Basil, Basil Everywhere. Basil, Basil In My Hair.

It's the time of year for my little garden when the basil has grown completely out of control and I make a large batch or two of pesto to freeze for winter use.  It freezes really well.  I do the ol' ice cube tray trick then bag the frozen cubes the same way I used to make baby food for my children.

I have a large amount of basil right now and have been thinking that maybe I'd rather bring it in and try to keep it alive this year rather than getting what I can from it and letting Jack Frost have the rest.  I have also contemplated building a cold frame to keep it and two well developed pepper plants thriving through the winter.

For two full years and then some, I have been trying to grow my hair for Locks of Love.  I figured that it was such a simple thing to do, forgetting that my hair grows so slow that I've never grown it past the middle of my back before giving up and getting it lopped off.  During this time period I have grown and cut my bangs countless times finally deciding that if the general length ever gets long enough to donate they can have it, but I need my bangs.  I just don't look like me without them.  Well, as it turns out, from what I have been reading, natural basil shampoos can accelerate hair growth.  Maybe I should use the rest of my basil to whip up a winter's supply of shampoo.  I picture myself, however, with a lovely plait of green-tinged hair come St. Patrick's Day.

As if to make my decision on what to do with so much basil a bit more difficult, I was walking down the sidewalk in a little town we visited over the weekend while vendors were closing up their tents when a boy ran out in front of me and thrust a plant in a my face.  "Do you want a free basil plant?", he asked.  I've lived in the mountains for ten years this month but I still have trouble on occasion understanding a North Georgia drawl so had to ask him to repeat himself.  Free basil?  I can't resist anything offered for free and all I could think about as the aroma wafted around me was pesto...lots and lots of pesto.  "Sure!", I answered.  "Thanks!" I happily continued down the sidewalk with my prize.  Now really...what to do with all that basil...  It may be time to make pasta...maybe soon it will be time for a haircut.

UPDATE:  I killed it.  I killed it all.  It's dead.  All of it.  GRRRRR!!!!