The Moral of the Story

Why I don't cook, use knives or other sharp objects, operate motorized vehicles or heavy equipment, or do much other than type and get sarcastic with assholes. This is a copy-and-paste from my personal notes.  

Valerian and Lavender Vodka Stress Tincture

1 oz finely chopped dried valerian root
1/2 oz lavender buds
10-12 ozs plain vodka

Combine all ingredients in a 16 oz vinegar bottle and cap tightly. Label and date. Shake gently but thoroughly. Set aside on the counter for 8 weeks or so. Strain into an 8 oz bottle, cap tightly, and transfer label.

Dose is 1/4 tsp every 30 minutes until symptoms diminish. Dilute in 1/4 cup water or chamomile tea if desired.


11/13/10
This will teach me not to make medicine when I’m migrainey. This should have been made with feverfew instead of valerian. I misjudged the size of bottle I would need, choosing one that was too small. I was only able to get in 1/2 oz of lavender instead of a full ounce like Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe called for. I spilled vodka trying to transfer the whole mess into a larger bottle. I had enough vodka to fill it to about the 10 or 12 oz level.

None of this is fatal. The combination should work quite nicely. It just wasn’t what I had planned to do. And when I was through, I felt like crying.

So, what I’ve made is a nervine for stress, anxiety, and sleep instead of a migraine preventative preparation. And now I’m out of vodka so I can’t make the correct one.

Moral of the story: Don’t make medicine when you should be taking medicine.


Copyright 2008-2010 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Herbs for What Ails Me

"If you wonder what herbs you might need, see what's growing around you."
Unknown


I'm feeling better today thanks I am completely sure to the prayers and good thoughts from Sparkling readers.  Thank you, so very much. 

Today was an absolutely beautiful day - "severe clear" as our local meteorologists say.  Mom and I dug up a couple of nice big dandelions, a nice bunch of wild garlic, and found a gorgeous snake.  It was small and didn't have the characteristic triangle-shaped head of a venomous snake but we didn't bother it other than taking a few pics (well, Mom asked if I thought she should chop it with the shovel and I liked to have screeched "Don't you DARE!"  XD ).

Anyhow...

I've spent some time this late winter reading up on plants that grow around here.  One of my New Year's resolutions was to improve my health between attacks.  I've always been a plant gal but relied on store-bought and a few cultivated herbs for my oils and unguents, salves and balms as my brother used to call them.

I wish I could remember where I heard the adage quoted above but it's lost in the black abyss that used to be my gray matter.  It did pop back into my brain after all these years.  I've made a concerted effort to identify the wild plants - weeds, I should call'em what they are - that grow in the relatively protected area of my back yard.

With the help of webcrawler, a botanist Migraine-Associated Vertigo bud o'mine, and my country-reared mother, I have discovered to my unending delight that a number of useful plants and trees are growing free for the digging and clipping in my backyard:

*  Sambucus racemosa - American Red Elder
*  Taraxacum - Dandelion
*  Rumex Crispus - Yellow Dock, also called Curly Dock
*  Verbascum Thapsus - Greater Mullein
*  Viola Odorata - Sweet Violet
*  Glechoma Hederacea - Alehoof, also called Ground Ivy and gill-go-over-ground
*  Adiantum - Maidenhair Fern
*  Acer Rubrum - Red Maple
*  Quercus Palustris - Pin Oak
*  Carya - Hickory Tree
*  Allium Canadense - Wild Garlic, also called Wild Onion
*  Cornus - Wild Dogwood Tree
*  Pinus Palustris - Longleaf Pine
*  Carduus Nutans - Musk Thistle

And at least half again as many more still to be identified!

I know, I know - what on earth could Pin Oak do medicinally?  Nothing that I know of, but the leaves can be used in such things as meadmaking instead of oak chips and oak cubes for aging.  Longleaf Pine?  The green needles placed in boiling water and the steam inhaled help congested sinuses and lungs (and many parts are edible if you're Euell Gibbons, which I am not).

I don't expect to use all of these plants.  The inner bark of Dogwood is a very strong, considered "harsh", laxative.  Not going there.  The American Red Elder berries are not usable this year unfortunately.  Alehoof does have some mild medicinal properties but its claim to fame is in clearing beer.  I actually don't care for Hickory nuts and Maidenhair Fern is endangered in some states so I'll let it be.

