Shimmer: A Solitudes Ambient Experience

Graphic courtesy of Amazon.com

This is my latest favorite cd for rest and relaxation.

You can listen to samples of the sound tracks 

at this LINK.

Relax and enjoy!

The Week in Blessings~Sunday~AD.TV

While visiting with an old friend at the chili cook-off last night,

we learned that one of our favorite ministries,

Amazing Discoveries,

is now providing live internet streaming via satellite.

Yeah!

We spent some time today watching several programs,

mainly on health topics of special interest.

If you're interested,

you can watch all 5 lectures

here at Life at it's Best

for free (medium resolution.)

graphic courtesy of amazon.com

I am currently enjoying Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

This is the most common sense book I've read yet regarding proper diet

and I am implementing some more changes to my daily food choices.

We were/are very blessed by these resources,

hope you will enjoy them too.

~~Thankful Thursdays~~Dec 16

Today I'm abundantly grateful for natural remedies!

The Treasure is recovering nicely from a bout of 'Walking Pneumonia'

(which required a Dr. visit and antibiotics)

and the Man and I are recovering from similar symptoms
that attacked us both about two weeks ago.

We've been using:

•  copious amounts of raw garlic (antiviral + antibacterial)
• alternating hot (3 minutes) and cold (30 seconds) baths or showers (invigorates the immune system)
• eucalyptus essential oil drops placed on cloth beside head when lying down (miraculous at calming cough, also is antiviral + antibacterial)
• raw honey + fresh lemon juice (mix 1:1) with a few drops eucalyptus oil (cough sryup, 1 tsp. every 3 hours or as needed)
• steam inhalations (calms cough, and changing the temp or humidity helps kill the 'bugs')
• sipping citrus juices (increases vitamin C intake)
• sipping mullein tea (amazing how it relaxes the bronchioles and clears them out!)
• drinking lots of fluids (thins secretions, makes them easier to expel)
• Vick's vapor rub--rubbed on soles of feet and then socks placed over (helps relieve congestion and cough)
• prayer (we know who The Great Physician is!)

We were doing a decent job of holding the infection down,

but couldn't quite kick it,

and I could tell it was infiltrating my lungs.

After listening to my whining far too long, my good friend L

shared a personal-experience-story with me,

and I was sooo impressed I sent the Man to town

for some Echinacea + Goldenseal tincture.

After dosing ourselves with it every two hours

we both started feeling better--within a matter of hours.

I'd made a Dr. appointment, as in the past, when an infection goes to my lungs

I have never recovered from it without allopathic medicine's help.

The morning of the Dr. appt I woke up feeling so much better

I called and canceled the appointment.

So far, so good, though we are not 100% over it yet.

Still resting, doing natural remedies, praying.

Grateful, nonetheless!

Many thanks to our good friend, Mrs. S, and for L. for sharing their experience,

suggestions and advice!

Water Quenches Fire

Note the white blistered area...and disregard the blackened areas!
(They are just grime that has attached to the remaining bandaid adhesive
that I hadn't cleaned off yet!)

A couple days ago the Treasure was running around

barefoot outside as she usually does

when she spied a cast iron pan lying on the ground beside the compost pile...

and being a kinesthetic-learning-style-kid

(or, more likely, just being a typical kid who acts before thinking)

she put her foot on it "just because."

What she didn't know or anticipate

was that the-Man had recently had it in the fire to season it

and had just removed it to let it cool

and then gone on about his other business.

I was working indoors when she came in

and very nonchalantly said,

"Momma, I stepped on something hot and burned my foot."

There were no tears, no drama.

(Maybe that should have been my first clue!)

I asked what happened and got a rather vague response...

so I told her to go wash her foot and soak it in some cold water for a while.

She washed her foot in the tub and

a few minutes later I heard her go back outside...

I thought very little of it...

but then about three minutes after that she came back inside crying

and telling me how much her foot hurt.

I took a good look at it, 

saw that it was a second degree burn with blisters still intact,

 and told her to go put it back in the cold water,

which she did with much crying and drama.

While she was soaking it in the tub of cold water

(which was very dirty from the previous foot washing)

I ran a 5 gallon bucket of cold water

and put it beside her chair at the kitchen table

and quickly found a crafty activity for her to do...

