Merry Christmas! My Herbal health gift to you

This country seems to be obsessed with using medicine. Most of them create the need for more medicines, and few cure anything, maybe mask symptoms making you think you feel better.  All have side effects. You can take control of your health and avoid all the expense  and side effects.  Herbs have been used for centuries and are regaining in popularity for many reasons.  Inflammation causes pain, stress, and injures cells. Leads to cancer, heart problems, arthritis and more.  So lets start with anti inflammatory herbs. Two of the very best: Turmeric,  could be considered a new miracle rug.  I started taking it at 18 years old to avoid the arthritis my parents had, and their cancers.Turmeric lowers bad cholesterol,and prevents fat deposits in arteries. Keeps you from developing  aches and pains and illnesses.Ginger works much the same way, preventing pain and swelling also prevents blood clots and heart disease.  The two of these cost under 10 bucks for a 3 month supply. Beats  meds all to pieces. Ashwaganda is an Ayurvedic herb, it calms your mind, reduces stress and allows peaceful sleep. Love it. Motherwort does much the same, reducing stress, calming the body, acting as a sedative. It's a member of the mint family. Hawthorn  was something my hubby used to protect his heart, prevent arrhythmia. Also helps cholesterol.  Saw palmetto helps prevent male baldness and protects the prostate. Cinnamon is warming, good for colds, cold weather, just make something with it in, oatmeal, cookies etc.  Garlic and onions are both considered to be a natural penicillin. Chewing a little piece of fresh garlic instantly eases a sore throat. Eating lots of both on a steady basis will help you avoid colds and flu. Rosemary and sage are both great herbs, Rosemary increases blood flow to the brain, helping to prevent Alzheimer's.  Sage helps increase the memory, and works like Rosemary.  Add these to your soups, stews, meat, veggies what ever you can.And the last one for today is Astragalus, another Ayurvedic herb. It's an anti oxidant, that helps protect your heart. If you have not read Mother Earth Living magazine, I recommend it. So much good information for living a good, healthy life style.  There is a lot more info on herbs in the new issue.  On another note, if you use nail polish, be aware that it contains some very harmful ingredients,  toluene, formalehyde, triphenol, phosphate and Kylene, I have tried one brand of water based natural polish, it said you could remove it with rubbing alcohol, but that did not work. There is a brand you can check out called  Ella &Mila.  It's a safe to use product. Christmas is only 2 days away now,   I wish for you a day spent with loved ones, family and friends. And a New Year that brings better things for all of us.We have a slim chance of snow flurries, suits me. I came south to get away from all that cold stuff. Its in the 50s today, but gloomy and rain moving in. Have a great holiday, have some healthy food and start the new year  learning better options. Til next time.

Vegan cream soup base, keep pets away From Christmas tree recipe and a great gift

 Pat had diabetes, and heart problems after a while, needing  a 6 bypass surgery. I was told to avoid any canned or boxed foods, which we mostly did anyway, they contain many hidden  ingredients, salt and sugar you  are not told about  and other stuff. My lovely daughter in law, Marie, gave me a diabetic cook book with great recipes, one which I use all the time, and have started making quart jars of the mix for my son in NE, he likes it much better than canned mushroom soup.  So here's what  to do. In a large bowl,  put 2 cups dried powdered organic soy mil, 3/4 cup of arrowroot powder, lots of folk would use corn starch here, but corn in this country is sprayed with poisons to the point of making it bad for your health, so avoid corn oils, starch and corn that s canned etc,  next is 1/4 cup vegetable bouillon granules, 2 tablespoons of dry onion flakes, 1 teaspoon thyme powder,, 1 teaspoon basil, 1 teaspoon black pepper. Mix well. Keep in frig. To use, mix 1/3 cup of mix with 1 and 1/4 cup water, mix well,  heat over medium heat stirring til thickened.  Now you can add (cooked)  celery, mushrooms, broccoli, chicken or whatever and have soup of your choice. Or just add to your casserole like you would mushroom soup. if you are vegan, add a splash of olive oil if not vegan add a spoon of butter.  It's almost Christmas, maybe you have your tree up. If your pup or kitty chews on it or messes with it, make a spray of 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder and enough lemon juice to be thin enough to spray on the tree. They hate the smell. And how about a fancy gift for a special friend?  Try a Pine Salt Scrub.  Mix 1/2 cup shea butter and 1/3 cup of coconut oil, melt over hot water til combined, chill til set. Put in food processor and add 3 T olive oil, 2 T finely minced pine needles, 40 drops fir essential oil, 20 drops pine essential oil, 10 drops grapefruit essential oil. Blend in processor til thick. Put in a bowl and stir in1/2 cup course salt. Make it pretty for gifting, nice container, trim etc.  It's just over a week til Christmas, and this morning my mom's Christmas cactus has started blooming. Right on time.   It's become quite large again, will need splitting by spring. If anyone needs a good sized plant I will be happy to share.  Been making mint truffles  today, still smells like mint in the kitchen.  It's cold and dreary but warm weather on tap for next week.  Hang in, get all those last minute things done so you can enjoy the holidays as they are meant to be, with family and friends.  Will miss my Nebraska  ones again this year, was nice to visit with them in years past.

Awwww Rats!

