Battling Allergy, Cold, and Flu Season

I don't remember ever having had fall allergies when I was young.  In fact, I don't remember ever having had a problem until the last few years.  I'm not sure what has changed in our climate, but I have been affected by the fall pollen count for the last 10 years.

I don't do medicine, unless absolutely necessary.  So, how do I get through the allergy season without my head exploding?

Patience, and a lot of tissue.  Or toilet paper.  My shirt sleeve.  Whatever is on hand.

Cleaning Out Sinuses

The one item I could never live without is my neti pot.

A neti pot is used to clean out your sinus cavity and helps clear it from all gunk, junk, and lingering pollen or dust that may be trapped in there.  I warm up some spring or distilled water, add a half teaspoon of sea salt, and run it through my nasal cavity.  No, it doesn't hurt, no, I don't get water stuck up my nose, and no, it doesn't even feel weird.  But YES, it does work!  I still sneeze, snot, and drain, but my allergies are never prolonged, and I have never had a cough or sore throat during the allergy season.

I would show you pictures and a tutorial on how to use it, but that's just gross.  And you would lose all respect for me.  Again.

Herbal Tea
Another resource for our allergy battle is Elderberry Tea.  We have been making and drinking this tea for about a year, the children love the sweet berry flavor, and it always soothes a scratchy throat.  I add ingredients like ginger, orange peel, red clover, and cinnamon, to help boost our immune system and fight off viruses and infections.  For information on elderberries, you can read up at The Bulk Herb Store.

And, if you want to mix up a batch, here is my "unofficial" tea recipe:

Elderberry Tea
(all measurements are approximate)
1T Dried Elderberries (Bulk Herb Store)
1/2T Dried Red Clover
Fresh Ginger, I cut a knob about1/4" thick and 2 1/2" in length
1 Cinnamon Stick
Peel of 1/4 of an orange

Bring about 5 cups of water to a boil.  Add above ingredients and remove from heat.  Cover and let steep for 3 - 5 minutes.  This will make a pot of tea, or about 5 cups for us.  You may have to adjust the amount to satisfy your liking.

Garlic, A Natural Antibiotic
Garlic is a staple in my household.  On the rare occasion that we do catch a virus, I give my children garlic pills.  Some of my brave kiddos will eat a whole garlic clove raw, with just a glass of water to wash it down.  Others prefer that I crush the pod up and stuff it into a capsule.  Either way, they are ingesting the most amazing all-natural antibiotic you can find.  The benefits to garlic are plentiful, and when used regularly, can ward off many ailments and illnesses.

Essential Oils
I am a distributor for Young Living Essential Oils.  The three oils I couldn't live without during cold, flu, and allergy season are:

Thieves, to boost the immune system.  I use capsules (1 drop thieves and a couple drops honey) for the older children and myself, and rub a diluted mixture (1 drop thieves to 3 drops olive oil or grapeseed oil) to the bottoms of the babies' feet.

Peppermint, to open up our sinuses.  I typically diffuse into the air for 1/2 hour at a time about three or four times a day.

R.C. to open up the chest and throat.  I rub this directly on the chest and throat of my older children, and dilute as I do with the thieves for my babies.

Take care when using essential oils, they have a strong aroma and can cause skin sensitivity issues.
I diffuse the oils for 1/2 hour at a time three or four times a day.  When diluting the oils, you aren't diluting the potency, just the "hotness" of the oil.  I rub the bottoms of my little one's feet and put socks on them.  The oil is absorbed into their system through their skin and is just as effective as when I give my children a thieves capsule.

Springtime 2012

Spring has arrived, here in the deep south.  All of the seeds I planted back in January have developed from tiny sprouts and are well on their way to becoming productive plants.    I'm hoping that next weekend will be beautiful as I desperately need to till up my garden beds and get these little babies into the ground!

The lettuce I planted in the winter is now producing beautiful heads.  I have found that if I trim the lettuce leaves as I need them from around the sides and bottom, it just keeps producing more and more leaves.   Notice the abundance of onions?  I started out with 3 plants, this is the beginning of their third season, and after separating them in January, I now have 25 onion plants!

My lemon tree is at it again, with beautiful and fragrant blooms, which the bees LOVE!  I can smell the lemon blossoms as soon as I open the back door.  Truly my favorite springtime flowers.

The crab apple tree is off to a bit of a slow blooming start, but the flowers are so vibrant.  The variation in light and dark pinks creates a beautiful display.

Kiley's fig tree, his pride and joy, is just as big and bold as last year.  We harvested over 200 huge figs last year, perfect for preserves!

I'll be posting again when my garden is all tilled and ready for transplants.  Happy gardening!!!

Homestead & Gardening Resources

For all of my homestead-obsessed followers, here are a list of homestead resources that I have found to be quite helpful.  By the way, you don't have to have 100 acres to be considered a homesteader, you can create your own homestead within the boundaries of your suburban home.  We have 1/3 of an acre and are able to produce a lot of our own fruits and vegetables.  I have tons of herbs growing in pots on my back patio and what used to be flower beds are now beds full of beautiful, medicinal, flowering herbs!

Storey's Basic Country Skills

Probably my most thorough resource. This is my "go-to" book for most information and projects. This book contains anything from growing herbs, fruit trees, and vegetables, to cleaning your house, raising livestock, and simple building projects. A must have for any beginning homesteader.

