Happy Fall

Comming to Yours, Mine and Hers

Handcrafted 18" Doll Clothes

 

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

Versatile, fuzzy mullein is a gardener’s friend, an herbalist’s delight and an engineering marvel all on its own. A member of the snapdragon family, mullein has flowers that are flat and open, unlike the irregular “dragon faces” of snapdragons. Within the Scrophulariaceae family, the genus Verbascum consists of about 300 species native to Europe, West and Central Asia, and North Africa. Most are tall, stout biennials with large leaves and flowers in long terminal spikes. The species best-known among herbalists is the homely but useful common mullein, V. thapsus.

Mullein tea is a traditional treatment for respiratory problems, such as chest colds, bronchitis and asthma. Mullein leaf tea is slightly bitter; a tea of the flowers is sweeter. Both the leaves and flowers contain mucilage, which is soothing to irritated membranes, and saponins, which make coughs more productive. Research has shown that the herb has strong anti-inflammatory activity, and lab studies suggest that mullein flower infusions have antiviral properties, as well.
 

 

Many of mullein’s traditional medicinal uses were similar throughout the Old and New World, but whether European settlers learned to use the herb from Native Americans or vice versa is open to debate. Besides using mullein leaf and flower teas to treat respiratory problems, some Native Americans also used the plant’s roots. The Creek Indians drank a decoction of the roots for coughs; other tribes smoked the roots or dried leaves to treat asthma.

 

 

Topical applications were equally varied. The Cherokee rubbed mullein leaves in their armpits to treat “prickly rash.” Leaf poultices were used to treat bruises, tumors, rheumatic pains and hemorrhoids. Mullein flower oil (made by steeping the flowers in warm olive oil) also has been used for treating hemorrhoids, as well as earaches.

 

Mullein leaves have been used in cosmetic preparations to soften skin. “Quaker rouge” refers to the practice of reddening cheeks by rubbing them with a mullein leaf. And a yellow dye extracted from the flowers has been used since Roman times as a hair rinse as well as to dye cloth.

Like many other herbs, mullein is not entirely benign. Some people find the plant’s hairs irritating to skin and mucous membranes. It’s a good idea to see how you react to a small amount of mullein before consuming it or smearing it on your body. And always strain the tea through fine-weave cloth or a coffee filter to remove any stray hairs.

Read more: http://www.motherearthliving.com/plant-profile/herb-to-know-mullein-verbascum-thapsus.aspx#ixzz38CcGidZo

HOW WE’RE DEEPLY WOUNDING OUR GIRLS (AND HOW TO STOP)

HOW WE’RE DEEPLY WOUNDING OUR GIRLS (AND HOW TO STOP)

It happens all the time, sometimes in 3 words or fewer.
Our girls hear the kind of insult that makes them feel like less. Here’s how it works…
Imagine your name is Kristy. At the school, other kids tease each other like this:

“Stop being such a Kristy.” “Ha, ha! You did that just like a Kristy!” “You run like a Kristy.”

Imagine your peers insulting other people with your identity. It’s like they’re saying that to be you is unacceptable or undesirable in some way.
That’s what happens to our girls (sadly) on a regular basis.

"You throw like a girl"  -  The insult that hurts every girl!!

To stretch or not to stretch....

The conclusions are mixed. Some studies say stretch...it's good for you. Other studies say the value of stretching can not be validated and often increases the risk of injury to athletes. Well, I am not an athlete, just a very busy 50+ mom and entrepreneur...and I say STRETCH! Every chance you get!

I raised three children, all of which played sports... football, baseball, basketball, softball, soccer, wrestling... between the three kids and all their sporting experiences, stretching was always at the forefront of pre-conditioning. Recent studies claim that the value of stretching has been overrated and often leads to additional injuries in athletes. My kids are all grown now and each continues an active lifestyle. I am thankful for their experiences in organized sports as I believe this set the stage for a non-sedentary lifestyle.

But this post is not about the value of stretching for athletes...it is about the value of stretching in us older, non-athletic types (like me). According to the Mayo Clinic, "Stretching can help improve flexibility, and, consequently, range of motion in your joints. Better flexibility may improve your performance in physical activities or decrease your risk of injuries by helping your joints move through their full range of motion and enabling your muscles to work most effectively. Stretching also increases blood flow to the muscles." (and at 50+...who couldn't use more blood flow to their muscles?)

Ahhh....

Value in the Garden

From -

The Cheap Vegetable Gardener

The most profitable plants in your vegetable garden

Many vegetables can be expensive to purchase by growing the most expensive vegetables in your garden and buying the least inexpensive vegetables at your grocery store you can easily help drop your food budget.  This especially important for people like me with very limited space to grow everything that I consume.
It may be impossible to put a price on the satisfaction of bringing in a basket of produce fresh from your garden.  As well as the enhanced flavors from having truly fresh produce from your garden compared to that of your local supermarket.  Though when I was harvesting my potatoes this summer with my daughter I did have the thought, Would it have been smarter for me to grow something else in this space?  I estimate out of the 4-5 square feet I used for these plants I probably got about $4-5 worth of potatoes.
I did a little research first to determine yields of various plants per square foot and secondly what the value (organic supermarket prices USD) of the yielded produce at harvest.  Given I am a city dweller with a fairly small footprint for my vegetable garden (about 30-35 square feet) making decisions on what to buy at the supermarket and what to grow in the garden may be a huge money saver with just a few dollars invested in some seeds for your vegetable garden
Now from the results below you can see the winners for the most produce value per square foot are many of the leafy green vegetables/herbs (cilantro, lettuce, chives, dill, Swiss chard) next comes many of the larger vine plants (tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, peas) with many of the root plants taking up the rear.  Now much of this makes sense where many of the vine plants grow on trellises and are allowed to spread, which I guess is sort of cheating the square foot rule but I will let it slide.  Compared to the root plants whose production is entirely dependent on the space allowed in square footage they have to grow as well as these are normally inexpensive produce items to begin with.

Vegetable	USD Value/SF
Cilantro	$ 21.20
Arugula-Roquette	$ 20.92
Green Salad Mix	$ 17.55
Chives	$ 16.40
Dill	$ 16.40
Lettuce	$ 16.20
Tomato, Cherry, small & medium	$ 15.57
Turnip	$ 9.90
Tomato, large	$ 9.50
Squash, Winter	$ 8.40
Tomatillo	$ 8.00
Cucumber	$ 7.74
Basil	$ 6.63
Radish, Red	$ 6.22
Pumpkin	$ 6.20
Chard, Swiss	$ 6.14
Celery	$ 6.00
Squash, Summer	$ 5.96
Choi	$ 5.70
Peas, Snow	$ 4.50
Pepper, Jalapeno	$ 4.50
Squash, Summer, Zucchini	$ 4.17
Onion, Bunching	$ 4.14
Pepper, Bell	$ 3.60
Brussels Sprouts	$ 3.59
Carrots	$ 3.56
Rhubarb	$ 3.25
Squash, Winter, Butternut	$ 3.20
Kale	$ 3.07
Grass, Lemon	$ 3.00
Peas, English	$ 3.00
Onion, Bulb	$ 2.63
Radish, White	$ 2.60
Bean, Bush	$ 2.51
Peas, Edible Pod	$ 2.50
Artichoke, Globe	$ 2.40
Cabbage, Chinese Napa	$ 2.24
Squash, Winter, Delicata	$ 2.10
Spinach, Spring/Fall	$ 1.80
Leeks	$ 1.75
Potatoes	$ 1.50
Parsnips	$ 1.50
Garlic	$ 1.37
Squash, Summer, Yellow	$ 1.34
Parsley	$ 1.31
Corn	$ 1.25
Squash, Winter, Acorn	$ 1.20
Squash, Winter, Hubbard	$ 1.20
Eggplant	$ 1.10
Greens, Mustard	$ 1.10
Rutabaga	$ 1.00
Beet	$ 0.89
Cabbage, Savoy	$ 0.80
Broccoli	$ 0.80
Kohlrabi	$ 0.75
Cauliflower	$ 0.60
Broccoli, Chinese	$ 0.60
Cabbage	$ 0.50

