a pot of tea (part one)

Tags

herbal infusions, tea

I like tea.

If you are a regular reader, you may have guessed this already.  I mean, I do include what tea I’ve had to drink that day in my  weekly musings posts!

To be precise, I like all sorts of teas.  I also like all sorts of herbal infusions and decoctions (since tea is an infusion of a particular herb, the tea plant, or Camellia sinensis).  Sassafras tea is probably one of my favorites, along with peppermint, or a nice cup of chamomile and lemon balm after a rough day.  I like to experiment too–pumpkin with pumpkin pie spices and black tea (it was pretty darn tasty) to cucumber, watermelon, and lemon balm as a cold infusion (great on a hot summer day).  And on the days that I don’t want to be be bothered to blend my own, a pot of Constant Comment usually hits the spot.

Whenever possible, I like to grow or forage my own herbs–some are easier than others (particularly since I’m an apartment dweller without a balcony for growing things).  When I can’t, I really like Frontier Herbs to order dried herbs (our local grocery store of awesomeness carries a pretty good selection of their herbs too).   Richters is a good supplier to order seeds, live plants, etc, if you have a better growing situation than I!

When it comes to concocting tea blends, there are a books I would recommend…over the years, I’ve thrifted or libraried a number of herbal tea books, of which I think these are the most useful while being user friendly…

• The Book of Herbal Teas: A Guide to Gathering, Brewing, and Drinking
• 20,000 Secrets of Tea: The Most Effective Ways to Benefit from Nature’s Healing Herbs
• Herbal Teas: 101 Nourishing Blends for Daily Health & Vitality
• Healing Herbal Teas: A Complete Guide to Making Delicious, Healthful Beverages

But really, the real way to make tea is to be a scientist about it!  Start with the building blocks–single herbs.  Research their magical and medicinal properties, contraindications, etc.  Make a pot, or two, or ten and record the flavor and how it makes you feel, emotionally and physically.  Everyone is different, and just because X is good for Y doesn’t mean that you and your body will like what X does for you (or maybe you won’t like how X tastes, or maybe you think you need more or less of X to achieve the flavor you like).

Stock your cabinets with the best collection of useful and complimentary herbs that you can afford that suit your daily needs (your daily moods and goals), and test them out in combination for whatever mood or moment you are trying to celebrate, enhance, influence, etc.  Don’t forget proper herb storage!  And most importantly, don’t forget to record your results!

You may be wondering, “What the heck do I record?” That’s really good question, and it will depend on you.  I would suggest (particularly if this is new to you) that you start with a list of herbs you know you can easily get your hands on.  Then, I would suggest looking up the basic properties for each herb, and recording them in the front of your handy-dandy notebook (can you tell I’ve seen too much Blue’s Clues?), along with medical contraindications and dosages**, the “taste profile” of each herb*, as you start trying out single herbs.  Once you have that, try out combinations that seem likely on paper.  Put them next to each other and smell them–if they don’t smell good together, it is unlikely (though not impossible) they will taste good together (and remember, we are talking about enjoyment tea, not medicinal tea).  If you like the combination, write it down and try it out…and then record the results.  As an example, if I wanted to relax, I would maybe start with equal parts of chamomile, linden, and lemon balm…or if I thought that I was starting to feel a bit cruddy due to winter ick, I’d use some white pine needles, oranges and ginger.

The “standard” for a non-medicinal herbal infusion** is about 3-4 tsp dry herb (or 2-3 tsp fresh) to 2 c of water that has just been boiled, and seep for 10-15 minutes before straining and drinking. I find that using a french press is simplest way to make tea (no bags necessary). If you are mixing herbs, that amount would be divided into “parts”. When I write a tea recipe out in my handy dandy notebook, it looks something like this 2 cham: 1 lav: 1 lem balm, and I just sort of “eyeball” it.  But hot tea is not the be all and end all of tea.  In the summer, when it has busted 100 degrees F, the last thing I want is hot tea.  Cold infusions are fantastic.

