~Rach
The Nose
Four children, three boys.
All the boys have been curly-headed little blondies with long lashes and bright blue eyes.
If you look at their baby pictures, it’s hard to tell them apart.
Except for this nose. Julius Arthur has this different nose.
Moody
“You’re not really moody,” my mother said.
Really?
My mother thinks that I am not moody.
Some mornings I hesitate to even get out of bed. I pull the covers up to my neck and close my eyes, thinking about anything but real life.
But my mother thinks I am laid back.
I guess I am doing a good job at hiding it.
Ending Ends
The Last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Do not mourn, fair daughter, for days gone by,
Though the moment we’re born, we begin to die.
Like a thief in the night, eternity descends,
Making good the bad and ending ends.
This death you fear will be no more,
With each moment better than the one before.
All are drinking ever in, and ever pouring out.
Every love is given freely. Every joyful shout,
Is as joyfully answered. All are joyfully loved,
By that great blessed Lover who dwells above.
Every fear will be banished, every foe cast away,
And the darkness of night will be changed into day.
The Greatness of Children
“Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh, and the greatness which does not bow before children.” – Kahlil Gibran
Making Vapor Rub
After I received my order of beeswax from Mountain Rose, I realized I was going to be able to make a lot with it. A pound of beeswax goes a long way for a small family! Today we made homemade vapor rub, and early this summer we are going to make a big batch of lip balm with Nana to share with all my sisters.
I wanted to make two variations of vapor rub – a strong one with camphor for the Chief, and a mild one with lavender for the babies. Camphor is very strong and I don’t want to use it for the little ones.
I used 8 ounces of olive oil, about 2 ounces of beeswax. I warmed the oil over a double boiler (actually a cheap pot of water and a small bowl I picked up at the thrift store.) The oil goes in the bowl over the gently bowling water, so the oil doesn’t burn. Next time I make this, I want to use oil infused with some kind of mint to add extra strength to it – I know we will have a garden full of mint this summer. I melted the beeswax gently in the oil, and took it off the heat as soon as it was melted.
I poured the wax/oil into two tubs – repurposed from butter tubs. A real herbalist probably wouldn’t reuse old plastic butter tubs, but what can I say? They were the right size.
Then I added the oil. I used 40 drops of eucalyptus in each tub. I added 30 drops of lavender to the children’s tub and 30 drops of camphor to the Chief’s tub. I encourage anyone who wants to try this to experiment and see what works for you. Especially for kids, less is more.
The finished products smell really good!!!
I used:
Available from Mountain Rose:
White Camphor Oil
Eucalyptus Oil
Lavender Oil
Beeswax
Olive Oil (I bought mine on clearance at the grocery store)
Repurposed:
Butter tubs – metal tins or glass jars would be better
If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy the latest recipe, for herbal cough drops you can make in your kitchen.
I am putting together a kit for those who would like to try to make this themselves without the hassle of buying all the ingredients seperately – if you’d like to be put on the waiting list for the kit, fill out the form on my product page. The first run will be a short run and most likely limited to those on the waiting list. Or join my email list to the right – you’ll receive my FREE e-book in December and I’ll be sure to let you know when new products are launched.