It all began with a sore throat late Monday night.  There was no warning, no scratchy throat, nothing.  Just the immediate onset of a sore throat and slight head congestion as I was going to bed.  I immediately walked back into the kitchen and gargled with warm water and three drops of grapefruit seed extract.  To read more about this potent extract, see my article called, “Grapefruit Seed Extract.”  Then I swallowed two garlic capsules. Garlic is a natural antibiotic.  To learn more about different ways to use garlic in home remedies, Debi Pearl wrote an interesting article called, “Garlic.”

The next morning I felt bad.  I took more garlic and gargled with grapefruit seed extract again.  My throat felt so much better; however, I began to run fever and ache.  My head throbbed, my eyes burned with the fever, and my nose would not stop running.  I was miserable.  I rubbed eucalyptus essential oil and cassia essential oil with olive oil on the soles of my feet and chest.  I sipped on hot tea with honey and a few drops of lemon essential oil.  I began taking doses of elderberry syrup.

Elderberries have long been know to fight flus and colds.  One of my ancestors was a country doctor in East Texas.  He would make his own medicine with elderberries.  His recipe did not pass down to me, but the syrup I have been taking is a mixture of raw honey, elderberries, apple cider vinegar, and echinacea.  The latter is another herb know for its ability to fight infections.  In combination with the honey, the elderberry syrup actually tastes good.

This morning I woke up running a low-grade fever.  I have continued taking garlic capsules and the elderberry syrup.  I gargled this morning for good measure with grapefruit seed extract even though my throat is not hurting anymore.  I rubbed my chest and the soles of my feet once more.  My ears ached so bad that I asked Jake to squirt the contents of a garlic capsule down each of my ears.  Since ten o’clock this morning, I have not been running fever and my ears do not hurt at all.  As each hour passes I feel more like myself.

I also do not want to relapse so I am taking it easy, but I believe that I have drastically shortened the length of my illness.  After my body began aching and I began running a fever, I really began to wonder if I had the flu.  Generally it takes 7-10 days to recover from the flu.  If that is what ails me, then I have saved myself many days of sickness since it has only been about 36 hours.

With cold and flu season arriving, make sure you stock your medicine cabinet with these supplies:

garlic capsules (You can use cloves of garlic, but I prefer the convenience of the capsules.)

elderberry syrup (You can make your own or purchase it.)

grapefruit seed extract (You can use it in a throat gargle or nasal rinse.  You can also put a few drops in your ears.  Always dilute    the extract; never use it straight from the bottle.)

essential oils like eucalyptus, cassia, and lemon  (Essential oils usually require the use of a carrier oil like olive oil.  Make sure to follow the instructions and do your research.  They are powerful, but like the name implies, essential.)

You can find these items at a health food store, a health food section of a good grocery store, and online.  I like to shop at Beeyoutiful for my essential oil needs.  They have an elderberry syrup called Berry Well.  If you are interested in other home remedies and their products, then request a catalog.  I always learn something from one of their articles.

If I cannot afford to be sick, then I know I am not the only one.  Take precautions and stock up your “medicine” cabinet.  Read as much as you can on home remedies.  Be prepared to fight back with good, natural ingredients.

However when you make a batch of liquid laundry detergent, it has to sit for a day to gel.  To my dismay, I did not stay on top of my liquid detergent and it ran out.  With seven people in our family, laundry piles up fast.  I had no choice but to find a quick and easy solution.  So, I made a batch of powdered laundry detergent.

It was so easy!  With a cheese grater and a food processor, you can begin washing clothes within minutes.  If you don’t have the latter, a blender will work, too.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

1 bar of soap (dye-free and pure)*
2 cups washing soda
1 cup Borax
10 drops total of essential oils

Grate the bar of soap.  Add to the food processor along with the washing soda and Borax.  Choose your essential oil(s).  Personally I like orange or lemon and lavender essential oils.  Pulse until the mixture is a powder and combined well.

Keep in a sealed container and dish out with a tablespoon.  I use 3-4 Tbsp of powder every load, but my water is hard, our loads are big,  and our clothes are filthy.  Between gardening, cleaning, playing, fixing cars, etc, our laundry is usually heavily soiled.  And remember I am raising four boys; I don’t think I need to say more.  Of course, you would use less soap for lighter, smaller loads.

