How to Make Thieve’s Vinegar To Protect from Respiratory Infections

Karen Vaughan, L.Ac., Registered Herbalist (AHG) posted this in Alternative Health on October 28th, 2010

For medicinal use you need much higher ratios of herbs to vinegar.

The traditional story is that during the Black Plague, a group of men were going into houses where people had died, stealing their goods.  The authorities figured that they would soon be infected and die, so did not pursue them until it became clear that they were resistant to the disease.  And then the motivation was to find what protected them.  Finally the thieves were apprehended and one confessed that his mother, a midwife, had provided them with a protective vinegar that they drank and washed with after handling the cadavers.  And in exchange for freedom, shared the recipe.

My version is slightly different, in that I use chili peppers which were not available at the time.  I love to make the vinegar and use it for both cooking and to put a quarter cup in my water bottle to build up resistance. Vinegar in water was called Posca by the Romans and accompanied most meals.  I take a tablespoon of the vinegar every few hours if I am coming down with an infection. All herbs are dried to increase the strength.

1/4 cup dried lavender blossoms

1/4 cup sage or white sage

1/4 cup lemon balm

1/4 cup rosemary

1/4 cup peppermint

2 Tbsp crushed chili peppers

2 Tbsp cloves

8 minced cloves of fresh garlic

1 oz. tinctured wormwood or Artemisia annua (Sweet Annie)

2 cups apple cider vinegar.

Mix the dried herbs well and place in a jar, along with the garlic.  Cover with the tincture and vinegar.  Let sit in a dark place for four weeks, shaking each day.  Strain and decant.  You can use the infused herbs after straining in soup stock if you wish.

I find that most of the Italian food spices will work well in the vinegar, so don’t be afraid to add or substitute with thyme, oregano, zatar, monarda (bergamot/bee balm), or similar anti-infective herbs.  (Increase the vinegar proportionally if you add.)  You can also use the artemisia leaves if you have them available, although I like a little alcohol in the vinegar.   I think that apple cider vinegar extracts best, so if you are using other kinds, use a bit less so the extract is stronger.

I also mix essential oils to form a version similar to the Young Living Thieves’ oil.  Rosemary, clove, oregano, thyme, peppermint and lavender in equal amounts can be combined, and the oil placed over glands or rubbed on the palms and inhaled.

Alachua County "Strike Out Hunger" Food Drive food donations will be dropped off at Citizens Field. The goal is to improve on last year’s drive, which collected 26,000 pounds of food. Today at Noon and November 8 at 11:30 am.


http://www.gainesville.com/article/20101029/ARTICLES/101029335/1118?Title=County-8217-s-food-drive-will-begin-Monday

Servings: 2

Difficulty: Easy

Cook Time: 30-60 min

Ingredients

• Shrimp

• 8 shrimp, peeled and de-veined

• 1 tsp. garlic, chopped

• 2 tsp. shallots, chopped

• 1 yellow tomato, peeled, seeded and diced

• 1 tbsp. olive oil

• 1 tbsp. Opal basil, chopped fine

• 1/2-cup dry white wine

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• Salt and fresh ground white pepper, to taste

• Grits

• 2 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter

• 2 1/4 cups chicken stock

• 1/2 cup Charleston Grill stone ground grits

• 1 to 2 cups heavy cream

• Salt and fresh cracked white pepper, to taste

• 1 Tsp. fresh lemon zest, chopped fine

Cooking Directions

Shrimp

Salt and pepper the shrimp on each side. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and then add the shrimp. Cook for one minute on each side and remove from the pan.

Add the garlic and shallots and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and the white wine. Reduce the wine by half and add the cream. Reduce to a sauce consistency.

Return the shrimp to the sauce and add the Opal basil. Salt and pepper to taste and pour this over the hot grits.

Grits

Bring the chicken stock and butter to a boil in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the grits and return to a boil. Reduce the heat, allowing the grits to cook for another 15 minutes at a low boil, and until the grits are thick and have absorbed most of the chicken stock. Stir occasionally to keep the grits from sticking.