 Rolled out of bed this morning after a cuddle with Lib and Lil, made the bed and got dressed for the.  day. As I was putting on my sweat shirt, I noticed something ODD. Holes in the elbows of my shirt. And its my favorite outfit, oh yea, it's old, bought it before Pat died so over 10 years old. But it has kitties on it, and is a nice weight, not heavy or light, just in between.  My first thought was how to fix it. Maybe patches, maybe cut off the sleeves and create a vest to go over another shirt. Anyone else would just toss it and get something else, but can I find another I like as well?  Then while donning my matching sox, some  the kids gave me a few years back, yike, have gone through the toes of them.   Oh well, went ahead to the kitchen and fed the girls, had breakfast and started cleaning the kitchen., My makings for cosmetics cupboard needed reorganizing, thats done, I swept and scrubbed surfaces, amazing how well my vinegar water, tea tree oil and dawn cleaner works.  Took time out to go mail some letters, one of our church ladies is in the hospital, and had a package to go out too. Opened the care door and remembered I need to repair that, part of the molding above the door is falling off.  My car is a 94 Chrysler, darn good car, except its rusty and has a cracked windshield and a few other things starting to wear out.  But it runs great now that I put about  a thousand bucks repair into it last summer.  Back to cleaning, sweeping the floors I am reminded I need to get the house re blocked, so the floors will quit cracking, also see some molding strips pulling away and the tub surround has come out a bit. Hopefully by summer  I can get that done, may need help finding a blocking person that's reasonable.  So now I have the floors swept and break out the scrubber.   The handle broke off a while back, but it works just fine otherwise. Doug tried to epoxy the handle back together but it would not hold.  And the vacuum died, with fur babies I had to replace that.  Thank goodness for credit cards.  It struck ,me, I am old and falling apart and so is everything I own.  But you know what? This is only a temporary place. If I can hang in and be a good Christian and follow the rules and do what I am here for, there's a much better place waiting.  Makes my day to think of that.  Putting in a word  with  God today for all my friends who are sick, having surgery or having problems, I ma blessed, have more than I need and continue  to keep busy hopefully doing some good as far as spreading a little cheer, a smile, or sharing a card with a friend.  I often wonder if Christ will come again at Christmas, like the first time.  We are getting close to that day again.   When we got to  church yesterday, the preacher who was coming from another town  had called to say he had a flat tire and would be late if he got there at all, he did, and not far into the service.  We had so few people there I felt bad  because it was the beginning of the cantata and Christmas services.  We had an advent candle toi light, no matches, tho  some were found,  seemed all that could go wrong did so, but  it was still a good service, with communion and fellowship abounding.  God works in mysterious ways I guess.  We all left smiling and talking to each other. Nice morning, and inspirational all the way.  Don;t forget what time of year it is, and how we should remember this spirit all year, helping others, sharing a hug or a smile. Love to all.

MEMORIES

Life goes by so fast.  Hard to believe I am 80 years old.  Yesterday as I cleaned and vacuumed, and took down the autumn colored decorations, I pulled out a few Christmas things. Before Pat died, we had a big tree, it took both of us to put it up.  I have given it away, and now have a tiny 3 footer, something I can manage on my own. For a good many years I have traveled to Nebraska and spent the holidays with my youngest grand daughters, son and daughter in law, their family and of course my family. Travel is iffy this time of year, and depending on a ride that far is another story, the kids have been good to get me back and forth. But last year I stayed home. The kids came around New Years so I did get to see them, but watching those baby girls come down the stairs Christmas morning, and seeing  their gifts has been a wonderful part of the holiday.  And makes me think of Christmas past.  Our family was never well off, we struggled to get by but never felf a lack of food,  or love or anything important.  Some very lean years I remember getting dolls that mom either made or bought second hand and refurbished, complete with hand made wardrobes, and dad, who worked as a printer, salvaged the wooden  rollers from the paper at the plant, brought them home, cut them into slices that he painted pretty colors and made bags of building blocks for us. Our stockings had an apple and an orange and a package of Good and Pl;enty candies. We felt so rich and blessed. My first 20 years of marriage was to my high school sweetheart, an Air force vet . Service men do not make a great wage. considering what they do for this  country. But the kids always had toys, and a loving home.  Second marriage of 35 years, hubby was a self employed baker. No benefits, insurance etc, but we also did okay,  and our son had nice Christmas's.  Having money has never been important, being blessed with love and family is.  But when you go back, its those first years in your life you remember the most,  those very lean years are the ones that stick in your mind and bring back warm thoughts of family. Miss my folks, they have been gone a long time now, but never  forgotten.  Not sure what this year will bring, but it will be great, because I have four wonderful kids, six grand kids end 2 great  grand kids that bring much happiness and joy to my life. I am grateful for all I have had,  more than most people ever have. I hope you have fond memories, and are creating new ones too, Have a wonderful holiday with your family. My one wish is that the rifts in the family would be healed, always seems such a waste to loose time with those we love.  Blessings to all.

Cold Wearher, warm foods and immune boosters

Woke up to frost on the car and roof tops this am, It's gone now, but  it is a reminder that we will be looking at  chilly days  and cold nights soon.  I made up a dish for supper this week that's very tasty, and easy. Chop one red pepper and one green pepper and one smallish onion and a good sized sweet potato into equal size  dice, small, about  1/4 inch and flat. Saute in a little sunflower oil till soft, add curry, cumin and corriander, I used about 3/4 teaspoon of each, then add a few cloves of chopped garlic and last, about one and a half cups of cooked black beans. Let it all simmer a few minutes.  The recipe says serve over rice, but I ate it like it came and loved it.  Filling, warming and tasty.  I have been using immune oil on the bottoms of my feet since mid summer, hope it works. There are other great herbs to boost your immune system  I like Ayurveda ones, especially Andrographis Piniculatea, sometimes called  Indian echinacea.  I find it lets me sleep all night, and has other benefits too, as strong as some opioids without side effects or becoming habit forming. Other good ones are  Astragalus and Ashwaganda. And of course, Elderberries. I have two nice bushes growing now, hope by next summer they start bearing fruit. You can make your own syrup, just put 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of dried berries in a pan with 1/2 cup raw honey and if you want a little spice, a stick of cinnamon and 8 whole cloves, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 15 minutes, strain, keep in glass container in frig. Taking 1 teaspoon twice a day improves your immune system or helps you kick a cold or flu faster. There is a website called edibleharmony you might want to check out for other ideas. Did you know you can substitute 1 Tablespoon of vodka for 1 Tablespoon of water in your pie crusts and get a nicer crust? Hmmm.  I keep vodka for making infusions so have a bottle in my cosmetic cupboard. I seem to be outgrowing my storage space these days, but  having stuff on hand for sales is imperative. And I appreciate the sales.  Need something warm to drink, a cup of tea sounds good. Getting ready to  call church friends. Hope you are healthy and well and getting into this pre winter weather. Take care, stay warm and hug your family , its good for you.

