A Little Thanksgiving Nostalgia

Dear Friends,

We found this touching video on YouTube, based on a family's experience discovering the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

Enjoy!

Love,

Marqueta

Thanksgiving Day

Dear Friends,

I'd like to share this beautiful article from Godey's Lady's Book, November 1972, couple with a few photos of what our family has been up to lately~



"The eve of our annual Thanksgiving Day is drawing peacefully to its close. Strange, that though this day comes in this dreariest month of the whole year, yet a golden glory always seems clustering about it, and all the joyousness and the bright freshness, and the beautiful charm of spring-time seem concentrated in this one happy day; and our hearts instinctively swell with grateful thanks for all the blessings plentifully meted out to us by the merciful hand of our Heavenly Father, throughout the long but now dying year.

The Night-Blooming Jasmine

The spirit of Thanksgiving Day! who does not recognize its silent and pure presence? No matter how lonely one may be, however far removed from friends and home--where is held, on this day, the family reunion--still in your silent room where you sit in loneliness, perhaps in grief, this peaceful and shining spirit glides noiselessly in, and its cheering presence sheds a golden glory around--you feel that you are not alone, and as if some loved friend had burst in upon you with their joyous welcome and beaming face, your heart leaps with sudden gladness, and your sorrow is vanished as if by magic.


'Tis the holy spirit of Thanksgiving Day. It cheers every heart, and gathers up many tearful thanks--often silently offered--and wafts them on snowy wings to its starry home in the skies.

Liberty likes apple peelings!

May its beautiful presence, on this day of the coming year find all sorrowing hearts made happy, all desolate homes rejoicing, the lonely wanderer sheltered in his haven or rest. That all may offer up, in one grand melody, that glorious hymn to the Creator, "Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good-will towards men."

And Noel likes his stuffed twin :) .

Love,

Marqueta

"Reasons for Thanksgiving"

To have food enough and a place to dwell,
To have work to do and to do it well,

To find the comfort when things go wrong
In a bit of prayer or a snatch of song,

To know good books and share their worth,
To plant bright flowers in rich brown earth,

To have true friends--this is living
And reason enough for Thanksgiving.

~Edith Shaw Butler

Dear Friends,

Thank you for coming by today~It seems there are lots of garlic lovers out there, after all! It's a rather blustery day today, with snow in the forecast. Thankfully yesterday we were able to go outside for a little art time,




as well as taking a peek at what is happening around the garden.

A few of our plant friends are bravely staying green in the cold, including:

Tansy

Red Clover

Plantain

Blue Hyssop

Strawberry

And Cinquefoil

And the pussy willows are already preparing for next spring!

But what's this? It looks like a pussy of a different sort has been investigating the gopher mounds in the garden!

Now we would like to leave you with another poem to help us thank all of you for your continued friendship, and all the many blessings that we share.

Thankfulness is an attribute,
A quality of life,
Which can make existence sweeter
And lighten every strife.
To appreciate is golden;
To say so is divine,
And thankfulness should come each day,
Not wait for special time.
Thanksgiving Day is every day;
November brings it near,
Remembering with grateful hearts
The blessings of all year.

~Mary A. Barnard

Love,

Marqueta

A Little Garlic, Anyone?

Dear Friends,

This is just a quick post to thank everyone for your kind comments~There is so much to learn about health, but I think that every little thing we can do, adds up to a lot in the end!

Michele mentioned using garlic on the soles of the feet for illness, which is a great idea, too. It's great for small children who can't handle eating the garlic.

We make up a garlic oil by blending olive oil and garlic in the blender, putting it in a jar with cheesecloth on the top for a couple of days (to allow moisture to evaporate), and then strain and bottle. We use this oil, warmed, directly in the ear for earaches, and it can be rubbed on the feet to help fight infections.

If you have an emergency and don't have oil on hand, you can apply olive oil to the soles of the feet, and then chopped garlic mixed with Vaseline (straight garlic tends to blister the skin) after that. To hold your poultice on, cover with a gauze pad and skin tape around the foot.

It sounds complicated, but really isn't, and that garlic gets right in and starts pulling out infections of all kinds, fast. It's good stuff!

Thanks, Michele, for the reminder!

May you and yours be blessed today.

