"Paper or Plastic?"

(My dad's 'bright' idea, nearly sans-plastique. Step by step!)

Just like uninsured citizens and mullets, plastic bags are a thing of the past. The stuff is derived from rotted dinosaur guts from the Jurassic Era, folks. So how do you show people you're on the cutting edge next time you reach for that bundle of radishes? Ditch the plastic!

Look around your house. How many things can you find used to carry something in? Assign the kids to counting and enjoy an hour or two of freedom, because really there are so many options! Plastic (and paper) bags were taken in by grocery stores as a way to serve the consumer, but if you think about it, the waste created by digging up and processing oil and cutting down our leafy green trees is actually a huge disservice to us all. If we would all pick up some slack and be a bit less lazy, we could save an outstanding number of resources! Bringing your own carrying device is no sacrifice. Just pick something up on your way out the door.

For veggies and fruits:

I have a small collection of scarves to tie up string beans, kumquats, and those unruly button mushrooms into tidy bundles. Bigger stuff? Just stick it in the cart!

For your entire grocery load:

Beach towels, fabric bags, hand baskets, head baskets, jackets (also dad-tested), cardboard boxes from your nearest corporate dumpster, suitcases...backpacks....

wheelbarrow....wagons....sleds (weather-appropriate).......pockets........

I started to get creative here, but why not?

So next time they ask you "Paper or plastic?" be prepared to say "No sir! I prefer my T-Rex 6 feet under and my trees round and upright." The power is in your hands (and baskets and backpacks and ...)

Agarita Tincture

Agarita (Berberis Trifoliolata, a member of the barberry Berberidaceae family) is a beautiful Texas native shrub, unfortunately vehemently disliked by most of Texas' native people due to its very poky personality. When the plant blooms in March, the smell is wonderful, but indeed you have to watch how you go about sticking your nose in to get a whif because each set of flowers is guarded by an army of leaves (think holly leaves.)

Technical Jargon:

If you look beyond surface characteristics however, Agarita is a strong, survivor of a plant that has a long history of use in the region. The twigs and root, if broken in half, are a vibrant yellow, complements of a compound called 'berberine.' Berberine is the same compound found in the more popular Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) that thrives in rich soil of forests floors further east. It has been relatively extensively studied, exhibiting many typical characteristics of plants, including antibacterial and antifungal properties which is all good and well, but it has a few really unique and cool uses.

First of all, it happens to up-regulate (increase amount of) LDL receptors, which are the guys that bind low-density lipoprotein (LDL which carries 'bad' cholesterol in the blood) the compound which is then endocytosed and eliminated in the liver. Yay! This is good news for helping reduce arterial plaques (accumulated cholesterol on artery walls) which can lead to heart attacks and strokes that are more and more common nowadays.

When it comes to cancer, I think berberine is much more suited for use as a component of a whole drug that would be used for treatment, as its effects seem to me to be scattered across the map and don't pack a strong punch. However, I don't think this negates it deserving a place in our minds as an herbal anti-tumor remedy. It shows tumor-suppressing activity in melanoma, leukemia, and breast cancer by regulating gene expression of various cell-proliferation factors. Exciting stuff! It all really gets quite complicated (above my understanding, anyhow) with numbers and abbreviations and whatnot, but it gives me hope that it has proven on some level effective in more than one study, each independent from each other, and against more than one type of cancer. They may have something here!

My less-technical conclusion:

When I look in to the medicinal profiles of each plant out there, it seems they each have hundreds of different minute effects in our body system. Some plants have one or two predominant actions which seem to outshine their other medicinal facets, but the majority cast small spells and work small magic all throughout our bodies. Combined, all these inputs bring about a single characteristic in our bodies; health. Each alkaloid, flavanoid, volatile oil and lignin fiber synchronistically work to keep us brimming with life and vibrancy.

Tincture:

The whole point of this blog rant was initially to summarize my (very first ever!) attempt to make a tincture.