Hot dogs, bologna, salami You may want to reconsider eating this kind of stuff

  Watched a very interesting Dr. Oz show this week. I do not eat much meat, once in a while an organic chicken, but for those still snarfing down this stuff, here is a true horror story.   It starts with huge vats, into which are dumped junk meat,starches, grains, salt, gluten, and fillers of all sorts. And of course, large amounts of nitrates. It's then all smushed up with grinders and poured into casings depending on the size and shape. You all know what they look like.  After they have set up they are sliced and packaged and sent to the stores.   These products are known cancer and heart disease  makers.   And now  there are ones saying they are  "all natural" no nitrates added. Wrong, they are still adding stuff like powdered celery.  Celery is a nitrate. Here is a link you can use to check it out: www.meatmythcrushers.com.   There are some alternatives, but you have to go to the deli counter  to find them,   Land of Frost makes a decent sliced ham,  Boars Head has  Roast Beef and Roast Turkey, and Apple Gate makes a smoked turkey, you can have them sliced to suit .  For a long time, us savvy shoppers have  used the outer aisles and shunned the middle ones, filled with processed"foods."these are mostly laboratory produced , processed, non foods,  more like science experiments.  Now however, there are a few things sneaking in that are decent. In the pasta aisle, there are pastas made of chick pea flour, no gluten and GMO free.  In the freezer there is a brand of frozen bread, Mona, that's said to be very tasty, the price however would put me off, I find it listed at about 14 bucks a loaf.  And there are a couple brands of wild caught salmon in cans. I find anything in a can to taste like the can, tinny.   If you have peanut allergies, or nut allergies, you can find sunflower seed butter, of course made from seeds, not nuts. And the canned foods are improving to include pumpkin( all these are organic) which you can add to oatmeal,yogurt, whatever you like, for flavor and health benefits.  And in the veggie area, there are peas, corn, green beans, and also garbanzo, black and white beans that are organic.  I also find canned tomato paste and tomatoes, Muir Glen is a good brand. I still prefer buying fresh produce, and more and more of it is organic.  If you are eating the other stuff, you are eating glyphosate, know to cause cancer, allergies, arthritis, ADHD, aches and pains etc, as well as Chloropyrifos, causes brain damage in children, agent orange, hepatitus C virus, and so many other deadly poisons. No wonder we have a nation of sick people,  the big six companies are out to get rid of a large chunk of the population by what they feed us.  And of course big pharma and the medical and insurance companies are getting richer.  Here's an idea for supper/ Peel and chop a large sweet potato, saute it in sunflower oil til it's a little tender, add a chopped onion, a can,  or  that amount of home cooked black beans, a few cloves of chopped garlic, some cumin and thyme, cook it til tender and serve over brown rice. Add  a little salt and pepper to taste. The mountain behind us is turning red and gold now, it's lovely.  The maples are almost done shedding, and the hummers are gone.  Got a new batch of Pine Salve brewing, sat on the porch enjoying the gorgeous fall weather yesterday and cut up a bucket of pine needles Doug brought me. They are now brewing with orange peel and juniper berries, will take  over a month to get ready to process.  It's still quite warm here, tho they say next week it will be much cooler.    Have a great week,  take care of yourself, you only get one body and one chance to take care of it. Happy Fall ya'all.

Fall has arrived, recipes for fall cleaning, thoughts and hopes

 It's official! This morning is crisp and cool, second pot of coffee morning. But oh so nice for sleeping in past normal time. The sun is shining, it''s a beautiful day, and the leaves have red tinges and yellow showing on some. What a great time of the year to get out and see the beauty painted just for our eyes.  It's been a mixed bag week, my daughter in law is battling some health issues, hope she is on the up side now, she gave us a scare.   I have already begun the fall cleaning, have bags of clothes for the Goodwill or someone, and every closet cleaned out.  The rest of the house needs a good vacuuming, my belt broke and I have not been to town to get a new one yet, sure will be glad to get it fixed again. And the light in the frig burned out, never realized how dark it is in there, even with the door open. Time to change batteries in the smoke alarms too, so glad my son can do that for me. Otherwise, I am just doing my regular cleaning, and have some ideas to share.  If you still think it takes clorox or harsh cleaners, nope. Here is a total disinfecting cleaner.  For about a buck at the store you can buy a big empty spray bottle. Wash it well, then put 2 cups of water, 1 cup of white vinegar, 25 drops of rosemary essential oil and 25 drops of fir essential oil  in the bottle , shake, spray and clean any surface.,  I would sub tea tree oil for the fir oil, as I keep it on hand and know it is a disinfecting agent.  Okay, now you can do bathroom and kitchen surfaces with no fumes or harmful stuff.   My grandson used to sell Kirby vacuums, he told his mom that to get even tough stains (pet, icky stuff) off carpets,  make a solution of 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol and 1 teaspoon of Dawn,  spray, let settle in, brush lightly then let dry, or if you are cleaning carpets, go ahead and clean, , spots should all be gone.   I am  a very old fashioned person, brought up in an era of being respectful of others, holding my tongue  a good share of the time and following my religious upbringing. It is so painful to see the "United" States being so divided.  While I did not vote for Trump, he is our president and should be respected. The riots, fighting, shootings are horrific and if we don;t learn to co-exist in better harmony, we may end up with a civil war right here in our own country.  We are meant to be our brothers keeper, and reach out a hand to help anyone, no matter, race, religion or political views.  The more we push this aside, the more  bad things keep happening. Earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, rock slides,  it seems more and more horrific things occur on a daily basis.  It would be so nice to see people try and care for one another, instead of what we do see these days.  Football players disrespecting our country and it's flag, politicians using our bucks for travel, maybe even the president doing that, come on, we can do better. What has happened to honesty, ethics, morals?  Ok, no more soap box, just wanted to put in my two cents worth. I hope you are having a wonderful,fall,  complete with corn mazes, pumpkins, pie etc. Fill your home and heart with warm scents and feelings.  And love. Til next time, peace.

I am a wannabe, and a great recipe for cleaning your toilet tank

  For about 7 years now, I have been growing , and learning to use herbs, trees, and even weeds to make skin care and health care items.  I am very picky about using organics, and no parabans, chemicals fake colors or scents.  If you read labels on any product you buy, shampoo, toothpaste, body wash, etc, you find long lists of stuff you never heard of.   For example, L'Oreal recently put out an aloe gel face lotion, with about 50 ingredients. I read through it and picked the useful ones, aloe, glycerin, vitamin E and lavender essential oil, and make my own now. It's wonderful and soothing and a little tightening.  My studies  give me access to several plant magazine articles, webcasts and classes. I learned last week that I could be considered  a Wortcunner.  This is an AngloSaxon term for wort, herb, and cunner, learner.   Of course it can also denote a person with occult powers. I have been accused of witch craft, but do not fancy myself a witch. Nor am I anywhere as proficient as I would like to be, but keep learning about the use of herbs every day. At the moment, I have Firewater cough syrup brewing on the cupboard, a jar of Calendula flowers steeping on the window sill, and yesterday I whupped up a batch of Lavender, Vitamin E lip balm.  One of my favorite items is Pine Salve, it's a long process to make, but has amazing pain easing abilities, have family and friend in NE that love the stuff, even have used it for shingles pain.  My household cleaning items are a gallon jug of white vinegar, a BIG box of baking soda, several pounds,  Borax, essential oils, alcohol and peroxide. From these, you can make disinfectants that are not harmful to your health and they keep your home fresh and clean.  The recipe today is this, in a bowl mix 1/2 cup of baking soda., 1/3 cup citric acid  {for canning fruit, found in the canning supply area) and 1 teaspoon of Dawn dish detergent. With your fingers, mix til it feels like wet sand. Pack into molds, ice cube trays about half full or cupcake liners, the small ones work if you don't have others. Let it dry for several days, it gets very hard. Drop one in the toilet tank, after fizzing stops, let it stand for as long as possible, I left mine for over an hour.  Wow, it cleans stuff out really well.   Flush, store  tablets in an airtight container(sandwich bag will do.)  Fall is officially here, tho its turned quite warm again, not complaining, I love this warm weather.  Not looking forward to being stuck inside this winter while Mother Nature  hands out  frost and cold.  But each season has a purpose, for renewing the earth. I am blessed with a wonderful family,lots of good friends and many projects to keep me busy.,  I wish you the same, a happy fulfilled life.  Chase your dreams, you are never to old to learn new things. Happy Fall!

Fall, storms, gunk cleaning recipe

T

The weather has changed. Instead of sweat and humidity, it has cooled off. Mornings are around 50 degrees, and afternoons  near 70. Love it, very comfy. Sleeping with a blanket  again is nice, and days are just right. My containers on the deck still are giving me lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and herbs. So a salad is still part of supper. It's been sad to watch the events hitting this world lately, and do you notice they are all "the worst ever" occurrences, hurricane Harvey, now Irma, the earthquake in Mexico,the fires in Oregon and Washington and California,  kind of makes me wonder what's next.  It's still calm and serene on the mountain, tho we should be getting some fallout from Irma early in the week, looks like rain, and maybe a little breeze, nothing like others have suffered through.  Some of our leaves have red edges, the hummers are tanking up on nectar right now, not sure if they are getting ready for Irma, or the cool weather has them thinking of heading south. Not a good time for that. Since I switched them to organic sugar water, I can hardly keep up with filling the feeder, they really like that stuff. I watch a dozen at a time fussing over who will get to have some. They are amazing little creatures, sad to know they are dying, like the bees and butterflies, from the stuff we spray our crops with.   Ran across a recipe to clean gunky tile, floors, shower walls etc.  The original recipe calls for 3 cups of water,, 1/2 cup  of baking soda, 1/3 cup of lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of white vinegar, whisked together and put into a spray bottle or applied with a brush.  To my liking, this is way too soupy.I would go with 3/4 cup of baking soda, 2 Tablespoons each of lemon juice and white vinegar, and enough water to create a thick paste, then brushed on. Let it sit 20 minutes or more, then rinse off.   Starting a pot of chili today, the first of the season. We are expecting only 60s for highs by the first of the week, so looking for something warm , comfort food.  The last 2 weeks I have emptied out and cleaned every one of the 6 closets in my house, 3 walk in bedroom ones, a walk in linen one in the bathroom and a pantry in the kitchen. Have done some cleaning before, but not to this extent. Except for one closet, with carpet, all the others got a steam cleaning on the floors and all the shelf's wiped down.  Kind of thinking about storm windows  but hoping for some warmer weather  yet, not ready for cold.  For the first time in all the years here, I have no pears to can. Weird.  But in a way, no cramped hands from endless hours of peeling and chopping. Mixed blessing. Hope you have a good week, and no storms blow your way. Stay well.

Tomatoes? Be Afraid, be very Afraid

Roughly 8 years ago, after Pat died, I started paying attention to what was going on in the tomato fields at the bottom of our mountain. Oh, I had watched them since moving here, but something did not click all of a sudden. In the spring, the ground is plowed, long black plastic runs are made, raised, to plant the tomatoes in. Poly vinyl chloride, likely. Like water bottles, harmful to your health.  The laborers plant the tiny plants, they grow rapidly, so must be fertilized, they stake and create twine cages. All summer, I see big trucks spraying the plants, weed and bug killers are prevalent. Then, what got my attention, the tomatoes are picked green. Hmm, are not vine ripened ones the ones that have good flavor?   Some research showed that of course, ripe tomatoes would be rotten after shipping across the country. So they are shipped, then put into a chamber to ripen them with ethylene gas. This is a naturally occurring gas, but used to ripen, if someone walked into that chamber, they would die. Then they are processed and canned, most of the time into cans with white lining, More poly vinyl chloride, deadly to our health.  After picking the green ones, the fields are sprayed with poison, that turns the plant brown and crackly in 24 hours, and signs are posted saying "IF you eat these, you will die"Then  a few days later,m they are plowed under, and left to ruin the ground all winter. Next year, it starts all over. In ground that is polluted with sprays. This year, in fact a week ago, on my way to church, I could see the fields had been sprayed, and the plants were brown and crunchy.  On my way home from church, I got a real shock. Laborers were in those poisoned fields, picking through the dead plants and packing every usable green tomato into crates, filling many trucks with those crates, to be shipped out.  Does this tell you anything about what Hunts, Lucks, Van Camps etc are feeding you?  If you can still buy a can of tomatoes,  tomato sauce, or paste, pizza  , spaghetti or any other sauce, or ketchup, if it does not say ORGANIC you are being fed a lot of cancer causing crap.  Corn, wheat, potatoes are just a few of the other crops that are loaded with these goodies,  you can pull up all kinds of references on line, it's scary.   We are lucky, grow a good share of what we eat. RIght now, Doug has a lot of cherry tomatoes. I cooked up some dried, organic black eyed peas,  mixed them with salad peppers and cherry tomatoes cut up, and red onion chopped, dressed with a splash of soy sauce. Makes a great high protein salad. We are all sad for the folk in Texas, hope they recover as soon as possible.  We should all be caring for their welfare, at least its nice to see all the heros helping with rescue, and less about the violence that wracks our country.  Those rains have arrived in TN today,  nothing grim, but steady drizzle this afternoon. We need it.  Should keep us from having fires.  Hope you have a good week, Labor Day already Monday, summer is ending soon. See spots of red and gold in the trees already. Have a great week, stay well, eat GOOD food.

A Theif in the house

 Monday morning, two four footed furries let me know it was time for food.  Sat up, swung my feet down and reached for my eye drops(dry eyes)  first thing I do every morning. What? No eye drop bottle, always keep it on the night stand. Looked on the floor, under the 3edge of the bed, no luck. Good thing I had a new bottle stashed.  After a sufficient amount of coffee, I stripped the bed and behgan cleaning my bedroom and bathroom. While I was down on the floor scrubbing the bathroom floor, I looked every place I could think of for those missing eye drops.  No luck.  A few days later, I reached for my big toe nail clippers, on a tray on the beside table. Guess what, no clippers.  I spent a long while looking for those and gave up. A few days later, I did find them
 under the rocker in the bedroom.  I still have not come across the eye drops.   It's been a busy week. Doug came down and moved a shelf in the laundry room down to where I could reach it, wopw, does that make life easier. And he helped me clean the screen on my washer hose, was taking over an hour to fill the washer. Yesterday I put clothes in to saok and went ot get breakfast, thinking I would have time for feeding the kitty girls, but the washer filled so fast I was right back to turn it off.  Kind of started a cleaning binge. My little modular has a pantry, and 5 walk in closets. Yesterday I stripped and scrubbed the pantry, the floor was really crummy, have some roll in cabinets I store canned goods in, had not moved them in a few years. Ok, that's now clean, and the coat closet in the hall is scrubbed an clean. Today I did the guest bedroom the girls use, tossed a lot of stuff.  Got two more bedrooms and the walk in linen closet in the bathroom to go. Maybe the end of the week, tired of closets for the moment.  Just started a fountain going  and Lillie is batting the water around, she can;t figure it out, Silly girl. Yesterday the girls had kind of a bad day, the neighbor seems to have a new kitten, cute little black thing with orange eyes and nasty looking claws. It decided to hang out on Libby's front proch. She was sooooo upset.  Good thing the week is about over, enough excitement for one period of time. And Monday is the eclipse, we are now being told it will be cloudy.  Did get glasses so if we can see it, we are ready.   Picked peppers, tomatoes and herbs yesterday, most of the garden has not done well this year, sadly.  Have a good week, take time to give someone a smil, it might just make their day. We are all here to help each other, how I wish the whole world could just be nice to each other.   What a difference that would make. Til next time, be well.

A look at Ayurveda

Most of you know I am somewhat of a rebel, following the rules are not always my thing. When I was 18 and newly married, I met a man who had been a doctor of medicine, but gave it up because he did not like what western medicines did to his patients. For the most part, this type of medicine masks symptoms but does not cure. Ayurveda however looks for the cause and heals the problem. Case in point, Dad had tinnitus for years, and a few years back it became part of my life. I follow a Guru called Yogi Cameron, he said to fix the problem, put 3 or 4 drops of sesame oil into each ear, letting it soak in for 10 or 15 minutes , doing it one side at a time. It took over a month, but the ringing left. Not only that, but soon huge chunks of ear was floated up into my ear, and I could just pick them out and dispose of them. The man I met when I was 18, told me how to avoid the horrific crippling arthritis my mom and dad both had suffered, and also prevent cancer and a host of inflammatory problems. As simple as taking a capsule of turmeric and one of ginger root every day. I have done that ever since. I have no joint pain or aches, no knarly hands, and so far no big health problems. A cheap, simple thing I wish every one could know and start doing young, it would stop so many problems later in life. So turmeric is an Ayurvedic herb, and used in many ways, I also keep a big jar of organic spice turmeric on my cupboard, and add it to all my soups and stews and most everything I cook. The 2nd herb I use is Ashwaganda.IT'S ALSO ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, ANTI-CANCER and enhances your immune cells. It's a sleep aid, a stress reducer and more. Ayurveda is a natural way of supporting your good health. Yoga and meditation are also a part of the practice. Lots of good information is available on line, and if you have not subscribed to Mother Earth Living, you really should, so much good information there. Are you getting ready for some fall cleaning? Have a recipe or two to share. To make an all purpose dis-infecting cleaner, and make your house smell amazing, combine 2 cups of water, 1 cup of white vineagr and 25 drops of essential rosemary oil. Pour into a large spray bottle and use to clean kitchen and bathroom surfaces. To make a scrub, for sinks, toilets etc, mix 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1/3 of a cup of castile soap(liquid)and 10 drops of rosemary essential oil, mix we.. apply a small amount to a cloth and use to scour surface. Rinse well. To brighten and strengthen your hair, heat 1 cup apple cider vinegar to almost boiling, pour over 2 T fresh rosemary and add 10 drops of lavender oil. To use, add 2 T to 1 cup of water adn massage your hair after shampooing. Rinse well. School has begun in all of our area, and most other places too now, hope we still have a good amount of at least warm weather before it gets cold again. Be happy, be healthy, eat real food. See you next time.

