Wednesday's Question: Natural Remedies

Posted on 30-Aug-2006 at 15:10

Nancy Carter has an interesting post over at the HomesteadBlogger Front Porch about natural remedies.  What's your favorite natural remedy?  Nancy's is acidophilus. 

I've certainly described my absolute favorite natural remedy (lavender) plenty of times here and on the Front Porch.  I think now it's time to put some focus on my second favorite: witch hazel!

My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all used Dickinson's witch hazel as I was growing up.  They used witch hazel for cooling off on hot days or when fever struck; nothing feels as good when you're in bed hot as can be as a nice, cool washrag soaked in witch hazel.  With its astringent properties, witch hazel is a great cleanser as well.  I didn't realize until I was an adult how well it worked, but you can bet I packed a bottle of Dickinson's when I went to the hospital to have the Little.  Not only did I feel refreshed, I also felt comforted, thanks to the sentimental value of a scent I've known since my youngest days!

Did your grandmother use Pond's cold cream to take off her makeup?  Mine did, and so did my mom.  I rarely saw my mother in makeup, but the few times she wore it, she taught me to remove mascara and all the other "goo" with Pond's.  As I learned at the Fort Nisqually Brigade Encampment recently, cold cream contains witch hazel...which is why our foremothers used to stock up on both products: because they are natural, gentle, and they work!

Witch hazel also happens to be a lovely plant to look at.  My next homestead will have witch hazel, especially if I can figure out a way to plant it in containers that can travel with us!  Want to learn more about witch hazel (the plant and the product)?  Photographer Steven Foster has pulled together a good, concise history, including a few of the ways the plant became the product my family has used for generations.  He's also got some neat stock photos available as well, in case you're wondering how witch hazel would look in your garden!  For a more scientific insight, check out this Wikipedia entry about witch hazel.

"Witch" me luck on finding some witch hazel for my container garden to come!

Shower Scrub for Coffee Lovers

Posted on 10-Aug-2006 at 07:16

I'm not a coffee drinker, but The Man is.  Once we get him a coffee maker, you can bet I'll be stealing his left-over grounds for this perky scrub!

What you need:

• 1/4 C light olive oil
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 C raw turbinado sugar
• 1/2 C freshly used coffee grounds
• 15 drops peppermint essential oil

How to use them:

• Combine everything in a medium-sized bowl and blend it with a fork. 
• Place the scrub in a wide-mouth jar and store it in a cool place.  It will keep for a week or two, maybe longer if you refrigerate it.
• While showering, apply handfuls of the scrub all over wet skin, starting with your feet and working your way up.  Pay particular attention to rough skin in areas like elbows, heels, and the like.
• After using the scrub, rinse off and use your regular cleansing products (preferably a mild soap or body wash).  Dry off with a fluffy towel, and remember to apply lotion to seal in moisture.
• Keep in mind that body scrubs shouldn't be used more than once or twice a week, especially for those with sensitive skin.

Pantry Pride

Posted on 8-Aug-2006 at 05:12

Tired of little bugs getting into your hard-earned pantry stores?  Keep grain moths and other yucky invaders out of your cupboards and pantry by taping whole, dried bay leaves to the shelves and the sides of the storage area.  (One more reason to have a nice organic herb garden!)

Are You a Lavender Lover?

Posted on 4-Aug-2006 at 15:04

One of the herbs I consider to be a must-have is lavender.  When I first plotted the design for my butterfly garden in the flower bed that was originally just a "contractor special" in my front yard, I added two varieties of lavender simply because I love the scent so much.  As time went on, I learned that you can not only enjoy cut lavender in potpourri and sachets, but you can also clean with the oil, cook with the stalks, oil, buds and blossoms, and enjoy a good night's rest thanks to aromatherapy and scrumptious body products.

Granted most of the time my lavender goodies (such as method's lavender cleaning supplies) are store-bought, but when it comes to cooking, there's something special about being able to walk out and grab stalks right off your own home-grown, organic lavender plants.  That thought is what led me to my Friday Going Green contribution over at the HomesteadBlogger Front Porch.  I pulled together just a small sampling of websites that together offer dozens of recipes for enjoying lavender in your food and on your body.  Those of you that enjoy making gifts ahead for the holidays will especially enjoy the recipes over at Glenbrook Farms...think bath salts, body butters and the like.  Ahhhh...lavender!  Gotta love it!

Crockpot Recipes

Posted on 12-Jul-2006 at 10:36

Okay, so I'm desperately seeking crockpot recipes.  So far I've found one website that I actually like (ie it was professional looking and didn't have a gazillion pop-ups on it or a bunch of dopey "lose weight with this magical pill/potion/tea" ads).

My mom has a handful of cookbooks that I can look through...but I want to know other people's tried and true favorites too.  The Man is a major carnivore, and the Little is a picky eater.  But she does like "beans" (aka not-real-spicy chili).  And spaghetti.  Though getting things like ravioli and tortellini into her are a chore. 

Sooooo...what's your favorite crockpot recipe?  Huh huh huh?  We got a bigger pot so I can make a larger portion and freeze some...my answer to food preservation here on the suburban homestead.  What do you like to make for a small family that translates well to leftovers, or for a big family that gobbles it down?

Technology on the Homestead

Posted on 10-Jul-2006 at 08:54

It's interesting to me how technology can be both the fulfiller of my goals (by allowing me to work from home full-time) and also the bane of my existence (by putting me at its mercy when things don't go right, as they've gone lately with my computers and internet access).  While I make good use of certain types of technological advances, such as the computer, my microwave, my washer and dryer, and the like, at certain times they serve as irritants.

