carrie's cramp elixir

a tea.

1 part raspberry leaf
1 part red clover
a couple capfuls of bourbon/whiskey/scotch/brandy (your choice)
honey

ALSO. i found that skullcap tincture, and cramp bark, works well too.
not in the tea.

qu'est-ce que tu pense?

Happy Holidays Loves

Hello Friends!

Greetings from NH! After an fun-filled hitch down to San Fran, four days on the train with Sarah, and a ten hour drive north, I arrived in the sub-zero, snow covered north country. I miss you all so much and when the holiday chaos is getting to me I just think of you all and our little paradise in southern Oregon, surrounded by medicine and all of your amazing energy. I hope you all are warm and smiling wherever you are...

I don't know if any of you have heard of The Sun magazine: Personal, Political, Provocative is their motto, and this months issue is on Natural Medicine! Woohoo! How appropriate! I haven't finished reading it yet, but there is an intriguing interview with Andrew Weill in it and as soon as I figure out our scanner I will try to scan it in to the blog for all to enjoy. Until then, I just wanted to let y'all know about it in case you had access to a copy of that magazine.

mucho love-o and lots of snow kisses.

P.S.

All of the Twin Peaks episodes are on IMDB for free!

I want a free virtual menstrual calendar. Any ideas? All of the ones I've looked up are for young bleeders. Michael Moore has one for 2006..

and. I Love You. All.

in case you are interested!

i just made a thing for my photos which is here if you want to see it.
snowhymn.blogspot.com
i hope you all are well. <3

Herbal Medicine for Intentional Communities

what up witches.

well, it looks like PDX is the place to be for all things herbal in 2011. in an herb shop today in portland i saw a sign advertising THIS:

a class on community herbalism.

(not that i needed another reason to stay in the PNW.)

hosted by Tryon Life Community Farm, the course focuses on "Herbal Medicine for Intentional Communities." the classes meets six weekends throughout the year (about 100 hours): all day saturday and sunday, from 10-6. out-of-towners can stay at the farm.

tuition is about $1000--a bit out of the question for a non-workin' gal like myself, (and a ramblin' one at that), but you should go so i can experience it vicariously/vicarrieously.

at least go check out the blog, which has lovely stories about herbs and community and wellness and life, contributors with herbal names (dig it!), and some links to other herbal things.

xoxo

cascade anderson geller herb course in portland

my friend jamie just forwarded me this email about a class that cascade anderson geller is doing in portland.
basically, the class is $680 and meets every wednesday from january to june.
jamie says: "i was bummed i won't be able to take advantage of this, i thought
maybe you would? it's kind of expensive, but i've heard really good/weird
things about cascade as an herbalist, so i bet it would be well worth the
investment."
okay here it is!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GROUNDS-WELL HERBS training in the HEALING POWER OF PLANTS Part
One with Cascade Anderson Geller, Herbalist instructing
Tracy Bosnian, C.H., N.T.P. assisting Class meets: January 5 –
June 1, 2011; Wednesday evenings 6:30 – 8:30 P.M at The
Laurelhurst Club, 3721 S.E. Ankeny St., Portland, Oregon 97214 (two
blocks south of Burnside & S.E. Cesar Chavez Blvd. [S.E. 39th Ave.])
Cascade’s contact info: (503) 232-0473; email:
cascadeherbs@easystreet.net

Course information
The course is designed for dedicated herb students & will include:
lecture featuring detailed information about herbs including historical
& current uses (clinical, kitchen, utilitarian, spiritual) both in the
U.S. & other countries, cultivation & wildcrafting considerations,
controversies, pseudo-science, myths & more, slide shows,
demonstrations, preparation labs, tea drinking, snacking & herb walks.
Students who complete Part One will be invited to participate in Part Two
offered autumn 2011.

Students wishing to achieve a certificate of completion for Part One must
satisfactorily complete homework assignments.