If you are looking for ideas of herbs to start with, my “tea cabinet” is always stocked with the following: lemon balm,
linden, cinnamon, elderflower, lavender, hibiscus, sassafrass (forage), damiana, corn silk (which I get from fresh corn in the summer @ the farmers market), rose petals (forage), rose hips (forage), ginger (really, this one is in my freezer), apple (fridge), oranges (fridge), white pine needles (forage), red clover flowers (forage), chamomile, and yarrow.  I also supplement from fruits and veggies in the fridge and from my medicinal herbs…and even from commercial blends.  One of my favorite combinations is Bigelow’s Plantation Mint with sassafrass and orange slices.   Basically, get some herbs and start brewing!

Next time we’ll either talk about the science of infusions, or making them magic…I’m not sure which yet!

*Taste is mostly smell, so the smell of an herb can offer you a lot of information on how an herb will taste.  If you are wondering how to record the aroma and taste of each herb, this site which talks about the smells of essential oils and picking combinations that go together, offers a good introduction which is herb-specific.  Other sites that might help–this one and this one on the terminology describing food flavors, or this one on the technique of wine tasting, and this one on spices.

**Medicinal teas are really not the same as non-medicinal ones.  They are generally stronger, and prepared as a decoction, rather than a simple infusion.  Also, some herbs that one might use medicinally aren’t meant to be used very often internally.  Medicinal teas should also be prepared by the weight of herb (which is more precise).  I do still advocate knowing the medicinal properties for non-medicinal teas, because some medicinal properties correspond to psychology–an herb used to calm the digestive system is often useful in settling nerves as well, as well as for magical properties that might have been overlooked.  Also, I advocate keeping track of the medical contraindications (like pregnancy and medications and common allergens) and dosages so that you can make the appropriate decisions regarding how much of a herb (or none) that you should use based on your own medical condition (and that of any one you are serving).

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Wednesday Musings

Tags

#firstthrityone, chakras, downton abbey, kid conversations, tea

The conversation I woke up to went something like this:
Sharkbait: Fifi*, you need to learn to go poop. I’m a big boy, I know how to go poop the right way. You need to watch and learn.
Chickadee: I don’t need to learn to go poop. I’ve known how to for longer than you have.
Sharkbait: But I do it better, come watch and learn how to poop like a man.
Chickadee: I’m NOT a man, and neither are you. And that is just gross, I don’t want to watch you poop. I know how already.

*Sharkbait has called his sister Fifi, since he was learning to talk, and couldn’t pronounce her name.

First Tea of the Day: Constant Comment…its my go-to, low prep tea!

I’ve slowly been making some changes over at Pagan Devotionals.  One of these days I might even find a theme I like, but until then…  My goal is to make it a multiple author blog, with a combination of prayers, devotionals, artwork, songs, etc, from a variety of paths and traditions, as well as discussions about individual’s spiritual practices and challenges to maintaining a personal (or group) practice.  So far, I’ve managed to nab two fellow Pagan Forum members and bloggers to contribute…and I’m putting a shout out to any other readers that might be interested.  There are no deadlines, no contribution requirements, other than offering proper attribution if work is not original, and making sure it can be considered in the realm of Paganism (or that you can explain how it relates to your practice).  If you are interested, drop me a line in the comments, or via my email!!

If you’ve ever “wandered off the path”, so to speak, and wanted to find a good way to get back on it…check out these blog posts from one of our members @ Pagan Forum:
Jem’s “Respiritualization” Part One, Part Two, and a Chakra test

Downton Abbey, FTW.  I finally got to watch the season premiere of season 3!!  I feel like such a fangirl.  I totally need the FREE BATES t-shirt PBS sells, lol.  Anyone else a fan around here?

” They won’t magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster.” (Christ Kluwe on gay marriage) Thanks Mother Jones for redeeming a segments of the NFL for me. I cannot wait to see this guy on Colbert!  AND, he plays WoW.