Add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to the pot and reduce the heat, allowing the grits to cook slowly for another 10 minutes. As the liquid is absorbed, add more cream, cooking the grits until thick and full-bodied. Add salt and pepper to taste with a total cooking time of at least an hour.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bob Waggoner of the Charleston Grill, in Charleston, S.C.

My wife was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She was not happy with what she saw and said to me,

"I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.'

I replied, "Your eyesight's perfect."

And then the fight started........

In the Sunshine State on this day in:

1764 George Johnstone, the first governor of British West Florida, arrived in Pensacola today.

1799 All Spanish and American military officers were ordered out of West Florida today by William Augustus Bowles, the Caucasian Creek chief.  Bowles promulgated the order as the “Director General” of the State of Muskogee, which had its capital Mikasukee near present-day Tallahassee.  Bowles was eventually taken prisoner by an agent of the United States government who delivered him to Spanish authorities in 1803.  He was imprisoned in Havana and died there.

1900 Citizens of Jacksonville and North Florida experienced eight distinctive earthquake shocks at about 11:15 am. today.  The shocks, rated as 5 on the Mercalli Scale, produced broken windows, cracked plaster, and broken dishes.  Twice before in 1879 and 1880 Florida experienced earthquakes in the modern age.

1955 The Statutory Board was abolished on this date and replaced by the Board of Bar Examiners, which is charged with the responsibility of examining the moral and technical qualifications of applicants seeking to practice law in Florida.

1957 A Snark Intercontinental missile was launched from Cape Canaveral today and impacted on its target near Ascension Island, more than 5,000 miles away.

“The Constitution gives every American the inalienable right to make a damn fool of himself.”

... First Rain-Free October In Jacksonville Climate History Likely To Be Recorded Today...

... Gainesville Likely To Tie Driest October On Record With Only A trace Of Rain... 

Today, October 31^st will mark 32 consecutive days since Jacksonville and Gainesville Florida have received measurable rainfall. Included below are the record low rainfall totals for the month of October...

Jacksonville FL 0.08" in 1909 0.00" in 2010
Gainesville FL trace in 1987 trace in 2010

Dry and rain-free conditions are expected through Monday and it is expected that Jacksonville will set a new record low rainfall total for October, while Gainesville will tie the trace amount set back in October of 1987.

Record consecutive day streaks without measurable precipitation...

Jacksonville 32 days from September 30th to October 31st, 2010 all time record 46 days from October 31st to December 15th, 1970

Gainesville 32 days from September 30th to October 31st, 2010 all time record..39 days from February 12th to March 22nd, 1955

Through October 31^st this is ranked as the 7th driest year to date on record at Jacksonville with only 31.76 inches of rainfall which is almost 16 inches below normal. While St Simons Island is ranked as the driest year to date on record with only 22.90 inches of rainfall which is over 20 inches below normal.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 85. West wind between 5 and 8 mph.

Tonight: Patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 56. Light west wind. 


Hazardous Weather: inland fog is possible after midnight tonight through sunrise Monday morning.


Forecast Details:. objective surface analysis at 12z shows high pressure system around 1020 mb right over the forecast area. Surface ridge axis is roughly located from Alabama to central Florida with a west-southwesterly flow over the coastal waters at this time. Temperatures are climbing through the 50s to near 60 now with patchy fog dissipating. Small patches of stratus noted over southwest zones but should mix out over next 1-2 hours. More substantial stratus decks noted over western Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama.

Another stellar day in store with mostly sunny to locally party cloudy skies and warmer temperatures in the lower to middle 80s. Middle level ridge axis will remain south of the area over the central Gulf of Mexico to southern Florida resulting in a zonal flow and slight increases in upper level moisture. 

Today's Pollen Levels: 4.4 Low Medium (on a scale to 12); Predominate Pollen:Ragweed.

For
additional information visit the National
Weather Service
in Jacksonville website on the internet at
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jax/

Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast

-------------------------************-------------------------

Long before Ashton Kutcher began punking celebrities, a talented young actor with a wicked sense of humor pulled off one of the biggest pranks in American history.

Oct. 30, 2008, marked the 70th anniversary of Orson Welles’ legendary radio broadcast of "The War of the Worlds," which sparked a nationwide panic, causing many Americans to believe an actual Martian invasion was under way.