Start the water in your washing machine and add your soap, allow it to dissolve before adding your laundry.  This should eliminate any problems with powdered detergent clogging your appliances or drains.  You can also add about 1/4 cup of white vinegar for smelly clothes and/or hard water.  If you are washing whites, you can add 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide.

If I am washing bedding, I add 2 drops of eucalyptus essential oil to the water.  It effectively kills dust mites and lovely things like that.  Another option would be adding a few drops of grapefruit seed crush, which will do the same thing.

Making powdered laundry detergent is super simple.  It smells clean and fresh.  And, it is extremely inexpensive.  If you are looking for an easy, effective, and economical way to clean your clothes, try this recipe and let me know what you think.

* Popular bars of store-bought soap are: Zote, Ivory, Fels-Naptha, or Kirk’s Hardwater Castile.

A beautiful photograph by David Ringer of the Blue Waterleaf, which Jake found on the bank of a pond.

I have been reading J.D. Wyss’ novel, Swiss Family Robinson, to my children for the last 3 weeks.  We are almost halfway through the novel, but are enjoying it immensely.  Well, we enjoy the story, but both Jake and Kyla begin each narration with the words, “Animal Murderers!!”

This daily outburst always surprises me since they have been raised in a household that raises and butchers a good portion of its meat.  They have had no problem cleaning fish, helping to butcher wild hogs, slaughtering chickens, or anything else.  Cross Creek Cattle Company keeps our family in grass fed beef, and my children are around the cattle on a daily basis.  Both my husband and Clayton go deer hunting and supply us with venison.

Therefore, it boggles my mind that they would be bothered by the fact that the stranded family kills animals and eats them.  The only animal thus far in our reading that they have not completely eaten has been a buffalo.  Its size prevented them from using the entire animal for meat.

As I am reading this classic, the same theme of self-sufficiency keeps leaping out at me.  This family was thrust into a “sink or swim” lifestyle by a shipwreck.  The crew deserted them.  Since they were headed to a new land to start a new life, the father had prepared himself through reading books.  He knew techniques employed by Native Americans.  He was able to identify species of strange animals.  But most importantly, he was able to identify plants all over the island.

From the caoutchouc tree to the candleberry plant, the family is able to survive with luxuries like rubber boots and candles.  They of course also survive on edible plants in addition to the meat they hunt.  The father’s knowledge of plants impressed and inspired me.  I began thinking about my knowledge of plants in general in my neck of the woods.  And honestly, I saw a deficit that needed to be filled through study and reading.

Of course, my children are learning alongside me.  I found a great site for the Houston area.  It is ran by a man who teaches courses at the Houston Arboretum on edible plants.  Merriwether’s Guide to Edible Wild Plants is full of information on commonly found plants in our area.  I have really enjoyed learning from Merriwether.

Chinese Tallow Tree in the fall. Photo taken by Kyla DeHaven.

For example, yaupon grows like crazy here.  It is everywhere.  I could easily identify yaupon.  I knew that its beautiful red berries were poisonous.  However, I learned that you can make tea from its dried leaves.  Merriwether not only tells you this, but gives you three different methods to dry the leaves.  Each method gives a different taste to the tea.  Completely fascinating!

At Half Price Books, I purchased a copy of The Illustrated Guide to Edible Wild Plants by the Department of the Army.  I need pictures of the plant in addition to a written description.  Eating something poisonous is a concern and I personally want a picture with each plant.  The downside of the book is that it is for the world.  Therefore, there are plants listed that more than likely I will never see in my lifetime.

It also has a poisonous plant section in the back, which I find very helpful.  This book also tells you what part of the plant you can eat and how to prepare it because not all edible plants can be consumed raw.

I am looking for an additional field guide with pictures for my area.  I am open to suggestions so please don’t be shy.  Let me know if you like a certain book.

We have been going on evening nature walks once a week as a family to find a plant that we can identify and learn more about.  Identifying plants is harder than it sounds even with the internet and books.  We are learning terms like compound leaf arrangements or rhizomes in the process.  Once the plant/flower is identified, we add a picture or drawing into our Creation Notebooks.  We include the scientific name and some information about the plant.