The course fee is $680. This comes to approximately $30 per class &
includes handouts, textbooks, materials, supplies, & field trips.
Payment terms: $100 deposit should accompany registration with the
remainder payable upon first class. Participants may break the remainder
into two equal payments to be made on or before: Jan. 5, 2011 & Feb.
2, 2011 without penalty. For further info about other payment plans,
please contact Cascade. There will be some scholarship opportunities
possibly available for individuals with severe financial hardship.
Applicants must be willing to make the commitment to regular attendance
& achieve the certificate of completion. Work-study-trade positions
have been filled.

Words from the instructor: Thank you for your interest in this class. The
name Grounds-Well Herbs represents a change in the tide; the surging wave
of interest that truly represents an herbal renaissance, a testament to
the indomitable power of plants. The name also represents my interest in
community advocacy & activism. This class is an opportunity for you
& I to connect with plants as powerful healing entities. What I will
bring are many decades & a wide array of experiences with herbs living
free in their habitats & captured in baskets, jars, bottles &
books. Though I have done many things in the field of herbs, my
continuing dedication is to being a good teacher. If you decide to
register, I look forward to seeing what you will bring to the classes.
I have had an eclectic training myself, & firmly believe that all good
education comes in many forms & primarily through direct experience.
In early childhood I learned to trust the magic healing of plants &
nature from my family. More formal training followed with wonderful, hard
sought after colorful elders & included Dominion Herbal College, whose
curriculum stems from the highly controversial 18th century
herbalist-entrepreneur Samuel Thomson. I have traveled widely to find,
& been highly influenced by, people who know this Earth, & her
bounty, intimately. I have been honored to assist birth & raise
babies into adults, including my own two. Likewise, more & more I am
called to help as others move over the Great Divide at the end. In
between birth & death, there are many opportunities for an herbalist
to help heal & this I have had the highest honor to do in both a
clinical setting as well as over the kitchen table, the herb store counter
& the telephone. Among local accomplishments that may be meaningful
to you, is the founding of Everett House Healing Center (now Common
Ground) where I opened my first clinical practice along with a wonderful
group of people dedicated to ushering in highly controversial natural
healing & self-care modalities in 1979. After an invitation to guest
speak at the National College of Naturopathic (now Natural) Medicine in
1979, I ended up staying to become the primary educator of Botanical
Medicine for over thirteen years & was awarded “teacher of the
year” in 1984. I had the honor to help jump-start the Botanical
Medicine departments at two other naturopathic colleges. I was awarded an
honorary degree from East-West College where I taught in the 1980’s.
It has been an honor to be a frequently invited guest speaker at herb
conferences & institutions. I co-owned & operated Wildflowers on
Hawthorne in the 1980’s-90’s. For more than thirty-five
years, I offered the Herbs as Rewarding Companions two-year herb training
series in Portland. The students I have had the honor of teaching in one
capacity or another are many & varied. After a long sabbatical,
filled with herbal travel & community advocacy work, I am gratefully
returning to this station of teaching community herb classes. I am very
happy to get back to developing the deep, enriching relationships with
students that can only be formed by continuity. Happily, Tracy
Bosnian, accomplished herbalist & nutritionist, & true community
treasure in every sense of the word, has agreed to assist with the classes
again. The Lucy & Ethel herb show is about to be reprised.


Registration information: To hold your space
in the class, please provide the following:
Name (and name you wish to be called in class):
Address where you can be reached by post, including zip code:
Email address where you can be reached easily (write legibly):
Phone number(s) you want us to use:
Deposit: ($100 checks to be made out to Cascade Anderson Geller) Mail to: Cascade
Anderson Geller, 1934 SE 56th Ave., Portland, OR 97215 For more info:
cascadeherbs@easystreet.net (503) 232-0473 Class size will be limited.
To secure your place in class, please register early. You will receive
confirmation as soon as your deposit is received.

witchcrafting: Book Binding

Alright, witches. Now, for you and for all witchcrafters: book-binding.