For instance, for some time I was so reliant upon the microwave that if the power went out I was up the creek without a paddle for meals.  (Buy a camp stove.  Problem solved.  Til an acquaintance of the Ex borrowed it and has never returned it, despite repeated requests.  Grrrr.  Time to buy another camp stove, it would appear!)  I also really enjoyed the technology incorporated in the electric lawn mower.  It's powered by a rechargeable battery, and it is much quieter and less obnoxious smelling than a gas powered mower.  (Til the battery went bad and it only hold a quarter of a charge or so...which is good for most of the front yard, but only a quarter of the backyard at a time.  Grrr.  Time to buy a new batter!)

Don't even get me started on the refurbished laptop I bought from someone two years back, that has allowed me to build a career again, right from my home.  Said laptop, which I happen to really enjoy using, has already been repaired extensively thanks to a virus; I lucked out and received that repair for free from a savvy IT person I know.  Now, last week my ISP went down, and I decided to use a different one.  The problem is that my lappy's port is broken and not recognizing their hardware.  *sigh*  The temporary fix (an adaptor that I thought was available) isn't going to work after all...it's the wrong kind of adaptor!  It actually does the opposite of what I need it to do (turns the port into two USB ports, rather than becoming a port that the card can plug into, that then plugs into a USB port).  Following the trend, well, you know what I'm going to say about the laptop.  GRRRRRRRR!

I love the fact that we have access to such technology.  It really does make running a home, business, homestead (out on acreage or in the 'burbs), or combination thereof much more efficient and effective.  It's especially handy since I've learned to take myself off the leash of the Internet and return to having a life, instead of working all hours.  The problem comes at times like these, when I have to rely on the technology or assistance of others (such as hijacking my new hubby's laptop, which has a working port for the antenna!), which leads to a bottleneck here on the home front. 

Proof positive of why I have a love-hate relationship with tech things.  I love to hate 'em.  How about you?

The Freezer: The Suburban Homesteader's Friend

Posted on 3-Jul-2006 at 22:10

Today I actually spent some time putting away food and ended feeling like I'd really taken care of some business around the old suburban homestead.  To me, having some canned and frozen foods put aside for a time of need makes a world of difference over how prepared I feel for emergencies.  While I don't have the opportunity right now to put in a large garden, nor do I have the urge to try home canning, I do enjoy getting a nice big box of strawberries and grapes over at Costco, washing them, and getting them set away in the freezer.

Can you tell what I spent part of my afternoon doing?  Yep, went through several pounds of strawberries and grapes today.  Now I've got about a half dozen bags of grapes and a big bag of strawberries (hulled and ready to go) set aside in my freezer, along with other stockpiled goodies.  That's what made me realize how important it is to pass along this little tip: Urban and suburban homesteaders shouldn't get down in the mouth thinking they don't have a huge garden, hunting space, or food storage area.  Growing your own goodies in containers on your balcony or patio, or in a single flower bed, or stocking up at the co-op or farmers market, then freezing or canning your largesse, can work just as well.

Remember, it's not how much land you have, but how good a steward you are of what you do have, that makes you a homesteader!

Change in the Air

Posted on 22-Jun-2006 at 13:28

Two years ago, my garden consisted of a single grape tomato plant my mom brought me in a nice big container.  That plant brought a nice harvest of tomatoes, which worked out well since my then-toddler absolutely loved them.  She would eat tomatoes right off the plant (good thing they were organic...no bug sprays or chemical fertilizers on my plants)! 

Last summer I was going through a divorce, and I figured I'd probably have to give up my house fairly soon, so I planted a nice big garden...all in containers.  We had a bell pepper plant, a grape tomato plant, zucchini, peas, green beans, eggplant, and a bunch of other things I can't even remember now!  I tracked how it all grew and relished the thought that even if we had to move, our garden and potential harvest would go with us.

This year, however, I knew the end was near.  Instead of taking the time to plant anything, I put the old plants in the compost and passed on the containers to my best friend and my mom.  I'm still going to have to sell the house, but where I'll live is more up in the air.  (Don't get me wrong, it's for a much more positive reason.  I like the sound of wedding bells!  I'm now selling because I want to be debt-free for this next pathway through my journey of life; plus we'll probably move in a few months anyway!)

Now, having begun this blog, I'm finding a lot more urban and suburban homesteaders here at HomesteadBlogger than I had expected to find.  That's exciting to me.  I'm very "into" making the most of small, organized spaces.  Frankly, I look forward to having an apartment or living on-base just because I make the assumption that our home will be smaller than the house I now live in.  It's half empty anyway, and the maintenance and empty space just feel like such a waste to me!  Thanks to my other forays into suburban homesteading, I now know how much I can do and how much I don't want to do.  A year ago my dream was to sell my house and get a couple of acres and a cabin or manufactured home, another dog, a barn (with a good mouser in it), goats, chickens, and the like.  Now I find myself thinking, thank goodness I didn't do that!  During the past year, even the dog and the outdoor rabbit and a yard that takes up 1/10th of an acre (including the footprint of the house and driveway!) became too much for me.  I couldn't handle it; I didn't want to handle it.  I wanted it to just go away.  I was tired...soooo tired!

Lesson learned: sometimes a single tomato plant is all you need to feel like a fulfilled gardener!  My 'steading consists of being as green as I can, while leading an enjoyable life.  Sometimes dreams are nice to have, but they are a lot less "fun" when you realize how much work they can be.  Better to know in advance and dream of something else before it's too late!