It is not a complex process.  It is truly an enjoyable process.  The photographs are examples of plants that we have added to our Creation Notebooks.  After years of study, I will feel like a plant expert for my area.  There are thousands of plants, flowers, and grasses if not more to learn about.

I hope that one day my family will not need the knowledge of edible wild plants to survive.  However I am not ruling out the possibility that one day in future, my family might need this vital information.  The Robinson family prepared for the future, and they have inspired me to learn all I can about the plants in my area.  I hope that you too are inspired to become a plant expert.

If you already are an expert, please share the names of valuable resources to aide our learning process.  I personally can use all the help I can get.

Voracious baby barn swallows photo from Wikipedia.

We have been getting a lot of rain recently.  It began with the Hurricane Alex a week or so ago.  Even though the hurricane was a long way away, it dumped inches of heavy rain on us.  Now we are experiencing the typical afternoon thunderstorm during the hot days of summer.  The rain is a very welcome change from last year’s drought.

However, rain brings an unwanted pest.  The first three stages of a mosquito’s life is aquatic; therefore, mosquitoes appear in droves after a rain shower.  You can help control a mosquito problem by removing stagnant water around your home.  Emptying out buckets,  old tires, or anything that collects water helps to make your yard unsuitable for mosquitoes.

In an article, “Anything Bugging You?,” I describe another easy way to deter mosquitoes with a common liquid found in most bathrooms.  My family has had success with this remedy, but you must spray the air with Listerine.  I know someone who sprays the ground instead and has not had near the success that I have.

Despite the rain this summer, I began wondering where all the mosquitoes were.  I can stand in my garden at dusk after watering it and not get one mosquito bite.  We can sit outside under our front porch and not see one of these disease-carrying insects.  I truly thought mosquitoes had not come out yet.

However when I went to neighbor’s house, they were working in their garden.  They were constantly swatting at their legs and arms.  They complained about how bad the mosquitoes were this year.  It was the first time that I was bitten by one this summer.  Now I was completely puzzled.

My dad came over to my house one afternoon.  He commented on how many barn swallows were flying around my house.  I said, “Oh yeah, they come every year and raise to sets of baby birds under my porch.”  They build a nest that clings to the porch.  It looks like it is made from mud.  The mother and father swallow work themselves to death constantly bringing the insatiable young food.

My dad showed me that there were more than two swallows flying through the air in my yard.  I walked around my house and noticed that at least four families of barn swallows had chosen my home.  This explained why eight swallows were swooping, dancing, and darting over our heads.

The only conclusion I can draw is that these barn swallows were eating the mosquitoes as fast as they matured into adulthood.  The only drawback is that the birds under my porch eave leave presents for me on the ground.  It really is not that big of a deal.  I just scrap it off.

I much prefer that chore than the possibility of contracting West Nile from a mosquito bite.  I am sure that most birds will chow down on mosquitoes.  Encourage them to call your yard home by feeding them.  Perhaps, you can construct a bird house.  Or in my case, allow them to build their own.  As soon as they are gone, you can remove it.

Finding a predator for the pests in your life is the most natural way to fight against them.  You just want to make sure that the predator does not create more problems.  In this case, barn swallows are a joy compared to the mosquitoes on which they dine.  I will excitedly welcome them back next year.

To read more about barn swallows, All About Birds is a good place to start.

This couch looked like the top cushion. Now the bottom cushion looks like the matching love seat.

Once we removed the other couch and set these up in our living room, I noticed in our light that one couch was used more than the other.  The love seat appears to be virtually unused.  On the other hand, the long  couch seems to be the preferred seating in the other house.  The fabric appeared discolored.  It looked gray instead of the creamy yellow color of the love seat.

Upon closer examination, I determined that the couch was just dirty.  The cushions and arm rests were discolored by dirt and grime.  I wondered what to do.

Like most Americans these days, I googled “the best way to clean upholstery.”  I was not necessarily seeking an all-natural way, but an effective way.  In our house the difference between the two couches was completely noticeable.  I had to do something if I was going to keep this gift.  Seeing how we had already given away our old couch, the pressure was on.

