Sooooooo looking forward to me Rosemary Gladstar hug at the end of August! This will be my third year at the New England Women's Herbal Conference and I am very much looking forward to learning, having fun, meeting people and getting my annual hug from Rosemary. :)
This year will be extra special because Camille will be joining me! Last year I won an award for my Heart Warming elixir. This year I will be entering my Go Easy elixir which is made from Lemon Balm, Hops, Vanilla bean, Chamomile, honey and Grand Marnier Cognac - helps you relax in times of stress. I will also enter my version of a fire cider for this year's fire cider tasting - wish them both luck! I plan on coming back with tons of inspiration and will share it all with you!
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It has been a while since I have posted but I have been super busy! I am smack dab in the middle of my Yoga teacher certification which takes up a lot of time. I am starting to teach classes so check out the "Yoga" tab and see what is going on! The garden is in super full swing and we are reaping the benefits of Dan's hard work. We are enjoying kale, lettuces, spaghetti squash, cucumbers, snap peas, radishes, and herbs galore! I am harvesting herbs and either tincturing them right away or drying them for tea or later use. Because we have so many greens I have decided to pick all the extra kale, dehydrate it and grind it up for adding to sauces, soups, breads, etc... Our chickens are growing up quick and we are waiting (hoping) to see if we have any roosters. Our newest addition to the farm is Hazel, a micro-mini pig who is about 1 year old and a unique one in her own right. She has a great personality and loves attention. She has made fast friends with our mini pony, Apache Enjoy the pictures! We all know I love little growing things: babies, chicks, goats, and of course - plants and trees! Thankfully Dan likes to plan and plant and garden. This time every year he is mostly seen outside growing things. Of course seeing a garden in full bloom is cool, I understand that; however, seeing little seedlings planted and starting to grow, or wild plants and herbs that come back every year is much cooler. :) They are working through last minute snow and frost and excessive rain in April and also creatures that live outside and try to eat them. But they are hearty and on a mission to persevere to grow big and strong (or little and strong, depending on the plant) to produce food and medicine just for us! Thank you little ones! We have lots growing and I wanted to share some pictures. To list everything would be exhausting so I have some pictures of stuff we have; because pictures are worth a lot more than words! What do you all have growing? I have been organizing my essential oils because I am teaching a class on Saturday 4/26/14 on their uses and safety. (Like my Facebook page to stay up to date on classes!) My inventory has grown and the box I had them in was shrinking, so it seems. I went and purchased a nice case that will allow me to go to teach classes and see my clients and just have to worry about that one case that has my oils and other needs items all in one place. Score! After I re bottled some of the larger ones and put them in alphabetical order I now find myself all healed, sleepy and uplifted all at the same time! :) I love my e/o's! They are powerful, natural and easy to use with the right knowledge. They can be used for healing emotional and physical ailments, as well as being able to naturally clean your home. Just to give you an idea of what I have, I am listing my current stash below. It is always ever changing and growing, much to my happiness. Hope to see you in my class!
Hey y'all!!!! Hope everyone is making it through the last stretch of winter!! It's the time of year here in New England where we get 50 degrees one day and snow the next. But that means that the buckets will be on the maple trees before you know it; the unofficial first sign of spring! Just wanted to give you a quick update as to where I am and what I am doing. Glad and proud to say that I have just completed my master herbalist course that I started in 2012!!! It is over 2300 hours of learning from books and teacher and hands on. This is the second course I have done and each one has made me a better herbalist. I am also working towards the end of my Level II Aromatherapy course which is going in depth on the safety of essential oils and how to use them to heal. And lastly (phew!), I have just signed up for my 500 hour certified yoga teacher training! This is very exciting! This will all be part of a medicine bag that I am putting together so that I can start my consultations and provide you with varying ways to help you feel better! I also wanted to say Dan is getting ready for spring as well and pretty soon seedling and sprouts will take over downstairs! Will keep you updated on that as it grows! I did want to share a recipe with you all because I find this one to be more than awesome!!! :) I have been looking to replace store bought items and granola bars are my latest. I have made quite a few and have a few more to try out but I made this one last night and LOVE it! Here is the recipe and enjoy the pictures!!! Melt together, on low heat, 1/2 cup nut butter of your choice (I used almond because I am not a huge fan of PB granola bars), 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/3 cup of honey. Pour over 1 cup of oats that you have waiting in a bowl and mix well. Add a combination of anything else you might want that measures up to one cup total. In my recipe I used unsweetened coconut flakes, unsweetened dried cranberries, almond slivers, chia seeds and flax seeds. As always try to use organic/all natural where you can - it makes a difference! Mix again then plop and press this into a lined 8x8 pan and chill until firm. I cut mine into 8 pieces which is good size for me for breakfast after my green drink! That's it! Who knew...? :) Try them and let me know how you made yours! So it turns out that January is already half over and it has been exactly two years since I started this blog page on my website, which started just before that. A lot has happened over the last two years and I expect that even more things will be changing in the year to come! I started Summit Valley Herbals because I began to feel the need to share my love of natural healing with others and it started with some all natural herbal based products. I have now expanded into more products and the teaching of quite a few classes. I now plan on expanding my education even more this year to include Reflexology and Crystal Healing while