But the Dandelion, Yellow Dock, Mullein, Sweet Violet, and Wild Garlic have already been put into use.  Gonna have boiled Musk Thistle root here in a little bit.  And, I've cultivated lavender, roses, a yearly-rotating variety of kitchen herbs, and my mother grows the best tomatoes you'll ever put in your mouth.

So, I'm now adding wild backyard plants to my complementary regimen.  Somehow I feel better already.

Or I did until I heard that my mother, who happened to run into my daughter recently, told her, "Oh, your mother is fine.  She pulled weeds out of the backyard this morning and she's eating them for lunch."  :)


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Vertigo into Vertigone in Two Easy Steps! XD

Very quickly--wanted to share this bit of success before I crash and burn entirely.

Late last evening, I got hit suddenly by three punches of vertigo within about 10 minute's time.  Today vertigo and nausea are washing over me wave after wave, tinnitus is absolutely shrieking like a banshee and my ears are poised to expel their contents like projectile vomiting.  Oh, and I've got pounding head pain as well.

I ate oatmeal with hempseed oil to see if that would settle my stomach.  Nothing happened.  I took both Robinul and Valium, the two prescriptions that my neurotologist gave me for Meniere's symptoms.  Two and half hours past and other than feeling drowsy as well, I had every symptom that I've had all day.

Between waves, I made 16 fl ozs of peppermint tea and put in two small spoonfuls of my homemade Honey Stuff which has a good dose of ginger in it into each teacup.  Ginger is perhaps the top-of-the-line non-Rx vertigo and nausea treatment out there.  I put Bach Flower Remedies Scleranthus, Wild Oat, and Gentian drops in the tea cup as well.

Not only does this peppermint/honey/citrus/ginger tea tastes utterly divine, but in this last half an hour the vertigo has slowed to a small constant rather than strong waves and the nausea has vanished completely.

Could it be that the meds simply took longer than 2 1/2 hours to work?  Possible but my stomach was actually empty enough when I took them that they should have hit my system within about 20 minutes or so.  They did not.

I can certainly feel them now nearly 3 hours later.  Hell, in another hour it'll be time for more and the last dose has only just begun.  I'm of the firm opinion that this tea rebuked the rising tide until the meds had a chance.

If you haven't got a jar of Honey Stuff in your fridge, consider making some up on a day when your over health and ability suns are shining.  It has proven itself valuable and, when stored in properly sanitized containers in the fridge, should last for at least a year.

I'm off for a crash landing.  Take care.  Hang in there. 

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Peace, love, herbs, and Honey Stuff

Physical vulnerability along with opportunistic viruses means: Time for peace, love, and Honey Stuff!

Got way, way too aggravated at the Office of Personnel Management last week. I believe I might have made myself physically vulnerable in the process. In addition, our house has been filled with plumbers, the gas company, the phone company, technicians, and repairmen of all sorts and every one of them has been hacking and coughing.

I was concerned that I might have to take the day off tomorrow from my full-time job of getting well but I realized that in fact,  I'll be working overtime.  No rest for the weary!

Here's a recipe for a natural honey, ginger, and citrus virus remedy that's as delicious as it is effective. Glad I've got some in the fridge already!

Gonna jump on this like a chicken on a june bug and mother-love it right out of my system. Mullein leaf tea and hops syrup now, neti pot, Sambucol (elderberry and echinacea syrup), and yarrow before bed. And soup with raw garlic stirred in just before I eat it. I know, I know, but raw garlic is useful for viruses. Once it's cooked, some of the therapeutic benefits disappear. Since that's why I'll be using it, it'll only get as hot as the soup itself right before I eat it.

Gonna get nice and peaceful underneath some rocks as well. Rocks just make me comfy and content, and when they're hot from the sun...oh me...  Bloodstone, amethyst, clear calcite, clear quartz, and rose quartz are all marvelous help for viruses. Smokey quartz is really nice for the aches and pains right at first.

This should be gone by tomorrow.

I might get so peacefully, tonically herbal that I put on a headband and start flashing peace signs. XD


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Swine flu - some links and ideas

President Obama has declared a public health emergency for swine flu. Consider the emergency the way you'd think of a hurricane emergency, he says.

In United States, swine flu has now been conclusively identified in California, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, and New York. It's in Mexico City as well. This strain is a combination of bird, pig, and human flu strains.