Directed and narrated by Welles, the hour-long broadcast aired Oct. 30, 1938, as a Halloween-themed episode of CBS’ radio series,Mercury Theatre on the Air.

The performance was an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novel The War of the Worlds, and was delivered in such a ways as to simulate a live news report of a Martian invasion.

The faux newscast (audio embedded below) included accounts of a meteorite landing in New Jersey, followed by descriptions of tentacled aliens emerging from spaceships, brandishing and firing weapons at humans. The broadcast caused some people to flee their homes, and telephone lines flooded with listeners trying to determine the validity of the Martian invasion.

The spectacle catapulted Welles to instant fame (and perhaps some notoriety) and is considered to have established modern radio as an artistic medium.

To commemorate the historic broadcast, students at Ball State University planned a re-creation of it Oct. 30, 2008, on Indiana Public Radio — but with a clearly stated preamble designed to prevent the kind of chaos that erupted long ago.

The original, uninterrupted broadcast is available in its entirety online.

Smartphone users can take a break from a long day of climbing and check their email

Things sure have changed since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953.  Nepalese telecom group Ncell, a subsidiary of Swedish phone giant TeliaSonera, claims that it has transformed the summit of Everest into the world's highest wireless internet hot spot.

Mount Everest is an awe-inspiring peak, theworld's tallest mountain above sea level.  Its elevation measures 8,848 meters (29,029 ft), as does its prominence.  Located in the Himalayas along the Nepal (Sagarmatha Zone)-China (Tibet) border, the peak has been climbed by many adventurers since 1953, some of which even made the ascent without oxygen. 

As of 2008 approximately 2,700 people had made approximately 4,100 ascents to the summit.  It costs over $25,000 for the permit to attempt an ascent.  To date 219 people are known to have perished attempting the climb.  In a gruesome reminder of these failed attempts, current climbers often see the corpses of the deceased, many of which have been left in place.

Now the climbers will have a much happier sight to comfort them in their trek -- mobile internet.  Before climbers largely relied onsatellite phones on Everest, but these devices can be extremely expensive -- especially for data -- and sometimes don't work due to line-of-sight issues.  The China-facing slope has been partially covered by China Mobile since 2007, but that coverage was voice only.

The new service from Ncell may seem merely like a publicity stunt, but it will likely be helpful to climbers in case of an accident.  Ncell has set up coverage originating from a series of eight base stations, going up to a station situated at 5,200 meters (17,000 ft) near the tiny Gorakshep village.  Four of these stations are solar powered.

Lars Nyberg, chief executive of TeliaSonera, which owns 80 percent of Ncell hailed the achievement, stating, "This is a great milestone for mobile communications as the 3G high speed internet will bring faster, more affordable telecommunication services from the world's tallest mountain."

Ncell Nepal chief Pasi Koistinen, speaking to reporters in Kathmandu added, "Today we made the (world's) highest video call from Mount Everest base camp successfully.  The coverage of the network will reach up to the peak of the Everest."

Based on Mr. Koistinen's statements, it appears the summit will be covered, though it's unclear how much of the mountain face will be covered by the installed infrastructure at the base stations.

The coverage will be equally valuable to local people as it is to climbers.  Despite the draw of having some of the world's tallest peaks, Nepal is among the world's poorest nations.  Current cell phone infrastructure only covers a third of the nation's 28 million people, most of whom live a largely subsistence lifestyle.  TeliaSonera wants to invest $100M USD to bump this coverage up to 90 percent.  With the addition of its new Everest network, the company now has Nepal's greatest percent coverage, ahead of state-run Nepal Telecom, Indian-owned United Telecom and China Mobile.

TeliaSonera already held the distinction of offering the world's lowest altitude cell phone service, offering 3G coverage in a European mine that measures 1,400 meters (4,595 feet) below sea level.

Aside from their pristine beauty, recent melting in the Himalayas has brought them to the center of the global warming controversy.  Some are claiming that the change is atypical and caused by humans, while others attributed the melting trend to natural variations in the Earth's climate.  Climate skeptics are sure to note the fact that early claims about Himalayan melting rates made by the UN's International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were shown to be exaggerated, forcing the partial retraction of a major warming report.

