Herbology

Living in a place where the Sixties never died has real advantages. The natural foods movement that began then – the whole Mother Earth, back to the land movement –  is thriving. The food coop does 6 million dollars in sales per year. Small ethnic restaurants, hippie skirts, and cozy little bookshops abound.

One of these cozy little bookshops, CrazyWisdom, is the venue for a course in using herbs. It’s a session once a month, taught by a respected expert, Linda Diane Feldt. I enjoyed the first class, and have put what I am learning to good use already. In fact, I will be buying her book next month at the class.

I have made two infusions, one of kale and one of ginger. The kale infusion should supply us with lots of beneficial minerals, especially calcium. The ginger infusion has multiple uses. I applied a hot ginger compress to help relieve Sweetie’s chest congestion/asthma. I need to drink it to help reduce inflammation (read arthritis) and normalize my endocrine system. (read diabetes and menopause) Now, neither of these are cures. They are natural nutritional supplements that help the body do what it naturally does. But I’ll take whatever help I can get.

Bathing

I took a bath yesterday. This may not sound like a big deal to you, but after 3 years of showers only it was glorious. There were no bubbles, no perfume, no powdering and pampering. It was steamy hot water until I was pruney. I loved it.

When I was in the Philippines the ladies were advised that if the water was unsafe for drinking, it was also unsafe for bathing. Something about bacteria, fungi, and parasites. I applied this bit of wisdom to my life in Thailand. We had a positively gorgeous blue tub, over 5 feet long with armrests molded in the sides. I took showers in it for three years, because the water was unsafe for drinking.

There are benefits to living in the USA.