The Sparkling One cannot watch television and has not in more than a year. Movement on the TV screen triggers vertigo; therefore, she will not have the opportunity to overreact to the 24/7 news shows.

Here are some links that might be handy sources of non-television information.

CDC Emergency Preparedness & Response Site

American Red Cross: Preparing and Getting Trained

Welcome to the White House - US and has a link to a swine flu information update widget on the blog. Scroll down just a tad and look on the left for the swine flu widget link. It's the green one on the left of this page if you don't want to clog your hard drive.


I'm not going to restate the official recommendations. The U. S. Government has been recommending preparedness for years. If you're not ready, what on EARTH are you waiting for?

These are some additional things that might help. The entire Sparkling Family is doing/does these things as regularly as we can:

* Moderation in all things, including moderation. Don't blow your energy body away by freaking over anything. I've done it by overreacting. Isn't worth the trouble it takes to rebuild it.

* Consider getting certified in first aid and CPR. The American Red Cross is ALWAYS my recommendation for getting this kind of training. I performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking elderly woman in a restaurant in Meridian, Mississippi. You cannot imagine how it felt to hear her daughter say, "She's breathing! She's breathing!"

* Consider making up a batch of Honey Medicine if you've used up what you had. This is good for all viral issues and it just tastes good too.

* Get a nice, really clear, quarter-sized piece of tumbled clear quartz to keep in your pocket. Clear quartz has the folklore legend of being a "cure-all". Keeping it with you should help keep your overall body frequency a bit higher than normal. Average body frequencies run from 62-66 Hz. Edging towards 66 Hz is a good thing. Soap it up and rinse it off every time you wash your hands. If you have time, it'll get a good recharging if you can sit it in the sunshine for a couple of hours. They're quite inexpensive as well.

* For the sake of the rest of us, STAY HOME IF YOU'RE SICK WITH ANYTHING CONSIDERED "CATCHING". Please. Do I need to further explain this?

* Get a small bottle of hand sanitizer to keep in the glove box of your car and your purse as well. Think gasoline pump handles, store door handles, credit/debit card swipy things and the stylus--if you have hand sanitizer (or sanitizing wipes in a sealed container), you can wash up regularly. Those clear plastic bags that newspapers are in when they're home delivered make marvelous trash bags for cars and such. No crook is likely to break into your car to see what's inside it since it's clear and they'll see trash, no temptation to put off tossing it since it's so small it'll fill up rather quickly.

Honestly, influenza viruses are airborne for the most part. I had true flu once when I was in high school. Like to have died. It's like getting hit by a cannonball and never hearing the shot.

The Sparkling One cannot afford any more damage. She's going to do like she does for all the hurricanes that come this way and yes, we get them here in Alabama. Hurricane Katrina came through with sustained winds of 75 mph and we're 250 miles from the Gulf Coast.

Hurricanes we can deal with. We'll see how well we do with swine flu.




On Twitter--Parin Stormlaughter

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Home-Made Crystal-Charged Ice Packs (directions)

Home-Made Crystal-Charged Ice Packs


for 2 packs you'll need:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
2 pieces of cloth folded to fit...
2 fresh, intact zipper-type plastic bags

Combine the water and rubbing alcohol, wet the cloth and wring it out nearly all the way. Fold it smoothly and seal it up into the bag. Place in the coldest part of your freezer for at least one hour before use.


Notes: I used solarized smokey quartz water prepared ahead of time for the first two packs I made. Smokey quartz gives me good relief for body aches so I thought I'd see if an ice pack made with smokey quartz water would give enhanced relief. It seems to do a good job but of course, I'm always aware of the power of suggestion. Hey! If it works, it works.

I used two clean, never-put-on-a-baby's-bottom cloth diapers (regular kind not the sponge-in-the-middle sort). Two were perfect for the amount of liquid this makes. They fit into quart zipper bags just right too.

They work very well. They're very soft even frozen as cold as I can make them because the alcohol keeps the liquid from freezing.

I'm especially happy with how well they relieve what ails my neck and upper back. They're not as effective on other places (like my wrists, knees, and ankles). Not sure why. But they really give great relief for my head, neck, and upper back.