The Clipper Schooner Lynx, a tall ship built to recreate a ship from the War of 1812, will arrive in St. Augustine on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, and will stay in St. Augustine until February.

The ship is 122 feet high and weighs 114 tons. It is an interpretation of a privateer or naval schooner from the War of 1812, the war that led way to America's "Era of Good Feeling" and gave the country its national anthem.

The ship features flags and pennants from the 1812 era, a crew dressed in period costumes and operating the ship as sailors would in the 19th century, and six carronades -- short, cast-iron cannons.

The ship and its crew will offer educational dockside and sailing tours beginning on Nov. 13. The Lynx will sail during the Pirate Festival Weekend, and tickets are available for children and adults to join the crew on the sea.

Lynx is an interpretation of an actual privateer named Lynx built by Thomas Kemp in 1812 in Fell's Point, Md. The original Lynx was among the first ships to defend American freedom by evading the British naval fleet then blockading American ports and serving in the important privateering efforts.

At the outbreak of the War of 1812, the American Navy consisted of only 17 ships - eight frigates, two brigs, and seven assorted smaller vessels including a few schooners that saw service in the Barbary Wars, according to its website.

When a nation went to war, owners of private vessels were granted special permissions, called "letters of marque," to prey upon the enemy's shipping, thus they were called "privateers." While rarely engaging enemy warships, their impact was felt by English merchants who insisted on warship escorts for their vessels. To perform this duty, warships were drawn away from engaging the scant American Navy and blockading our coast, and thus did the privateers.

The new Lynx, built in 2001, is a square tops'l schooner classed as "sharp-built" schooners based on the Baltimore pilot vessels of the early 19th century. They are considered by many to be the American thoroughbred of the fore and aft rigged vessels of the period. They are known for their inherent speed, sea-worthiness, and ease of handling.

As early as the navies of the world engaged in combat, privateers crossed oceans in search of prey. This practice became widely accepted during the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. These were not "pirate" ships, but armed and sanctioned vessels authorized to attack the enemy ships of whichever country their own nation fought. They were owned and operated by civilian -- private -- individuals, hence, "privateer."

The Lynx Educational Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan, educational organization, dedicated to hands-on educational programs that teach the history of America's struggle to preserve its independence, according to its website.

For more information, go to www.privateerlynx.org.

The October 29, 2010 Issue of Alachua County's Community Update is out! 

http://www.alachuacounty.us/Depts/Communications/Documents/comm_update/Update-2010-10-29.pdf

Three award-winning authors will visit Gainesville Nov. 5 and 6 for the 61st Florida Writers’ Festival.

The festival, hosted by the University of Florida’s MFA program in creative writing, known as MFA@FLA, and sponsored by the Alachua County Library District and the Friends of the George A. Smathers Library, brings nationally distinguished poets and fiction writers to campus for a two-day series of readings and lectures. The free festival this year will feature the following authors:

• Henri Cole is the author of seven collections of poetry. His book “Middle Earth” was a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
• James Lasdun has published short-story and poetry collections, novels, non-fiction, and screenplays. His new collection of stories, “It’s Beginning to Hurt,” was one of the Atlantic’s Best Five Books of 2009.
• Wells Tower, named one of America’s 20 best writers under 40 by The New Yorker magazine, is an author of fiction and non-fiction.

Schedule of festival events:

• Nov. 5: Cole and Lasdun read from 8 to 10 p.m., Smathers Library East, UF campus, followed by a brief reception.
• Nov. 6: All three authors present 30-minute talks, followed by an informal reception,
  1- 3 p.m., Alachua County Library Headquarters.
• Nov. 6: Wells Tower readings, followed by a reception, 8 to 10 p.m., Smathers Library East, UF campus.

MFA@FLA, the program in creative writing at UF, is one of the oldest writing programs in the South, founded in 1948. MFA@FLA was recently ranked the 11th best creative writing program in the country by Poets & Writers magazine.

For more information about the 2010 Florida Writers’ Festival, please contact Becca Evanhoe at 785-979-6651 or  r.evanhoe@ufl.edu.

Visit the MFA@FLA website: www.english.ufl.edu/crw.

