family and our Christmas.

This week we will cut a tree down from our yard, bring up the boxes of decorations from the basement, put up outdoor lights if the weather permits. I'll need to think of Christmas gifts for my husband and two boys (any ideas?) and drop hints for what I want (which of course I don't know, I really just want to spend good time with my family relaxing). This year will be special as 3 of my siblings will be visiting. I wish they all could but its rare to get everyone together. I'll have fun coming up with things we can do around town and surrounding areas. Maybe we'll even go skiing for a day.

Since we had our major frost I haven't had a chance to roll up the drip tape in our field, nor have I cleaned out the goat pen. So although the work load may be lighter for growers in the winter, it never goes away. In the extra time I might find, I hope to formulate new products, read some books (both fiction and non-fiction), figure out an exercise routine, and maybe do some knitting.

I'm well stocked on herbs this year and might experiment with some nice herbal tea recipes. I'd like to use lemon balm more. I'm attracted to its gentle citrus taste/aroma. It is used as a nervine to renew and strengthen the nervous system. For me, its a good uplifting herb for this transition time into winter. This is the tea I am planning to make tonight:

Lemon Balm Tea
1 part lemon balm
1/4 part chamomile
1/8 part orange peel
1/8 part oatstraw
pinch of lavender