Eventful Summer, 2017

I love looking out my kitchen window while I sip a cup of coffee and enjoy the beauty of this mountain. Early spring, March, is yellow time. Forsythias, daffodils, are abundant. Soon they are replaced with Dogwoods and Red Buds, creating a pink and white scene. Around the first of June, the Mimosa's are in bloom. And by later June, the Crepe Myrtles are giving us a brilliant showing of pinks, lavenders, reds and whites. We are just beginning to loose these now, the rain last night seems to have started the flowers falling off the trees. Every season has a color, always something to marvel at. Earlier this spring, my starter in the car gave out, requiring replacement. That was followed by needing new tires, and a few days later, the brakes failed. Spent a lot on repairs, some of which I ma still paying off. Somewhere in this time frame, my daughter Laurie and her son Paul came to visit. Paul designed a great website for my products. Thanks Paul The first of July, my son Brian and his little gals, Erin and Samantha came to visit. We had a wonderful time. Went to Grill 73 for lunch the first day, and after that we went to Bybee, then Dandridge to lunch at a new restaurant there, then Pigeon Forge to the Pottery Barn, their food was good and we watched pottery being made. Went to White Pine to the Burger Bar, and then the next day to Hot Springs N C to the Iron Horse. Whew. One afternoon late into the visit we came home to a backed up septic system. Total yuck, nasty thing to share with guests. Thank goodness my plumber is fast and reasonable, he came and got the tank pumped, but sadly had to take out the pear trees that had grown roots into the system. I have been making pear butter, and pear sauce and canning those pears for a good many years. No more. I am grateful for Brian's help with the clean up and disinfecting, we had a real mess. And the kids kicked in to help me pay the damages, now I am paying them back and grateful for their help. Just 2 days after the Nebraska kids went home, I was canning dill pickles and someone knocked on the door, by gosh, it was Dave and Kim, my son and wife from S. C. What a treat, I rarely get to see them. It's a little cooler today, we finally got some much needed rain. I am also pleased with the orders I am getting from Etsy, and my website, joyfulbodycreations. Each order helps me pay of some of the debt. Will be glad to get it all square again. School has started in some areas around us, and by the end of next week, most of the kids will be back at it. Summer sure flew by. Hope you had a good one too. Take care, stay well, enjoy the beauty around you. Til next time, stay well.

Do it Yourself

Finally, more people are waking up to the dangers of our food, water, cosmetics and what we are doing to ourselves and our environment. I started my journey about 8 years ago when I began to wonder why the tomatoes grown around us were being sprayed with deadly poison all summer. I began a journey through the world of herbs, which I now grow a good many of, and my son has more in his area that I can latch on to. Guess most of you know that a great many drugs that are handed out do not heal anything, just mask symptoms and give side effects. Way back when, the Indians and our grandparents knew much more about healing with herbs that were abundant around them. Feverfew and Willowbark are great ones for headaches, if you ever watched Dr Quinn, she used willowbark for migraines. I have been making salves from pine trees and plantain and comfrey for sometime now. My next venture is into soaps, the first being one that repels insects when you are working outside. The molds I ordered arrived yesterday so will be trying my hand with them in the next few days. I also love my Mother Earth Living magazine, always has so many new things in it. Well worth subscribing to if you are interested in healthy living. Did you know for abdominal cramping and pain, you can put 3 or so drops of peppermint oil into into a teaspoon of organic oil, like sunflower or olive, mix and rub into your belly? The yarrow I grow is good for skin, heals wounds and can be added to facial products to help create a lovely complexion. If you want to make a great toner, boil a cup of water, add 2 teaspoons of yarrow, steep for 15 minutes, strain and add 1 Tablespoon of witch hazel. Apply to your face with a clean cotton ball. If your hair needs a little TLC, boil a quart o water, add 3 6 inch sprigs of fresh Rosemary, steep for 20 minutes, cool, strain and keep in frig. Spritz a little on your hair daily to improve condition. For achy joints, use 2 tablespoons of carrier oil, jojoba, grapeseed, almond, olive, what you have, add 10 drops of lavender essential oil and 10 drops rosemary essential oil, use as a rub to achy places. If you have age spots, use fresh lemon juice several times a day. See, getting natural is easy. The Crepe Myrtle trees are starting to bloom, soon the mountain side will be filled with purples, pinks,reds, and white. Most of the time something lovely is blooming here. I love the delicate Mimosas, tho Iam told they are a "weed" tree, they are still beautiful. Despite the very warm days, summer is my favorite time, not fond of cold weather. I tend to head out and do my gardining and outside work very early when its the most refreshing time of the day. Something about gardening is just good for the body and soul, there is an old saying, One's nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth. If you haven;t, please visit my website on Etsy, joyfulbodycreations, I will be adding things as I learn more. Enjoy a safe Fourth of July, hard to believe we are already this late in the summer. And the eclipse coming up in August. Have a great week.

What's in your personal products

It really bugs me when people say they only live once and will eat/drink/use what they want because life dis short. Having been the caregiver at the end of life for several of my family, I can not imagine wanting someone to have to fee, diaper, clean, bathe, dress me etc. It takes so little to make the changes that make your life healthy. I make a good share of the things i use, all my face creams, medicines and salves. But there are some things that just work better when you buy them. Last week I found a wonderful volumnizing shampoo. It's made by Nature's Gate, and has Holy Basil, ginger and Awapuni in it. After the first use, my hair was so much thicker and nicer I could not believe it. I also found a wonderful deodorant, all natural that smells like almonds. It's a roll on so no earth damaging spray . And of course the one thing I had the most problems with was a sensitive tooth paste. I just could not come up with a recipe that really worked. Tom's of Maine makes great organic toothpaste, including my sensitive. And I like Healthy Mouth mouthwash, tho that can be made with distilled water, clove and cinnamon oils. I just started a whitening routine that you might like. I mixed a teaspoon of turmeric with 2 T of salt and 2 T of organic baking soda, mix well, keep in an airtight jar. Also mix a bottle of half water and half hydrogen peroxide. Dip a damp toothbrush into the powder, an brush away for 5 minutes, then rinse for one minute with the water/peroxide rinse. After that, rinse your mouth well with straight water or your fave mouthwash. My teeth feel like I have been to a dentist, so smooth and slick, wow. Not sure if it will whiten but hopeful, I drink too much coffee and it stains. I am also using an immune boosting oil at night on the bottom of my feet, hoping to get my grand daughters to try it and maybe avoid so many ear infections and bouts of flu next fall. Once you start the study of staying healthy, there is so much good information on line, I spend a lot of time reading and learning about taking better care of me, and others. Since I am 80 and have no health problems, it must work. I did get lucky and leaned young(18) that you can alter what your parents had and avoid the same ills. I do avoid doctors, and will not take meds, they all have dire side effects. My vitamins and organic diet do well to keep me feeling good. I have been eating flat bread sandwiches lately with tomato, lettuce, avocado and onions, all but the avocado from my deck plants. Tasty. If you want organic laundry products, try a line called Meyers. I use their hand soap(liquid) and now am trying their dryer sheets. Love the Lemon Verbena scent, but they have many. All these and so much more can be found at Swanson Vitamins, and are sent right to your door in a few days. I still make my own laundry soap, so easy and effective, a big box of borax, a big box of baking or washing soda and a bar of grated Fels Naptha, enough for over a year for pennies a load. My stain spray is half dawn and half hydrogen peroxide, let sit over night then wash as usual, takes out even old stains. I do hope you will start looking at healthy alternatives, and keep your kids, grandkids and yourselves well and pain free. I have a line of products at joyfulbodycreations on Etsy, and will be adding eczema cream some scrubs and other things shortly, have them brewing now. Have a healthy summer, see you soon.

What are you doing to your home?

Last time we talked about your effect on your body with the food you eat. This time, lets get into the world of household products. The stores have many aisles full of caustic products. Clorox causes damage to your lungs if inhaled, takes color out of your clothes etc if spilled, not a good thing to use. When you shop, go to the laundry section and find a LARGE box of baking soda , I think they are 4 pounds, and an equal size box of borax, then get a gallon jug of vinegar. Altogether this should run under $10.00. Your house can be cleaned from top to bottom with these and a few essential oils, a bit of dawn and some salt. To start, scouring powder is easy, equal amounts of salt and baking soda, mixed and used in a shaker can. I have old Parmesan cheese containers, from before I knew that it was cut with sawdust to make more money for the company producing it. Sprinkle on damp surface and scrub, stains etc go. Laundry soap, well that's equal parts of borax and baking soda with a bar of Fels Naptha grated into the mix. Store in air tight container, I use old plastic shoe boxes. A heaping tablespoonful does a load of clothes, and costs about 7 cents per load. To clean your counters, sinks, tubs, use a mix of half vinegar and half water with a good spoonful of tea tree oil, spray away. This will disinfect your surfaces as well as those caustic things, kills 98% of germs. I use this for shower walls, tough spots on the floors etc. If you have mold on the outside of your house, spray a mix of vinegar and water(equal) with a teaspoon of Dawn mixed in, spray on and leave, the next rain will take the mold away. If you have pets and have boo boos on your carpet, dampen well with white vinegar, sprinkle with baking soda and let dry, then vacuum. Soft scrub can be made by making a paste of Dawn and baking soda, keep in a tightly sealed jar. For ants, boil 1 cup of water, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, stir well, cool a little then use cotton balls soaked in the solution to apply to window and door frames or anyplace you see ants. For air sprays, use distilled water and your favorite essential oil scents, just a few drops, and use to spray air, fabric etc. You can make it smell however you like it. We had a 13 year old cat that got sick, and had to be put down. I was upset as he was an inside baby, and asked the vet how he got so sick. She said she thought it was something I used in the house, turned out to be Febreze. Most harmful to pets. The internet is full of recipes for safe home made cleaners, and none are going to hurt your health or your kids or pets health. You can make a spray of orange peels or lemon soaked a week in vinegar, strained, and use that on surfaces too, or add citrus scents to your vinegar sprays. To clean your toilet, dump a cup of baking soda in the bowl, and add a cup of vinegar. Let set overnight if possible, then brush and flush. Hope this gives you some ideas about green living, and safe cleaners. Next time lets talk about your personal care items. Have a great week.

What ARE you Doing to your Body?

Did you know that 80% of your health is directly related to what you eat? The rest is due to home and environmental issues. I hope you have passed the area of saying, I will eat whatever I want, whenever I want. Yes, you can, but you will pay. Most of the food grown in our country is affected by the Big Six growers, Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, Dow and Dupont. Their ever growing list of chemicals sprayed on our food, is killing us all. And the bees, butterflies, birds etc. When you buy processed foods from the store, you are consuming Glyphosate, agent orange, hepatitis C, and a long list of ch3emicals including a new one Trump signed on as ok since he took office,Chlorpyrifos. THis deadly new one is known to cause brain damage in children and adults. If you are pregnant and eating this, you likely will cause ADHD, Autism and other seious brain problems. Many other countries are now backing out of buying our tainted corn, wheat and soy products. They care about the health of their citizens.I get a wonderful magazine called Mother Earth Living. This month the article I am reading is called 5-Step Plan to Eating well. Those of you who are meat eaters, do you know that 98% of beef is contaminated with cow feces? And of course the growth hormones and GMO grown feed they eat. Seafood? Well, they eat the poop of all the other sea creatures. Fish has become suspect because of the contaminated water we now have, mercury, and who knows what other radiation etc .Unless you buy boxes marked with a Butterfly and the words, USDA organic, you are eating disgusting food. Go back 20 to 30 years, do you remember hospitals full of babes with cancer? Or wards full of older folk with Alzheimer's? Or so many with arthritis, allergies, aches and pains? The charts show a direct correlation with the increasing amounts of sprays used on our foods. I started looking into this long ago, when I watched what was being done to tomato fields at the bottom of our mountains. Scary, Never buy tomato, corn or potato products that are not organic. My past blogs are full of facts and articles on what we are being fed. Way back in the early 80's I gave up milk products. Soy milk is my fave, tho I have tried cashew, almond etc. I also buy only Silk, as it has the butterfly and organic symbol on the package. For a long time I ate Kashi, but Kellogg's makes that, as well as Bear Naked and Krave, and other products that are organic, but they still push their tainted stuff at kids. I really cringe when I see Cheerios showing darling babies, and saying to feed them Cheerios. No no no. It takes some serious searching, but stores are getting so much better at putting the true organics out there. Once you have found them, shopping is easy. I get the same things every trip to town, and order all my baking and cooking supplies on line to get organics, love Bobs Red Mill flour, baking soda and powder oatmeal etc, all sent right to my door at great price. I like eating out but always have a couple of days I feel different after, my body is not used to eating standard foods, and I can tell the difference. Learn to look out for your health, you can reverse a lot of lifes aches and pains just by changing your diet. You all must have seen the articles out the last week or so saying even one soda a day can cause strokes, heart attacks and memory loss. Shop the outside aisles at the store, avoid the processed foods, cooking from scratch is easy and can be fast. In closing today here are a couple of items I ran across this week. If you have gout, your body is in an acidic state, should be alkaline. To change this and take out the uric acid causing the gout, drink a glass or warm water when you get up(before coffee) with either organic apple cider vinegar with Mother or organic lemon juice. Sometime during the day, drink another cup of water with a teaspoon of baking soda stirred in. This helps get your body into an alkaline state, and avoids a lot of health issues. For kidney stones drink more fluid, eat less salt, drink green tea, make dandelion leaf salad and ear citrus fruits. Next week, lets explore ways of detoxing your home, that's also easy, and so much cheaper than all the chemicals you are buying. Looks like summer has arrived, 90 degrees today. Stay cool, stay healthy, watch your food and feel better. Put a tomato plant on your porch.