I had her come in to the kitchen and sit with her foot in the bucket

for an hour...with much wailing and gnashing of teeth on her part...

but with my promise that at the end of the hour she would feel much better.

About 20-30 minutes into the hour,

the tears dried up and she was enjoying her crafting

(it helped that a friend came to visit in the meantime!)

and by the time the hour was up

she was pain-free and ready to go outside again and play.

I put some burn cream on the blisters just for good measure

and covered it with a heavy-duty and very large and sticky bandaid,

promised her "consequences" if she didn't

wear some sort of shoes for the rest of the day

and sent her off to play.

No complaints.

Next day she was running around everywhere barefoot

(big, sticky bandaid still in place)

and still no complaints.....

***********************************

I share this because, once again, I am awed

at the healing power of simple pure water!

Soaking a second-degree burn in cold water for 1-2 hours,

(do NOT use ice!)

until the aching, burning pain has completely gone away,

is the most effective remedy, natural or otherwise, I've found.

I've had an occasional accidental burn myself,

and I consistently have success with the cold water treatment,

whereas the ones I've chosen a different treatment method

remain painful for quite some time.

**********************

Now, I believe preventing burns is quite prudent...

and some may criticize my "mothering abilities"

because I allow my child to run around outside our home with bare feet...

but I'm comfortable with my choices.

If we try to prevent every bad thing from happening

I believe we can create very neurotic children who are afraid of everything...

and where's the fun in living that way?

I was a country kid who detested wearing shoes

and kicked them off at every opportunity...

but I soon learned that I needed them in certain places

to prevent pokes from stickers and such...

and I'm whole-heartedly grateful that my parents

let me spend so much time with my bare feet firmly connected to the bare earth...

it is an amazing, wonderful part of childhood,

and truly, I pity children whose feet fester in hot sweaty shoes year-round,

who never know what a stubbed toe is, or a splinter...

yet they never get to experience the texture of sand between their toes,

or the tickle of grass on their soles,

or the exhiliration of simply squishing in a huge mud hole...

I believe much is to be learned through the senses of our feet...

and one very important lesson my daughter has learned

is a very effective way to treat second-degree burns

to herself or others when she encounters this kind of situation again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As an after~thought I'd like to recommend

three resources for further education and enjoyment:

-1-

Comfort for the Burned and Wounded

by John W. Keim $11.95+sh

-2-

Burn Aid by John W. Keim

(Written for the Amish by the Amish)

I purchased this book for $4.95 at an Amish seed store...

You can get more information on acquiring this book from:

The School of Self-Applied Prevention

PO Box 269

Middleburg, OH 43319

-3-

The New Concept in Treating Burns

$2.00 from

 Plain Interests Research

420 Weaver Road

Millersburg, PA 17061

(I purchased this from an Amish community as well...)

Happy Reading!

Easy Charcoal Poultice

A couple of weeks ago, on our last "moving" trip to the farm,

we arrived at Poppa J's late Wednesday and made haste to crawl into bed.

I have a pallet on the floor of the small room where we sleep when we are there

that I keep made up for the Treasure

and I simply opened it up for her and she snuggled in for the night.

Next morning, Thursday, when she awoke, she showed me an "itchy spot"

on her upper left arm, on the inner aspect,

that looked like a mosquito bite:

small open area in the center with about a half-inch diameter of swelling,

and it was reddened from her scratching.

We'd had the windows open during the night,

I'd seen mosquitoes outside during the day,

so I didn't think much of it,

and besides we needed to get going for the day.

That night, she showed me the area again

and complained of pain with the itchiness--

and I was alarmed to see that the swelling around the bite

had reached a diameter of two inches and was red and warm.

(I didn't have my camera with me, so no photos of the lesion.)

It dawned on me that there is an occasional brown recluse spider

to be found in that house,

and it was possible that one might have bitten her during the night.

I have found, over many years of experimenting with natural remedies,

that one of the most critical factors in the success of these methods

is starting treatment as soon as possible.

Therefore, upon considering the possiblity of a brown recluse bite

I sprang into action.

I found a clean gallon sized zipper bag

and into it I measured 1/3 cup psyllium husk fiber

and 2/3 cup activated charcoal powder.

The psyllium husk fiber I purchased at Walmart,

and the activated charcoal can be purchased at a health food store or online.

I closed the bag and mixed the powders together,

then opened the bag carefully

(charcoal powder can leave a stain on some materials)

and gradually poured in 1+2/3 to 2 cups of water.

Zipping the bag up again, I mushed the whole mass around

until it was well mixed and I had the lumps mashed out.

This shows the gook after adding part of the water--

it was still too dry so I added some more.

(I usually do this by feel, but this time I measured

so I could give you more exact proportions.)

As the psyllium husk fiber absorbs water it expands greatly in size!

Once the mass was thoroughly mixed,

I patted it out inside the bag to about 1/4 inch thickness.

I opened the bag a little to expel the air as I did this--

by this time the charcoal powder was well mixed with the

psyllium husk fiber and wet and did not go "poof" all over

like it is prone to do when dry.

At this point the charcoal poultice is ready to be used.

I took a knife or some scissors and trimmed a square to cover the raised and red area

on the treasures arm and placed it there,

then covered it with a telfa/non-stick dressing

and secured it in place with an ace-wrap type bandage.

I removed the poultice in 20 minutes and replaced it with a fresh one,

repeating this cycle every 20 minutes for an hour.

At the end of the hour cycle, it was late,

so we put the fourth poultice in place,

placed the remainder of the poultice-gel material

in the refrigerator in the bag I'd mixed it in, and went to bed.

Next morning, Friday, we removed the poultice

and the area was still swollen and red,

so we changed the poultice and left it on until evening.

That night, 24 hours after placing the very first poultice,

we saw some sign of improvement,

so we applied a fresh poultice and left it while sleeping.

The following morning, Saturday, the area was markedly improved,

but we again applied a fresh poultice,

and we changed it again that night.

On Sunday morning the redness and swelling was completely gone,

and I breathed a sigh of relief!

Whatever kind of venom it was that caused that large reaction

had been completely pulled out of her skin tissues

and adsorbed by the charcoal

and we were extremely grateful to have avoided

the cost and inconvenience of a trip to the doctor,

not to mention the pain and discomfort

and possible disfiguration she might have suffered

if it actually was a brown recluse spider bite.

This is the easiest way to make a charcoal poultice that I have found so far,

thanks to the advice and instruction of my good friend Mrs. S.

This can be made up ahead of a crisis and stored in the freezer if you wish.

(If left in the refrigerator too long, we have had it mold.)

From personal experience, we have found this to be a very effective

and inexpensive treatment for various bites, stings and infections.

It is important to change the poultice every 20 minutes for the first hour,

and I would recommend changing it every hour for about 6 hours while awake,

then at least twice a day until no longer needed.

The charcoal is very effective in drawing toxins out,

but you don't want to leave those fresh toxins at the site at first

because they can become re-absorbed by the skin.

Another precaution is this:

if you have an open draining wound,

this kind of gel poultice needs to be changed frequently,

and do NOT cover and tape the area to make it air-tight!

Bacteria and infection love dark warm moist places

we have had some challenges in overcoming an infection rapidly when we did this.

Change the poultice/dressing frequently,

tape or bind it loosely so air can circulate to the wound,

and give the wound some time to dry out periodically.

Three resources I'd like to recommend to you for further learning

about the many uses and health benefits of activated charcoal:

First, a website: Charcoal Remedies.com

Next, two books:

1. Rx: Charcoal by Agatha Thrash, M.D. & Calvin Thrash, M. D.

2. Charcoal Remedies.com By John Dinsley

We have found charcoal to be indispensible in our first-aid kit and home,

and we recommend everyone learn to use it and keep it on hand!

Fruit Fly Trap

Are the fruit flies driving you crazy this time of year?

They have invaded our house and I'm on the warpath!

I learned this little trick on-line not too long ago,

and it really works,

so I thought I'd share it with you in case you hadn't seen it yet.

Grab an old jar that you don't care about,

some apple cider vinegar,

a piece of plastic wrap,

a rubber band,

and a pencil.

Pour some apple cider vinegar into the jar

then place the plastic wrap over it lightly

and poke it down into the jar to make a funnel shape.

