Independence Days Challenge, How I Beat Cold/Flu In 4 Days!

Independence Days Challenge-
It's been a couple of crazy weeks with Thanksgiving, my birthday, then the flu (more below). Now we have an inversion, cold polluted air pressed down by high pressure. Gray, cold and bad air, yuck. BUT we still got some things done! Grand baby Oliver has just started walking! Now we have two grand children up on their feet, wow how time flies! I'll be putting out winter decor this weekend, photos coming. It was really nice to take a breather between the holidays. Thanks to those of you who have joined us at Facebook! Nice to see some of you migrating over, and no worries if some of you aren't interested. So here we go...

1. Plant Something- Sadly wrong time of year here. I did get the new Baker Creek Heirloom Seed catalog! Seeds galore!

2. Harvest Something- Herb box still has survived the cold! Love fresh herbs in recipes.

3. Preserve/Store Something- I read this article and never had thought of How To Can Water For Emergencies, great idea and a way to use empty/extra canning jars. 

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Bought some items at Costco. Been getting good monthly deals at the Natural Grocers Store with their monthly sales- organic free range eggs ($1.99), Dave's Killer bread ($2.50) , and organic apples ($1.99 lb). My lousy hens are still on strike! No eggs sadly. Babies in the spring will take care of that! I got a couple of calendars, one for a co-worker (Secret Santa) and one for my desk at work, huge selection-

Mini Calendar from Calenders.com love it!

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe- I bought some cranberry/orange scones/biscotti at Costco yesterday. BIG, more like a sticky bun/scones. Great flavor! I made some more French style baked Eggs with french bread and veggies for dinner. Great on a cold night and cheap! I'm doing more egg recipes now that I have a good source. 

6. Build Community Food Systems- Not this time of year. 

7. Recycle/Re-Use- Re-used some cardboard boxes for mailing eBay items. We donated my used monitor to a high poverty school near Dave's job. They were thrilled to get it! I will be going through more winter/holiday decor to see what to give away. I just keep downsizing "stuff" and it great not to have to store so much. We actually have EMPTY SHELVES in the garage now :) 

8. Skill Up- I've been reading an ebook I bought about building up my blog. I want to start reorganizing it, with tabs at the top for easier access, maybe a dot.com address, etc. You'll see some gradual changes over time, and feel free TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS!!! I'm thinking tabs at the top for things like- DIY, Recipes, Chicken Keeping, Food Preservation. What do YOU think?

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- I was having trouble with my steam mop, not sending out quite as much steam as normal. I did some research online, took off the head, sprayed with Lime Away and let sit. I rinsed, filled up the mop and boy did it steam!!! Worked great!
Dave's light weight boots are now coming apart a bit at the soles, so I will break out the Shoe Goo. Works excellent. I even used some to reattach a corner on a silicone Purse Gummy, they work great, but mine got a bit loose, all fixed. These gummies are awesome, put them on my purses, no more slipping off my shoulders!

Click on photo for more info!

How I Beat Cold/Flu In 4 Days!

It's that time of year, cold and flu season. We have patients in our clinic coughing all over practically every day, then we're all exposed out in the rest of world. Germs are everywhere. There's that gray area between a cold/upper respiratory infection and Influenza. You actually need a Flu "test" to determine what you have. I have learned over the years to take vitamin D3 year round to boost my immune system. Because I have asthma I can get NASTY bronchitis, closing the airway and making for a terrible time. A few years back a friend started to teach me about using essential oils. I started using her "recipe" as soon as I felt any symptoms coming on. I mix 2 Tbl of a plain "carrier oil", I use sweet almond massage oil, and 16 drops of Organic Tea Tree oil. Mix well in a little bottle. The massage oil was about $10.00 for a big bottle, Tea Tree oil about $8.00, enough to last a few years. Monday at work I started sneezing really badly all day, glands started to swell, nose was closing up. That night after I showered I rubbed the oil mixture on the pads of both feet, including between the toes. I also rubbed it into my throat glands and under my nose. I slept really well about half the night. I woke up really headachy about 3 a.m., tossed and turned until 6 a.m.then called in sick. I slept until 10, got up, no energy, still had the headache, no appetite. I always keep some Boiron Oscillococcinum for Flu-like Symptoms on hand which has helped both Dave and I many times. I also have Boiron Homeopathic Cold Calm Tablets for Colds always stocked in our hall closet. I decided to do something different and I took BOTH, not together, but spaced out a bit. I rested, drank liquids and parked with kitty Anya in front of Netflix. By dinner time, I was able to eat a light dinner and sinuses had backed way off! Slept much better hat night. Since I couldn't quite tell if it was "flu" vs a "cold" I had treated both. Homeopathy is such a great blessing to health. Read up on it if interested and I HIGHLY recommend you keep these on hand during flu season. No side affects, works great, just do your own research before using.  Be responsible. As of today, Friday I feel like I'm back to 90% normal! No antibiotics or steroids as in the past. Happy dance!