Well! A goodly long time has passed, the seasons have changed a couple of times over, and we find ourselves on the cusp of spring and summer. What's old? I still have a sinus infection. (No, I kid you not.) It's not the same one, although I have had a couple between now and then. I had just kicked one over the last couple of weeks, and after this weekend it came roaring back. Why? Well, if I weren't so lazy, I'd walk over and get my Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine and start citing studies about how sugar impacts the immune system. Suffice to say, spending the weekend overindulging in tasty adult beverages was apparently not what my body had in mind, so it gave me the big middle finger, and I'm sick again.

Current protocol: nasal irrigation 1-2x daily with a saline/xylitol blend, with 15 drops of goldenseal tincture in 2 cups of water. 1 ml of an alcohol free extract of astragalus twice a day. rest, rest, rest, and lots of fluids. mullein/garlic oil in the ear. (lots of popping and squeaking when i blow my nose, doctor has affirmed that there is fluid in my ears). a vegan multivitamin/mineral supplement. and as always, a gaba/glutamate balancer to ensure i don't totally lose my mind. :) I will probably be switching astringents though, as goldenseal no longer appears to be indicated, my snot has changed from thick green and yellow to thick white. i keep meaning to run up to the local shop here and get an elecampane tincture, i hear it's fantastic for pulling out old infection, as well as catarrhal conditions that irritate the stomach/lungs, although I fear that won't come in handy this time, as it's used for yellow/green catarrh. I'd have to check with someone more experienced than me, but I think for the time being, it's a consideration best put off.

I wish I could say I've been eating well lately, but I certainly haven't. I know that doesn't boost the immune system.

So what's new, and what's good? Well, got lots of culinary/medicinal herbs planted (meaning, ones that have dual purpose as medicinal and culinary). Wes constructed two 9' x 4' raised beds for me, since our plants last year got all diseased and from what I understand, a lot of it came from the soil. Last weekend we went on a planting extravaganza, and between the culinary herb bed (which also contains beans, garlic, leeks, shallots, and onions), the small hole in our patio (which now contains evening primrose and a blueberry busy), and the boxes (which contain a laaaarge variety of vegetables), we should be all set once we get the watermelons planted. We're going to try a method culled from Mother Earth News, and plant them in 40 pound bags of organic compost with drainage holes cut in the bottom. We tried another of their no-dig planting methods when we realized that we had overbought for the beds - laid newspaper down, soaked it, covered it with topsoil, covered that with compost, and planted the remainder of the plants in there. It currently houses 4 broccoli plants and 2 kale plants. My greens are all looking a little sad right now, I've got red leaf lettuce, kale, spinach, head lettuce....and something else, I can't remember. My arugula's been planted for weeks, and is taking off quite nicely. The pepper plants look awesome, but my strawberry plants keep getting pillaged by the squirrels. Damn squirrels.

You learn something new every day. I was looking at seeds at the local hardware store, trying to find some parsnips for a fall crop, and came across cat grass. I happened to glance at the latin name for cat grass. AVENA SATIVA. ....are you kidding me? How did I not know that milky oats and cat grass are one and the same?! Delicious, indeed, and nutritive as all get out. I have dried oat straw, but I had no idea where to get fresh tops for a milky oats tincture. Guess I know where I'll be getting some now. From my garden, if I can keep the cats out of it. (Alex has taken to peeing in my raised bed...I wonder how many times I'll have to chase him out with the hose...)