A tincture is a method of extraction aimed at drawing active components out from a plant and in to an alcohol solution. The great thing about alcohol is that it has the potential to capture those components that are perhaps not-so-soluble in water (think herbal tea) as well is that it acts as a natural preservative. Have you ever looked through some old abandoned back cabinet of yours and happened across a handle of liquor and wondered to yourself if you'd have to throw it out? Of course not! Alcohol stays good for....a very long time? This goes for your tinctures as well, in contrast to dried herbs which will lose their potency with time due to oxidation and evaporation of volatile compounds.

To make my Agarita tincture I took my shovel (not so primitive, but highly effective!) and went out to a thriving patch of Agarita where I wouldn't be eliminating it from the area in order to harvest. As you can see in the photos, the root system of this young plant was not too large and once I had the soil loosened it was easy to pull up. Gloves, calluses, or a high pain tolerance recommended!

The root bark (outer 'sheath' on the root) has by far the highest concentration of active components, but it seemed to me that the root was pretty yellow all the way through and I decided that with my planned 1:2 plant-to-alcohol ratio that I could use the lower-potency inner bark as well, thus using as much of the plant I had just sacrificed as possible!

Smashing it into bits with the hammer was the fun part, and I think I pretty well maximized the surface area that the alcohol could then act on. Do watch for pieces of the precious root bark flying to and fro, however!

I then took a scale my grandma uses to measure envelope weights, tared the scale to zero with a glass bottle on top, packed in as much herb as I could fit (1/2 oz I believe), and then used 1 oz of 80-proof vodka to cover the herb.

Now it is sitting in a bag in my car for a total of three weeks after which point I will strain out and discard the herb and bottle up the tincture in a dropper bottle!

I plan on using the tincture internally as a liver tonic and digestive aid. To be honest, though, I don't know what dose I am going to use! I will have to do more research on doses before I decide on a safe amount, or test in moderation on myself I suppose. It depends so much on the plant's initial strength and whether I am after a medicinal or a tonic effect. Hrm.

Sorry I don't have photos of the tincture! I assure you it is a very pleasing yellow.

Fun Fact: Agarita is great for dying and is unique in that it doesn't require a mordant to fix its yellow color to most fabrics.

In WW2, it was used to dye parachutes for increased visibility and ease in locating people who had landed.

Modern "Art"?

When I think back along the timeline of human history, there is no doubt in my mind just where I would transplant to given the chance. Back in the golden days there were dandelion greens and they were in the soup. Today there are privet greens and they are in the medians. Back in the golden days there were hairy men with clubs. Today there are hairy men in clubs. Back then was wild! Today? Ok so today can still get pretty wild. But still. Give me stone age, baby!

Keeping in mind this viewpoint, I am critical of most things modern. After all, "modern" has brought us single-use razors, monoculture crops, and the Double Whopper with mayonnaise. But here, at the Museum of Modern Art in the center of New York City, our modern genius is on display. In a world of plastic water bottles and peeled carrots, two fine folks took a leap towards sustainability.... they didn't use paint. And now they are probably rich! Bravo?

Basket Case and Shiny Boots

When it comes to primitive skills, I'm afraid even Pebbles Flintstone could friction a fire to life faster than I. Fortunately, like most things in life, I am still in training.

Most of my training is initiated by information given to me by my amazing, infinitely wise instructor The Oracle. If you're not on first-name basis with her like I am, it is possible you know her by her other names; Cyberspace, Internet, or Google?? Ah yesssss. That's her. The Oracle. So as I was saying, I'm no expert at this 'primitive skills' stuff, but The Oracle provides just enough information for me to embark upon the adventure myself, occasionally with moderate success!

Baskets! My attempts from March, 2010 in San Antonio, TX

I've attempted to create a craft that could pass as a basket before and, under the humorous instruction of Nancy Basket, successfully created a passable free-form basket out of kudzu (an exotic invasive vine that flourishes out East) . However I'd never really done one all on my own, which is how I tend to learn most everything. So...