I read information from several different sites.  The very first site described how to make your own spray cleaner, but it used ammonia.  I don’t have ammonia on hand, and I know that it irritates me with its strong odor.  So I modified their recipe making an all-natural and safe upholstery cleaner that works.

I combined 2/3 cup of baking soda with 1/4 cup of white vinegar.  Then I added 5 cups of warm water and 6 drops of lavender essential oil.  I stirred until the baking soda dissolved and poured it into a spray bottle.

The top of a dirty arm rest.

I began with the arm rest and one cushion.  I sprayed them down and then wiped them down with a white rag.  My rag did not stay white for long.  Both sides of it turned brown.  At least now I knew that the cleaner was removing dirt.  I continued to spray it down and wipe.

My husband remembered that my mother had purchased a steam cleaner years ago.  He retrieved it for me, but the machine for whatever reason would not spray the cleaner.  It will only suck up the liquid.  So, I continued spraying down the cushion and arm rest by hand allowing it to set for about 10 minutes.  Then using the machine, I sucked up the liquid.

The water looked like thin mud at first.  Slowly it began looking more like water.  At this point, I left it alone to completely air dry.  This morning I was so excited by what I saw.  The cushion and arm rest look just like the love seat.  My cleaner worked!

I still have a lot of work to do to restore the last three cushions and one arm rest to its original color, but I am thrilled that I will be able to do accomplish the task.  In addition, the lavender oil gives the couch a nice, fresh scent.  If you have any upholstery to clean or refresh, try my all-natural recipe.  Let me know how it does for you.  For me, you can literally see the difference.

The top of a now clean arm rest.

Activated Charcoal Paste

Activated charcoal has a many uses.  Some are for medical purposes.  Hospitals rarely pump one’s stomach if they suspect poisoning because they treat the patient with activated charcoal.  Other uses include treating stomach upset and other problems associated with the bowels.

I bought activated charcoal in capsule form when I was going through a seven day detoxification process.  It supposedly absorbs the toxins so that they can be eliminated efficiently and effectively.  Since then I have occasionally used activated charcoal if my stomach was upset.

Months ago I read an article in Beeyoutiful’s catalog about this form of charcoal.  I was intrigued by the author’s successful use of charcoal in fighting off the infection of a brown recluse spider bite.  After caring for herself, she also helped out a friend with the same problem.  Activated charcoal in powder form was key in restoring their health.

Well a few weeks ago my husband noticed a spot on his hand was becoming infected.  He does not know exactly when or how it happened.  He gets cuts and scrapes all the time.  At first, Lane cleaned it with soap and water.  Then he cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide and anti-bacterial ointment.  Lane is always suspicious of anything natural and/or homeopathic.

My husband's mysterious wound.

By looking at the photograph of his hand, you can tell that his hand was really infected.  Whether he likes to admit it or not, it bothered him, too.  I asked him if I could try making an activated charcoal paste.  He relented, so I know he was getting desperate.

I opened a capsule and added a little water to the powder.  I stirred it up.  Then I applied the paste to the infected area.  I covered it with a large bandage so that he did not have to worry about smearing the paste all over the house.  After several hours, I removed the bandage and rinsed off the paste.  All of the puss was gone.  Instead, a small crater was in the skin.

Lane remarked how gross it looked.  He also thought that the paste might have eaten away his skin.  I told him that he was being ridiculous.  The infection was gone and the paste just showed how deep the infection had gone.  We doctored it one more time.

His hand has completely healed.  There is just a little mark on his skin which shows where the injury or bite occurred.  Now I am not a doctor or a nurse, but I do like to read about natural healing.  This is our experience with activated charcoal.  Beeyoutiful recommends a book called, Charcoal Remedies.com, by John Dinsley if you would like to read and research the subject thoroughly.

For myself, I know that activated charcoal capsules is one of many items that I will take with me while traveling, add to my first aid kit, etc.  In my opinion, it is a necessity.

If you have an experience with activated charcoal or use it differently than I have shared here, please let me know by leaving a comment or emailing me directly to lndehaven@aol.com.