Love,

Marqueta

p.s. Here's a little article on garlic from our beloved Dr. Christopher

Natural Treatment for Fevers

Dear Friends,

A merry day to you! We hope that you and your loved ones are well and happy today. We felt impressed today to share with you some of the things that we have learned about treating the fevers that happen in any family. The information we will present is in no way intended as medical advice, only as what we have followed in our own family. The best advice is just to follow your instinct, and prayefully consider what is right for you and your loved one at the time. We promise that you will always be guided to just what you need at that time.

As a warning, let me just say that we have received more negative feedback from family and friends in our treatment of fevers, than just about anything else "odd" our family does! It has been a real trial of faith, but over the years we have seen fewer and fewer illnesses as we have helped Nature to remove toxins from our bodies, and the fevers that do occur are shorter in duration.

I remember at first being shocked, back when AnnaMarie was a baby, when I first learned the purpose of fevers from Dr. Christopher's School of Natural Healing. But then, I had an overwhelming feeling that it was all true and sensible. Here is a quote from Dr. Christopher's "Herbal Home Health Care" (Which we highly recommend for empowering parents to care for their own children during illness, as well as preventing illness from happpening in the first place):

"When excess mucus, toxic materials, drug accumulations, poisons and other undesirable materials accumulate within the body, the body's natural reaction is to unload this material before it reaches a high enough level to cause death. The body then reacts with colds, smallpox, measles, chicken pox, or some other childhood disease. The first indication of disease that generally appears is a fever. An adult's first thought, when he sees that his child has a fever, is to hurry and lower the temperature to normal. This is a mistake because the fever is nature's way of letting us know the child has toxic material in his body which should be removed quickly. The fever must not be ignored, but we should work with it."

Dr. Christopher goes on to teach us that fevers have different purposes. One is to pull bodybuilding materials (such as calcium) to an area that is lacking in them. An example is a teething baby with a fever and swollen gums. He says that many times, administering a good organic calcium causes the fever to drop quickly, and the teeth pop through. "If the parent uses medication to lower or suppress the fever and nothing else is done, he is . .. stopping the attempt of a building process without assisting it to accomplish what the body is trying so hard to do."

The second purpose of fevers is to discard or burn up unwanted materials. Our bodies literally melt toxins and cook viruses and bacteria during the process of a fever. Of course, we do not want the fever to build up to too high of a level. That is why it is so important to help it rid itself of these materials as soon as possible.

Again from Dr. Christopher: "The first thing we do is to check the bowels, and see if the child is constipated. Many times a good bowel movement is all that is necessary to bring down a fever." I have never heard anyone else mention the following, but when you think about it, it does make sense! One can give the child a safe, mild herbal laxative, or a cold catnip tea enema, to help the bowels evacuate (Enemas are another thing that no one talks about these days!).

If you can catch the fever when it is first starting, a tea made of red raspberry (or blackberry) leaves or yarrow leaves or flowers, and given rather warm, will many times help the body to sweat and clean itself out through the pores. Give as many cups, sweetened with honey or stevia, as the child (or adult) will take. When dealing with babies or small children, I find that using a tincture of yarrow, warmed up in a cup of hot water, followed by some warm water in a bottle, works very well. If breastfeeding, the mother can drink the teas as well as eating lots of garlic, and this will go into the milk and help the baby, too.

Lots of rest, and being warmly covered, are also good keys to helping the body work through a fever faster. Fasting and drinking unsweetened juices will help to clean the body out as well. Many times we worry that we will starve if we miss a meal or two, but it is a welcome relief to a body who is already dealing with an overload, to not have to add digesting food as well.

The most important thing to remember is that a dry fever is deadly, but a moist fever is life-giving. Never let someone with a fever become dehydrated! Forcing liquids (especially the teas), and if the fever has been progressing for a while, placing them in a hot-but-not-scalding tub of water till they are freely perspiring (followed by a cold rinse to close the pores before drying off, and putting them to bed), will assist with this.

If you are interested in learning more, Dr. Christopher's website, as well as his book, have lots of information on simple, yet effective ways of keeping our bodies running smoothly and healthily.

May we all learn to work with and appreciate all the beautiful processes that our Creator has given us, to keep us healthy!

Love,

Marqueta

p.s. Our Sweete Felicity Wolverine Tea, for sale in our Etsy Shop, has yarrow in it. Although we haven't had a chance to use this tea with fevers, the mint and catnip would make it a very pleasant "medicine", indeed!