#firstthirtyone photos: Its official, I just can’t get in the habit of posting a pic as a post…I’m not a photo blogger, it makes me feel weird. I realized that with the whole “Wordless Wednesday” meme. Pictures tell a story, but sometimes the story they tell is what isn’t in the picture. Luckily this challenge is about taking pics and doesn’t have that restriction!  But I still can’t get into the habit of just posting a pic as a post!  So here are the last few days…

5-Five
(What 5 looks like when its tired, at the end of the day)

6-Gray
(or, more appropriately, haze gray, aka Measure 13, the Navy’s officially color for ships)

7-Growth

8-Home

Moment of Zen:

If we are to fully embrace living a magical life it is important to remember how to live in our bodies comfortably and safely. If we re-awaken all of our senses, our awareness is expanded and our perceptions clarify and develop. Without this, our magical life will not develop as it could. Our enjoyment of all that is Sacred will be impeded as if walled in and separated from all that is possible.

from the blog post Embody the Sacred – Engaging Through the Senses by Deanne Quarrie @ Feminism and Religion

Not so moment of zen:
The Republican House of Representatives has tacitly decided to allow the Violence Against Women Act to expire, in yet another example of their ability to do absolutely nothing good for this country. I try really, really hard not to be overtly political, with the thinking that politics isn’t really the point of this blog. I’m sure though, from my POV’s on a variety of subjects that one could easily figure out that I’m fairly liberal and I tend to vote in that direction. But I have a feeling that the lack of political discussion here is about to change, so I apologize in advance, but my Pagan feminist environmentalist veteran panties are in a twist. Whatever you do, which ever side of the party line you might be on…please, contact your representative–there is NO good reason that this bill was not passed, and they plan to try again. One voice may not sway some of these Connie morons* willing to sell their mothers and daughters down river, but we are 50% freaking percent of the country.

*Not all conservatives, or even Republicans, are “Connie morons”. But the House speaker, Eric Cantor, and all the Tea Party/Bircher shenanigan folks…they qualify.

And one last parting thought before I’m off to work…

One armed man cannot resist a multitude, nor one army conquer countless legions; but not all the armies of all the empires of earth can crush the spirit of one true man. And that one man will prevail.
— Terence MacSwiney

Sunday Musings

Tags

fear, hope, remembrance, rosemary, school shooting, tea, yule

I’m distracting myself from current events by organizing my pictures…this is from when Chickadee went to work with me!

In the simmer pot:  Thalassa’s Yule Blend

*Half an orange, sliced (or one small orange)
*A handful of cranberries
*One cinnamon stick, crushed
*The peel of one apple
*A bit of grated ginger root
*Two handfuls of white pine needles, chopped and bruised

In my tea cup: Thalassa’s Yule Blend, plus honey

Like most parents, I was shocked and saddened to hear what happened in Connecticut.  My first reaction was to get my kids and squish them until they’d had enough of that and rebelled.  My second reaction was to put it away and stop thinking about it–how can any of us even begin to fathom what it would be like to lose a child like this?  I’ve lost a child, and I can’t even begin to wrap my head around losing a child like this.  …Finally, after I actually got to squish my kids (because by then, The Hubby and I had gotten to discuss it in the car, and we’d picked up the kids), and I was on the computer, my third reaction was to turn my damn computer off (since we don’t have cable, the internet is my news).  The only thing that I’ve read that made any sense (and didn’t piss me off) was this:

Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he’ll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.

CNN’s article says that if the body count “holds up”, this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer’s face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer’s identity? None that I’ve seen yet. Because they don’t sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you’ve just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.

You can help by forgetting you ever read this man’s name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news.”

Morgan Freeman

I only have one thing to say about about this incident, beyond remembering these children, their teachers and other school staff whose lives were taken, their families and friends, and their community–I don’t care what your religious opinion or your political bent is, your position on the lack of accessible mental health care, or your stance on gun control, etc. Keep it to yourself, your ego has no room in their tragedy. Let them grieve, have some empathy for their families, and grow some compassion in your own life.  I get that it is natural to feel anger about something that we fear, and fear something that we have no power over, and to seek to control whatever it is that we can control to cope with events like this.  If you need to, be angry tomorrow.  Right now, remember these families and go home and play with your children or call your parents, visit with your neighbors and friends…and maybe by reaching out (not just today, but every day), we can bring the world in, and make it something better, gentler.

