Lavender Egg Salad Sandwiches

10 hard boiled eggs, chopped fine
1 tsp. curry
1 Tbsp. lavender blossoms, dried
1/3 - 1/2 c. mayonnaise
white bread

Combine chopped eggs, curry, lavender blossoms and mayonnaise until well mixed. Add enough mayonnaise as you prefer, for spreading ease. Let flavors blend overnight. Spread mixture onto slices of white bread. Remove crusts, and cut into triangles, or any other shape. Cover until serving.

Edible Flowers

Please turn on the volume to enjoy the music that accompanies this display featuring an Afternoon Tea with edible flowers that we prepared for a Garden Club program at the home of one of the members. This special event included a program about Edible Flowers presented by Susanna which was then followed by an Afternoon Tea prepared by Nancy utilizing the flowers in the food as well as garnishes on the platters.

Happy Mother's Day!

Love, Love, Love, Love,


In loving memory of Bertha Peplau Reppert, forever in our hearts.



There's rosemary, that's for remembrance;
Pray, love, remember... Shakespeare

Minted Pineapple

Looking for something quick and refreshing to serve, and full of fresh flavor? Try Minted Pineapple. Peel, core, slice, and cube a fresh pineapple. (Canned will work, but using fresh is recommended.) Snip fresh mint, spearmint or peppermint will do, until fine. Toss the pineapple, the fresh mint, and 1/4 c. orange juice in a bowl. Allow flavors to blend for an hour or so. Serve at room temperature. This is a delightful accompaniment to a lunch or dinner menu.

Red Bud Tree

Our front tree is loaded with flowers and the perfectly heart shaped leaves are starting to pop out. This Eastern Redbud tree, Cercis canadensis, is native to northern Florida up to parts of Canada. The flowers are edible and are deliciously sweet and peppery. We nibble on them by the handfuls. Considered an understory tree and approved as a street tree in our town it typically reaches only 20 feet in height. This hybrid variety features reddish leaves. Usually the leaves are green, and by the end of the summer the red leaves will have turned to green, but they are always a perfect heart shape. I have heard this tree called Spicewood, because sometimes twigs of this tree are used to season venison.

Fairy Castles

Were I to be "Queen of the May" this is definitely where I would hold court. These charming castles are located in the gardens of Vermont herbalist Rosemary Gladstar. They were handcrafted by Uncle Eddie, a clever and creative New England artist.

Firmly planted

This little section of our raised garden beds features little shoes and some big shoes too, that have been planted with a variety of hens and chicks. The emperor Charlemagne once decreed these little succulent plants should be planted on thatched roofs to aid in prevention of fires. The baby shoes are at least 4 years old to 7 or 11 years old. The once bright red fire boots were Cedar's classic foot ware for quite a number of years. We had a continual supply of boots. The tulips are in bloom and that is a favorite cradle for the baby fairies to rest in the evening. The gentle swaying of the tulips keeps the babes asleep while the mom's and dad's dance the night away.

Bleeding Hearts

This charming perennial pops up in early May every year. Such a beautiful plant with a sad name. There are many stories that surround Dicendra, including many of Princess Dicendra which you can often find dancing in the flowers. Many stories include Princess Dicendra being lost in the woods and thus having her heart broken and bleeding.
When I was a girl my mother taught me how to take apart the flower and find the pink Tunic, the beautiful earrings, the dancing slippers and of course the wine bottle.

There are Fairies in the Bottom of our Garden

Happy May Day to You! We are happy to share some photos of our fairy garden today. The first is a fairy habitat that the Faeries created using shells, twigs, cinnamon sticks, beads and other found objects.

This is our fairy garden, home to many fairies and fairy treasures. There are many mossy areas and the ferns provide an ideal privacy screen for the fae. Every nook and cranny holds a treasure. Are there fairies in the bottom of your garden?