You'll need:

-an old book cover, or one you've made

-paper

-binding tape

-craft glue (Mod Podge or YES or even Elmers probably)

-a small bit of thin fabric or mesh

-a needle and thread (a big needle is best)

-clamps (big paperclips work great)

-a piece of cardboard or paperboard (optional)

witchcrafting: Book Binding

Step 1: Pages.

Take the pages out of the old book. You can pretty much just rip them out. They will be stitched in there, so try not to take any of the original cover out with them.

You'll see that the pages were held together in little booklets of 4-7 pages. You're going to re-create that. I like to use the old pages to measure the new ones too, so keep a couple around. Next, start cutting pages from the paper you chose, using the old pages to measure. I have a paper cutter for this, but in the past have used an Exacto knife with cardboard underneath. Fold each page in half and put them into booklets of 4-7, depending on the thickness of your paper. The booklet should lie nice and flat, with the edges uniform. Put the booklets into your empty cover to see how many pages you should make. You don't want to stuff it too full. For this book, I made six booklets of 7 pages (thin paper, like the thickness of wrapping paper or newsprint).

Step 2: Marking.

Cut two or three pieces of binding tape, depending on the height of your cover (more if you have a taller book). The pieces should be about 4 inches long. Take one booklet and place the pieces of tape at an equal distance apart and perpendicular to the outside fold. Mark the tape at all the edges with a pencil. (You should have six marks now for three pieces of tape, or four for two pieces.) Make two more marks, 1/4 of an inch outside of your first and last marks.

Once you've marked the first booklet, line up the others to match the marks. Then take a needle and poke a hole through the fold on each booklet at each mark.

Step 3: Sewing.

This part is a little tricky just to get it nice and tight. You will be sewing the binding tape strips onto the back of the pages, sewing it all together. It can be nice to have someone else to help hold things in place. Thread your needle with a lot of thread. It sucks to run out in the middle because there's no real good way to tie the thread off tightly there. Tie a knot at the end. Start at one end of one booklet. Start from the outside of the fold so that the knot ends up on that side rather than the inside. Hold each piece of binding tape in place while you sew it on, withthe sticky part facing out.

Once you've sewn the strips to the first booklet, you're going to sew that to the next booklet. This is what it will look like on the inside of your booklet.

This part can also be time consuming, depending on how thick your book is. Just keep sewing them together, and try your best to keep the thread tight. This is what it should look like when they're all sewn. I'm sorry the photo isn't clearer. I hope you get the idea.

Step 4: Fabric Binding.

Cut a rectangle of fabric, about the height of your book (a little shorter) and two to three inches thick.

Smear some craft glue on there and press it against the folds of your booklets. The glue should sort of soak through the fabric.

Clamp the pages together at the back and leave it until the glue has dried completely - overnight is probably good.

Step 5: Cardboard Binding.

This step is optional, but I think it makes the whole deal a little more sturdy. Cut a piece of stiff paperboard about the size of the spine of your book, only a little thinner.

Goop some glue on there and stick it to the fabric.

Clamp it again, and again allow the glue to dry.

Step 6: Glue.

Last, glue the entire last page and the entire first page to the inside back cover and inside front cover, respectively.

Clamp it again, and again allow the glue to dry. And, bam. Now you have a new journal, botany notebook, whatever.

protection; or, magic all up in this branch

i.
in the last week at herb pharm, when i was on landscraping and silently furious with boredom, one of our final tasks was to clean up the pieces of the old old oak tree near herbal ed's house that had fallen down during that storm. after picking up sticks for half an hour, i spied the most beautifully shaped, harmonious and pleasing branch. it was heavy and just a little too big for me to use as a walking stick, but i felt like i should keep it anyway...
since the wizard staff didn't fit in the car we tied it to the top with some twine. its gray majesty pointing our way forward, we started on our journey to the southern lands. at the border of oregon and california, the woman at the stopping point asked me, "are you carrying any fruits or plant materials with you?"
"no," i said, hoping she didn't see the boxes full of herbs taking up the entire backseat. "what about this giant stick?"
"it's from oregon," i said, unable to think of a quick enough lie. "but from really close to here."
"like medford?"
"yes."
"alright, have a nice day."
this was our first glimpse of the power of the wizard staff.