Moment of Zen: Light a Candle

In times of sorrow, of worry, of despair, a candle is a symbol of hope.  In an oppressive darkness, one tiny flame flickering in the distance is a beacon of love and warmth and peace.  The Kalahari Bushmen once believed that the stars in the sky were the campfires of distant peoples, just as a campfire in the distance on the plains of Africa were a sign of Kin nearby.  Though less of us experience the near total darkness of the endless sky (and the billions of stars that serve as the reminder that we are not truly alone) than in previous generations because of proximity to cities and towns and light pollution, we can all imagine the power of a light in the darkness–it is one of the strongest images in the Human psyche.  Light a candle to bring warmth and hope to your home and to your heart.  Let that light shine into you and through you into the world.

Yule is the Season of Hope, the Season of Turning from Despair, the Season that teaches us that Life Goes On.  Whether one celebrates the return of the Sun, the birth of a holy child, or the miracle of light to anoint a desecrated temple is immaterial.  It doesn’t matter if you think that “Reason is the reason for the season” or that we need to “Keep Christ in Christmas” or that we need to put the “Sol in Solstice”–what is important is that dawn will break on a new day, after the Longest Night, and give us yet another chance to move forward with love and compassion.  Another chance to live on and Remember, and to give Meaning to what we have lost.

Herb of the Week: Rosemary for Rememberance

“There’s rosemary; that’s for remembrance.
Pray, love, remember.”
~Shakespeare, Hamlet

Rosemary has long been the symbol of remembrance.  Its name comes from the Latin for dew (ros) of the sea (marinus)…and as an herb of the Sea, and of Water, it makes perfect sense that it would be the herb that represents the memory and promise of love between friends and family.  Rosemary is a perennial woody evergreen herb native to the Mediterranean that will happily grow in a window-box garden.  Rosemary can be used in rituals of remembrance, among other things.

Yuletide Afterschooling:  Our vocabulary words for the week are solstice, equinox, equator, hemisphere, tilt, axis, and orbit.  We’ve mostly been talking about winter solstice traditions around the world, and the science of the seasons (more on this in another post!).   But we’ve also been talking about Hope, and about Myth, and about living with kindness and intention.

In other news…I’m working on some personal projects behind the scenes that I would *like* to see manifest themselves enough to share.  So…I’m keeping the fingers crossed and candles lit on this!

I’ve also been working on some of my other blogs (the ones I keep separately so I don’t bog this one down with *too* much off topic stuff)…so if you are interested in learning more about finding your way around Navy ships or learning about mole crabs, check them out!  I’m also hoping to get another Yule post or two out on here, as well as one on how our mental and emotional baggage can manifest mundanely and psychically and how it can be dealt with in meditation and ritual.

A Prayer for Today:

These woods are dark
this path is shadowed
walk with me
and hold me fast in your grace
that I might banish my fears
that I might overcome what lies ahead
with your blessing
I will emerge from this darkness
and breathe free again
So mote it be

(Diane Sylvan)

And a Hope for Tomorrow:

In the best of times, our days are numbered anyway, And so it would be a crime against nature for any generation to take the world crisis so solemnly that it put off enjoying those things for which we were presumably designed in the first place…the opportunity to do good work, to fall in love, to enjoy friends, to hit a ball, to bounce a baby…

Alistair Clark, One Man’s America

Black Friday Musings

Tags

afterschooling, breathing, emily dickinson, pagan blog project, tea, the empress, yule

I think I might participate in the Pagan Blog Project this year… If you aren’t familiar with that particular endeavor, its a year long blog project that goes thru the alphabet as a prompt for Pagan topics, as a way to facilitate “dedicating time each week very specifically to studying, reflecting, and sharing your spiritual and magickal path” (from the site).  I figure this is a way to focus back on the Pagan stuff a bit more, here at the blog.  If I were to compare my path to something tangible, its a bit like a spider web, and sometimes I get so tangled up exploring the edges and the tendrils and where they go that I forget to return to the center now and again.

The goal is to “use your posts to share your views on a topic, to talk about your own personal experiences, or to act as a catalyst to research a subject that you may not know much about and then share what you learn and how you feel about that. ” I think I can handle that!  The official participation guidelines call for two weeks and two posts for each letter, (ideally?) completed/posted on Fridays…but I think I’m going to devote one week for me and the other for the kids–PBP Jr., lol!