TEA - the Beverage

This weeks segment for the Gracious Hospitality Blog-a-Thon features Tea - the beverage, green, black, or herbal - your favorite, and why. We each have our favorites here. Susanna prefers a flavored black tea, such as the Blue Lady featured here. This is the most popular tea that we serve in Sweet Remembrances, and it is the one we sell the most in The Rosemary House. It is comprised of a nice black tea base which has been flavored with strawberry, coconut, and kiwi flavors creating a smooth, naturally sweet tea that could be considered our house blend. It is very fragrant and flavorful, and I enjoy serving it to our customers. However, my personal taste leans more to the plain blacks, a hearty malty Assam, or Keemun with perhaps a subtle hint of smoke. I prefer the natural flavors inherent in the leaf rather than the addition of extra flavors, sweetener or cream. That's not to say I don't enjoy all the other wonderful options available as I've been known to sip Raspberry Vanilla or a Decaffeinated Chocolate Raspberry Truffle if that's what is brewed. In the summer, when visiting another sister and her husband in RI, I enjoy the best mug of green tea simply because my BIL has prepared it. It is a true vacation on those mornings!
Speaking of preparing tea, these are the fundamentals we use to brew our tea. The large white cotton 'sock' can be used and reused making it a great option for the environment. When first purchased, it is pure white, but after only a few uses, it turns a beautiful tea stained shade of tan. It is perfect for either a tea pot or mug, you simply adjust the amount of loose leaf tea used depending upon the size brewing vessel. The small metal tea spoon is a stainer, and can be used for brewing tea, although we don't typically recommend it. Loose leaf tea will triple in size as it brews, and the close quarters of this strainer inhibit the leaf to properly expand. It will make an adequate mug of tea, it's simply not our personal choice. The paper tea sac/filter is another easy option for brewing tea. It holds the loose leaf tea and will allow enough space for the leaf to expand and also provides for easy cleanup.

At the end of a long hard day, my favorite tea is actually a tisane, an infusion of herbs. Rosemary's Relaxing Tea, a specialty blend available at The Rosemary House, that contains such herbs as peppermint, valerian root, chamomile, raspberry leaves, catnip and passion flower in a perfect combination to provide a delightful flavor and therapeutic relaxing benefits. It has become a nightly ritual for me - a mug of Rosemary's Relaxing Tea about half an hour before I plan on going to bed will assure a restful night.

Honor Bus

The Students of Mechanicsburg Middle School recently sponsored "Honor Bus" which was a caravan of 4 buses loaded with World War II veterans headed to Washington DC to visit the World War II memorial. This was the first ever "Honor Bus" in the US. The concept was based on "Honor Flight".
The students raised over $15,000 in cash plus many in kind donations to escort these Vets to the memorial. They fed them breakfast at the school, lunch en route and dinner at the Officer's club at our local Navy Base. Each veteran had a "guardian" to help them on and off the bus, take their photos, and treat them special on this "Day of Gratitude". I was lucky enough to be selected as a guardian for the day and escorted my Marine father Byron Reppert, swabbie Les Reed, and Army man Paul Strock. The middle school students co-ordinated a motorcycle escort made up of Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club, and other combat Veteran motorcycle clubs. They also had Senator Bob Dole at the WW II memorial to meet, greet and have photos taken with the Vets. The students and their teacher Becky Lacey planned very special wreath laying ceremonies at the WW II memorial and also at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington.

The WW II memorial is on the Mall in Washington, yet it is sunken so that the vista from the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial is still in tack and even enhanced when you are in the WW II memorial. The memorial honors each state of the union and each theater of the war Atlantic and Pacific. The quote on this photo is from President Harry S Truman "Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid they have earned our undying gratitude, America will never forget their sacrifices."

Here is dad, under the Pacific tower pointing to Saipan which is where this 4th Marine Division radio operator was wounded.

Our next stop was Arlington National Cemetery. We had a guided tram tour of Arlington and then stopped for the changing of the guard at "The Tomb of the Unknowns" and a wreath laying ceremony. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Thanks much to the Mechanicsburg Middle School 8th graders for organizing and executing this great day. Thank You Guys for your service and thanks dad for a very special day together. love, love, love, love.