Let me tell you about Crabby Granny. She is a witch of old. She has a belt made of jute to hang just about anything she finds interesting while she's scouring the woods. It helps keep her hands free when she's out collecting. 

If you look at it, you'll see she already has several items hanging on it - her staples she says. One of those is a small jar filled with dried herbs (I don't know which herbs, she won't tell me!). You can see it by her side, hanging jauntily on that jute belt of hers. It's her magic potion, a cure-all she's never without. And by golly, it does cure all!

Her shoes are really old and worn out. It gets caked with mud epecially when she goes out during terrifying storms. She says there are special mushrooms that only grow with the flash of lightning and pounds of thunder, and melt with the first ray of the sun. She has no choice but  to collect them while the storm is raging. It's a potent ingredient she swears by, on the graves of all her ancestors!

Like the monicker I have fondly called her, she is crabby. Very crabby. She looks and sounds like she wants to bite your head off, but don't worry, it's all bark. Really. In her hearts of hearts, way underneath that untamed hair and multiple layers of unwashed, dirty, old shawl, she is kind and sort of sweet. 

If she sees anybody hurting, physically that is, she will be the first to come to their aid... although, you will not know she's coming to your aid. You might even think she's attacking you or doing some crazy hocus pocus because she will not say a word – not a peep – she will just slap on her herbs and whatnot on the parts that are hurting...

If you're hurting on the inside, she will not even give you the merest glance.

Oh did you notice her book? That's her Book of Herbs, passed on from the first healer in the family to her. Each generation adds a new recipe or new ingredient to the book with details on where to find, grow and process them. That book is magical, I swear! It never runs out of pages. I talked about the making of her book in this post.

A few days ago, after closing her book shut, finished with a new process to extract oils from a plant, Crabby Granny decided to go to Puyallup and hang out at the Washington State Fair. She took her rocking chair and cane with her so she was serious about staying there for a while. Must be the flora... or fauna?

She was surprised when people came over her spot and started hanging ribbons on the wall behind her. She thought it was because of all the new healing potions she added in her book while observing the wildlife at The Fair. She got three ribbons: 

- Best in Category
- First Place, and
- Grand Champion.

Way to go Granny!