Knotting To It

      In order to learn to macrame, one must first master a few basic knots. Really though, if you can tie your shoes then you can do macrame. The basic granny knot is the most frequently used knot in macrame, as it is the first half of the square knot. The second half of the square knot is another granny knot, just reversed. Since square knots make up most macrame, learning that one mode will get you pretty far.
     From the left are a few more explanations of knots that might help you do some macrame,or it might drive you crazy from its complication. As with gardening, cooking, and any other pastime, you can make macrame as complicated or as simple as you wish. People have been making knots since they began working with textiles, so there are some great historical pieces of remarkable complexity out there.
     Please see my discussion on these images here. I am in no way making a profit by displaying these out-of-print images.

Vitamin C Tisane/Infusion Recipes

Dried Hibiscus Flowers 

     Be aware that boiling the plants for 20 minutes reduces available ascorbic acid by at least 20%. Perhaps making sun tea/solar tea or steeping overnight might be a better method.

High-C Tisane (Homemade Red Zinger Tea)

Dried hibiscus, lemongrass, orange peel, peppermint, and rose hips
Boiling water
1 . Steep herbs for ten minutes
2. Drink as a vitamin C boost.

Pine Needle tisane

Dried pine needles
Boiling water
1 . Steep herbs for ten minutes
2. Drink as a vitamin C boost.

Celestial Seasoning's Red Zinger

Mint tisane

Your choice of mint or balm
Boiling water
1 . Steep herbs for ten minutes
2. Drink as a vitamin C boost.

Fresh Flowers, Water. Let chill overnight. Enjoy!

Raw Milk Debate

Milk: We Give It to Our Kids

     The raw milk debate continues to divide people that really believe in the same things and want the same goals from their foods. Who can say that they do not want the best nutrition for their children? Who can say that they want their children to eat unsafe foods? Who can say that the government always knows best?
     And is it right that WIC program encourages pregnant women and children to drink large amounts of cows milk in exception from other great sources of calcium and protein like almond milk or fortified orange juice?
     When my grandfather was a young man he and his wife moved out of the city to some acreage and started a dairy farm. For a self-taught farmer, they did very well, helping to pioneer a program to increase milk production during the war time. But one winter he was laid up in bed for weeks, maybe more than a month, due to Undulant Fever (Brucellosis).
     It is a disease that is almost unheard of now due to the rampant pasteurizing of all dairy products. Brucellosis is caused by a bacteria that is passed from infected cows to humans through milk. No amount of teat disinfection prevents this, the cow is actually carrying the bacteria inside of her. The United States government requires all dairy cows to be vaccinated, but we are not free of this pathogen as Canada claims to be. The infected milk looks exactly like regular milk, cows have no visible signs of the pathogen.
     People used to die from this disease in the days before antibiotics and vaccines. If we didn't have the bovine vaccine, we would probably be dealing with another antibiotic resistant superbug. Even with pasteurizing, people still can't be trusted to keep themselves from getting sick by avoiding "spoiled" milk products. Nationwide the leading cause of all food poisoning is unsanitary food preparation procedures in homes.

    If I can buy raw meat, which very likely contains E.coli and Salmonella, then why can't I buy raw milk, and be trusted to pasteurize it myself? I probably would not frequently buy raw milk, because of the inconvenience factor if the prices were similar. I find it apalling that all milk is homogenized and all the really healthy parts of the milk are removed, then sold back to me as very expensive butter and cheese. I might want to make my own butter! I can imagine a countertop butter making machine the size of a coffee maker looking great in my kitchen. Here's an industry idea for someone to invent and mass produce. Insert raw ingredients, let machine process, take out butter, then clean! Like an ice cream maker or a bead maker. But the first part is getting rid of the homogenization. Percentages don't need to be on kids food. In fact, if packages are too complicated then that food probably shouldn't be eaten at all (the easy way to tell if food is healthy or not).
     Another statistic that frequently goes unreported is the plain-old, everyday food poisoning that is caused by raw milk. Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli are frequently found in raw milk, some with devastating consequences for children, including Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (kidney failure) in children. Read a bit more about it here.

Fats Villainized

     Fat, whether eaten or trimmed, frequently gets blamed for making Americans a country of large waist proportions.

     One potential cause of fat villainy is displaced anger against sugar. A study's highlights here show that sugar is just as damaging if not moreso than dietary fat intake, and that the brain gets pleasure from consuming sugar just as much as fat.

     Trimmed fat has many uses, not excluding soap making. A really interesting chemistry read of how fats become saponified can be found here. Soap made from animal and vegetable fats contains glycerine, a natural moisturizer, where commercial soaps lack this valuable by-product. The glycerine is removed via a chemical process, and sold to be used for , but since glycerol is a by-product of manufacturing biodiesel, it isn't worth as much as it used to be. The glycerin-devoid soap is milled, or ground down, and rebatched into what we call bar soap.


     There is quite a bit of research that shows that people can't survive without dietary fats. Most people are familiar with the concept of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids being good for us. Other fats are necessary as well, as this post I wrote a while back demonstrates. Indeed, too much protein with too little fat has been known to cause a dietary phenomenon called Rabbit Starvation, sometimes known as protein poisoning. It happens in the absence of carbohydrates and fat, as the name implies. The liver can't effectively metabolize the high amounts of protein, and the kidneys are inefficient when blood urea levels are that high. Death soon results. The prevention? Eat a wide variety of foods, including natural carbohydrates and fats.

     In summation, blaming carbon molecules for poor life choices is like blaming guns because psychopaths use them.

Turk's Cap Hibiscus, Malvaviscus penduliflorus, Sleepy Mallow, Mazapan

Uses: Edible, Xeriscaping, Forage, Medicinal. Native to: Mexico.
     This is another great plant that looks beautiful and blooms for most of the year. It's a great candidate for turf replacement, since it is very well-behaved once established. The bright red flowers attract pollinators including butterflies and hummingbirds.
     Perhaps one of the best things about Turk's Cap Hibiscus is that the leaves and flowers are edible, like all members of the mallow family. Wikipedia says, "Certain species of hibiscus are also beginning to be used more widely as a natural source of food coloring (E163), and replacement of Red #3 / E127." I have used it to color handmade soap, by making a tea for the water portion of my recipe, coloring the soap a pinkish hue.
     Have you ever had Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tisane? According to their website, Hibiscus flower is their main ingredient. And after reading that list, doesn't it sounds pretty simple to make a version at home?

     Hibiscus flowers are known to be medicinal. They contain vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals. A study in 2008 found that it can lower blood pressure in mild cases. The flowers contain anthocyanins, acting as natural ACE inhibitors. This study reveals hibiscus' strong link to lessening the effects of metabolic syndrome. With a bit of looking, much more research can be found regarding the downward blood cholesterol effects of hibiscus. Some people are convinced the properties mentioned above can help them to lose weight.

The Clone Bucket, Week 3 and Potting Out

The third week of the clone bucket, the week of promised clone finishing, had finally arrived. I opened up the bucket to hopefully find masses of white roots... only to find this...

    Need I say, I was a little bit disappointed. 

          I hadn't followed the directions. The operator is supposed to use rooting hormones in the water. Then it is recommended to use hydroponic nutrient solution for feeding the plants while they are rooting.

               And what is this? It can only be described as a bacterial slime mold.

     So, I have planted out the remaining living cuttings, one of which has three or four tiny roots on it, the rest have no visible roots but are not dead or sliming. If these 5 live, then that ratio of 5:8 survival rating is not too bad, considering there is nothing but water in the system.

The Clone Bucket. Week 2 Update

     For the second week of the clone bucket project, I was delighted to find that only one of the cuttings had seemed to fail, by turning brown at the bottom and getting a little bit slimy. I removed it from the others and tossed it into the compost pile. Then rinsed out the bucket with water, added fresh water,and started the pump again. Although there is not much visible difference in the leaves of the cuttings, I did notice the green hibiscus (turk's cap) had grown a little bit. None of the cuttings have visible roots at this point.

Clone Bucket Experiment, Setup and Results of Week 1

     I was so excited with the gift Santa brought for me, an "aeroponic" cloning bucket. I promise only to use my new-found cloning powers for evil. Or good? For its trial run, I have two different kinds of hibiscus cuttings (Hibiscus acetosella and  Malvaviscus penduliflorus) for a total of 8 cuttings. The bucket is on the windowsill of my kitchen, a very shady spot but good for keeping an eye on things. The directions recommend opening the bucket every week and cleaning out the water, which I have to admit was feeling a bit...slimy. It lacked odor.

     It's hard to say what's going on with these cuttings. They are not black and dead, nor are they water soaked and swollen. The leaves on the green hibiscus are larger than they were, a good sign. The purple hibiscus shows no change. Overall, I approve.

The Clone Bucket, Part 1.

     I may have mentioned my aspirations to be a mad hibiscus maven, someone who is willing to share freely information, preferably about something unusual, like hibiscus. They are members of the mallow/rose family, and make for a tasty addition to both human and rabbit palates.Other than the Chinese hibiscus, many members of the family grow very well here in west Florida, including one of my favorites, the Turk's Cap hibiscus.

     So I have asked Santa this year for a cloning bucket similar to this one from Garden Pool. I love their design, but after researching their plans, I discovered it would be cheaper to buy one prefabricated. Maybe it's because of where I live, my access to the supplies. Santa got exactly what I wanted, and it's a lot more compact than I thought it was going to be, perfect for my already overstuffed galley-style laboratory. It even fits on a windowsill.

     For the first test run, I have filtered water and no hormones/chemicals added, and have made no modifications to the cloning bucket. If this all works as advertised, I may actually acquire some rooting hormones and a finer misting nozzle from the aforementioned big box stores.

     While I was setting up the bucket, I happily noticed the plastic bucket itself was made in the US. Didn't expect that. Hooray for plant technology probably pioneered by pot. The system includes a pump, a riser, a spigot, the black bucket, the black lid with holes, the foam plant holders, and a bunch of sample chemicals I plan on tossing.

Alternative Method for Making Lye, Part 4

     After working hard experimenting with the recipe in Part 3, I have discovered that recipe lacks water, or heat, or some vital process that makes it possible for completion. After some discovery on the internet, I was able to find a recipe for the reaction that seems to work out much better. The recipe comes from an interesting website that promotes the use of knowledge and technology to improve the lives of people worldwide, a noble challenge. They also have some great information about small and large livestock and crafts like candle and soap making.

      This is the mixture of hydrated lime and washing soda, after it has been boiled and is cooked and cooling. This pan is stainless steel, found at a rummage sale for $4, because I wasn't willing to risk one of my other pans to the process. Below is the first pan I tried making lye in, and it is hard to see from the picture, but the teflon is actually bubbled up off of the metal. Who would have thought? Teflon and calfalon are not of my favorite substances on the planet, after all the bad press they've received among the psittacine-phile communities for the deaths of hundreds of indoor pet birds. Apparently when teflon and its derivatives are heated above 200 degrees F, (which is every time you use it, right?) then toxic gases can be released which have been found to harm pet birds and newborns. That being said, don't make lye in a small enclosed room. Duh.
     I have still have to test the pH of the lye water that is produced from this process.