Danelions.....why I LOVE them!

Growing up in the city it was normal to watch everyone scrambling each spring to kill off the dandelions. I personally always liked them. As a young child I remember picking them for my Mom and teachers each spring with such pride as I presented my beautiful Dandelion bouquet to them. What's not to love about these sweet little yellow gems as they stand brightly against our green lawns as if to say ""SPRING IS HERE""! As I got older I never gave it much thought again until my own kids stared giving me these wonderful spring bouquets. One day I thought to my self, what purpose could these or do these have? I have heard of folks making wine out of them and dandelion green salads. But is that it?? So I began my quest to find out what can these little gems do for me. As a homesteader you are always looking to find a way to use everything the earth on your farm has to offer..even better that it's FREE!!

Well was I surprised to find out that you can not only make wine and eat them BUT they can make amazing soap and salves! You can make Tea. Use the roots to make a coffee like drink. The medicinal traits were so surprising to me. Medicinal Uses of Dandelion: (1): Digestion problems, sluggish liver and/or gallbladder function: *As a bitter herb, dandelion root stimulates gastrointestinal functions. An infusion of roasted root is an alternative to coffee and, if taken before or heavy meal, can pleasantly stimulate digestion and handle issues with the liver and/or gallbladder Instructions: *Infuse 1/2 tsp- 2tsp. dried or roasted dandelion root in each 1 cup boiling water. Steep for 20 minutes and strain. Drink 3 cups per day. If using roasted root, add milk to taste but avoid sweeteners because they diminish the herb’s effectiveness. The list just goes on and on as far as it's uses.

(2): As a Detox and Diuretic: *Feeling sluggish or run-down? It might be time to detox. Dandelion leaves have powerful diuretic activity. They promote the production and excretion of urine and also stimulate the liver and gallbladder. The leaf is also a wonderful source of potassium, so if you need this nutrient, try this tea: Instructions: *Infuse 1-2 tsp. dried dandelion leaves in each 1 cup of boiling water. Steep for 20 minutes and strain. Drink 3 cups per day. Then I looked into uses of Dandelions is soaps and salves...also more than I expected high in many Vitamins and minerals, says can even help with Acne, severely dry skin issues. Being rich in antioxidants, dandelions provide anti-ageing benefits, thus reducing the appearance of fine lines, age spots and wrinkles around the eyes and lips. Besides nourishing your skin, this herb helps tone and firm up sagging and unbalanced skin. Dandelion juice regulates the secretion of hormones and widens the pores, thus facilitating the removal of toxins through sweating and urination. Dandelion sap can be applied topically on acne to inhibit microbial infection. Vitamin C in it speeds up the healing process, thus reducing the visibility of scars and red inflammation that often accompanies acne. Dandelion tea can also be consumed to prevent acne. All you need to do is steep 1 to 2 teaspoons of dandelion root or leaves in a cup of water. This will rid your body of toxins that cause acne. The research is out there. I could go on forever.

This is by no means a diagnosis for anything always consult your Doctor. And when you do pick Dandelions always make sure they are in an area free from pesticide sprays and not used as a doggy bathroom!! Lucky for me we are a 'NO chemical' farm. So next time your gonna spray those little beauties try picking a basket full and make something really great from them......My bounty is gonna make some fabulous Goats Milk soap, some Sore muscle salve, and some Tea! I will decide from there what other projects I want to do while they are so abundant. ENJOY your Spring and do not be afraid to go outside the box! There's always a great surprise waiting for you. Sometimes the best choices are right out in the yard in front of you.

I am one very lucky lady!

A few years ago when I tried my friends bar of Goats Milk soap and started researching what actually was in our soap and other bath and body products little did I know at the time what turn my life would take. We are living the Homesteaders dream. We are already growing and producing the vast majority of our families food. Without the use of chemicals. Growing our Vegetables, raising Free range chicken, duck, Turkey and so on of eggs, Raw Honey from our hives, Making Cider from our Apples, canning, freezing and dehydrating all sorts of goodies. Not to mention all the Dairy stuff from our Goats Milk..all sorts of different cheese, yogurt, buttermilk for cooking...well you get the idea. I do clean without chemicals. I make my own cleaning & laundry stuff. So when I started really "reading labels" I have to admit I was reading words that I could not pronounce. That was really concerning to me. So I was snapping pics of ingredient labels of soaps and lotions and other gook we were putting all over our bodies. Once I started looking up what they were..HOLY MOLY! Had I have know..wow! Well at this point I got a bar of 'real' soap and it was a done deal. So then my next thoughts were..OK, I'm gonna learn to make my own soap..and I did. And I LOVED IT! It was a feeling I cannot hardly describe. Control of ingredients, The accomplishment of learning yet another skill, creative flow of colors, scents and design. Friends and family would come over and be like "what smells so good?" I was and am always ready to show off my newest creations. It was all about the soap. Then from there it was my gateway to creating my own goats milk lotions, Bath Bombs, Lip Balms, Sugar Scrubs, Bath Salts, Bath Melts, Herbal Salves, bubble balls, Body whip and so many other wonderful products. As I started making more and more product it was finally said "You seriously need to just start your own little home business". And so I did. I cannot walk thru a store without looking at something and thinking can I use that to make a mold for a Bath Bomb or soap! It's really quite entertaining at times. So I started doing craft shows and other gatherings to promote my little business. I feel so lucky every single day to be doing what I just simply LOVE to do and to be able to share it with everyone else. The hours alone I spend on researching different ingredients I want to use in my products surpasses any 40 hour a week job. Everything I sell has taken me months of learning, researching, testing on myself until I believe it's perfect. This job is defiantly NOT all glam. I am out there Milking my sweet girls to get that white gold. And cleaning stalls and sleeping on hay bales out in a dark, spooky barn all by myself self and it's like 10* helping them deliver their sweet little kids. It is hard work and dedication to something I love to do. Anything worth while in life is lots of hard work. And you will never, ever hear me complain. There are not many folks who can say they absolutely love their job, but I can. As I am writing this blog I have 3 batches of soap waiting for me to finish and some Jewel weed Salve too. That brings me to another great thing that has happened in my life. As many of you know I went thru a time where I wasn't feeling well at all. Dr's could not figure out what was wrong with me. All they want to do is give you pills to fix the symptoms but not the problem. Not good enough! I need to feel good without the use of medication. So I started going to a wonderful Holistic Dr...He is great! Made me feel so much better in just a couple visits. Well after a couple visits and a few great conversations he invited me onto his health Radio show. I was totally flattered by this. He is all about you feeling your best and thought we should cover all the bad stuff that is put in our Soaps and other Bath & body products. After all your skin is your largest organ and you really do need to keep it healthy. I have to admit I was super nervous but it went very well and I had a blast..and they've invited me back again for another show. How exciting my life has become! Maybe Oprah's next! You seriously need to listen to his show always a great wealth for information to make your life better..Anthony & Ron are super fun Radio hosts and extremely interesting to listen too..you can tell they really want to help you. I will be sharing a link so you can listen to the show..you won't be disappointed. Every morning when I wake up and go out to do my Farm chores then come back inside to work..I think to myself "I am one seriously lucky lady!" here's the link to the show http://247Thestream.mobapp.at/