"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Tidbits ~ Homemade "Vicks Vapo-Rub" (Mixed Oils)

It's a brisk -2°F windchill this morning (15°F).  The weatherman warned us.  Maybe it will kill off some germs.

I blame it on the weather, but my sinuses are a hot mess.  The pressure is so uncomfortable.  I am breaking out my herbal teas, my lavender eye pack (for headache relief) and ordered myself a headache ice pack wrap now.


I made homemade "Vicks Vapo-Rub" and this time around, I doubled the recipe, but used a combination of coconut oil and olive oil.  It came out to the perfect thickness, and made about 4 ounces.  

Note:  Allow it to completely cool.  Make sure the jars do not have a cardboard insert in the lid.  If you put the lids on too soon, you will have condensation on the inside of the lid which will cause your rub to go bad faster.  

The link will take you to the recipe, but as you know coconut oil becomes very solid when it's cold.  I have not tried making it with simply 1/8 cup coconut oil and 1/8th cup olive oil, but it should turn out the same (roughly 2 ounces).  I like that it's not rock hard, and will make it this way from now on.


I have not had any issues for years, and all the sudden wham!  I drank goldenrod tea I dehydrated this last fall, and it does help.  The second cup I drank, was infused with freshly grated ginger.

Tidbits ~ Homemade "Vicks Vapo-Rub" (Mixed Oils) © December 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart


Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Tidbits ~ Work Starts

 


Homemade detangler was restocked.  Pretty easy to make, starting with a tea made from marshmallow root.  I think I've been using it for about a year now.


Current crochet blanket.  I wanted to use the granny square stripes to use up this yarn, but you can see that the color varies from skein to skein.  Oh well.  I have one more skein, so I hope it creates the right size.  It is a bit larger than my usual lap afghan.  It's been a slow project with other work around here.

Our handy-man showed up.  Work has begun on the room.  Carpet is ripped out (wooden subfloor treated), storage area drywall replaced, and mudded, ceiling light removed and cleaned, and ceiling has a new coat of paint.  Much more to do, but making progress.

In the meantime, I started to purge my books (many of these are non-fiction), and filled 2 1/2 boxes so far.  I found a file folder container that had about 25 plastic document envelopes (with business card slot).  Those went into the donation box as well. I have no idea why we had them.

At about mid-afternoon, I started to get pretty bad sinus pressure. I have not had any sinus issues in years now.  I downed four thieves, took a nap (very unusual for me), and made a plan for today.  There will be some herbal tea brewing going on.  One of our daughter's had a really bad sinus headache last weekend, so I am wondering if it's the seasonal air change or the air itself.

I let my chickens out into their open run mid-morning, and went to take a look-see about 1pm.  Sure enough hawk droppings all around the fence, and my ladies were huddled inside behind their feeder.  Sigh.  The new run is on the to-do list.  Weather has been a big issue.

In the midst of purging, I found another journal.  Imagine that!!  Ha ha ha!  My canning journal.  Now that it's just the two of us, I do not track what we have in stock.  I just go look, as I prepare meal plans.  Chalk that up for more grocery list/to-do list scrap paper.

I'm down to purging some manuscript log books (copies of anything I published in the past years), but this is only happening due to the room being repaired and renovated.  Otherwise, I don't think I'd be sparked to even look at this stuff.  Add to the fact, who wants to leave the house, and leave the handy-man here alone (gotta keep an eye on things).

It's a brisk 25°F this morning, so I don't expect my handy-man too early.  My husband forgot to bring home some grocery items, so I'm going to make some changes with dinner, but that's okay too.

Typically, I have a friend make a grave blanket for me to put on my parents graves, but it didn't happen.  I am not even sure I can get any there before Christmas as this pace.