There are no Fools so Troublesome ...

... As Those that Have Wit. 

-Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard (1741)  

I haven't done a post like this in quite a while, but I think today is quite fitting to discuss one of THE most idiotic things I've done in the name of beauty, preservation, self-care, and vanity.  I think it's safe to say, at one time or another, we've all been fools when it comes to (no matter how you slice it) clinging to our youth.  

Roast Duck

I don't know if it's just the holidays, or Covid itself that has got people acting out lately, but frankly, while I think we could all do with a little less grilling, roasting, and searing right now, there are always going to be people who like to watch, if not the entire world, at least the Christmas Dinner burn.  Let this be your friendly reminder that you don't owe your time, energy, or unpaid emotional labor to anyone devoted to wreaking holly-jolly-havoc this year.  So, with that in mind, if someone's riding your beak, here are a few highlights from my own Christmases past to let you know you're not alone!

Fresh Start: Be Your Own Guru!

  Part Four:

Meet your body exactly where it is right now.

If you can't pencil yourself into your own life, then where can you?

I think one of the most difficult parts of the healing journey, but arguably the most important is the willingness, and the necessity of meeting your body exactly where it is right now, and not allowing yourself to be long-term discouraged by its current limitations, but also recognizing the need to not push your body to do what it simply can not in the moment (which is the surest path to burn-out).  Often times when people are ill or overwhelmed, you'll hear the advice "slow down" thrown around with abandon, but what many well-intentioned, able bodied, or physically well people who impart this wisdom forget or simply don't understand is what an utter hellscape the notion of "slowing down" seems like.

There are few things that sound more nightmare-ish than that to someone who's ever been bed ridden, or housebound for any length of time due to insufficient health, and just now feel like they're coming back to life out of some pseudo-zombie-state.  "You can't be serious!  IF I MOVED ANY MORE SLOWLY, I'D BE GOING BACKWARDS!!!" is how I think a lot of people feel when confronted with that particular piece of advice, and I also think it throws a little undue mental anguish into the mix on top of already being unwell, which I believe makes it easier to slip into depression, feel frustratingly discouraged, deflated, and adds to the difficulty of getting oneself on a path toward total wellness.  Which, if you've ever experienced anything that had you laid up, a mystery illness you've had to unravel, or simply had shoddy healthcare that kept you in a holding pattern of sorts, you know full well how tremendously terrible a set-back like that can feel, and the toll it can take on an already delicate physical state.  Naturally, when working on clawing your way out of the grips of a health scare or crisis, we can expect a certain amount of the doldrums to hit us from time to time, but keeping yourself from spiraling into severe depression can feel like an exhausting full-time job sometimes, and it's incredibly easy for something so small, and spoken in complete innocence to disrupt the delicate balance we've been able to miraculously achieve.

It's for these reasons that I prefer to approach my wellness by respecting my body, and its wisdom by bringing it a question instead of a direct order, and why when your feet hit the ground each morning (or not, depending on your situation), I think you should ask yourself "What am I going to do today?" and let your response back to yourself be, "I'm going to meet my body exactly where it is, right now," and whatever, and wherever that place happens to be, I hope you will remember to bring the gift of kindness for yourself.

- Part One - Part Two - Part Three -

Fresh Start: Be Your Own Guru.

Part Three:

"When you truly understand that your food choices are powerful and life affirming, you can exercise control and restraint without deprivation."

- Marlene Adelmann

I begin each one of the posts in the Be Your Own Guru series with "Fresh Start" because I believe every single day is an opportunity to begin anew.  No matter where you are at in your journey, each morning your eyes open, and you have breath in your lungs you have the power to continue, or begin living the life you imagine for yourself.  I also use it as a personal reminder, and motivation for myself!  Believe me, when I'm posting I'm doing it for myself, it's great if other people find something worthwhile around here, but I'm actually (selfishly) leaving myself a bread-crumb trail, and also attempting to hold myself accountable, I'm not just sitting here screaming at strangers, and trying to dictate their lives.  I'm really just talking to myself, which is either incredibly healthy, or ... not, but if you find something that resonates with you, you're always welcome to come along!