Rubber band it on while maintaining that funnel in the middle,

then use the sharp pencil to poke a little hole at the bottom of the plastic.

Set it where the flies are and walk away.

It's that simple!

For some reason a swarm of fruit flies descended on the countertop

in our bathroom, so I placed a trap there.

A little while later, you can see that most of them are on top

of the plastic wrap.....

but at least they aren't swarming around me!

Eventually the flies will find their way into the tiny hole

at the bottom of the funnel shape

on their way to investigate the cider vinegar.

Once they get into the jar

they are unable to find their way

back out of that tiny hole.

Twenty-four to forty-eight hours later,

this is what we have:

that pesky swarm of fruit flies drowned in cider vinegar.

Now THAT makes me happy!

:D

Making Charcoal

We had a leak in the roof of the 5th wheel during a summer rainshower

that we didn't discover until about a week later...

the musty smell was overpowering.

The-Man-of-the-Place went to work making charcoal.

He dug two pits in the garden area

and split up some oak blocks we had on hand

(picked up for free from a place in town that makes rail road ties)

He started a fire and placed them on top

until they were burning well.

He then covered up the burning blocks with barrel halves

that he cut just for this purpose,

and piled the dirt around them to make an air-tight seal.

He walked away and forgot about the project

until the next day when he removed the barrel halves

and picked up the charcoal blocks that were produced.

These were placed in broiler pan trays and misted down with water

and placed around the 5th wheel to help pull out the musty odor.

Charcoal is a great deodorizor and has many applications.

Caution should be taken because it does stain if it comes in contact

with a surface that you don't want to turn black or gray.

Charcoal also is a wonderful adsorber that is used for

many medicinal purposes.

But that will be another post...

It took a few weeks, with some replacement of the charcoal blocks

but the musty odor is now gone and the 5th wheel liveable again.

And, the-Man now has a stash of charcoal blocks

to use for his autumn dutch-oven-cooking passion!

Onion--My Friend!!



Any kind of onion will work!



I recently had the misfortune of making a very ungraceful spectacle

of myself in the middle of a pizza parlor...

(fortunately in a town in another state...)

We had ordered and paid for our veggie pizza

and I had filled three large glasses with ice and water

and was walking over the the sectioned-off area

where the Treasure had chosen our booth...

I had three glasses of ice water in my hands

and was looking at her

instead

of where my feet were going....

I vaguely remember there was a difference in the floor color

but I completely missed the fact that there were two steps up...

Now, you can usually recover if you miss one step,

but two?

The harder I tried to recover, the faster I went...

I couldn't even control the direction I was heading!

I must have landed on my knees first,

(due to having my hands full)

and then hit the edge of a table with my right shoulder

which flipped me over

and when I took my next (painful) breath

I was on my back side looking up

with pain shooting all over my body and

wondering what had just happened!

A couple of strangers came running...

and when I could talk again, well,

...I just started giggling!

What else is a girl to do in such a situation?



10 days after the incident...lots of healing has already happened.



I was finally able to get some ice packs for my aching knees,
and got through a few bites of supper.
We still had a horse-trailer and truck load of stuff to move into a storage unit,
but we found a store with some first aid supplies
and did the initial clean up of the rug-burn to the knee on the left.

By this time I was making a lot of old-lady noises
as moving hurt a lot!
But we had work to do, and the Man was dog-tired
and I decided to cowboy up and help him get it done.
The abrasion on the left was painful,
but the swelling and aching in the joint on the right was the worst.

Later that evening we made it to Poppa J's
and before heading to bed I decided to try a home remedy
that I had heard--and then read about--
so I sliced up an onion,
slapped the raw slices all over the right knee
and taped it all in place.
Amazingly, two hours later when I got up
to answer Mother Nature's call
the right knee swelling was all gone
and I could bear weight on it with no pain,
even going up and down stairs!
I still had bruising, and kneeling wasn't comfortable,
but it was an amazing and speedy recovery!

I couldn't bring myself to put the onion slices
over the abrasions on the left knee,
and it took three weeks for the pain and swelling
to subside in it.
(And for the road-rash to heal!)