What’s Brewing: Peppermint with ginger and a wee bit of orange peel–my tummy had too much Thanksgiving yesterday 😦

3 AM craft project of the year: Chickadee had a favorite pair of shoes that she’s worn almost to pieces, and last night we went about trying to resurrect them with the amazing magical powers of duct tape!  We picked up two sheets of leopard spotted duct tape and covered nearly all of the shoe; hopefully it will extend the shoe’s life a bit because they are her FAVORITE shoes…but if not, at least they look cool until they go. The 3 AM part came from children that woke up then, and by the time I got them back to sleep, I was awake.

Now that its 9 AM, she’s had them on for the past two hours…

So…I’m NOT, for the ever-loving good of my sanity and by the grace of the gods, going shopping today.  Unless its to go to the grocery store, since I think we are out of butter and rice and a few other things.  I am however, waiting for it to warm up a tad, because we are going outside to play for as long as possible–snacks and all.  The kids are getting antsy  they need their outdoor time, and neither school (for Chickadee) or preschool (for Sharkbait) seems to send children outdoors anymore once it gets just a wee bit cold (I asked about it at both places, and it seems its a matter fairness, since not all parents send their kids in appropriate clothing and outerwear).

a fabulous piece of artwork from neshad @ deviantart

Tarot Card of the Week: The Empress

Considering that yesterday (at least for peeps from the USofA) is the last.harvest.festival of the year–and one that even mainstream folks celebrate with gusto, how could it be anyone else?

The Empress is the Creatrix, the spark of life and love, or new ventures.  She is the cauldron where new things grow until they are ready to emerge into the world….which is why most decks choose to show her as pregnant.  The Empress reminds us of Demeter–lush fields and ripe orchards, but also that these gifts can be taken away in the cold and deep of winter.  Without patience, diligence, and a bit of TLC, what is growing in the womb, in the cauldron, can wither and die.

In a reading, The Empress acts as a mother–perhaps that one is taking the role of a mother to a project, or that one is in a mother-child like relationship with someone.  And like a mothering relationship, it can be a representative of a positive relationship (support, nurturing, etc) or a negative one (smothering or overprotective).

28 Days til Yule: Right now at out house, its fruit slicing and drying time! We are also working on our paper chains, and some origami ornaments…but we are holding off on the tree (and our Thanksgiving dinner) til Daddy-Man gets home next week.  If you are in the zone, trying to figure out some DIY tree trimmings, check out my post from last year!

Moment of Zen: Breathe In…

Take a moment to focus on your breath each day.

I could type a bunch of stuff here to explain the why or the how of it, but really…there are a zillion sites that have gone to the trouble for me (and I’ve linked you two good ones already)!  And, if you are interested in some practical advice and practice to incorporate into one’s magical practices, check out this lovely little book (by a lovely woman, with a kick-ass accent…I recommend her podcast, just to hear her voice!).

Oh, carp!  I forgot….you can breathe out now!

Afterschooling and the long weekend… Chickadee has made it to long vowel sounds!  Its all about the quiet ‘e’ that makes its vowel friend say its name, at least for the next week or so.  We are also focusing on printing, particularly lower-case letters, and when capitol letters are actually appropriate. For math, we’ve been working on even and odd numbers (and counting them to 100, or 101) and place value.  This week’s recitation and copywork (and speaking of copywork, I *love* this idea, once we’ve mastered penmanship) is a poem by Emily Dickinson:

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,—
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do
If bees are few.

With Sharkbait, we are still working on letter sounds and rhyming, as well as counting and number recognition for numbers 11-20.  We’ve also been working on mazes, connect the dots…but mostly, we’ve been working on manners and behavior.  For both kids, we’ve been keeping a nature journal and field guide–collecting leaves and identifying trees, drawing pictures of what we see, etc.

Parting thought: (a bit more Emily Dickinson)

A dew sufficed itself
And satisfied a leaf,
And felt, “how vast a destiny!
How trivial is life!”

The sun went out to work, 5
The day went out to play,
But not again that dew was seen
By physiognomy.

Whether by day abducted,
Or emptied by the sun 10
Into the sea, in passing,
Eternally unknown.

