Sweet-Addiction-Curing Stevia.

Hello, my name is Dez! and I am an addict.

I am addicted to sugar.
I am addicted to shoppin'.
I am addicted to things that satisfy.

AND

I am addicted to green growy things.

I have not been clean for any length of time when it comes to green growy things and frankly, I am ok with that. Every chance I get and every extra dollar that lands in my pocket gets forked out ... straight into the hands of my suppliers. The habit is a tough one to break. The years of build-up, pent-up anger and heart attack causing stress have left their marks as empty holes in my heart and soul which, has lead me to care for things that should be left to rot or whither. Sorry to say but dogs are a whole other story.

I hit up the sales racks just jonesin' for a good dying plant deal. My clothes are from the junk stores because I cannot force myself to save money and buy things that would look good on me. Instead I wear dirty old jeans, raggedy old t-shirts and beat up old tennis shoes. My hair is always pulled back since I can't stand to get a hair cut on a regular basis to look appropriate in public.

But I am here to tell you that it's hard to watch some perfectly good plant be ripped out of the ground only to be tossed away or left to die. Watchin' the slow death of a plant just kills me a little on the inside. Especially if that plant is edible in anyway.

Yes, I am a plant addict.
I have been labeled our local Plant Amnesty.
Sometimes I am proud of my label and today is one of those days.

Had a little extra time on my hands after my first garden clean up and this is usually when I get into trouble. I was readin' through a new book that I found called The Backyard Homesteader ... about the herbs you can grow at home for makin' teas and what-not. Off I went straight to my local dealer. There I stocked up on lemon verbena, pineapple sage, and stevia. (Finally, sugar in a plant form and its on my deck!! Insert happy dance here!!) Other herbs such as: basil, catnip, spearmint, peppermint, orange peppermint, lavender, sage and rosemary already reside next to the front deck, happily planted and harvested all summer long for cookin' and for other medicinal purposes. I am set. Almost.

Really my addiction for green growy things is never satisfied.

There are just two ... no wait ... three plants that still need to come home and as soon as I can dig them up, salvage them from a garden, or save their little leaves and daisy like flowers from the compost bin then they will be mine. Chamomile, Echinacea and Jasmine, I await your presence with baited breath. (By the way this paragraph has been changed three times to get the right amount of plants in. See I have got it bad. I just keep thinkin' more, more, more!)

Everyday is rough. My mind spins out of control on the plants that will set me free from the bondage I feel from the grocery store. Yet one day I now deep in my heart I will be set free! I will be able to raise my middle finger to the ones that force us to buy lower grade fruits and veggies. I will proudly walk by those price gougin' stores and keep my dollars in my pocket so that I can spend them on seeds, starts, or trees. One day. One day.