Golden Calendulas

Doug has a lovely patch of calendulas in his garden, and has been picking and bringing me the golden flowers for a while now. First I dried them, then I soaked them in sunflower oil for 2 weeks and this morning, I strained out the resulting oil, added a bit of borax and beeswax and a healthy amount of essential lavender oil. Not that simple of course, takes heating gently several containers to the same temperature, them whipping them together til thickened slightly before pouring into containers. My sis recently was scalded and suffered some nasty 3rd degree burns which are healing nicely and this got me working on the salve, as it is known for relief from burns and itching. Need to get some mailed to her. Also learned a lot this morning from articles Doug has been studying about elderberries. I planted some last fall as buying the flowers and leaves is costly and they are what I make bronchitis tea out of for my daughter and sis. If you eat raw berries you can get really sick. They are almost like poison. My Gram grew them over her back porch, and made jelly and wine, and now I am told these grow to over 30 feet tall if not regularly clipped. Yipes. Maybe I could have a trellis built and make it into a garage for my car, with the berry bushes growing a shelter. They are right at the end of my driveway so hope they do not become a problem. We have finally been blessed with rain, and some minor storms, and wind, nothing bad at all, and it helps keep temperatures down plus the boon of not having to water the garden every day. The plants are thriving, rain water is so much better than hose water. We had a power outage night before last, lasted almost 3 hours, and it was warm enough to really miss the fans running. And dark. Power went off about 7:30 pm and was nearly 11 pm before it came back on. I am really addicted to radio, fans, lights etc, and you find out real fast when they are gone how much you miss them. For a while now I have put peppermint oil where I have little ants in the house, or put it on a cotton ball and refresh it every few days. Here is a spray you can use that makes it easy and of course is safe around pets, food, kids etc. In a small spray bottle, put 4 ounces of water and add 30 drops of peppermint oil, and 30 drops of clove oil. Shake and spray. Repeat as needed. If you drink soda of any kind that comes in big plastic bottles, cut the top third of the bottle off, put some of the soda in the bottom and invert the cut off top creating a funnel, sit outside where mosquitoes may be and they will be drawn into the container and unable to get out. I have seen this used with wasps etc too, but different liquids used to trap different bugs. Got a package in the mail this am, cat food for Libby. And of course, she likes the box better than the contents. It had brown paper packing in it which she has claimed to sleep on. Yesterday when I was shopping, the store was full of back to school displays and lists of needed supplies, only a few more weeks and the kids go back to class. Wow, that makes the summer feel like it is ending hardly before it began. Have a good week, be thankful for your blessings and good health. Til next time be well.