 

Saturday Musings

Tags

danaids, paw paw, sassafras, six of wands, star trek, tea

First Tea of the Day: (freshly picked) Sassafras with orange slices

Why, oh why am I up and showered before six in the morning?  Oh, yeah…because I have so much to do today, starting with driving the hubby to a reenactment for the weekend.  Ugh.

In good news though, one of the many things on  my plate are about to be over today!  We have finally reached the hourly count down for the Luau at the UU fellowship we attend.  Somehow, many months ago, I got conned into heading it up…and thankfully, it is finally here!  One less thing on my plate!

Officially, I am still in Slow Blog mode, but not a total blog-cation.  I’m limiting myself to 1 or 2 posts a week, so I make sure I work on all the other stuff I need to get done (some of which I really don’t want to) in a timely manner.  If I’m totally honest here, occasionally I use blogging as a means of procrastination.

I want to go back to sleep.

Some random old blog posts…
Building a Salve
She Serves Scallops by the Seashore
DIY Field Press

Evidence of my nerditude: The hubby and I have been on a Star Trek: Deep Space 9 viewing spree for the past few weeks in our down time…and we are now in the middle of season 6–The Federation is getting ready to strike against the Dominion and the Cardassians to take back Deep Space 9 and free the Bajoran people from certain conquest.  Yeah, we’re Trekkies.

Deity of the Week: The Danaids

The Danaides by John William Waterhouse

Once upon a time the twin brothers, a man named Danaus had fifty daughters, while is brother (and king/founder of Egypt–at least in Greek myth) Aegyptus had fifty sons. Ageyptus wanted his 50 sons to marry Danaus’s 50 daughters, but Danaus was not fond of the idea and built the first ship escaping to Argos, from which his ancestress had originated. Danaus was chosen as the successor to the king on Argos, in a vote by the inhabitants of the island. Some time later, his brother came to threaten Danaus to honor his request for their daughters and sons to marry. This time, rather than cause a war that would cause hardship to his people, Danaus outwardly acquiesced. Privately however, he instructed his daughters to kill their new husbands upon their wedding night. 49 of the daughters followed the instruction of their father, and one did not. Depending on the source, that rebel might have been Amymone, or perhaps Hypermnestra (though they might have been the same person), who chose not to murder her husband because he promised to honor her choice to remain a virgin. Upon her disobedience, Danaus had her arrested and tried by the people of Argos, where she was allowed to go free after Aphrodite’s intervention. Depending upon myth, her husband (Lynceus) may have later killed Danaus in revenge. Allegorically, early versions of this myth (which end here) can be viewed as possible historical commentary of an ancient conquering, while later versions become tale of morality and cosmic retribution as well. The 49 daughters that murdered their husband end up in Tartarus with a decidedly sysiphean task–to eternally carry water to fill an urn with holes in the bottom (or alternatively to carry water to fill an urn with containers that have holes in them.

Tarot Card of the Week: Six of Wands

six of wands by blue

To sum up this card’s meaning in one word…VICTORY!
If the five of wands symbolizes the heat of battle or the fierceness of competition, the six of wands symbolizes the moment of victory where the champion is recognized in adulation by the people. It is a card of victory (or success) as well as the recognition of that success by the public or one’s peers. The six of wands highlights (to borrow a marketing idea) the importance of networking and personal branding, but carries the pit falls of arrogance and an over-inflated sense of self-importance. Reversed, this card may symbolize a loss of public support or a lack of recognition.

Herb of the Week: Sassafras and Paw Paw

sassafras leaf variations

While sassafras is available all summer long, paw paw season is right now at its peak here in Virginia. Both of these plants are native to the Eastern US and are common Southern plants. Also, they both have a long history of use that starts with the Native Americans, and continues in the culinary traditions of today. Sassafras also has a long history of medicinal use, as well as a tradition of use to ward off the evil eye in Appalachia.  Pawpaw on the other hand, may have has some medicinal and mystical qualities, but I have yet to run across any traditional uses for these things–and I have yet to figure out the best way to use it as well (other than to eat)…

Parting Quote: Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.
~Mary Anne Radmacher