One of the most powerful lessons I've been able to learn when it comes to my health, and food choices is perfectly stated in the quote above.  It took me a long time to get here, but once I got it, I finally felt liberated.  I'm one of those weirdos with a long list of allergies, and food sensitivities, like, looong (several sheets of printer paper long, in fact).  We didn't find this out until I was about twelve years old, or so, all my family knew was that I was skinny, and sick or in pain all of the time.  When my test results revealed what I was allergic to was the same foods I'd been fed nearly everyday my entire childhood my parents were horrified.  Things got really difficult when we noticed the foods on my list weren't exactly obscure, they were everywhere, and ingredients in everything: wheat, rice, sugar cane, chocolate, peanut, soy, egg white, beef, dairy, just to name a few.  Try eating something in 1992 that doesn't have one of these things in it.  At the time, my list of known foods I could eat looked like a ghost town (tumbleweed blowing across the deserted streets and all).  So while my food issues may not be exactly like your food issues, and your food issues are different from the girl down the street, it doesn't matter what your personal obstacle is, if you've struggled with the feeling or notion of deprivation, we've all had the same struggle.

Fresh Start: Be Your Own Guru...

Part Two:

Be your own guru, because no one else wants the job, and anyone who does, probably doesn't deserve it.

Unfortunately (fortunately?) you've got to do your own work.  There's really no way around it.  If you're not ready to do the work, you're not ready to be well, and live your fullest, most vibrant life.  It is as simple, and as complicated as that.  The ability to be brutally honest with yourself is a huge asset in the healing process, if you've already accomplished this in your life, you've cleared the highest hurdle as far as I'm concerned.  Everything after that is just a matter of being a diligent researcher, changing daily habits, and upgrading your life (start with small, realistic increments for best results until you're confident in the strength of your commitment), and becoming your own healthcare advocate. 

Smart Cookie!

Sugar Cookie Essential Oil Bath

Clove Bud

Frankincense

Nutmeg

Peppermint

Rosemary

Combine 4 drops of each essential oil in a warm bath (Epsom salt optional, but encouraged!) and let all of your holiday stress, or end of year worries melt away.  This warming oil concoction is ideal for promoting good circulation, soothing the adrenal glands, fortifying the thyroid, and lymph system stimulation and drainage - perfect for restoring peace, and vitality during cold, Winter months.

xoxo

Lord Almighty, I Feel My Temperature Rising!

And, not just because I'm a hunk of burning love.  As Summer lulls on, the mercury keeps surging, and it's got me looking for new ways to stay hydrated, and cool

leading me to peppermint infused water.  

Since the menthol in peppermint can actually induce a mild sweat, it's considered a cooling agent, and is quite refreshing in small doses.  Peppermint is also a source of calcium, magnesium, and potassium - some of the crucial building blocks for our electrolytes, which are often easily depleted by guzzling tons of ordinary water in hot Summer months.  Ok, so while we may not be bowled over by the trace amounts of minerals in herbs, and able to forsake all other forms of food (1 Tbs of fresh leaves = 9 mg of potassium), it certainly doesn't hurt to slip 'em into your jug, and infuse your beverage you were already going to drink!

A Small Leak Will Sink a Great Ship

~Benjamin Franklin

"Leaky gut" is a phrase you've probably heard a lot recently, especially as the syndrome picks up popularity in alternative health circles, and natural publications.  The problem is, it doesn't exist, at least, it isn't a diagnosis taught in medical school.  This poses quite a problem when trying to find a qualified physician to help you navigate the path of the theory of intestinal permeability.  That's what you need to call it, by the way, to be taken remotely seriously by a healthcare professional: Intestinal Permeability.

What's the big deal anyway?  What's all the fuss about?  Why is everyone obsessed with guts these days?  Well, Hippocrates (the Father of Modern Medicine 460-370 BC), himself told us, "All disease begins in the gut," and with recent developments in our understanding of the importance of the human microbiome, as well as the gut-brain connection it seems science is finally making strides to catch up with his teachings.  Just think how advanced we could be if mankind didn't have to learn every single lesson the hard way, but I digress.  Gut health, if you've done any personal research on the topic already, you've discovered is incredibly important, and when it's compromised even by the smallest of "leaks" the effects are far reaching, and linked (but not limited) to:

• Allergies
• Asthma
• Autoimmune disorders
• Bowel problems (probably the most obvious)
• Diabetes (II) 
• Depleted immune function
• Eczema (among a whole host of skin conditions) 
• Female reproductive health complications
• Mental health (anxiety, depression, bi-polar, etc.)
• Migraine 
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Weight management problems (overweight / underweight)

Life After The Day of the Dead: Marigold Drying Instructions

A couple of summers ago I discovered the deliciousness that is fresh Marigold Tea. 