A quote from the herbal (now out of print, but still available for a price!)
"10 Essential Herbs" by Lalitha Thomas:

In addition to the active ingredients in Onion that help it to break up fluid congestion in body tissues, such as in bruising and swelling, there is also an action that is anti-inflammatory. I have often used an Onion/Salt poultice for the infamous "water-on-the-knee" injury common to many knee twisting sports. In every case so far this self-help approach has been successful--breaking up and drawing out blood and lymph fluids with little or no inflammation to the tissues. The result has been quicker recovery . The same treatment works wonders on sprained ankles and bruised ribs. pg.227
and
Onion breaks up the congestion of many types of fluids under the skin, including blood which causes bruising, and congested lymph which causes additional swelling and pain. Use Onion as a poultice, finely chopped, blended, or sliced into a convenient form and applied directly to a fresh bruise or to an old one, or use it as a preventive measure on an area that might develop a bruise. If extra fluid-drawing power is needed, mix 1/3 to 1 equal part of table salt into the poultice. For ordinary bruises, Onion usually does the job all by itself.
Think of a slice of Onion as a quick tape-on-remedy for most small to medium size bumps and bruises. Use a full-fledged Onion poultice for larger areas of bruising...
Comfrey is a great addition to Onion in any "bruise situation." pg. 231
and
ONION/SALT POULTICE: Onion breaks up congestion and/or toxins under the skin that cause bruising, swelling, inflammation, and pain. It then helps to move the toxins out through the blood, lymph and skin. Salt adds drawing power to the Onion poultice. With this combination I have often had dramatic, overnight results in a large variety of situations, such as water-on-the-knee, twisted or jammed joints and appendages, renewed swelling of old injuiries or of surgeries done to repair those injuries, lung congestion, other organ congestion, "bumps-on-the-head" that result in large knots and /or bruises...just about any situation where you need the kinds of action Onion provides. In some situations it may be more convenient to use a plain Onion poultice without the salt mixed into it. This can work very well. The salt is mainly for extra drawing power of unwanted fluids.
Here is how to make this  poultice. Grind, or finely chop, enough Onion to cover the area to be helped. To this "Onion mush," add salt in the proportions of 2:1, that is for 1 cup of chopped onion you would add about 1/2 cup of salt. Sea salt is preferable and in any case it is best to use salt that is not iodized when possible. Pile this mixture on and/or around the joint, bruise, bump, imflammation, sprian, swelling, etc. Place it either directly onto the skin, or wrap the mixture in a thin, natural fiber cloth, if this is more convenient. If put directly onto the skin first, hold the mixture onto the area with a thin, natural fiber cloth and fasten the cloth in place with an elastic bandage or with surgical tape. Since the poultice is wet, and since you will want to keep it that way, wrap the entire area with a plastic bag or plastic wrap. Seal the edges as best you can with maksing tape or whatever you have. If you keep the skin around the poultice dry, it works well to tape the plastic wrap to the skin which usually forms an adequate seal. At least it minimizes leakage.
The best time to apply an Onion/Salt Poultice is at night so you can sleep with it on and remove it in the morning. I don't find it worth all the preparation unless it is done at a time when it can be left on for at least two hours. In removing it you may find that the Onions will have a strange odor. This is from the fluids pulled out of the area by the poultice. Have a plastic bag handy to throw the whole thing into for convenient disposal. Some People find the Onion aroma lingers on the skin. If this is unwanted, it is easily removed by washing the skin and then rubbing the affected area with lemon juice.
A one-night poultice is usually enough to clear up most conditions. For stubborn situations, such as a lont-term lung congestion or an old injury, you may repeat the poultice as needed.
There are circumstances where a heated poultice is useful, such as for lung congestion. For these times it is a simple matter to put the poultice, cloth and all, into the oven on a baking dish until it is warmed enough. It can be kept warm with a hot water bottle.
Remember, this poultice, without the salt, still works very well. The salt is there for its potent drawing popwer which is necessary when there is more that a little swelling involved...
Comfrey is an additional supplement to use with and Onion poultice...pgs. 239-40.

I do enjoy experimenting with herbal remedies,
but I don't go looking for this kind of trouble to try them on!
I am glad I remembered to try Onion in this situation,
and I will definately use it again should the need arise.
Onions are found everywhere in the world
and have many more medicinal uses than described above.