continuing to take more herbal classes and attend the nearby herbal conferences. My ultimate goal is to have a sacred healing space to care for clients by providing different options for them and to find the best natural way to heal what is ailing them. These different options will include herbal medicine, aromatherapy, reflexology, and working with crystals, meditation and/or journaling to help get them through their tough times and to help them learn how they can help themselves. These things, including yoga, are certainly helping me get through mine! I do hope to go through my yoga teacher training but that may have to wait until next year due to the high cost of the 500 hour course. As far as life on Summit Valley Farm….well, a lot has been going on there as well! Currently, everything is under a blanket of snow but I am sure that underground there is a lot of warmth and life ready to burst out in the spring. To keep things succinct, I have posted some pictures below that will document the holiday season and the things we have done. My hope is to blog more and provide more recipes and how- to’s for those who may be interested. Spring is just around the corner and in the midst of Dan finishing up some inside projects, he is also prepping with seeds! We have made kombucha, have been growing Wheat grass and have ground up of dried cayenne into powder for cooking. We have had sunflowers seeds sprouting and have revived an old sourdough starter so I am sure sourdough bagels will be in our future! One of my goals this year and to really start replacing store-bought with homemade and bagels are something I really want to get down good. I will be posting more on these individual items as soon as I can! Stay tuned and stay warm! Enjoy the pictures and hover over them for the captions! Had to make a new batch of laundry detergent because we ran out. I cannot recall when Dan made it last time but it sure seems like a long time ago. Yes, you can make your own laundry detergent and it is easy as pie...really, it is! Check out the proof below...       All you need is Washing soda, Borax, Baking soda and bar soap ! You can also add Oxy Clean if you'd like. Grate the bar soap, add the rest and combine. You can add essential oils here as well but I feel it is a waste of good (expensive) essential oils because we use vinegar with lavender oil as a softener and that would override it anyway... I used 2 parts Washing soda, 2 parts Borax, 1 part Baking soda, 1/2 part Oxy clean, and one bar soap (we used Fels-Naptha laundry bar). Use is about 1/4 cup per load. Easy peasey! Go ahead and try it yourself.... And speaking of cleaning up good.... I have also finished my Herbal Bath Tea blends for Summit Valley Herbals! These bath salts will be debuted at the Holiday Bazaar that I will be attending as a vendor on 12/7/13. I will post the details on my Facebook page so head on over that way for more info!!!
 Just a note that SVH is hosting a fundraiser for the dance students at Glocester Dance Academy! We will have the students with their forms pretty soon so be on the lookout!
These products will be for sale and the students get a good percentage towards their costume bill. These items make great gifts and also everyday items in your own household! Support the students when they come by with their forms! Camille will have hers as well so when you see us, stop and make a purchase!!! :) So we are now in November and since I will be needing the space in my freezer, it is time to make a sauce with my tomatoes that were picked throughout the summer and frozen, until now... :) Just a simple marinara sauce with garlic from the garden and also dried garden herbs like oregano and parsley. I got about 5 quarts and a few pints.; plenty for our family of three....      I was also out in the my woods today because it is about 55 degrees here for some reason and I felt the need to go for a stroll. I love the smell of the trees and dying leaves, the crunch underneath my feet and the fact that with no leaves on the trees, I can see a longer way into the woods on my property. I took some pictures along the way. This is the time that the earth goes into a deep and I will not be able to head out the once the snow starts coming around! Happy Autumn!                  It is now in high swing of the autumn season as evidenced by the lack of green and over abundance of colors like reds, oranges, yellows and browns. I spent some time outside on my deck today because even though it is late October, it is mild and I needed the fresh air to hopefully kick this sinus thing I seem to have contracted. I also like to watch the goats chase those falling leaves and eat them like potato chips. A season going by puts your life in quarterly increments, unlike my grandfather clock which reminds me life is going by every fifteen minutes with its ominous bongs. I do love the seasons and even though each has its own appealing character, my favorite is autumn. I love the smells, colors and fresh crisp air. Sad, though, that the garden and all plant life are on a decline but this is the start of newness as each plant dies and goes back into the earth waiting for its start again in early spring. My work with live plants comes to an end but now I work on gathering the information I got from them and put it into educational classes and workshops and also make medicine with the various oils and tinctures I started back in the summer. So far I have made and canned apple sauce, blueberry applesauce, cut up apples, apple butter and pear butter. The tomato sauce is next along with apple jelly from the rest of the apples. Just a quick note on me as well. I am at the tail end of my herbal course! I have spent the last two years studying the healing properties of plants, by book and by nature, and it I am almost done. I will miss the daily studies….oh, wait…I have a course in aromatherapy waiting in the wings! I am a perpetual student and look forward to the next thing to add to my medicine bag of healing panacea. I have also been looking into reflexology and possibly yoga training as well. All of these hold great interest to me and I feel they will help others when used correctly. In the early part of next year I will be starting to book consultations. If you would like to know more, or would like to book a consultation, keep checking back after the new year! Feel free to visit my tab “About the products” to see what is for sale – I am adding new things! Please check out my Facebook page to keep in touch with my workshops and classes and giveaways! I hope you have a wonderful autumn season!                 |
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