PHARMACY FRIDAY - Wintergreen, Good or Bad?

WINTERGREEN . . . . . . . That wonderful, minty, tasty, aromatic herb! My best memory of it is in those little pink, round candy lozenges. I use to eat those things by the fistfuls when I was a kid. And wintergreen chewing gum was some of the best!(remember Teaberry gum?)  It is, by far, one of my all-time favorite candy flavorings.  But is it safe?

Awhile back I began hearing that it might not be so safe, that it should only be consumed in moderate amounts. Then I heard that it should only be consumed in very small amounts. Then I heard it shouldn't be consumed at all. Then I began hearing of people dying from overdosing on Wintergreen essential oil!!! And those reports are growing. So the question remains, is it safe to use at all?
There are a lot of different factors that figure into the answer to that question. It will be different for each person. Because I used it in some of the skin care products that I make, I have since heavily researched it. From the multitude of research that I have read, it appears that it is safe to use in small amounts, and even very beneficial . . . .  but in large amounts, it is easy to overdose on, causing damage to the liver and even death in extreme cases.
On the downside, Wintergreen essential oil, if used in large amounts, or even small amounts for extended periods of time, can cause serious damage to the liver and even death. Because the component in Wintergreen that is the culprit (methyl salicylate) is also so closely similar to the active ingredient in aspirin, people taking aspirin or aspirin based products can overdose on Wintergreen even more quickly and easily.

Often times, people don't even realize how much Wintergreen essential oil they are ingesting into their bodies. One of the easiest ways to overdose is with those soothing sports/joint creams that contain Wintergreen essential oil. Dancers, athletes, and the arthritic elderly alike use a lot of those soothing joint creams. Keeping in mind that your skin is the largest organ of your body and everything that goes on it, also goes into your body, if you are using a joint cream that contains Wintergreen essential oil, as you rub it on, that wintergreen goes right on inside, right into your blood stream. Sadly, there have been actual cases of athletes dying from overuse of sports creams. (That is a link to a case reported on Fox News awhile back). Massage therapists can also unknowingly absorb far too much of the volatile oil with repeated use on their clients, of massage products that contain it.

Here is also some more good reading on the subject at aromaticsage.com

On the POSITIVE side . . . . . . a very small amount of Wintergreen essential oil on occasional use can be of great benefit! It is a wonderful pain reliever for a variety of joint pains. Used only occasionally and in small amounts, it is very beneficial and generally safe. It should; however, be used only in localized areas and not in large areas or over the entire body.

Wintergreen essential oil, like aspirin, can help reduce swelling, relieves aches, and reduces body temperatures. It can also help relieve nerve pain, relieve sore throats (such as in those little pink candy lozenges) and makes a great breath freshener. It DOES have many great and beneficial uses. Just be sure and read all of your labels, be aware of other items you might be using that may contain aspirin or Wintergreen, use only occasionally and in small amounts, and it might also be wise to check with your health care provider before using, especially if you are planning on using Wintergreen on a regular basis. Wintergreen essential oil is cumulative in your system, and although it does have many benefits, it isn't for everyone.

TIGHTWAD TUESDAY - Milk Carton Uses

      So many people don't stop to realize that, not only are they paying lots of money for that product they are using, but they are also paying quite a bit of money for the package that it is in. Sometimes, more of what we spend on an item may actually go for the packaging than for what is in it!

Most people use up a product, then toss the packaging in the trash without giving it a second thought. But what if I took you to the store, had you purchase a shopping cart full of just packaging, such as boxes, nice glass bottles, plastic containers with tight fitting snap on lids, etc.... you paid for them all, then I took you over to the dumpster and said, "Now toss them all in the trash!"  You would think I was nuts, wouldn't you? Well, I think some people are nuts for throwing away some of the packaging they throw away. For a better perspective of what portion of a product you are spending on your packaging, a visit to Uline might help. Go through their prices, add up a weeks worth of packaging that you would normally toss, and see how much money you are literally throwing into the trash each week. 

There are many ways to save money on packaging, and I will get to some more of those in later posts, but today, I am going to be talking about repurposing some of those packages, namely, milk jugs. That is a lot of good, sturdy plastic to be throwing away! I have somewhat of a system I use for re-purposing mine. I start by rinsing mine out really well.

Their first purpose is as water jugs. Periodically, I have to haul quite a bit of water here and there around the farm (especially during this past year's drought), so they get a lot of use as water jugs. Once they spring a leak, they have other uses.

I then cut the jugs in half through their middle (jug standing upright, horizontal cut through the middle). If the leak is in the top portion of the carton and the bottom is still in tact, the bottom gets used to put under plants to hold water for them. They sometimes also get used as pet food dishes.  Then the top is set aside to use as a scoop. For scooping dry ingredients, it doesn't matter if it has a small leak.

If the leak is in the bottom of the jug, I then use the bottom as a planter, to start veggies in for the garden. Often times I even add additional little drainage holes. The top (without any leaks) then makes a great funnel with the lid taken off.

If I start having too many of these building up, or too many of one half, I cut them into strips. I write on these strips with permanent marker and use them to label my garden plants and herbs.

