Pine Salve Recipe and Use

Months ago, still winter time, Ellie and I began the process of creating a pine salve. Today, we finally got to finish it! Things that are good and worthy require some patience. 

So here is the process first, then benefits and why you'd want to use it at the end.

SUPPLIES:

- 1 cup Pine infused oil (directions explain how to achieve this item(

- 1/4 cup Beeswax (pellets or blocks)

- Essential oil if desired. I added patchouli oil.

- Double boiler (or if you're like me and do not own one, a deep stock pot and a large second pot will work perfectly).

- Wooden stir stick

- Jars with lids. I used tin jars with lids. I made enough with my whole quart of pine oil to make 4 jars. I just repeated the recipe and steps four times. 

STEP ONE:

Collect green pine needles off a pine tree. (Or any other evergreen such as Juniper for example!) Scrape off pine resin (pine pitch, pine sap). Smells SO GOOD!!!

Get a lot, enough to pack in a large mason jar.

Pack the mason jar full of the fresh green pine and pine resin then pour an oil complete over the top, filling the jar. You can use olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, what have you. 

Cover the jar, date it, and set it in a dark cabinet out of the way. 

STEP TWO:

After at least 6 weeks, (I waited 3 months), Bring out your pine infused oil. 

Set up your double boiler. Again, in my case, I don't own one, so I filled my deep stock pot with water and set it on the stove top to boil. Inside it, I placed my second more shallow pot which fit in the top perfectly.. Heat rises, you know, so the pot on top will receive that heat. In that top pot, pour your first 1 cup of pine oil, and your 1/4 cup of beeswax. (I did use pellets, for the record.) Stir slowly and constantly until wax is completely melted and mixed with the oil. At this point, add essential oil if you choose to do so. Stir it in. Then, carefully, slowly pour this first batch into your first jar and leave to set and cool. As it cools it will harden. When completely cool, place the lid on, label, and store in a bathroom closet or cabinet or medicine cabinet for later use.

THE BENEFITS:

So pine salve is awesome for drawing out infections, splinters, and inflammation. It reduces any pain or swelling the body may be experiencing; and it can also be rubbed upon the chest for chest congestion. 

It also just makes your skin super soft!

Patchouli oil is also a winner of many benefits which I happily added to our salve. Patchouli oil is great for skin conditions such as dermatitis, acne, and dry skin. It aids in relieving depression and easing anxiety, giving relaxing vibes. It too has benefits for congestion relief so rubbing this salve with this essential oil upon a congested chest is a great idea!

Super easy to make and again, a lot of evergreen species can be used! Do some research on different kinds and find their benefits! Happy foraging!

Week 36 - Homeschool Preschool

Another adventurous week in the books!

We continued studying caterpillars and butterflies this week. In doing so, we also studied ladybugs as we have been observing ladybugs in the garden on the apple trees from the stage of eggs. They hatched, and we have watched them grow weekly. So we made ladybug spots, numbered them 1-20, and Ellie had to find the numbers and call them out in order as she lined them up in correct numeric form. She loves a game of seeking things out.

Ellie continued her letter writing practicing.

Painting with spaghetti!! I boiled noodles, Ellie filled a plate with paint, and got to slapping, swirling, rolling, dipping, and slinging those noodles. She laughed and laughed and did it over and over!

Our community geese had goslings!

Ok, this one is just because my girl is just so beautiful and cute!

Turtles! We had 3 painter slider turtles and one bad ole snapping turtle down at the dock one night. So fun noting the difference. Ellie did not touch the snapper and yes, we washed hands, obviously.

On our field trip this week, Ellie took it upon herself to gather treasures to paint with at home. This one painting made with nature looked like a floral bouquet to me.

Field trip to the SC Botanical Gardens with friends to see the butterfly garden, vegetable garden, creek splashing, and carnivorous plant life! 

Ellie worked so hard in the garden duties this week. She is so excited seeing her tomatoes blossoming, hydrangeas in blooms, and apples rounding. She really does work very hard and I love seeing this knowledge, confidence, and responsibility in her.

Here are some photos from the SC Botanical Garden butterfly garden that we read about and studied more at home.

We have been blessed with the most awesome neighbors all around our neighborhood. Our next door neighbors are really precious and so loving to my family! Ellie has befriended Mr. Eddie and we love it. He and Mrs. Nancy love on her, talk to her about God, invest in her, teach her things about life in general. Mr. Eddie took her on her first big boat ride around the pond! Ellie was so so so happy and she loves her time with them. One night, we were putting Ellie to bed; looking out her window she saw our neighbors all going out to fish and feed the fish and ducks. In her pajamas, she asked, "May I go out there to them?" So sweet! It was a little late that night for her; but we love how happy they make her and how loving they are to our girl. People like this really help make a difference in the life of our children. 

We did a sunflower seed counting game as part of our curriculum, "The Homegrown Preschooler."

Ellie learned about symmetry by making symmetrical paint prints. Ellie LOVED the mess out of this! She did it over and over and over again. She got the technique and process down and did them solo. She even held an open art studio for her daddy when he got home from work where she showed him her work, described and named each piece, then she performed a demonstration for him with the symmetry art. 

Books read this week: