Recent content by Jasmyne

Dong Quai, ephedra.... citrus scents are 'stimulating'. The energy drinks being hawked today are high in something called taurine: while it's safety isn't fully proven, it's a helluva lot more powerful than caffeine.

I don't have stevia in the yard, YET. That is on the list of things I want, and for the reason of calorie-free sweetening of things like iced teas. I may give a whirl at making one with rose-water... I'm still debating if the taste will suit my palate, though.

Two of my cats have a 'thing' about smacking each other around periodically, and while it's never more than a fleeting encounter of claws and meow'ing, it has left the bigger of the two with a nasty looking boo-boo on his 'lip'. I rarely see these encounters, but they both know I don't...

Coyotes, raccoons, skunks, bear.... all are issues in my neighbourhood this year, and earlier than is usual: the late Spring is being blamed. All I know is that the critters LOVE garbage, and can be really destructive. I've come up with a few tricks to keep them from doing their worst in my...

I've been married for more than a 1/4 century now, and I've 'lost' so many family to infighting and disagreements.... but for one or two members, we have absolutely no contact with my husbands family, and very very little with my own extended family. Fugly family is sort of like a genetic...

My cats baffle me sometimes. I change their water twice a day, yet my cats insist on drinking water from the dishes under my plant pots! What gives with that? I'd think that they'd prefer clean water over dirt-scuzzed water in a planter?

Do you have a favorite drink in the Summer? OK, I'm not talking booze, but admit I'm a sucker for an ice cold beer. I make iced tea from herbs in the garden. Catnip (lemon), bee balm, lemon balm, and a tiny itty bit of peppermint, get steeped, honey and lemon added, and then I let it get...

You don't say if your hair is long or short...? I have issues that way, too, with my hair to my shoulder blades: it's very wavy, curlier underneath, and very thick. My solution in the Summer months is to spray it down with a leave in conditioner product, and pin it up. It doesn't completely dry...

Why does the animal need antibiotics... what is it that keeps 'getting sick'? There's a few things that can be used on critters, but without knowing the nature of the need, I can't get more specific: could you please share a few details?

A very simple, fragrance free baby soap, or a goat's milk based soap. I have a friend from HS that reacts to almost every soap, and the one she didn't, isn't made anymore. I had to do some looking, but I'll share what I found: MONICA'S SOUTH MOUNTAIN SOAPWORKS is a little cottage biz out in...

I don't watch a lot of tv... we only own one, and the kids get first dibs. I'm more likely to be found with my nose in a book, or researching something on the computer (IF the computer is free, that is! hahaha!). I can't sit still like that for too long or I fall asleep. :D

With no long term studies to reference, I have a lot of misgivings about the herb.... I make topical meds from it (for psoriasis, arthritis), but refuse to take it orally: I don't know enough to feel comfortable with it. The blood pressure POP that can result from the herb and a turkey...

In the extreme heat of summer, I make my cats each a special 'bed'.... a beach towel wrapped around gel paks out of the freezer. I've also been known to hose the felines down, I once owned a cat that would play 'hockey' with my ankles to herd me outside to hose him down! He LIKED it, and so it...

O do I relate to that question.... I don't know who is worse for NOT going to see a doctor, my father or my husband, but the both need to be slapped upside the head before either will go and see one. Hubby was literally grey with a fever of 103.5F, unable to catch his breath, sweaty, achey, the...

I consider St John's Wort to be dangerous when used regularly without medical supervision. It interacts with a lot of things (including chocolate and pharmaceuticals), and regular use can leave the person susceptible to nasty sunburns. ANY medication has side effects, even Advil. The SAFEST...