Less happy with how quickly they warm up. They're only cold for about 10 to 15 minutes and after that, back to the freezer for them. Too, the alcohol smell is rather apparent--comes right through the bag. Other than that, I'm pleased. They're CHEAP and easy to make, only take an hour to chill up, and are very soft and effective for parts of me.


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission under any circumstances. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more powerful.

Honey Medicine for Colds, Coughs, and Sore Throats - recipe

Honey Medicine
for
Colds, Coughs, and Sore Throats

* Wide-mouth quart canning jar, lid, and ring
* 2 cups raw honey, any flavor you like but tupelo is especially nice
* 1 lemon, well scrubbed, thinly sliced, and well mashed in the saucepan. Remove seeds you see and be sure to put in all the juice
* 1 orange, well scrubbed, thinly sliced, and well mashed in the saucepan. Remove seeds you see and be sure to put in all the juice
* 1 cup filtered water, spring water, or other non-chlorinated/non-fluoridated/non-distilled water
* ½ inch slice fresh ginger, finely minced but not grated
* 1 stick cinnamon (cassia), broken
* ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg or tiny pea-sized chunk (optional, for flavor only)


Wash the quart jar, lid, and ring in hot soapy water, rinse well, and bring to a boil in fresh hot water to sterilize. Remove from water, drain, and set aside.

Combine all medicine ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring gently rather frequently until the honey dissolves in the water. Carefully skim off any scum that rises. Do not boil! Simmer for 10 minutes.

Carefully lift out the pieces of fruit and put into the sterilized jar. Carefully pour liquid and remaining ingredients into jar, wipe the top clean, cover with the lid an ring, and allow to cool. The lid will ‘seal’ and ping. Release the seal, re-cover, and refrigerate until needed.

Use as often as you wish when your throat feels scratchy or you feel like you might be coming down with something. Rarely will anyone need more than one serving. This is potent medicine.

To use, turn the jar over a couple of times to mix it up and let settle for a couple of seconds.

For one person, pour two or three nice big tablespoons or so through a strainer into a big cup of boiling water and mix it up well. For the grownups, add a shot of bourbon if you wish.

For more servings, pour about a cupful through a strainer into a 44 oz tea pot. Fill the tea pot with boiling water and share with the whole family so that, hopefully, no one else will get sick. Drink it as warm as you can stand.

Nice to sweeten hot tea too, herbal or Lipton but you might wish you hadn’t if someone suddenly gets sick and there isn’t any left.

If everything was well-sterilized and the mixture properly simmered but not boiled, this will stay good in the fridge for a year.


Notes: Many recipes perform well with substituted ingredients. This is not one of them. You’ll only be making this once or twice a year so do it right.

Don’t make this if you can’t get high-quality, good-tasting honey because the flavor of it will only intensify as it waits in the fridge. Honey has a natural form of hydrogen peroxide and it forms the recipe’s medicinal foundation. There are more expensive bourbons but if you chose to put a shot or two in a cup, Wild Turkey 101 Proof has a flavor that matches these ingredients deliciously. The lower proof is nice too.

DO NOT use ground cinnamon. Don’t make this if you don’t have a fresh, high-quality, fragrant stick of cinnamon (cassia). Stick cinnamon has medicinal value and this recipe relies on the quantity in a full stick. Cassia is one of the “50 Fundamental Herbs” in Chinese medicine. Get the good stuff for this recipe.

DO NOT use ground ginger. Don’t make this if you can’t get a beautiful, fragrant, firm piece of fresh ginger. The recipe relies on the medicinal value of the volatile oils in fresh, young ginger rhizomes. Avoid consuming the minced pieces if you’re taking Warfarin or have gallstones.

Don’t make this if you can’t get a beautiful, fresh orange and a beautiful, fresh lemon. Orange juice and dried peel, lemon juice and lemon zest, might make an inoffensive beverage, but the recipe relies on the medicinal value of the bioflavonoids and antiseptic properties in the fresh fruit and the terpene oils and aldehydes in the fresh peel. Drink a glass of orange juice or lemon-water if you want the nutritional value of the juice.


Sources:
The Magic and Medicine of Plants, (c) April 1990, Reader's Digest Association Inc, Pleasantville, New York
The National Honey Board website, www.honey.com
Complete Lemon Information from www.drugs.com
Oranges: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy from the University of California website


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission under any circumstances. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more powerful.