ii.
that night we reached redding and found 'whiskeytown national recreation area' in the atlas. both being fans of whiskey, and having just purchased a plastic gallon bottle of ancient age, we settled on this spot for our camping night. almost immediately upon entering the recreation area, we passed the whiskeytown general store (somehow everyone who hears this story so far has exclaimed at this point, "i know exactly where that is!"), an abandoned building right on highway 44, with creepy cages barring off the open doors. we tried to figure out a way to get onto the roof, and failing that, we set up our tent right behind the building. the moon was nearly full and there was mist everywhere and it was very cold but cozy.
in the middle of the night i was awoken by the insistent sound of my cell phone going off in the car. lying there trying to make myself get up and go turn it off, i suddenly heard the sound of boots approaching on the gravel from very close. and then a voice -
"hey you in the tent!"
i woke up tyler real quick. i wasn't sure if we should maybe just ignore the voice. but tyler said "yeah?"
"you know where there might be some water around here?" he had a texas accent and sounded maybe middle aged.
i guess at first we were kinda relieved that it wasn't the cops at least...
"no, sorry."
"you know where i can find a water bib or something around?"
"sorry, i wouldn't know."
"you got any water in there?"
"no, sorry." this wasn't true, and we talked about it afterward, and felt bad that maybe all he wanted was water, but i can't really explain the incredibly creepy feeling this encounter was creating. we couldn't see this person and i had only heard his approach right as he got to the tent. and then it got weirder.
"i'm just walkin around here, i don't wanna get shot or nothin..."
" -- "
"some guy just offered me a hundred bucks to fuck him in the ass."
" -- "
"well, y'all have a good night now." and we heard his boots shuffling around near my side of the tent but not really leaving.
all the mist and the cold and the invisible person with his strange confession contributed to an atmosphere of trepidation in our tent. we sat for a while silently, feeling scared and cold not knowing if he had left or if he was waiting outside or what his motives were. in retrospect he probably was just a cold and thirsty person hitchhiking on the highway at night but nonetheless it was pretty scary.. after about half an hour we packed up really quiet and peeked outside the tent and, seeing nobody, drove away. it was maybe three in the morning.
tyler thought maybe it was a ghost forever trapped outside the general store, looking for water. i think it was a real human. well, whatever it was, the wizard staff was pointing at our tent the whole time, and i think it kept us from harm.
i hope he found something to drink. still feeling a little bad and weird about this.

iii.
once the wizard staff prevented me from locking the keys in the car.

iv.
in san francisco, we were walking to the grocery store to get some food to make breakfast for our friends, and we passed the hill where the car was parked. immediately a car came down the hill at top speed and swerved directly into the drivers side door of the car right behind ours. a huge accident! luckily no one was inside the parked car. the wizard staff calmly and silently abided.

v.
in l.a. the wizard staff assisted us in immediately finding someone to jumpstart the car when it died.
and i swear it protected me from several freeway accidents on highway 1.

vi.
though these examples sound insignificant, i want to convey that for reals, the wizard staff emanated a subtle yet tangible power, perceptible to anyone who gazed past the surface of its ancient being to the secret magic within.

vii.
we made it back alright and on the way spent one night in the empty intern house, with some snow on the ground outside. it was really beautiful. now the wizard staff rests peacefully against the wall in tyler's room, where ursula tries to climb up it all the time, and sometimes succeeds. i think someday i will find the perfect person to care for it, but until that day i will tend to it gratefully.