Sources: http://www.mcgoodwin.net/pages/ppatch.html for plant yield information, http://shop.safeway.com for current produce prices

Do we need more Sulfur?

http://www.organicsulfur-msm.ca/order_OS_MSM.html

Organic Sulfur is found in the cells of all living organisms (plant & animal). Sulfur plays a critical role in the oxygenation and detoxification of all cells. Simply put, the “Sulfur Cycle” was broken over 70 years ago when farmers switched from using manure as a fertilizer to chemical based fertilizers and also began spraying the farmlands of the world with toxic pesticides. Some believe few knew at the time how these “man-made” agents would inhibit sulfur in the human body, eventually leading to a global dis-ease epidemic. The fact is almost every person alive is “Sulfur Deficient”. What’s worse, any food product that has been refrigerated, canned, cooked or packaged has most likely lost any usable sulfur

Organic Sulfur is a mineral food supplement that supplies the cells of the body with one of the most vital minerals necessary for oxygen uptake in the cells and cellular detoxification. Organic Sulfur has a long history as a healing agent in the human body. For centuries, mankind has soaked in sulfur-rich, mineral hot springs to help heal a variety of ailments. It is the presence of sulfur that is believed to assist in easing joint pain.

In order to achieve and maintain truly vibrant health, the cells in your body need plenty of oxygen. But most of the foods people eat lack the basic nutritional elements that not only provide this oxygen, but that facilitate its movement throughout the body and amongst the cells. This is where sulfur comes in. Sulfur is a nutrient compound found in all living organisms that is absolutely vital for proper health, but most of us fail to get enough of it, even when trying to eat healthy.

Prior to the days of petro-chemical fertilizers, farmers applied animal manure to crops, which enriched soil naturally with high levels of sulfur. But today, the industrialized farming methods employed by the large agri-giants that grow most of our food have virtually eliminated necessary sulfur from not only the soil, but from food itself. And what little sulfur is left in food gets eliminated through processing, refrigeration, dehydration and cooking.

Some NaturalNews readers are probably already familiar with methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), the chemical name for sulfur, and some may already take this supplement, but did you know that many powdered supplement versions of MSM have lost most of their potency due to processing? When sulfur crystals are converted into powdered form, as most are, they lose about 85 percent of their effectiveness. And they become even less effective when synthetic anti-caking agents are added.

Hesh Goldstein, nutritionist and moderator of the radio show "Health Talk Hawaii", has introduced a potent, crystallized form of organic sulfur crystals that far surpasses most other MSM products on the market. Goldstein's crystals are made from the lignans of pine trees, which according to Goldstein, is the most effective form. These organic sulfur crystals are highly at preventing, and treating, a whole host of diseases and illnesses.

Some of the many benefits of organic sulfur crystals include:

-Increasing enzyme production within bodily glands and improving resistance to illness
-Increasing flexibility in muscle tissue
-Increasing blood circulation
-Reducing muscle inflammation and promoting muscle healing
-Promoting the healthy growth of hair and fingernails
-Discouraging the growth of cancer cells through oxygenation
-Reversing osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease
-Promoting healthy skin production and reducing wrinkles
-Regulating insulin production
-Improving colon function and eliminating colonic parasites

Twelve years ago, researchers began the Cellular Matrix Study, the purpose of which is to evaluate the effects of sulfur on cell regeneration. Patrick McGean, director of the study, had successfully used organic sulfur crystals to cure his son's terminal germ cell testicular cancer.

Since it started, the study has found that people from around the world have experienced similar incredible results from taking organic sulfur crystals. Diabetics have significantly lowered or even eliminated the need for taking insulin, people with high blood pressure no longer need medication, and people with osteoporosis have reversed their bone loss.