TheCG

If I'm using dried berries, should I rehydrate them before putting them in vodka? Or will it keep longer if I let the vodka do the dehydrating and just squish the berries and strain them later?

What is the logic behind using sugar in place of honey for storage time? I thought honey lasts forever and ever and ever... Once this batch is gone, I'll try your recipe.

I used the recipe on this site: http://frugallysusta...medicine-chest/ ETA: I picked up dried elderberries from the health food store. I think I got about a cup for $3 or $4. I added ginger, but I don't have cheesecloth so I just squished the mixture through a fine strainer.

I found this TED talk to be very interesting in pointing out how ANYTHING can be a sign of a psychopath. It makes you think...

Luckily, he never quite got to level 2....but he's denying that he might still be sick. Silly man.

DH and I are both growing our hair out. I don't think mine's been trimmed at all since before we got married. My hair is finally longer than his...at least when it's dry! His is curly.

I just made elderberry syrup for the first time. The directions I found said to take 1 tablespoon every day for adults to help prevent flu. That could come in handy, since apparently it's hitting hard this year. Can I just stay home until after flu season? I'm sure my husband will make faces at me and refuse, but I'm planning to do it. :frying pan: Hopefully nobody will get . It sure smells tasty!

I would like y'all to note that I started this thread exactly 2 weeks ago. His complaint about taking "my hippie remedies" is that last year, it "extended" the time he was sick to 2 weeks. He's doing better, but still exhausted and hacking up a lung every once in a while at night.

Lemon juice I can probably handle in moderation. Thanks!

If I have issues with citric acid, are there alternatives I can use to keep things from changing colors on me? Would ascorbic acid work?

And should it be water bath or pressure canning?

Too late, he's already addicted. He seems to be getting better some, but still refuses to take anything 'cept a bit of cough medicine at night.

How to make...ice cubes! http://www.food.com/recipe/ice-cubes-420398 Read the reviews, they're HILARIOUS.

We're having bad luck with humidifiers. They seem to grow things almost instantly in our house. Maybe since the vents have been cleaned, they won't do it as quickly now?

I have a little one made for scents - I'll put some Eucalyptus and Peppermint oil in it.

I'm going to try to convince him to breathe steam for a bit tonight. Maybe that'll keep him from waking up at an ungodly hour coughing tonight.

He was coughing up stuff last night, but after he took cough syrup (small steps, right?) he slept the rest of the night. He stopped by the house this morning (a couple hours into his workday) and I loaded him up with hot chai & honey again. I plan to "garlic" him tonight. I also found a "recipe" where you cover sliced lemons and ginger with honey, then after it sits a bit, you just put the honey in the bottom of your mug and add hot water. Sounds tasty to me!

Garlic does not become obscene. I might do a frittata tonight with lots of garlic and onions...not feeling like what we had planned anyways!

I have peppermint and lavender oil. He won't do a sinus wash or take Mucinex or eat chicken soup (he has a weird thing with chicken broth). I *might* be able to get him to do a saline spray, but I'm not sure. He does drink a ton of water (and I sent him back to work after lunch with a thermos full of chai tea with honey). I'll set up the humidifier and just not say anything about it.

My husband has the sinus crud. He refuses to take medicine or anything alternative for it, as he insists that it just prolongs it. I can get him to drink chai or mint tea. Is there anything else I can do that he won't think is medicinal? We really can't afford for him to miss work over this.

I picked up a turkey at $.55/lb and 2 chickens at $.77/lb. The turkey is frozen, so it went into the deep freezer for now. The chickens are thawed, so they'll get tossed into the crock pot tomorrow, picked clean once they're cooked, then I'll leave the carcasses in until the next day to make some bone broth.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/18/15249729-ntsb-warning-signals-activated-before-vets-float-pulled-onto-train-tracks?lite Sounds like it was mostly driver error. He's going to need lots of prayers as well. That's going to be hard to live with.

It sounds like everything was working properly and the train horn did sound. They just didn't get off the tracks. All 4 deceased were the Heroes, one of whom pushed his wife off the trailer, probably saving her life. My husband said there were 4 failures here: 1) They planned the parade across the tracks (there is only one location where you can cross the tracks without actually crossing the tracks in town - an underpass in the middle of downtown). 2) They didn't tell the railroad about it. 3) The truck did not leave enough room to get off the tracks before getting on the tracks. 4) The truck did not get off the tracks by any means necessary, even if he had to ram the vehicle in front of him.

I think my only suggestions would involve sea salt, garlic, and rosemary. Chickens are on sale for $.79/lb. I'm thinking about going and getting a few, since we now have a freezer.

It might still be residual. It sometimes takes them a few days to clear a site again.