Mullein flower for earache

Many years ago I gathered seeds from a tall flower stock growing wild along side the bumpy, dirt road leading to our favorite fishing hole and planted the tiny seeds on the farm.  Mullein grows wild along most of the major roads here in the west.  It is a tall, striking plant that blooms in the summer.  The flowers are small and nondescript and bloom in secession along the tall stalk.  Gather the fresh flowers to make an infused oil for ear aches, and dry them for tea to help sooth a cough and clear up congestion.

We let mullein grow where ever it wants on our farm.  It is quite drought resistant, but enjoys frequent watering.

EAR ACHE OIL
Gather 2 cups of mullein flowers.  Place in a quart jar and cover with 1 cup extra virgin olive oil.  Set in a sunny window for 1 week.  Shake often.  Strain our flowers.  Gather more flowers and pour the strained oil over top. Let steep another week in a sunny window.   Strain.  Bottle in dark glass bottles.   I keep this in the fridge.  For an ear ache, place several drops on a cotton ball.  Gently heat the mullein oiled cotton ball by placing it in on a hot stove cooking burner for several seconds.  Place in infected ear.  Use caution and do not burn your ear. Change every few hours.

another use:
----add beeswax to the oil infusion for a wonderful healing balm--------especially good for diaper rash

TEA FOR COLDS, COUGH, AND CONGESTION
Dry the flowers on a large window screen out of direct sunlight.  Store in a dark glass container.  To 1 cup of boiling water add 2-4 tablespoons of crushed, dried, mullein flowers.  Let steep covered for 10 minutes.  Strain flowers and add lots of real honey and fresh lemon juice.  This is a bitter tea, but will help sooth the throat and clear congestion.  This tea has been used for thousands of years.  In addition to it's expectorant action, it has bactericidal proprieties that helps stop the muscle spasms that trigger coughs.  It is also good to use at the first signs of the flu.
The dried leaves may also be used, but you must strain the tea extremely well to remove the tiny hairs that grow on the leaves.

Disclaimer::  Please see your doctor for serious symptoms,    I'm just an ole granny who has found this to be beneficial for me and my family

growing along side the green house

the mullein is a biannual

it sends out large fuzzy leaves the first year

and produces a tall flower and seed stock the second year

Wishing everyone a WONDERFUL, JOYFUL, CHRISTMAS

While in Arizona visiting my son, his beautiful wife, and my adorable new little granddaughter, we had the opportunity to attend a showing of more than 150 nativity scenes from around the world.

On this CHRISTmas eve, I want to wish everyone hope, joy and peace.

A new Sun Room

As you all know, I am not fortunate enough to be able to live at my farm  year round.  My landlords, who appreciate all thing homegrown have consented to let us build a sun room onto the south side of their house.  And so the work has begun.  It is a little late in the season to begin a project, but hopefully we can get all the cement poured before it starts freezing too hard.

this is what it looks like now
(started this post in  early November and now the ground is covered in snow)
the bushes will all be torn out so we can utilize the terraced
ground for a garden

windows from the restore, Habitat for Humanities

mixing bags and bags of cement

digging out the sod

 redwood  4x4's, supported by medal brackets in deep cement filled holes

will be the support for the windows

we will have a couple of days over Thanksgiving to work

(didn't happen) 

I will post more pictures as the project advances

Hats, Hats, and more Hats

hand spun yarn just waiting to be plied and made into something wonderful

 bits and pieces of hand spun yarn

make unique one of a kind WARM hats

the hat in the fore ground is made of wool from my beautiful Jacob Sheep

 wash gently in cold water with mild soap

lay flat to dry

I had to have something to do the past few weeks while whiling away on the couch with nothing more to do than "being sicker than a dog."  I grabbed the big basket of hand spun yarn  and bits and pieces of other yarn, and begun to knit a hat for my teenage son.  Then I made a scarf to match the hat.  I get a little impatient knitting so I found a crochet hook and began to make another hat, and then another, and then yet another until I now have a pile of hats.
                                                  Now what do I do with all these hats?
  I will wrap a bow around them and give them as gifts to the ladies from my church that come every month to my home for a visit and  spiritual message.  I will take one to each of the women I visit each month and one for my beautiful neighbor that goes with me.

But I still have a few left.  Hum, I need to send one, no let's make two, to a couple of my "followers".

Leave me a comment of your family's favorite Holiday Tradition and I'll send along a hat to the traditions I want to incorporate into our family's Holiday Celebrations.  I'd like to get it mailed out before Christmas so leave your comment a.s.a.p.  (available for U.S. delivery only)

This stack of hats remind me of a childhood book that was given to me by my Grandmother called
                                           Caps for Sale.
                                                 Has anyone read that book?

Brushed my ratty, snarly, hair today

Well, it has been several weeks since I have brushed it regularly.  Been sicker than a dog, I debated if that term was appropriate and then heard it used on the evening news..  My knotted, ratty, scraggly hair has been sticking out all over the place, only washed every few days and I really didn't even care.  Who cares how you look when your  "sicker than a dog".  I'll spare you the details, but I finally ventured out today to the library to use the Internet to wish everyone a Blessed Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas.  I ran a high fever (the beginning of being sicker than a dog) on Thanksgiving Day, but I did manage to get a few shots of our beautiful table and some of our kids, (writing with markers on the under side of the table) all the things they have gratitude for and the blessings they have had over the past year.  I'll tell you how this unique family tradition began in another post.  Our family has been truly blessed this past year, and we have so much to be grateful for.

Yes, the turkey is  cooked upside down.  I always cook my turkey in a large stainless steel mixing bowl.  My philosophy is that the juices are controlled by gravity and run down.  Therefore, if the turkey is placed breast side down the juices from the fatty back run down into the white meat.  Never a dry turkey at our house!

expressing our gratitude in written word on the underside of the table

now let's have some pie

or something salty covered in chocolate

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with great food, laughter, family, and

GRATITUDE