The Backyard Homestead

This book resembles The Basic Country Skills book, but on a more simplistic level.  Still, I found it to be greatly beneficial, containing information that the above book did not.  A great one to have on hand for a quick resource.

Homestead Blessings DVDs

Ah, our favorite West Ladies.  Let me just say, these DVDs have been one of the best sources of encouragement and information for our family.  My kids LOVE watching the West Ladies' simple country skills at work.  A must for any visual learner, and the projects and information are simple enough for the basic level homestead beginner.  Totally worth the investment!

Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening

IF you can get your hands on a copy of this huge encyclopedia, it is a gem of a book.  This book was handed down to me from my father and is about as old as I am (watch it on the comments).  I haven't found a more informative book yet, full of every kind of vegetable, herb, animal, flower, and weed you can imagine, besides sections on composting, weed control, pest control, greenhouses, and tons more.  Truly a treasure and one book I could not do without.

The New Self-Sufficient Gardener

Last, but not least, another detailed book, containing similar information as the first two, but also has a section on how to preserve fruits and vegetables, and a section on bee-keeping.  I love the illustrations in this book, I find it much easier to identify how my plants are supposed to turn out when I have a clear visual guide to go by.

Alright now, all you gardeners, start your tillers!

Planting Season

Seems a bit early?  You forget where I live......the place where winter never comes...

Since we already had our once a year freeze/frost, our seedlings are now safe.  ;P  We started planting our seeds in starter pots last month, and they are growing healthy and tall.  This year I am working with about a dozen different herbs.  If you remember, we grew basil and mint last year and I had more than I knew what to do with!  I hope we get the same results from all of our other herbs this season.

As far as our other seedlings, we have tomatoes, peppers, okra, and squash started, and I will add beans and other seeds, much later when I can plant directly in the ground.  Our lettuce and cabbage is still going strong and my ever-successful onions have been divided and have taken up a good portion of my raised bed! 

I don't think it's only coincidence that children and adults enjoy growing things.  It's human nature to get outside, dig up the ground, plant grass, flowers, or vegetables, and watch them grow.  What a reward to see your hard work and the blessings of the Lord sitting on your dinner table, or in your pantry, and know that you have reaped the fruits of your labor.

The kids LOVE digging in the dirt, and planting their seeds. I gave each of them two herbs to watch after, and they will have two vegetables to take care of.

This year I have put a lot of research, reading, drafting, and prayer into the gardens, and hopefully all will pay off.  I'll let you know...

It's HOT!

Boy, if I hear that again, I may scream.  Besides it being hot, it's dry.  Never has a combination existed in Houston before.  I'm pretty sure.

So, instead of complaining about the heat, I've tried to come up with 10 positive things to say about this wretched weather.  (OK, I had to get a complaint in...)

1. NO mosquitoes!  At least not very many.  Even though I can't enjoy the outdoors, it's nice to know the mosquitoes don't either!
2.  Lack of humidity.  Usually around this time of year, it is so steamy that you can barely breathe.  The great outdoors is your own personal sauna.
3.  Thanks to the dry air, my clothes dry quickly on the line!  And they don't sour!
4.  Every day is a great hair day.  Unless of course you begin to sweat.  Which pretty much happens from the front door to the car.
5.  No mildew.  None.  At all.  Weird.
6.  I'm using up all of that lotion that is usually just sitting around.  Dry skin.  Unusual for me.
7.  Sunshine has been abundant.  Hot and bright, but abundant and cheerful.
8.  Our fig tree is thriving.  Apparently it likes it hotter than...well, you know....
9.  Our lemon tree is thriving.  Yeah, I could have added that above, but needed one more positive thought.
10 I got nothin'

So, I couldn't come up with a full 10, but that's the best I could do.  Not bad, considering.

"God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;"  Psalm 63:1

Hurry Up Fall!

I hope you all had a blessed Labor Day holiday!  We actually had a bit of a relief in our weather this weekend, but the heat was back in full force by Monday.  It's this time of year that I wish I were up in one of the northern states, welcoming the cool breeze, falling leaves, and the end of summer.  We have already begun planning Christmas gifts, and this weekend begins the myriad of fall crafts shows that have taken up my schedule!  It's hard to think about fall and the holidays when we still have a heat index of 100 degrees!  Praying for cooler weather soon and all of you, my friends, have a great weekend!

Happy Autumn!

Fall has arrived. I know I've mentioned in many posts before that Fall is my favorite season. There is something about the fresh, cool air after a long, hot summer, and the excitement that brings in the holidays ahead. As I sit here under my open window with a light autumn breeze blowing in, I am aware of the change in the air. It seems appropriate since I have encountered so much change in my life lately. When the Lord shows me truth and convicts me of my lifestyle, He usually does it big. Never small steps, but big ones. I am a purger by nature, it works for me. :) Fall ushers in a sleepy stage in which all becomes dormant and still for a season. This season in my life, when my attitude is changing, my convictions are changing, and my outlook is changing, will hopefully allow me a season of rest. I have found new freedom in my submission to the Lord and to my husband. Submission and obedience that I had believed I already walked out, but found I was so much in error. I thank the Lord for bringing me into this change, and I pray I always remain teachable and pliable.

Psalm 116:7 "Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee."