Doings

It's a rainy day in today, so I thought I'd take stock of all the things I've been doing lately. Even with the salicylic acid, the acne just hasn't let up, so I purchased some bentonite clay for masks. I mixed a tablespoon with some water and added bergamot and lavender essential oils, and put on a mask twice yesterday and once this morning. My skin feels great and a couple of the blemishes have significantly reduced. Hopefully, some of the acne scars will fade over time.

I also purchased chaste tree berry capsules in an effort to balance my hormones, as I'm pretty sure that's the reason for my acne. I've done everything else- probiotics, changed my diet, exercised more, used every natural topical ingredient imaginable (tea tree, rosemary, garlic, banana peel). I read that echinacea combined with chaste tree berry does the trick for the hormones, so I am drinking echinacea tea as well.

My plan is to make a nettle and milk thistle tincture just as a general tonic. Milk thistle is also supposed to help with hormone imbalance, and nettle is good for the blood and immune system, as well as being anti-inflammatory. I may add astragalus to the mix. As soon as my supplies come in, I'll post the tincture-making process. 

I also have made an herbal soak for my husband, for reasons of a rather private nature, but it seems to be helping. Comfrey, echinacea and goldenseal. The goldenseal was quite expensive, but it's worth it. An antibiotic would have cost the same if not more, and usually comes with adverse side effects. I have no intention of utilizing conventional medicine unless the condition is life-threatening or mechanical in nature (such as a broken bone). Herbal remedies are safe, simple and healthy, and many of them smell wonderful. They've been used successfully for centuries. Why put synthetic compounds in our bodies for something as simple as a headache? Pain relievers are more damaging than helpful in the long run.

When I was growing up, my dad would give me pills like candy. Have a hangnail? Take a pill. He took obscene amounts of ibuprofen every single day for his back pain. It's ruinous for your stomach, and probably for your liver too. I think only the blessing of his strong Midwestern genes prevented him from having liver problems. The only serious ailment of his long life was the breathing. First emphysema, then lung cancer. I think had he not smoked and worked with so many chemical fumes, he would have lived to be 100. Despite the ibuprofen (and nightly whiskeys).

I am hoping to undo any damage from my pill-popping, sugar-laden childhood. I'm starting a bit late, I just turned 33, but it's better than not trying at all. 

I love the rain, but I do wish it would cease for awhile, just so I could go out and feed the chickens and gather some eggs without getting drenched. We only have the chickens for two more days. I've got about two dozen eggs now, but I don't mind a few more. They're free and loads healthier than store-bought eggs. And it being Lent and almost Easter, the more eggs the better. It's meatless Friday, after all.

The chickens' trough is probably flooded, so even if I fed them it would fill up again. And boy does it stink when it's wet! I'm not really sure what the solution is. If I had my own chickens, I think I would keep the trough under an awning of some sort. I also don't know how to clean their coop. I don't see any helpful tools around, and their poop is piling up grievously. I feel badly that their owner is going to come back to that.

I am rather at a loss as to what to do the rest of today. Dishes are done. Bed is made. Laundry is caught up. Herbal solutions are prepared. Can't go out for a walk, my husband left with the umbrella by accident. I had a Lenten goal of picking up trash at the Marina every day, but it's just too wet today. I've got a library book to read. And I do want to find a long stick to help me clean behind the shower stall (motorhome layouts are peculiar). I wish I still had my parents' yardstick, that was always the perfect tool. I suppose I can research more herbal concoctions for the future. Like homemade bug spray and sunblock. For every rainy day we've had, we've had two or three very warm ones. We also have the scourge of the ants once again. They're surrounding our motorhome like a marching platoon. So far they haven't broken our gates down, but the day is coming.

Tomorrow my beautiful friend Allie is coming up from Bakersfield to take me to see one of our favorite authors, Lisa See, who is coming to the nearby town of Pleasanton. Then we have a reservation at the lovely English Rose Tea Room. I love supporting their business; besides it being just a high-quality place, they're Christians. They have Bible verses placed throughout the store and have a guest book for requesting prayers. Just wonderful.