Things to try, Carrot soup, Spring on the mountain

It's that wonderful time, when you look up the mountain, it's glorious with dogwoods blooming and redbuds, all against that lovely pale green of spring leaves. This morning it was 28 degrees in Seveirville, not sure what it was here, no sign of frost but feels so cold. We had a warm winter, so this is not feeling much like spring. I love watching the earth come alive, we have had something blooming since late February this year. I don;t watch it often , but caught a part of the Home and Family show on HGTV a while back, they had some ideas to try. If you want those popular pouty looking lips with out botox, try this. Mix some liquid lip balm with 1 tsp cinnamon and a good sprinkle of cayenne powder. Make it into a paste, and apply it to your lips with a cotton swab. If you don't have liquid lip balm, you could melt the solid stuff, adding a little carrier oil to it for the right consistency. Not sure I would try it, but it might be interesting. This one I can say would work. When we were in the Phillipines, for 25 cents American money I went every morning to the neighborhood hair salon and had my hair done, it was long and they did a beehive, french twist or other fancy do. And they always used beer to set and hold and make it shiny. So here is the next tip - Mix beer, maybe 1 cup, with an egg yolk. Apply to clean wet hair , cover with a shower cap and leave on for 30 minutes, rinse well and proceed. You can use beer that's gone flat as a hair set by itself. How about some healthy spring soup? IN a large pot, saute one chopped yellow onion in a little olive oil, when slightly browned add 2 chopped cloves of garlic and 2 inches of grated fresh ginger. Cook 1 minute, then add 2 lbs of cut up carrots, a pinch of red pepper a pinch of salt 2 t honey and 4 cups of chicken or veggie stock. Simmer til carrots are tender, puree with immersion blender. When you put it in bowls, grate a little lime peel over the top and put a spoonful of Greek yogurt on top. This may become my second favorite soup, I also love split pea. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and the Cantata at church. Looking forward to an inspirational morning. Wishing you and yours a Joyous, blessed Easter season. Til next time, enjoy spring and the fresh veggies that are in the stores.

Spring, and cleaning and refreshing naturally

The winter was warm this year, only a few cold days. Now its early March and the fruit trees are blooming as are some of the ornamental trees. Bradford pears have been showing their white gowns for several weeks now. We are already in a drought, which is sad and scary as we are still recovering from the nasty fires in our area of late. At least there is a lot of cleanup going on to remove old leaves and debris that help fuel fires. Lesson learned. If you are getting ready to do some spring cleaning, here are a few easy recipes to help you out. This is a carpet refresh, does not clean but leaves the room smelling fresh. In a shaker container put 1/2 cup of cornstarch, 2 cups of baking soda, 1 T ground cloves, and 4 to 5 crushed up bay leaves. mix well, sprinkle over entire carpet and let sit one hour, then vacuum well. I keep a huge container of this on hand and use it on my mattress every few weeks. 1 cup baking soda, 1 T homemade fabric softener, mix, sprinkle over mattress, leave an hour and vacuum off. I make my own fabric softener with 3 cups white vinegar, 2 cups hair conditioner, and I like Suave, pick a nice scent, its cheap, and 6 cups of hot water mixed together. If you want to avoid the conditioner, use 1 quart of white vinegar, 25 drops of lavender oil and 1 teaspoons of rubbing alcohol, adding 1/2 cup to final rinse water.While you are cleaning to make the whole house smell nice, put a pot of water on the stove, add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or a good handful from a jar of dried, a sliced lemon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and simmer. My new Mother Earth magazine says that thyme oil is as effective as any antibacterial you can buy, so to make a cleaner for you bathroom and kitchen surfaces take a gallon of hot water and add 1/2 cup of pure liquid castile soap plus 10 drops of thyme oil, shake and use to clean. And last today, if you are fighting spring allergies or stuffy noses, make some tea by boiling 2 cups w3ater, and adding 6 T of fresh oregano, brew 10 minutes, strain and drink as needed. Here's hoping you are having a lovely spring, enjoy the longer days.

Yes I am

I am Christian, I am Republican, I am conservative, I am pigheaded, obstinate, stubborn and narrow minded. And I am happy with that. My upbringing had a lot to do with the person I am, mom was black or white, no grey most of her life. We did not argue with her. We were brought up in the church, read our BIble and followed the rules. The world today is full of folk who only believe in themselves and what they can do. I feel bad for them. Revelations says the Bible is GOd's word, we can not add or subtract from it. Anyone who says we can is wrong. And we have let people come along and say we need to change, be tolerant, be accepting etc. Well, we can accept the sinner but not the sin.We do need to love all the people on this planet, and do everything we can to help them, by spreading God's word and shining His light into their dark lives. Today a new president is being sworn in. I did not vote for him. I am not sure what he can or will do, but I am not out there making rash statements, being unaccepting of him, or causing him grief. I hope God leads him to do great things for our country,he was elected so the majority wanted this. I wish the naysayers would just shut up and get in step. Why haven't all those who said they would leave the country if he was elected, not left yet? Enough. It's a lovely morning, we have had spring weather since the snow storm, and I love it. I have a female cardinal that comes in the morning and scolds herself in the rear view mirror on my car. Sometime she brings her mate, and shows him this other bird in the mirror, it's funny. And repeated daily. She must htink it's a rival. The wun is up, we had rain in the night, it will be warm again. And we are just over a month from daffodils and forsythia. Yea. I have made up a refreshing face stuff for morning use, takes out lines and wrinkles, soothes and feels so good. I use a small jar, fill it almost ful with aloe, ad a touch of glycerin, a bit of jojoba oil, soem vitamin E and a good splash of lavender essential oil. Nothing like having a cupboard full of good products to experiment with. Later, have a good week