The Circleville Herald, Ohio, April 2, 1928

I’ve been laughing at this all day

Anaïs Nin, from a diary entry featured in The Diary of Anaïs Nin Volume 1 1931-1934

Lavender Syrup!

I know there are a ton of recipes out there, but this one's mine. I put in a lot more lavender personally.

- 2 cups sugar

- 1 1/2 cup water (here's an opportunity to use moon water for extra energy. Full moon water can boost the lavender correspondences for psychic awareness and love, while water charged in phases leading up to the new moon can boost lavender's ability to banish/protect from depression and anxiety)

- 4 tablespoons lavender- Peace/anti-anxiety, happiness, love, sleep, psychic awareness/ability, creativity, protection from ill treatment.

- purple food coloring (optional)

Instructions:

Warm the water and sugar, mixing till it dissolves, then add the lavender and mix well. When the water is boiling, lower it to simmer, cover, and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. If you leave it for longer, it will become bitter. Then strain into a bottle, and THEN add the food coloring if you want. This syrup is not meant to be very thick, so that it mixes easily with cold drinks just as well as warm. If you want it to be thicker, add more sugar.

- Circles of Hell, from Inferno, by Dante Alighieri

Thomas Shields Clarke, Fernbrook, ca. 1910, Photographic autochrome, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Archives, Photo by Barbara Katus / Brian van Camerik

Charlotte Brontë, from “Jane Eyre”