There are so many uses for empty, plastic milk cartons that I couldn't even begin to list them all here, but we would love it if you would share in the comments, your ideas for recycling/re-purposing plastic milk jugs. This also includes plastic gallon water jugs, as well, and any other plastic gallon jugs. Oh, yes, sometimes I pour up my homemade liquid laundry soap into them.  The reuses are endless! Of course, they could also be completely eliminated by raising our own milk.

(DF) PATCHED PUMPKIN UPDATE!!!!

As you can see, the patch evolved from wax and gauze to blue duck tape with peace signs. Please don't ask why I have such tape, as it is a long story, and complicated.  Anyway, this picture was taken in preparation for picking the pumpkin late last week just ahead of our first serious freeze of the season.  With the poor little patched pumpkin all grown up and a freeze coming, the time was right and the patch had worked at least well enough for the damaged pumpkin to mature.  So we got a good pumpkin for the holidays, though with a bit more effort than the standard.  RIGHT???

NOT SO FAST!!!  Things aren't always as they appear.  I knew that with the pumpkin's injury, it wouldn't likely keep as long as normal.  My full intent was to open it up, take the seeds and cook the flesh for pies.  Who knows, I might have even canned a couple of quarts for later in the winter, or experimented with drying some.  No such luck.  With work, searching for a hay source, unexpected funerals and countless other delays, Friday rolled around with this fine fellow still on the kitchen floor.  It was still fine and seemed solid Friday afternoon, and I went to Anna's  with the intent to set the pumpkin as a priority for early in the week.  Returning home this afternoon, I immediately smelled something amiss.  Yes, our fair, peaceful friend had leaked rotten pumpkin juice all over the kitchen floor. 

After grabbing towels to contain the mess, I found the large stock pot and began filling it with chunks of yellow stench.  Needless to say, I was not happy with this situation, but maybe there could be a somewhat brighter side to it.  I began feeling through the yellow goo for seeds.  Believe it or not, I found quite a few solid, fully mature seeds, which I truly hope are viable. 

In the end, the mess is cleaned up, the chickens were extremely enthusiastic about the remains and there are seeds of hope for a future season.  Though it would be nice to have a pie from our own pumpkin this year, there are other pumpkins available, so no need to complain.

PHARMACY FRIDAY - Cayenne in my Hot Cocoa

Believe me, it is better than you think!

Cayenne pepper is a great remedy for a variety of ails, but the one I use it for most is my joint pain. When I first heard about this, I was skeptical and pushed it to the back of my mind.

Next, I came across some hot chocolate recipes that called for cayenne pepper. My first thought was - "yuck!" But then I kept coming across recipes and hot chocolate mixes with cayenne and became more curious. Yet, once again, I pushed to the back of my mind.

Last winter, as the cold set in, my arthritis pain grew a little more than the year before. Taking so many tylenol starts getting kind of scary. Then I remembered about the Cayenne Pepper for joint pain relief, and that it was suppose to be good in Hot Chocolate, something of which I drink a lot of in the winter. So... I decided to try it.

Gosh, was it ever good! It blends in perfectly with the chocolate, each ingredient enhancing the other. The chocolate tames the heat of the cayenne and the cayenne enhances the chocolaty flavor. I put anywhere from 3 to 7 dashes of powdered cayenne pepper in my bedtime hot chocolate and, much to my amazement, I get an enormous amount of pain relief as I sleep. The warmth of it also warms me up a bit on those frosty cold winter nights.

If you would like to know more about how this works, here is some more great information on the subject at LiveStrong.  Give it a try. You will be pleasantly surprised at how well it works AND how great it tastes. It doesn't have the sharp, hot bite that I thought it would. It simply, slowly warms you up. Enjoy!

(D♥A) A Busy October

Whew! Have Dave and I ever been busy! Between broken computers (yes, sometimes Dave's has been down, too), the extreme heat of the summer, heavy drought, and a handful of other time consumers, Dave and I just haven't managed to find the time to write. Odd thing is, it is during those times that you actually have the most to write about!

Throughout the month of October, Dave worked an additional part-time job on the weekends, in addition to his regular full-time job. (Plus, there was all the ordinary farm stuff to take care of at Dave's Farm, too.) But the good part in all of that was that the part-time job was not far from Anna's Farm, so mixed in there, we got to spend a little bit more time together. Granted, we were both far too tired to make good use of the time, but we really enjoyed getting to spend some wind down time together. (It will be so much nicer when we eventually get both farms completely combined!)

One Friday night, a few weeks ago, we sat out in my front yard (Anna's Farm) and watched the sky as a storm rolled in. Fortunately that storm never hit (because it looked like it was pretty viscous), but we really enjoyed watching (together) it rolling in and back out. We were both exhausted, and I had spent the day getting ready for the flea market the next day, so it was a very enjoyably, relaxing and calming evening. 

But the next morning, the rains did come, the flea market was closed, and we took advantage and caught up on some much needed sleep (which we could both, once again, use some more of, now). And oh, how we have needed the rain! The Fall rains came and pulled us out of the drought, but it is beginning to get dry again. It seems so strange talking to our friends and family over in the New York area, and listen to them talking about all of the heavy flooding and extreme devastation, while we are standing here looking at everything around us beginning to wilt back down again (everything that hasn't frozen, that is).

We hope that life is finding you all well and we are doing our best to get back on here regularly, posting and catching up on all of the blogs we follow. We miss you all!