China Bayles' Book of Days Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    THE CLAIRE SHARPLES BOTANICAL MYSTERIES, BY REBECCA ROTHENBERG
    Before her death in 1998, Rebecca Rothenberg wrote three mysteries featuring fictional microbiologist and plant pathologist Claire Sharples: The Dandelion Murders, The Shy Tulip Murders , and The Bulrush Murders . Lots of interesting botanical details are woven into the plots.
    THE CELIA GRANT MYSTERIES, BY JOHN SHERWOOD
    This ten-book series (which ended in the mid-1990s) featured fiftysomething British widow and horticulturist Celia Grant. A few titles: Menacing Groves, Bouquet of Thorns, Sunflower Plot, Hanging Garden, Creeping Jenny, Bones Gather No Moss .

    JANUARY 15
Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.
—MARSHA NORMAN
    The Magical New Moon of January
    January’s new moon—the first new moon of the first month of the new year—was thought to be full of magical powers. If you had lived in 1695, when people believed in such things, you might have followed these instructions:
     
At the first appearance of the New Moon after New Year’s Day, go out in the Evening and stand astride the Bars of a Gate, or Stile (in Yorkshire they kneel on a ground-fast Stone), looking at the Moon, and say:
 
All Hail to the Moon, all Hail to thee
I prithee good Moon reveal to me
This Night who my Husband (or Wife) must be.
 
You must presently after go to Bed. I knew two Gentlewomen that did thus when they were young Maids, and they had Dreams of those that afterwards Married them.
—JOHN AUBREY, MISCELLANIES, 1695
    ENHANCE YOUR MAGICAL MOON DREAMS
    Ruby Wilcox (who has cast a magical spell or two in her lifetime) suggests that you enhance your New Moon dreams with a romantic herb mixture. This ancient practice is a form of aromatherapy.
    RUBY’S MAGICAL NEW MOON DREAM PILLOW BLEND
½ cup dried rosemary
½ cup dried rose petals
¼ cup dried lavender flowers
½ cup dried lemon verbena
½ cup dried mint
4-5 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, broken
     
    Mix all ingredients. Tuck into a muslin bag and place inside your pillowcase or under your pillow. If you want a stronger, dreamier scent, add a few drops of essential oil (rose, lavender, or verbena) to the mix.
     
    Learn about dreaming and dream pillows:
    Making Herbal Dream Pillows—Secret Blends for Pleasant Dreams , by Jim Long
     
In winter, when the moon’s horns are sharply defined, expect frost.
—TRADITIONAL WEATHER LORE

    JANUARY 16
Pleasure for one hour, a bottle of wine. Pleasure for one year, a marriage; but pleasure for a lifetime, a garden.
—CHINESE PROVERB
    Fruit, Herb, and Spice Liqueurs
    These wonderful drinks had their beginnings in medieval monastic gardens and stillrooms. Many are easy to make, but they do take time to age. If you start now, you’ll be offering your liqueur to guests at your summer outdoor dinner parties, spooning it onto ice cream for a delightful hot-weather dessert, or adding it to the marinade for your holiday duck.
    ROSE GERANIUM BERRY LIQUEUR
2 pints blackberries or raspberries
1 cup fresh rose geranium leaves
4 cups vodka
½ cup white wine
 
Syrup:
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
     
    Combine the berries, geranium leaves, vodka, and wine in a wide-mouth jar with a tight-fitting lid. Steep for one month in a cool, dark place. Open and crush the berries slightly with a potato masher and steep for another 4-5 days. Strain, pressing the juice from the berries, then filter through a coffee filter or double layer of cheesecloth. To make the syrup, bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan, add sugar, and stir until dissolved. Cool. Add half the syrup to the liqueur; taste, then continue to add and taste until it is as sweet as you like. Pour into a bottle, cap it, and age for three weeks in a cool, dark place. Makes about 1 ½ quarts.
    SPICED PEAR LIQUEUR
8 ripe pears, juiced (about 4 cups juice)
2-inch piece gingerroot, peeled, sliced
1 whole nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
4 cups vodka
½ cup white wine
 
Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
     
    Combine