The Beauty of Tea

There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.  ~Bernard-Paul Heroux

Find yourself a cup of tea; the teapot is behind you.  Now tell me about hundreds of things.  ~Saki

All true tea lovers not only like their tea strong, but like it a little stronger with each year that passes.  ~George Orwell, "A Nice Cup of Tea"

The best quality tea must have creases like the leathern boot of Tartar horsemen, curl like the dewlap of a mighty bullock, unfold like a mist rising out of a ravine, gleam like a lake touched by a zephyr, and be wet and soft like a fine earth newly swept by rain.  ~Lu Yu

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.  ~C.S. Lewis 

A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards.  ~A.A. Milne

Bread and water can so easily be toast and tea.  ~Author Unknown

Tea time..........

Always Blessed,

Gretchen :)

All quotes found at: http://www.quotegarden.com/tea.html

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An Influenza Vacation

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Okay so not really a vacation.
More like a forced rest.
An unplanned break.
A rude visitor that just won't leave and interrupts your daily life.

Even though we have taken precautions and washed our hands. We have taken our vitamins and calcium with Vitamin D. I made Sick Tea at the moment we felt a tickle. I managed to fend off numerous sniffles and coughs with our Cinnamon and Honey Remedy. Yet, this was too much.

Since today I can finally sit for more than 30 seconds without coughing (my abs have been getting one heck of a workout) I have decided to let you in on my new 'stay healthy' research which while lying prone on the blow up mattress in my living room I was able to scavenge from my I pod.

1. De-stress. Duh. There is no wonder that I always get sick with some awful something in January. Now it could be that the germs are just more free flying in all these cramped quarters. It could be that we up here are in the shortest amount of daylight during December and January and that takes its toll. But, more that likely it is the stress of the just finished holidays that throw me for an unhealthy balance of stress. Mental note to place this verse in my bathroom mirror and read it three times a day:

²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ~Matthew 6:27-29

2. Eat Decent. Well we know this. However, do we know that all those splurges in November and December can truly affect more that our waistline? If we are eating less then healthy our bodies will in turn be less then healthy and have a much harder time fighting off potential sickness. Keep the veggies coming! (source)

3. Sleep. Go to bed. Turn off the T.V. and the laptop and go to bed. Get the rest your body is needing and it will fight off those flu strains. Or you can always spend a week in bed with the flu... (source)

4. Thieves Oil. There is a fair amount of research being done to support the use of Thieves Oil in the prevention of numerous maladies and also in the treatment of such illness. We used it to help sterilize the house and bedding as well as on sore muscles and noses. I made my own. This site has all sorts of great ideas and other resources. This stuff is amazing.


So now that I know what to do, I shall go and rub some thieves oil on Princess Petunia and feed Sir Bean and apple. Prince Ray is already in bed with a vaporizer and some eucalyptus oil. My goal: Sleep.

What do you use for staying healthy over the influenza season?


Always Blessed, (even after 7 days of the flu)
Gretchen :)

Possibly Linking With:
Cornerstone Confessions

Raising Arrows 

Modest Mom Blog 

Deep Roots At Home

The Better Mom Monday Link Up

Frugally Sustainable  
Far Above Rubies  
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home  
Wholehearted Home
Growing Home 

Wisdom Wednesdays and Link Up
No Ordinary Blog Hop
Frontline Moms Friday Fun
The Welcoming House

~Simple Christmas~ DIY Gift Ideas:Food

Do It Yourself Gift Ideas!

 I love doing all kinds of crafty whatnots. 

I'm not especially precise or even all that creative when it comes to crafting... anything... but my heart sure is in the right place. 

In an effort to keep costs down and put a bit more love into our Christmas

we are making some gifts!

I especially like the thought of getting the kids involved in making a gift instead of just buying something for the person they are giving Cheer to.  

I have no problem buying gifts, but isn't it nice to receive a special something that someone made for you?

I remember getting the most beautiful book marker from a friend that she had hand crocheted.

I have received a beautifully wrapped box of cookies from a friend for quite a few years and the kids and I can hardly wait till she delivers it bearing smiles and a great visit! I so appreciate it!

Once, a teacher made us little ice skate ornaments out of paper clips!

These are the things people can connect with. It takes some thought. Shouldn't all gifting be like that?

Food!  

A box of your homemade cookies would be a wonderful gift. Trust me!

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Here is a neat way to package those cookies in smaller batches.

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We have made mix-in-jar gifts before. Easy to make. Fun to include the kids in and always appreciated by the recipient!  

This site has both these recipes!

Check out Budget 101 for over 30 different mix in jar recipes.

These look like clean recyclables being used for storing mixes! Source

 How about some of your canned goods from last summer's bounty? This could look pretty with a ribbon and bow.

Homemade salsa.

Fruit Basket Season! Don't buy one! Make one! For a quick and simple present pick some choice fruit and place in a pretty container, or basket, and throw in a few peppermint candies. Especially good for the elderly. You can tailor it for a large family or just a single couple.

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I like how this one looks.

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My other favorite is coffee, hot cocoa, and tea gifts. If you have a lover of one or all you can make a very inexpensive gift. Just remember (because I don't always) to go simple. You are giving a little sample taste of coffee or tea not and entire year's worth. 

This is lovely! You can pick up mugs for a buck at the dollar store.

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Minus the slightly cheesy sticker this looks yummy.

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I love tea. How nice receive a pretty china tea cup (check the thrift stores for vintage cups) with a few fun tea bags to try out!

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And this is just so very cool! Please, anyone, I would like this from my children so please tell them!

Ice Cream Social Kit from here.

More to come next time!

Always Blessed,

Gretchen :)

Linking up with some Of These Fine Blogs:

Cornerstone Confessions

Raising Arrows 

Modest Mom Blog 

Deep Roots At Home

The Better Mom Monday Link Up

Frugally Sustainable
Artful Homemaking 
Far Above Rubies 
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Goin' Crunchy Cold Remedy Tea

As part of my journey to force us enter us into a more healthful and food conscious family I have begun snooping around the Crunchy Blogs. 

Slang Dictionary

crunchy definition mod. [of someone] loving nature, plants, and animals. (The type of person who lives on granola.) :  He's such a crunchy guy, always saving whales and trees.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

Now I have not ever been a save the whales! sorta gal. I preferred to think more on the lines of  save the children! and then not really do anything about either. Just keeping it all honest here. I didn't even recycle up until about three years ago! 

However, the LORD teaches us new everyday and I have had a whole year of eye opening lessons on being respectful to our earth, on eating more whole foods, on learning to make it or make do without it, and on healing using the plants and resources he gave us! Perhaps I'm goin' a little bit crunchy?

Christians, I think, as a whole were turned away from natural remedies many ( and I many) years ago and became scared to use them thinking them too closely related to things we avoid at all costs, like witchcraft. Home remedies became looked down upon because they were not what we thought was good enough or scientific enough. It could be perhaps we have accustomed our minds to thinking we needed a doctor's note and a box from the drugstore to make us feel better. Sometimes, yes, we absolutely need medical attention. Sometimes, we need that headache relief. But not always.

The LORD though has provided us all kinds of natural remedies to soothe sore throats and ease coughs. To shorten the lifespan of a cold. To help us heal. I do not claim to know a lot but I know what we've tried and my kids have never been healthier. We have had less colds, flu, and all around yuckies since we began to eat better. My son that has asthma has had much fewer attacks since I began making my own cleaning supplies.  Just seems to me we could benefit from trying some at home remedies before automatically reaching for that overpriced colorful box of.... whatever.

My Princess Petunia came down with a fairly bad cold while cutting her two year molars. She is 2 and a half and small so she can't take anything for a cold from one of those aforementioned colorful boxes so we tried a recipe my neighbor brought over. We have affectionately started calling it a terribly original name: Sick Tea. I know! Sometimes the creative muse is on a mini vacation without me. Probably someplace warm...

This is Ginger in its raw form. Just peel with a paring knife and slice into small matchsticks.

Slice up the lemon. (Please wash it first in the event there are chemicals on it.)

This is a Minnesota Honey not too far from us.

Layer in lemon, ginger, and honey until the jar is full. This is a 1/2 pint jelly jar.

Looks a bit like this when done.

Add a couple of spoonfuls to a cup of hot water or tea.

This is my green tea steeping with two scoops of honey base.

Sick Tea

1/2 fresh lemon

2 Tablespoons fresh ginger (has to fresh)

honey (local if possible, raw is the best)

Possible add ins:

Cayenne to clear sinuses, 

Garlic for it's antibacterial and anti-viral properties,  

or an Echinaea tincture or syrup.

It isn't a cure all but it sure helped my munchkin to feel better. I also benefited by shortening a cold I felt coming on by taking some extra rest and drinking our sick tea three times a day when I started to feel yucky.

Going to go make myself another cup of tea, I'm feeling a bit peaky... :)


Always Blessed, 
Gretchen :)


Although my neighbor gave me the original recipe I have been using I found similar versions here and here.


Linking up with:

Cornerstone Confessions

Raising Arrows 

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The Better Mom Monday Link Up

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