other kitty

While slightly dazed and confused about the number of cities I had visited in the past few days, and trying to let my soul catch up with my body, I found myself stumbling tiredly around Olympia with my skinny old friend Darren. On our way back to his house after stopping by the coop, where I desperately asked people for rides and posted requests to their bulletin board, a small creature poked it's head out from the brush. Without thinking, as my tired mind had no energy for processing, I spoke to her:
"Ursula, what are you doing out here? Have you run away from home again?"
And the mocha splashed chocolate creature curled itself around my legs as she had done so many times before. I was absolutely positive at this point that it WAS our beloved Ursula and that either this was Tyler's homestead, or yet again, Ursula had wandered a little too far beyond her traveling senses.
Darren was in haste to get home, so I trusted Ursula's inner compass and began walking again. Sure enough, she followed us, over rock and under brush, scampering along fences and crossing dangerous (and empty) suburban streets to keep up.
"Darren, this is for SURE Ursula, and I think she has absolutely no sense of direction and is probably lost again," I confessed.
Much to Darren's stomach's dismay, I called our dear Nicole and discovered that Ursula was, indeed, far from home.
I was delighted to meet new strangers as always when Darren and I introduced ourselves to Tyler's roomates inside the lattice fence of their home. They confessed that Ursula had been missing since the previous night and that they were happy to see her again (as was I! What a treat)!
So, if you happen to be wondering around in Olympia and see a familiar furry face, be sure to cuddle her fast and take her with you, because dear Ursula's inner other kitty compass needs fixin'.
Thanks for cuddling.
TheMooner

An Awkward Story.

Once upon a Saturday, I had an excellent day working with my wicked awesome hippie dude boss and locked up shop around 8, walked the lovely (freezing) streets of downtown Ashland and eventually made my way back to the current room I sleep in. Allow me to explain: there is a small alleyway that spits out into the homeowner's backyard and I have to walk across the back windows of the home to reach the room door. With that being said, I've never met the husband of the relationship in the house attached to this room.
After my relaxing and enjoyable dinner (salad, tomato soup, pepperjack grilled cheese), I thought to myself, what would be better than a nice hot shower to de-grease my gnarly locks? So, I wrap a pink towel around my waist and endeavor to politely ask the male of the household if it would be alright that I took a quick shower. The conversation went really poorly. I peeked my head around the corner into the living room and the male seemed really irritated and told me that it was 'rather late.' I apologized at least three times within the short bit of time I had and sulked back to the room.
Also, you should know that Randy, with whom I'm staying, is at his mum's house--but, before he left he assured me that it would be alright to shower. I'm feeling terribly rude and uncomfortable. : (
Also, also, (which is like P.S.) I think their marriage is on the rocks. He stayed home alone for Thanksgiving without wife and child. None of my business. Shit. I suppose that I generally live in a dreamland where I assume that everyone along my journey will greet me with a smile and accept the strange girl in a pink towel that barges into their living room at 9:30 in the evening...bloody hell.

C'est Toujours Chaud dans les Culottes des Filles

[or, 'It's Always Hot in the Panties of the Ladies!']

hot pantz

A whole pamphlet of great info from the Blood Sisters in Montreal. Translated from the French, this DIY gynecology zine features useful herbs, useful recipes, and useful body health information for women and men.

From the introduction:

"We believe it's integral for women to be aware and in control of our own bodies. The recipes we present here have been known and practiced for centuries, passed down from mother to daughter, and have survived the censorship of witch hunts. Our intent is simple and practical: to help break away from the medical establishment's tentacular grip on our bodies and our approaches to health and healing."

gonna give it to you non stop

....and i don't care who's watchin.
vocals - megan, cassie, jaime
viola, vocals - alyssa
drums, vocals - nick
guitar, vocals - nicole
<3

prologue and introduction

RAWWWK

hello brothers and sisters and welcome to our blog, HEAVY NETTLE, dedicated to heavy nettle, hardcore herbalism, girls gone wildcrafting, tales [and inside jokes] about living in a house in a valley near the mountains, and all the things we learn[ed]. please enjoy.

green blessings,
rosecarrie happymoon

i love the boards.