November and December are such busy months of the year....putting the gardens to bed, freezing and canning the last of the garden's produce, and getting ready for the holidays.

For us it's getting prepared for our open house - Once Upon A Christmas. (See more information on our "Upcomin Events" page.) Our shop is small but for this one weekend we open our whole home. This means that some cleaning needs to be done. Personal Items are Stashed away and the decorations come out. We have a theme tree in each room, one-of-a-kind decorations as well as unique gifts. We welcome you to join us the weekend of Nov. 16-18, 2007.

In our area, we still havnt had a killing frost, flowers are still blooming and i can still sit on our front porch. The leaves have been extremely beautiful and have lasted much longer than they usually do. But we know whats coming.

If you mulch your herb gardens, wait until the ground is frozen. By this time the moles, voles, and mice will have found their winter home. We dont want to invite them into the mulched areas of your garden.

This summer we had a farmers market in our community park. All those beautiful fruits and vegetables encouraged me to do more canning. What a pleasure to look at all those pretty Jars and to know they will be enjoyed this winter. The jams, jellies and pickles will make great Christmas gifts.

Our hope for you is a bountiful Thanksgiving, a blessed Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year

• WHAT'S NEW AT THE HERB SHED
  
  --- Several new lines of soaps in unusual fragrances
  --- Colorful soap leaves
  --- Trinket boxes
  --- Halloween bells (similar to the ladybugs and bees that we had this summer)
  --- Old costume jewelry from the 1940's and 50's
  --- New Camille Beckman products
  
  If your dogs and cats are still finding some fleas to bring in to your house, the yeast and garlic tablets work to completely get rid of the problem.
  The animals love the taste of them and in a short while you will see no more fleas.
  
  If you want to have nice cinnamon pine cones ready for Christmas, now is the time to make them. Simply gather any cones that you like, and put them in a large garbage bag. You can also add cinnamon sticks. Add cinnamon oil (or another fragrance) to the cones and leave them for 2 - 3 months. You should shake the bag occasionally to distribute the oil. Enjoy.
  
  

Herbally yours,
Kathy Deible

The Herb Shed
729 Rhea Lane
Knox, PA 16232
(814) 797-1667
Web Site - www.csonline.net/theherbshed
E-Mail - kjdeible@csonline.net