To begin, I impatiently suffered through 2 or 3 minutes of an instructional video for basketry on YouTube, taught by a woman who was blurry and boring as boiled bones. I understand these old folks are experts and all, but honestly! I think she had just picked up the needle when I just picked up and left.

Outside I found beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax). Strong and flexible, it seemed like a natural choice! (My later research found that it has another common name; Indian basket grass. Whoop whoop!) My grandmother happens to have a magical closet of everything, which I pulled some raffia from to twirl around and hold my beargrass together, and after threading it through a darning needle sat down and began! One hour and ONE piece of beargrass later, this is what I ended up with;

A fairy slipper!

The next day I gathered dry grass (the normal kind that you find anywhere! Doesn't really matter the species) and fashioned a needle from a mysterious bone I scrounged out of the mud in the front yard, and set to work on my second basket. Half way through, I ran out of dry grass and switched over to pruning leftovers from a beautyberry shrub (Callicarpa genus. LikelyCallicarpa americana). Flexible enough, I found them to be workable, but I was glad the raffia was strong stuff!

Sewing up the basket with my little bone needle;

It turns out my basket is multifunctional! My Grandpops holds the patent on this one.

My first basket turned out kind of like my mom's first child; a bit rough around the edges, but still fully functional.

Boots

After four months of abuse, my boots were not one of the victorious cases, where against all odds they are survivors. Nope!

Just this morning, Boots was pitifully crouched in the corner of the bathroom floor, shamefully cast aside until he shined up and became waterproof again! I put myself in his shoes and realized everyone needs help sometimes. So, mimicking the known brand name Bear Grease, I melted together about 2 tablespoons of lard and 1 tablespoon of beeswax in a double-broiler (using a tin can for the inner pan of course! Beeswax is worse to clean than even burned lasagna). One of my useless hole-y cotton socks came out of the rags bin to take a nose-dive into my concoction. I lay down in the middle of the kitchen throughway to do my work, just like Kobe, our family's late big fat farting lab. In the middle of everything and perpetually in the way! But this spot of kitchen floor at my grandparents' is my favorite because it's right next to the dishwasher, where it is sometimes a bit warmer. 30 minutes later my boots were polished and ready to stand tall, and were replaced to their rightful position next to the back door.

1) Kitchen floor 2)Lots of polish in the seams and lower edges! 3) One done, one to go 4) Ready to hit the road;

The Journey Begins

For me, of course, the journey began a long time ago but now I invite you guys to hop on the train.

My goals here are kind of multi-faceted; I've got family who will be pleased to finally have a way to keep track of me (a little anyhow!), friends who probably are hoping I post photos of me dancing around a campfire in a flowy skirt so they can facebook me and accuse me of being a hippie (so what if I am?! :)), and perhaps an outsider population who will occasionally stumble on my rambling word strands and fall face-first into a pile of stories, skills, and inspiration that they can stick in their pockets and integrate into their lives (meaning even less strangers in this fantastically strange world!).

I will be writing with all of these audiences in mind, so Mom(s), Dad, no sharing embarrassing childhood stories! Especially the one about how I hid dog bones in my panties "for a snack" later. *gasp!* And girlfriends, the dirty secrets of my latest love affairs (wait, which ones?) would preferably be discussed on a tapped phone line instead. The feds appreciate fairy tales of whipped cream and strawberries more than my grandma. And for you soon-to-be un-strangers, comments with lots of these #$%^@ symbols would be better directed at SUVs at the petrol station. Or Velveeta 'cheese.' Or Round-Up bottles in your local parks and gardens. But not my poor little blog!

That being said,

This is me in a sideways rectangle (sorry about that, by the way)

This is a small, beautiful part of my big, beautiful world that you all share with me

and this (yes this, right here, and left here, and a bit up and down too) is one of the places I will be sharing bits and pieces of all that life brings me!