October 2016: Brocade Mix (Tagetes Patula)

Never one to be bowled over by the beauty or even particularly interested in marigolds, I began planting them strictly as borders in my raised garden beds to act as a natural pesticide, and guardian to the other, more tender plants inhabiting the protected interior.

What anyone who's ever grown this little flower possibly most easily recognized for its association with Dia de los Muertos will tell you is how ridiculously easy they are to grow, how prolific the blooms are (they go positively wild with frequent clipping, and proper dead-heading), and how insanely long the growing season is (especially in the mild PNW) -- Last year they were still going strong all the way through mid-November. 

Do a Little Dance, Make a Little Love ... Get Down Tonight!

Daysy Update:

You may remember, eight months ago I decided to invest in a little device that monitors and tracks a woman's fertility from daily basal body temperature readings.  Not only can this genius little computer help a couple conceive, it likewise can also help you avoid pregnancy (with 99.3% accuracy, ranking it better than most other forms of contraception available to us today), as well as keep a close eye on your personal hormone fluctuations (my reason for purchasing) which comes in handy when your body is on the fritz and you're experiencing imbalances.  A great reference source for learning, and understanding the correlation between your basal body temperature and hormone fluctuations is the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by, Toni Weschler.  Hormones get a really bad rap; if they're not being blamed for bad monthly behavior, then they're at fault for boys' "uncontrollable urges" or they're only deemed important to pay attention to when you're actively trying to conceive, but the truth is you can't live your best, most vibrant life if your hormones are all out of whack.

Fresh Start: Be Your Own Guru?

Part One:

Author, and Jack of all trades, Jonathan Fields shared a post on his website in 2010 beginning with these words:

I spent the better part of the first 40-years of my life looking for a guru, that person who would just blow me away with her or his prescience, kindness, compassion, vision and guidance.  The one who would give me the answers.  Who would tell me what to do to get to that place where I finally felt like I had “made it.”
So many others I knew had found one and their lives seemed so much better, more directed and purposeful for it, but that never happened to me. I would attend lectures, teachings, seminars, trainings and retreats and, inevitably, end up leaving early because some combination of information, integrity, pace or delivery did not resonate.  Why couldn’t I find that person?
It finally dawned upon me…

The person I was looking for was the one I would need to become.

I found his article a few years after its publication because of a search for a blurb by the same name posted on a page run by a little online magazine startup several acquaintances of mine began writing for around the same time.  Incidentally, this publication does not treat their contributors very well at all, so if you come across any magazine titles similar to pachyderm diaries I highly suggest avoiding becoming a contributing author, but I digress.  The gist of the blurb by, Rachel Brathen was to always trust your intuition, and know that your wisdom is much more vast, and valuable than you're probably aware.  And each time you read, or learn something new that resonates deeply within you it's really because it is reminding you of what you already know to be true.

Breaking The Cycle Of Peddling The Pill

Since its inception, the Pill (oral hormonal contraception) has been almost synonymous with freedom, and a huge player in the women's equality movement, so much so, that now to come out as a woman and renounce this form of birth control (or hormone "balancing / regulating" agent as it's prescribed for some) is to be labelled "anti-feminist" or seen as someone fighting against the hard earned rights of women to look after ourselves as we see fit, and the necessary access to what we need in order to accomplish that.  Ok, ok some of our sisters are fighting on the wrong side, I'll give you that.  We see it everyday on the news, especially in an election year; women keeping other women down because ... well, I don't exactly know why, and I'd wager neither do they.
There is, however, another completely different anti-Pill (or more accurately anti-hormonal contraception) movement that's been rumbling for decades but is recently getting a little more recognition thanks to women voicing their concerns about the ravaging effects hormonal contraception (and other hormone based medical treatments) is having on women's bodies, and it has absolutely nothing to do with taking choices, or rights away from any of us.  Quite the opposite, actually, it's about empowering us to make healthy decisions for ourselves instead of relying on governments worldwide that could NOT care less about a single one of us (says the disgruntled ex-PoliSci major ... Just ask Flint, MI), a misogynistic, not to mention corrupt, medical system (especially in America, think AMA the Rockefeller Drug Empire, et al) that still seems to be thoroughly befuddled by female anatomy, and its intricate functions even in 2016 where we continue to be treated as hysterical little girls, and "prescribed" marriage and babies to fix us. Really?  When's the last time a man went to the doctor for a real physical problem, and was told to go have a baby? This is real.  This is the nonsense women have to deal with just trying to get legitimate medical help ... still.  Partner this with a wildly out of control pharmaceutical mafia that really doesn't care if each of us sprouted two tails as side-effects from the poison they fence just so long as they'll be allowed to create and manufacture a new medication to make it fall off, and then another after that to help us grieve the loss of the tails their side-effects created, and I think anyone could begin to see why women white-knuckle their freedom to choose the Pill as a form of contraception so ferociously even if it's probably not the safest, healthiest, and most accurate choice for hormone management, family planning, and cycle correction available to us.

