Henny Penny Farmette

My fingers still smell like French perfume lavender and rosemary from all the organza sachet bags I helped customers fill as a giveaway during the three day Mini-maker event this past weekend. Hosted by the Walnut Creek Barnes & Noble Bookstore, the event was a huge success for the store, the customers, and participating authors.

I wore an apron bearing the image of my book cover while I helped stuff bags with lavender and rosemary

All the signed copies of A BEELINE TO MURDER sold out and only a few unsigned copies are left. I gave away close to 100 organza bags and special embroidered bags I made for the event. Thank you citizens of the East Bay!

I met a lovely eleven-year-old boy who wrote novels. We exchanged email addresses and he’s already sent me his first two. I’ve promised to read and send him comments. All the while he was talking to me, I kept thinking “boy, did I get a late start writing.”

Another lovely customer bought the book for her mother back in North Carolina because winters on the other coast can be harsh, and a lover of mysteries can’t have too many on hand when the storms hit.

Ready to prepare some sachets and sell and sign a book

The mother of a Girl Scout  invited me to do a presentation before their troop in early spring. I love the organization and will give it my best shot at the end of February or early March. It’ll be a chance to talk to the girls about writing books as a career, making things from nature, and having the courage to follow your heart (as I did when I established my farmette).

I enjoyed explaining to a darling Asian girl, while her parents looked on, the differences between wasps and honeybees. It was a great point of departure into a long conversation. We all became fast friends. She danced away holding her little bag of herbs beneath her nose.

In all, I had a great time. I think the store was pleased with all the “makers” who participated. And I’d do it again.

Meera Lester’s debut novel (release date 9/29/2015)

A BEELINE TO MURDER is available through your local Barnes & Noble stores as well as online at BarnesandNoble.com. Books make wonderful holiday gifts and foster the pleasure of reading.

I spent the morning looking through Seed Savers Exchange’s online offerings. If you haven’t heard of the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE), the nonprofit organization based in Decorah, Iowa that works to preserve “our gardening heritage,” then I urge you to check it out. See http://www.seedsavers.org/About-Us/Mission/

What really got me excited was SSE’s “Slow Food U.S. Ark of Taste.” It’s a catalog listing over 200 foods in danger of becoming extinct, including varieties of beans, tomatoes, lettuces, squash, corn, and peppers.

I’m interested in growing some of the old varieties of heirloom beans, for example, the Turkey Craw bean, from Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The original bean seed was said to have been discovered in that part of the United States in a turkey’s craw.

I also want to plant the bean known as Jacob’s Cattle. Originally the Passamaquoddy Indians in Maine grew this bean. Apparently once New Englanders discovered its excellent taste, the bean became a favorite in their baked beans and chili dishes.

We live in an age when our culture’s emphasis is on fast and faster. But we’ve seen the consequences of fast food on our country’s obesity epidemic. When it comes to delicious, wholesome, and healthy, fast food may  not be so good for us and our children.

The seeds from Seed Savers Slow Food U.S. Ark deserve to be saved. What we save now can be passed to the next generation for safekeeping, ensuring, among other things, that Earth’s biodiversity is preserved for all generations. See, http://www.seedsavers.org/