So I gave up, and gave in....

I gave in to being busy and working outside. And being a mom and moving and redoing my childhood home. It's now New Year-ish and this sh*t is REAL. I mean, it's still going on heavy duty. The construction of my mom's side was so slow and is still just dragging through the mud. Those guys....

But Andiy, owner at floraandfauna salon, suggested I invest as much energy writing on my own blog to writing on the professional, not-my-company blog. Sooooo. Yep, I want to do it. 

In keeping with the original intention of the blog, much of what I'm thinking of and processing is herbal/ health related. I DO have two small ones that are constantly falling prey to something. Here is a rundown of the fall and winter herbal remedies I've been utilizing.

  Comfrey Oil: I use this on any owie. Diaper rash (Pookie), knuckles raw from washing in anti-bac soap at school (Myrna), sores, skin abrasions, even the old C-section scar that gets yucky feeling. I also found a gal making a traditional Boo Boo salve at Lola Giant this year. This salve will always have St. John's Wort oil (nerve healer, natural sunblock, magic), comfrey oil, plantain oil (not always but often), maybe some scented essential oil like lavender, etc. This is a life saver for knuckles and booties. To make, use good quality olive oil. Harvest comfrey at height of bloom time (Father's Day and a re-bloom in fall often) and soak, infuse in oil for many weeks (6) in a dark cabinet. Do not allow space at the top- it will mold. Do not be put off by the smell- it is a healer. Use a solid jar and canning lid.

Hal had a real affinity for Comfrey. It grows everywhere in our yard. If you're interested and in the 'hood, come let me give you a start. It is a bit invasive! It's in the Borage family (boraginaciae). Please only take Comfrey externally. If you must take it internally, know that it has been shown in (questionable) lab tests to be harmful to liver/ kidneys. Here is what I told both Duckie and another herbalist I follow on Facebook: Comfrey heals what ails, and, also, put comfrey on anything that needs comforting. Anytime you have a freaky large wound and are worried about shock, fear (yourself or the person with the wound) and bleeding, stuff it with crushed comfrey. It will staunch wounds until you can gather yourself to take the next step. I was hit by a car as an 8 year-old, got a huge wound on my thigh, refused to go to the hospital and was treated with comfrey. It worked in my case. 

(DO NOT SKIP MEDICAL CARE, PEEPS.)

Rosemary Oil: another infused oil. This one is dicey but I have a fantasy it works. I made a great one, many Christmases ago for my dad. He said it relieved arthritis and stiffness from his joints. It's a heater. And it is pro-circulation. (Side note: I'm kinda vain. And I have spider veins. It runs in the family- both parts) So I mix this oil with lotion as my daily leg moisturizer. I like it. I have no other proof that it does anything beyond help move blood around.

Vitamin D in capsule form. Take this, all of you who take vitamins. The RDA, again kind of a crock from a regulatory agency that does not really recognize supplements as helpful, recommends that people get 400 mg. However, most everyone says at least 2,000 mg a day is more like it. I give my kids a small capsule, infrequently. It is a remarkable help in fighting infections and ailments.

Probiotics. CHOIRS OF ANGELS! I do not mean just acidophilus/ bifidus. Those are fine but are often turned to sugar in our intestines. I do feed the girls acidophilus milk because they both seem healthier with it. The reaction to dairy can be messy if it is just normal dairy. Get my drift?

               Firstly, consider taking probiotics to aid in the health of your guts. Mending broken gut flora aids in allergic reactions, sensitivities to food (wheat, milk, diary, etc), fights cancerous cells, aids stomach acid production and thus digestion, fights influenza and other nasty viruses, fights stomach bugs and diarrhea. 

               Secondly, eat fermented food. Sauerkraut, soy sauce, natural unsweetened yogurt (Unprocessed! No powdered milk. No sugar.), Kefir. OMG< we drink a lot of berry flavored Kefir. I really do add sweetening to my yogurt- honey or jam. But I don't buy yogurt with it mixed in.

               What kind to get? My sis says to get Walgreens mixture which is L. Reuterti and another very useful, hard to get type (Rephresh). But I, having small ones, got the powdered Reuteri. I put spoonfuls into milk, yogurt, applesauce, mac and cheese.... It is for kids because of the nature of the L. Reuteri strain. However, it's transmitted through breastmilk and it is necessary for adults. So, I'm still taking it. Thanks Dad- he got this for me when Myrna was first born. I didn't realize how necessary and useful it was at the time. When you undergo any sort of hard work and/ or trauma, your gut flora is weakened. When a baby is born C-section, s/he is provided with only a fraction of the amount of helpful gut flora that a baby that goes down the birth canal gets. Really. And this might be the CAUSE OF COLIC??? I'm serious. It's being tested. It's enough to hand it out at all births, if that is the case.

This is a brief herbal rundown of what I've used this Fall for treating crappy stuff that goes around. I also used a whole bottle of kid's glycerine Echinacea tincture. Because, land sakes, the kids were sick for like 6 weeks alternating. It helped though. We also had a bout of hand, foot and mouth virus move through the 'hood (one of the kids at babysitter care, then to us with a mild version and then to Mandy with a HUGE version). Very strange one. So when I say that probiotics help fight viruses, I mean it. Take it all the time!

Topics to come: Anti-inflammatory supplementss, herbs, etc. I really eat this diet (as much as possible) and take supplements to assist.