The Best Exotic Marigold Tea Recipe

August, for me (aside from watching films about pensioners moving to India), has been all about tracking down the best tea recipe to put all of my fresh summer 

marigolds to work.  I came up a little shorthanded ... Apparently, something my great-grandmother would have considered common knowledge is now somehow one of the great mysteries of the known universe.  The only natural method that I could find (that did not include drying the flowers in a microwave, of all things), or one having any sort of resemblance to a recipe was for an antiseptic tincture that I adapted for tea-time:

New Moon in Leo Mandala from the High Vibe Guide

• 1-2 Cups rinsed Marigold petals (snipped right above the green calyx that holds the petals on the stem).
• 4 Cups boiling water.
• Combine in French Press and steep until a rich, golden-red color appears, or combine in another suitable container, and strain to serve.

Sweeten with your desired sweetener if you're into that sort of thing (mine happens to be a pinch of Stevia).

That's it!

The taste is somewhat reminiscent of a dandelion tea, not exact, but the same kind of "body" is what you can expect.  This has definitely turned into a new favorite, and don't be timid, the more aggressively you snip the blooms from a marigold plant, the more it responds all summer long -- well into October (which makes sense with it being the "birth flower" for that month), and even into a very wet November last year around my neck of the woods.  Hopefully, by then I'll have my instructions perfected for drying & storing the petals in order to enjoy the tea throughout the chilly, hibernation months.  Until then ... Enjoy!

The Amazing Technicolor Dreamsalad

It's Summer!  Around here, that means an abundance of fresh, home-grown, leafy goodness to munch on.  I love having a garden to pluck from, and in the PNW you can pretty well manage this year round with a little research of what to plant when, even without cold boxes.  But what can you do if you're short on space?  Even in an apartment with a deck the size of a thimble, and a sliver of sunlight you can grow things to brighten up your meals.  Sometimes all you need is a sunny window, and a flower pot!  Some of my favorite, easy to grow, summertime edibles include:

• Red Romaine Lettuce (Often comes as a free gift from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds & can be successfully grown in an 11" pot)
• Nasturtiums - Both the blooms, and medallion shaped leaves are edible, and a source of both vitamin C & Iron.
• Marigolds (Tagetes & Calendula) - Cut petals at their base, and sprinkle over salads, or steep blooms in hot water for teas.  There is a laundry list of supposed uses, and health benefits of calendula blossoms, as well as praise for being a source vitamin C & Flavinoids.
• Pansies - Adorable sprinkled in salads, adorning deserts, or garnishing beverages, these little beauties contain both vitamins A & C.

If you're low on inspiration, look no further than Laurel Anderson's Wild Plate.  This gorgeous
non-cook book is loaded with fresh ideas, beautiful photography, and valuable, rarely shared tips and thorough explanations to help even the most rookie raw foodies out there!  I'm not one who follows a strict raw food diet, but as the temperatures climb I am one to avoid warm meals in the summer heat, and find myself flipping through its pages for new ideas.  If the raw food diet is something you're interested in, Wild Plate is not only the place to look for new smoothies, salads, and juices, but it will take you beyond the basics of raw cuisine, and walk you through what you need to know about raw food prep where others leave off, and gives you all the tools you need to start your raw food adventure!

My go-to Summer Salad consists of (vulgar amounts of):

• Red Romaine Lettuce
• Kale
• Carrots & Radishes (sliced into medallions)
• Black Olives
• Dried Cranberries
• Nasturtium Blooms
• Marigold Petals (snipped)

All tossed & topped with my favorite summertime Strawberry Vinaigrette by: The Gracious Pantry found here.  What I love about this really basic salad, and delicious dressing is that you can stop here, and have a beautiful dish packed with flavor, or  you can keep pushing it as it affords you the opportunity to get creative.  Want a little more heft?  Throw in some mushrooms!  Need more crunch?  Get out the celery stalks!  Swap out the lettuce for spinach ... throw in some walnuts, I mean, wherever you want to take it is totally up to you.  Bon Appétit, my lovlies!

xoxo

P.S. enjoy that blue moon tonight!