The highly successful Can You Take a Five Minute Shower? water conservation campaign that began in the University of Florida’s Yulee residential area last fall continues to expand.

The most challenging water conservation effort for residents is to take shorter, cooler showers using the Shower Coach timers, which are 5-minute timers on suction cups that have been placed in showers.

A 5-minute shower uses 12.5 gallons of water. Each additional minute uses 2.5 gallons of water. Residents are being asked to take shorter, cooler showers to support both water conservation and energy conservation efforts campus-wide.

“The Shower Coach timers are a fun way to remind residents about water and energy conservation while they are actively using resources,” said Sharon Blansett, assistant director of housing and chair of the Housing Green Team/Recycling/Sustainability Committee. “This water conservation effort is one of many resource conservation efforts supported by the committee in residence facilities.”

All residence hall areas are participating in water conservation efforts. These residence areas are part of the Can You Take A Five Minute Shower? campaign: Yulee, Murphree, Graham, Lakeside, Tolbert and Jennings. The program will be piloted in Diamond Village, a graduate and family housing area, in late fall 2010.

Last year, residents saved an average of 2.5 gallons of water per resident, per day during the campaign.

Professor Nalini Nadkarni, a world-renowned forest ecologist and former Guggenheim fellow, will speak on the University of Florida campus Wednesday.

Nadkarni is a member of the faculty at the Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Wash., where she teaches environmental studies.

At 8 p.m. in the Reitz Student Union Grand Ballroom, Nadkarni will give a talk on “Tapestry thinking and tapestry actions: weaving threads of science, arts, and the humanities to create the good life” in connection with the humanities course “What is the Good Life?”.

Earlier on Wednesday, she will meet with graduate students, humanities professors, and people interested in sustainability issues to discuss the role of the humanities in conservation.

Nadkarni received the prestigious 2010 National Science Board Public Service Award as an individual who has made significant contributions in public understanding of science in the United States.

The events are sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs, the Office of Sustainability, ACCENT, the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, the department of religion, the Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions, and Innovation through Instructional Integration.

Gainesville's oldest restaurant closes Saturday after 82 years, Louis' Lunch at Southeast Fifth Avenue and Second Street, which is also open today, serves the last of its hamburgers and shakes from 9:30 am. to 5:30 pm. today.

Owner Tom Pennisi, 75, cited slow business and his age for his decision to close the diner and sell the property.

His father, Louis Pennisi, opened the business in 1928.

You may be wondering whether trick-or-treating would happen Saturday or Sunday, and the city of Gainesville has not declared it one way or the other.

Gainesville Police Lt. Jaret Weiland said that means Halloween festivities are still on for Sunday.

The Alachua County Sheriff's Office said the same was true for the unincorporated area.

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, "I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds."

I bought her a bathroom scale.

And then the fight started......

In the Sunshine State on this day in:

1558 Tristan de Luna y Arellano was named by the Viceroy of Mexico, Luis De Velasco, to head the Spanish expedition to occupy Florida. 

1926 A skeleton believed to be that of a prehistoric mastodon was uncovered near Venice Beach.  Representatives of the Smithsonian Institution were called to the scene to investigate.

1933 The first classes for the Palm Beach Junior College started today in West Palm Beach.

 "You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now. " 

...Cooler And Dry Today...


Today: Sunny, with a high near 79. East wind between 3 and 10 mph.  

Tonight: Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 53. Light east wind. 


Hazardous weather: Patchy dense fog is possible early Sunday morning across inland northeast Florida with visibilities less than 1 mile at times.


Forecast Details:. Surface high pressure over the Tennessee and Mississippi River Valleys will build south-southeast through Sunday. Mostly clear skies will prevail over inland sections with some coastal cumulus popping across eastern zones. Light easterly flow will bring cooler temperatures to the coast with highs in the middle 70s today to upper 70s Sunday. Lows will range from near 60 along the coast to near 50 well inland. Patchy fog, some locally dense, will be possible across inland northeast Florida early Sunday and Monday mornings where shallow moisture and decoupled winds will phase.

Today's Pollen Levels: 4.5 Low Medium (on a scale to 12); Predominate Pollen:Ragweed.

For additional information visit the National Weather Service in Jacksonville website on the internet at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jax/