Crunchy loot and a stomach bug

This past weekend, we (the whole family!) partook in a medieval recreation event here in town. This is how Manthing and I met, and while Manthing's activity has, by necessity, dropped off, mine has stayed high. We love it. Girlchild loves it. My cup is refilled at events, and I get to spend time with people I've personally chosen to include in my family. It's all around good for the soul.

Unfortunately, what is good for the soul is not always good for the vessel. Somehow we managed to catch a nasty gastro this weekend. I know it was at the event purely through process of elimination. Girlchild started barfing on Monday night. I was sick by Tuesday, and so was Manthing when I called to wish him happy birthday yesterday. Additionally, 2 of our friends who were at the event also got sick. So yeah, the last few days have been horribly unpleasant. Last night I had a fever of 38.8 degrees that didn't budge with the liberal application of tylenol, so I bundled up and prayed that I wouldn't die overnight. When I finally woke this morning, I was back to normal 37.0, with a crashing caffeine withdrawal headache. Yay. Then my stomach lurched, my celebration stopped, and I called me and the kid in sick.

The exciting news was that because I was home, my order from Mountain Rose Herbs got to be delivered into my hot little hands, rather than heading back to the post office.

It included 3 packages of seeds, some herbs, butters, oil and containers. Squee. It's also the first thing I've bought online since I paid off my credit cards in March, so it was a big production. Manthing and I got on the phone and talked about each thing I chose, and I actually changed my order quite significantly while we talked. And a good thing too, because the herbs were a helluva lot lighter than I'd expected.

That giant bag of calendula there? That's only 4 ounces!! The midsized bag of arnica? 1 ounce!! The gargantuan bag of plantain is 8 ounces. Had I only known!! So here's a lesson, fellow apprentice-crunchies - buy small. It saves shipping, and apparently everything you want is super light. Or something. Last time I ordered from Mountain Rose Herbs, I was not as astonished by the size of everything, so maybe it was just the stuff I got this time.

From top left, clockwise: Calendula, Arnica, Plantain, Oregon Grape Root, St. John's Wort.

I also got some butters for adding into body creams. I love shea butter for my face, and these unrefined butters have very little gunkus in them, so I thought I'd try them on for size. They both smell divine. The cocoa butter smells edible, it's so cocoa-y.

So now I need to make some plants. I'm going to cold infuse the arnica and calendula for a bruise/sore muscle rub and see if it is more or less effective than with the essential oils. And I've got a jones to make another lavender salve - one of my friends has asked to buy some from me, and I might toss a little shea into that to make it even more decadent.

First I've got to stop barfing though.