About the family tree… it has lots of ingredients that make it grow, form roots, branches and of course, fruit or nuts.  (little humor there, cuz I thought of this I saw the other day on facebook)

Then there are families with pride in their tree….

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1a7fbL/www.womansday.com/life/holidays/10-hilarious-family-holiday-portraits-114264?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1446_5906840/

I say, come on America, let’s nurture our trees so they can produce and become resources for the future!!  Overcome the droughts, storms and lack of root structure, give us room to grow!

(all puns intended)

At www.livingakers.com, we are currently creating tree products, made from or about trees, those precious gifts of nature that symbolize life. Take a look, and feel free to share ideas.

 

http://livingakers.blogspot.com/2013/01/about-family-tree.html

There are many ingredients right in your very own kitchen that are useful for skin care. Honey for instance, has many uses, which you can read more about in the post on this site; Honey for natural health help

Cinnamon is another handy ingredient. (If you want to use the essential oil, or get even more ideas of cinnamon use, don’t forget to look for it at Mountain Rose herbs- the link is on the right)

Here is some really helpful information about this spice I found at Live Strong.com 

Cinnamon–in both grated and essential oil forms–is beneficial to the skin because it brings blood and nutrients to the skin surface while also helping to dry skin. An article at organicfacts.net reports that cinnamon can be used to help dry acne and relieve an itchy scalp, but works best when applied in a preparation with an oil or petroleum jelly, which can moderate some of the harsh effects of cinnamon.

Plumps Skin

Cinnamon is a spice that brings blood to the surface of the skin, causing minor swelling and plumping. A preparation of three drops of cinnamon essential oil mixed with a couple tablespoons of petroleum jelly or olive oil can be applied to fine lines to plump out the skin, making the lines less visible. It’s best to avoid the eye area as cinnamon can cause burning if it gets in your eyes. You may carefully apply it to the outside of crow’s feet, away from the eye. This mixture is also helpful in plumping lips and can be used in place of lip gloss.

Scalp Cleanser

Cinnamon can help clean and nourish the scalp by acting as an exfoliant and bringing blood to the scalp, and along with it, oxygen to nourish the hair follicles. Take 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon and mix it with 1 tbsp. of honey and 1/4 cup of warmed olive oil and apply to the scalp, massaging firmly during the application process. Leave on for about 15 minutes and then wash hair with your normal shampoo. You should feel a little tingle as the cinnamon stimulates the scalp.

Eczema Treatment

Some people have found relief from patches of eczema by combining 1 tsp. of honey mixed with 1 tsp. of cinnamon and applying a thin layer of the paste on affected areas. Do not use this preparation on children or on patches of eczema on the face. Try a small test area and wash off immediately if the skin becomes too irritated. You should see results within a week, according to an article on Earth Clinic.com .

Acne Treatment

Cinnamon can help rid your face or back of acne by both drying out the skin and, again, bringing blood and oxygen to the skin surface. Mix 3 tbsp. of honey with 1 tbsp. of cinnamon and apply the paste to pimples and leave on overnight. Or apply a thin layer to the face as a mask and leave on for about 20 minutes before rinsing with warm water. Cinnamon masks can irritate the skin, so they should not be applied more than once a week.

Oh, and of course don’t forget the added bonus of how it helps the kids!  Some in the sand box helps keep the bugs and ants away!

I recently made a specialty homemade soap with cinnamon and oatmeal. Tune in for future post…

Another gift of nature. Someone told me a few years ago, that if you put hedge apples in the corners of your house, they will keep away spiders. So, I tried it, and for the last couple years, it has worked. This year, I hit a jackpot of HUGE hedge apples!

“Folklore provides numerous claims that hedgeapples are repellent to insects and spiders. The fruit of the osage orange has been placed in households for ages. The Hedgeapple’s average lifespan in an air-condition environment is 2-3 months. Although some can develop spots at an early stage, Hedgeapples should only be discarded once most of the green has disappeared.” Hedge Apple resource.

These are those “brainy looking” things that can occasionally be found in the woods in the midwest. Deer love them. (I’m not sure what else eats them.)  I have heard people comment that they smell, but what I’ve noticed is a mild sweet scent. I don’t find it unpleasant. That must be a preference thing. Also, they are sticky and will turn brown and shrivel in a few months.

Such an easy, free, natural remedy. For tips on doing things yourself, using natural ingredients, or advise on just about anything frugal, check out www.frugallysustainable.com/

If you live in the Southwest, or have the opportunity to visit, get out and about this time of year (late September, early October) when the Prickly Pear cactus fruit are ripe.  I had the pleasure of being in Albuquerque recently and found these in the foothills at the base of the Sandia Mountains.

It is VERY IMPORTANT to use gloves when picking, the fruit has tiny, hairlike needles that can hardly be seen, but they sure are felt! These require tweezers and magnifiers to remove from the skin.  Look for the darkest of the fruit, a deep purple for ripeness.  We took them home and, still using gloves, peeled them.

REMEMBER – USE GLOVES!!! The fruit should be soft, so don’t squeeze too hard in order not to lose juice while cutting out the hard, core end.

 

 

 

While peeling, hold the fruit gently, removing the skin using your personal technique for peeling apples or similar.

Next, slice the fruit or you can quarter it, depending on the size. There are seeds inside that should be removed because they are hard, and have a tendency to stick in teeth. (They are edible, no real taste and not easy to chew).  Try different methods of seed removal that work best for you. We ended up using a pickle spear/fork.

Now the fun begins! Take about a cup of the fruit pulp (we used about 6 large fruit), put it in the blender and add 10 ounces of margarita mix (or your own margarita recipe).  This will taste wonderful with or without alcohol!!

The taste is mild, not sweet. Sort of hard to describe. The texture is similar to mango fruit.  I plan to look into what all vitamins are in these, but it is my understanding that the Native Americans could go for days eating these and nothing else. We put our extra fruit in the freezer and when we thaw it out and try it, I’ll let you know how it turns out.

November 10, 2012. Defrosted the prickly pear fruit and made another batch of margaritas. It separates sort of like tomatoes when frozen. The pulp lost it’s taste because the juice separated, and was somewhat watered down. Still, the margaritas were tasty! And the color was even deeper.

Frugally Sustainable- get info about anything DIY

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