I find it very satisfying to be able to meet out first-aid needs
with natural and inexpensive medicines.

Is Toilet Paper a Necessity?

Do you have a weekly grocery budget that includes toilet paper,

facial tisssue and paper towels?

Are you as tired as I am of the rising cost of paper products

eroding what is left of your budget for actual food?

Does it annoy you that toilet paper, that almighty "necessity"

is actually something that you use once for hygenic properties

and then flush.....never (hopefully) to be seen again?

Does that seem a lot like just flushing

your hard-earned and not-so-plentiful-dollars down the toilet?

I thought so, too!

So, several years ago I began searching for viable alternatives.

In my lifetime, I have never used anything but toilet paper,

save the rare situation when I was caught unprepared in the wilds

and had to use whatever I could find.

:)

Two alternatives that quickly came to mind

included things I'd heard about since I was a kid.

Folks always joked about using corn cobs for 'doing business'...

and I remember my parents telling stories from their childhood

of always having an old Sears & Roebuck catalog handy in the outhouse.

Mom said they always used the black and white pages first,

as they were softer when crumpled,

and she always dreaded when they were gone

and they had to use up the crisper color-printed pages.

Corn cobs just don't appeal to me,

and we don't get a Sears & Roebuck catalog any more.

(even if we did, I trust my mom's judgement...

I don't even consider those crispy,

all color pages to be any kind of an alternative!)

But I did consider using the pages from an old phonebook.

Then I remembered that we are still using a flush toilet

and have a septic system, and somehow I don't think

stuffing yellow-pages down there would work very well

or keep me in the-Man-of-the-Place's good graces.

So I went on-line to see if I could find any other creative alternatives.

I finally came across an article (which I can no longer find or I would give a link)

that made mention of a very simple alternative.

I quickly emailed the author requesting more information.

He was a physician who was born and raised in another country and culture,

and he kindly answered my many questions.

Basically, millions of people in many parts of the world do not have the access

to paper hygiene products that we do here,

and even if they did they could not afford them.

But they have a basic, simple way to take care of 'business'.

Whether the toilet is a squat style or western bowl type,

you can easily clean up with simple soap and water.

After 'toileting', have a container handy that has

some sort of place on it with which you can fairly accurately aim a stream,

(such as a small pitcher, or a freezer container with square corners)

as well as a source of water, either a sink, spigot or bucket of water.

Fill the container with clean water and have it handy.

Wet your hand (the non-dominant one for those who are squeamish

or have questionable handwashing practices)

with water and then get some soap on it,

and use that hand to clean where the sun don't shine.

With your dominant hand, pick up the water container and aim the stream

at the part(s) you just cleaned, and rinse them and your soapy hand very well.

Grab the washcloth or small towel you have handy

and dry things off.

Next is an important tip for continuing good health:

Wash both your hands very well with soap and water!

Now, don't you feel all fresh and clean?

Once you try this enough to become proficient at it,

you will be amazed that you spent your entire life using yucky toilet paper.

Toilet paper just doesn't get you clean the way soap and water does.

And just think how much money you'll save!

All the gear you'll need for your new hygiene habits fit nicely on a small shelf

or in a little drawer. Just make sure they are conveniently located.

And don't be afraid to experiment.

The equipment above belongs to me.

The-Man-of-the-Place had his own preferences.

He likes to use a plastic water bottle with a special fitting he put in it

called a "nutted ninety." He ran across it in his previous line of work

and isn't sure if it could be purchased in a hardware store or not.

Expirement. Find what works for you.

And loosen up, laugh at yourself a little.

We're all in this together!

If you decide to give up the toilet paper habit,

and extra perk is needing less shelf space for all those disposables.

I love the extra "white space" in my cupboards,

and I love making my grocery budget stretch further.

We find it very satisfying to know that we don't need

to rush to the store in a panic next time it is announced

in the media that there is a shortage of TP in the local stores.

By keeping a year's supply of bar soap in the pantry,

We have the calm security of knowing we have what we need already at home,

and we know how to use it!

Downsizing doesn't need to be painful.

In fact, it can be really fun!