Herbs
I've been interested in the medicinal values of herbs for quite a while and happen to be a tea fiend in the morning; usually I'm the only one drinking it so I make a pot of whatever we've got and drink it all day. It's especially good at night, heated up in the microwave just before going to bed...ahh. Talk about lovely...
Anyhoo, other than being a tea freak I also love this stuff called comfrey salve. It's sort of the local 'miracle salve' for cuts, burns, scrapes, cuts--to give an example of its healing capabilities, my filly Violet managed to cut her chest on the fence and lifted up a section of hide about 2 inches by 2 inches. It was so deep you could see the muscle. Anyway, the local farrier (who also happens to be just a spring of information concerning anything about horses) said it couldn't be stitched because it was in such an awkward place, so I just slathered as much comfrey salve on it as I could and glued the skin back. For about three or four days afterwards I continued the same treatment, and then after that the skin bonded back and started to heal. Within three weeks the only way you could tell she even had the accident was that there was a scab. Now I wish I had taken 'before' and 'after' pics...but it was kind of gruesome and I was flipping out and panicking at the time. Lots of my friends use it too and absolutely swear by it...it's amazing stuff.
If you're curious, comfrey salve has:
Comfrey infused in olive oil (comfrey is know for fast healing)
St. John's wort infused in olive oil (another fast healer and has antibacterial qualities)
Rose water (to make it kind of soft and smell good)
Lavender essential oil (another good-smelling oil)
Lemongrass essential oil (same as lavender)
Beeswax (to firm it up and give it the 'salve' feel)
Mom has suggested that I try to sell it...I guess if someone's interested you can contact me here. I have it in 1-ounce containers for $5, but the stuff lasts a long time. I use it for everything and a single ounce will last all of us (four people) close to a year.
Poison Ivy Remedy
This stuff is AMAZING. I've handed it out to several friends and my family has used it and everyone loves it. Poison ivy remedy contains:
French green clay
Witch hazel
Peppermint oil
That's it. The clay dries out the rash, sucking all that poison and stuff out; the witch hazel is soothing on the skin; peppermint oil makes it smell good and has a cooling action that also takes away the itching. It's affectionately called 'that green stuff' by my friends...*looks around shifty-eyed*
Crafts
All right, so I'm not interested in ALL crafts. But I needed a place to put my scarves. For the past couple of months I've been making these scarves that look like this:
They're scraps of yarn crocheted into 'medallions' and lashed together three wide to 18 or so long. They're quite fun to make, but very time-consuming (averaging between 12 and 18 hours apiece). I've made three, sold one, and am making more. Price is about $35 dollars apiece...now I just have to make more!!