Mint

Nature 3 Minutes

There are many safe uses for mint-family herbs besides beautifying your gardens. Here is just a sampling:

Food: The peppermints are especially good culinary mints, ideal for chopping into salads, sprinkling over fruits or combining with basil or cilantro to make mint pesto. Add a couple of tablespoons of fresh chopped mint to peas, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, or zucchini to create minted vegetables!

Drinks: Freeze a few trays of strong mint tea, then use the ice cubes for cooling summer drinks! Add mint leaves or cubes to mojitos, iced tea, or fresh lemonade.

Tea: Why buy mint tea when it’s so easy to make? Peppermint, spearmint, apple mint, etc. are traditional tea herbs. Just steep fresh mint leaves in boiling water for about five minutes and serve. It’s a great digestive aid after dinner. 

Hair rinse: Add one part strong mint (especially rosemary) tea to one part cider vinegar for a conditioning rinse you can either leave in or rinse out. The vinegary smell dissipates after drying.

Facial astringent: Add a few finely minced leaves of fresh peppermint or other mint to a cup of witch hazel. Store in a glass jar for a week or more, shaking occasionally. Strain the herbs from the mixture after a week.

Mouthwash: Chop a quarter cup of fresh mint, bee-balm, lemon balm, basil, thyme, or oregano leaves and infuse in a quart of boiling water. When cool, strain the herbs and store in the refrigerator.  

Mint bath. Steep a handful of mint leaves in a pint of hot water for about ten minutes, then strain. Add to bath water for an invigorating, stress-free soak. 

Ease sunburn pain: Make a strong peppermint tea and refrigerating the mixture for several hours. To use, gently apply to the burned area with cotton pads. 

Breath freshener: Just chew on a few mint leaves! Sage teas and extracts have been used for centuries as a mouthwash for oral infections. Don’t use chew mint-family herbs if you’re breastfeeding, as even small amounts or sage and peppermint may reduce milk supply.

Scent up a space: Keep your home smelling fresh by adding a few drops of mint essential oil to your favorite unscented cleaner or just take a cotton ball and dap onto a light bulb. 

Moth repellent/scented sachet: Tie a few branches of strongly scented mint (peppermint, sage, lavender, rosemary, bee-balm) together, or pull off a handful of leaves, and stuff them into the leg of an old nylon stocking. Suspend by a string inside a garment bag, tuck into bags of stored woolen clothing, or just place in your drawers to let your clothes soak up the scent. Refresh periodically to keep the scent fresh.

Bug repellent: When ants come into the kitchen during the summer, place a few stems of mint, gently crushed, near suspected entry points really does deter ants. You need to replace the mint with fresh material every few days. Also, keep pets flea-free by stuffing a small pillow with fresh spearmint and thyme and placing near your pet’s bed.

Mint in Your Garden

You may have heard that mint takes over the garden. It’s mainly spearmint that gives a lot of mints a bad name. Peppermint pretty much stays put and peppermint rarely produces viable seeds, so you won’t find it popping up in different garden beds.

Wild spearmint is the real bully, developing an enormous network of tough, quarter-inch-thick rhizomes under flower beds, spilling out into a large section of lawn, sending up a new plant every inch or two from the underground nodes. So if you want to grow this mint, just give this attractive ground cover plenty of room to spread. Or, plant mint in a container such as a terracotta pot near the kitchen window. In the ground, it’s ideal to grow spearmint in its own bed. But if you want to grow mint in a bed with other herbs or plants, consider sinking a deep bucket or tub without holes into the soil and plant into that. Otherwise, spearmint will choke out other plants in the bed. 

NOTE: If herbal medicine interests you, please approach the mints, especially their essential oils, tinctures, and concentrated extracts, with care. Although many have been used by traditional healers around the world for centuries, most herbs haven’t undergone rigorous testing for safety and efficacy, especially in pregnant/nursing women, children, elders, and people with chronic illnesses.

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Published by pat frederick

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170 thoughts on “Mint”

  2. Hmmm….my CC has upped my credit limit and I just got back $25 in rewards, applied to my balance, with a remaining reward balance of $10.05 – they only apply it in $25 increments. Winning!!!! I was also able to educate a gal I used to work with at SM about the Homestead Exemption. Another single woman who owns her home – she didn’t know about it either!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    2. that link I posted by the optimistic conservative? from tcth…female Naval intl officer…

      tlhoward
      August 28, 2022 2:04 pm

      In the last couple of weeks I’ve discovered a new website. This link is about the author, a former Navy intel officer: https://theoptimisticconservative.wordpress.com/about/

      This is her latest post: https://theoptimisticconservative.wordpress.com/2022/08/28/mar-a-lago-affidavit-russiagate-rides-again/

      I noticed the China expert Gordan Chang commented on the page with her bio. Good sign.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. EXCERPT: “A U.K. rock singer who goes by the name Zion died from a “catastrophic brain injury” caused by the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, an inquest concluded. The 48-year-old man from Alston in Cumbria, a county in North West England, developed an “excruciating” headache on May 13, 2021, eight days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. Although he took painkillers, Zion’s headaches increased in severity and four days later, his speech was impaired and he started having seizures.

    Zion died May 19, 2021, despite emergency surgery to try to treat his “vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia,” which causes swelling and bleeding in the brain. After his death, his fiancée, 39-year-old Vikki Spit, said she had spent only one night apart from him in their 21 years together and that her life was “smashed into a million pieces” by his death, according to the Daily Mail. Spit is the first person in the U.K. to receive compensation for a COVID-19 vaccine death. During the Aug. 17 inquest, the panel heard how Zion was generally fit and well with no significant previous medical history.

    An inquest is a formal investigation conducted by a coroner to determine how someone died. The purpose of an inquest is limited to establishing the identity of the deceased individual as well as where, when and how they died.

    A paramedic who was initially called to Zion’s home on May 15, 2021, told the inquest panel Zion was “alert and sat” up when the paramedics arrived, the Daily Mail reported. She said she advised Zion to go to the hospital for further testing, but he said he did not want to go for fear of getting COVID-19. The paramedic also told the court she did not receive official guidance regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine and its potential severe risks until around July 2021.

    Spit said the paramedic was “adamant” the migraine had nothing to do with the vaccine and that she and Zion both “believed her.” She added, “He was prepared to go to [the] hospital if the advice was to do so.” However, the paramedic denied Spit’s claim.

    A clinical review of the North East Ambulance Service’s handling of the initial paramedic call was later carried out and concluded the paramedic did a “thorough assessment” and that there were “no concerns.” Two days later, on May 17, Spit called for paramedics again. Upon arriving at the home, the paramedic described Zion as “dazed and confused.” Zion began having a seizure and was immediately taken by ambulance to the hospital.

    He was later transferred to Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne where Dr. Damian Holliman, a neurosurgeon at the hospital, performed emergency brain surgery on Zion, but the bleeding in the brain had already caused it to swell. Holliman said he was “fully aware” that Zion’s blood clot “was the result of his recent vaccination.”

    Two other RVI consultants, including Dr. Christopher Johnson, an intensive care consultant, also presented evidence at the hearing and said they agreed with Holliman’s assessment.”

    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/zion-fatal-brain-injury-astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-injury/

    Liked by 1 person

  4. EXCERPTS: “Dr. Robert Malone, who helped develop the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines, is seeking $50.35 million in compensatory and punitive damages from The Washington Post for alleged defamation.

    Malone, an outspoken critic of COVID-19 vaccines and countermeasures, on Aug. 19 filed a lawsuit against the newspaper, owned by Jeff Bezos, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Malone’s defamation claims arise from a Jan. 24 article by The Washington Post — “A vaccine scientist’s discredited claims have bolstered a movement of misinformation.”

    The article, published one day after the “Defeat the Mandates” rally in Washington, D.C., draws on Malone’s speech at the event. Malone is demanding a jury trial. In an exclusive interview with The Defender, Malone discussed the lawsuit, claims made about him by the mass media and also the establishment’s efforts to stifle so-called “conspiracy theories” and “misinformation.”

    Malone also discussed developments around Monday’s announcement by Dr. Anthony Fauci that he will retire from his government positions in December.”
    ——————
    The lawsuit quotes verbatim several specific instances of alleged defamation in The Washington Post article, including:

    – Malone’s claims have been “discredited” and his views constitute “misinformation.”

    – “Robert Malone stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before thousands of anti-vaccine and anti-mandate demonstrators [and] repeated the falsehoods that have garnered him legions of followers.”

    – “‘Regarding the genetic COVID vaccines, the science is settled,’ [Malone] said in a 15-minute speech … ‘They are not working.’ The misinformation came two days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its first studies.”

    – Malone’s “claims and suggestions have been discredited … as not only wrong, but also dangerous.”

    – “There is a huge market for misinformation … The way he’s framed in the conspiracy-theory world is that he’s a courageous whistleblower rather than someone who is spreading misinformation — and it’s only enhancing his profile.”

    – “While Malone is a brilliant scientist who has a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge about vaccines, there is reason to be concerned about how his newfound stardom could be a public health risk.”

    – “There’s a risk we’re all facing when he’s not accurately representing the information.”

    – “On [the Joe Rogan Experience], he promoted an unfounded theory called ‘mass-formation psychosis,’ telling Rogan that a ‘third of the population [is] basically being hypnotized’ into believing what the mainstream media and Anthony S. Fauci report on the vaccine.”

    – “Malone has weaponized bad research.”

    – “With his increased profile in recent weeks, some are calling on him to take a step back and reflect on the damage his misinformation is causing.”

    Based on these statements, the lawsuit argues that “the qualities WaPo disparaged — Dr. Malone’s honesty, veracity, integrity, competence, judgment, morals and ethics as a licensed medical doctor and scientist — are peculiarly valuable to Dr. Malone and are absolutely necessary in the practice and profession of any medical doctor and scientist.”

    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/robert-malone-washington-post-lawsuit-corporate-media-fauci/

    Liked by 2 people

  5. EXCERPT: “The Wall Street Journal last week published an opinion piece, “Fauci and Walensky Double Down on Failed Covid Response,” with this subhead: “Lockdowns were oppressive and deadly. But U.S. and WHO officials plan worse for the next pandemic.”

    The article begins: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] belatedly admitted failure this week. ‘For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for Covid-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations,’ Director Rochelle Walensky said. She vowed to establish an ‘action-oriented culture.’”

    Yes, you read that correctly. Dr. Anthony Fauci and Walensky admitted they failed. They learned their lesson. As John Tierney, author of the op-ed, wrote:

    “Lockdowns and mask mandates were the most radical experiment in the history of public health, but Dr. Walensky isn’t alone in thinking they failed because they didn’t go far enough. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the president, recently said there should have been ‘much, much more stringent restrictions’ early in the pandemic.”

    They believe that they didn’t go far enough? There should have been “much, much more stringent restrictions?” That’s what they learned from the destruction their public health policies wreaked upon this nation and the others that followed their lead?

    To his credit, Tierney pointed out the absurdity of Walensky’s and Fauci’s stance on their own incompetence. Tierney also dropped a series of “truth bombs,” including:

    – Their oppressive measures were taken against the longstanding advice of public-health experts, who warned that they would lead to catastrophe and were proved right.”

    “- For all the talk from officials like Dr. Fauci about following ‘the science,’ these leaders ignored decades of research — as well as fresh data from the pandemic — when they set strict Covid regulations.”

    – “The burden of proof was on them to justify their dangerous experiment, yet they failed to conduct rigorous analyses, preferring to tout badly flawed studies while refusing to confront obvious evidence of the policies’ failure.”

    – “U.S. states with more-restrictive policies fared no better, on average, than states with less-restrictive policies.”

    – “When case rates throughout the pandemic are plotted on a graph, the trajectory in states with mask mandates is virtually identical to the trajectory in states without mandates. (The states without mandates actually had slightly fewer COVID deaths per capita.)”

    – A Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis of studies around the world concluded that lockdown and mask restrictions have had “little to no effect on COVID-19 mortality.”

    – Florida’s and Sweden’s open policies have been vindicated based upon their lower levels of excess mortality compared to other regions.

    – “It was bad enough that Fauci, the CDC and the World Health Organization ignored the best scientific advice at the start of this pandemic. It’s sociopathic for them to promote a worse catastrophe for future outbreaks.”

    I take no issue with Tierney’s list. The problem here is with the Wall Street Journal. Every single point this opinion piece offered could — and should — have been made months or years ago. There was longstanding advice from public health experts that predicted Fauci and Walensky’s failures? Why didn’t you say so in 2020? Fauci and Walensky ignored decades of research? They touted flawed studies while ignoring the obvious failures unfolding in front of them, month after month?

    The successes of Sweden and Florida were apparent in 2020. Where were the articles in your publication that could have brought light to these issues over the last two years? The Johns Hopkins University analysis on mask restrictions was published nearly nine months ago. Why didn’t you cover it? Why did it take so long to run this kind of piece when the evidence was around for so long?

    Do you really expect us to look the other way because you now have the temerity to call Anthony Fauci sociopathic? You had ample opportunity to give voice to the dissenters who were pleading for a voice, a conversation and a debate based on the very same evidence you are mentioning now.

    You failed your readership. You failed the public.”

    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/wall-street-journal-wsj-covid-policies/

    Liked by 1 person

  6. EXCERPT: “Story at a glance:

    – 5G relies primarily on the bandwidth of the millimeter wave, known to cause a painful burning sensation. It’s also been linked to eye and heart problems, suppressed immune function, genetic damage and fertility problems.

    – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) admits no 5G safety studies have been conducted or funded by the agency or telecom industry, and that none are planned.

    – The FCC has been captured by the telecom industry, which in turn has perfected the disinformation strategies employed by the tobacco industry before it.

    – Persistent exposures to microwave frequencies like those from cellphones can cause mitochondrial dysfunction and nuclear DNA damage from free radicals produced from peroxynitrite.

    – Excessive exposures to cellphones and Wi-Fi networks have been linked to chronic diseases such as cardiac arrhythmias, anxiety, depression, autism, Alzheimer’s and infertility.

    This article was previously published on June 5, 2019, and has been updated with new information.

    Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and radiofrequency (RF) radiation is an ever-growing health risk in the modern world. The Cellular Phone Task Force website has a long list of governments and organizations that have issued warnings or banned wireless technologies of various kinds and under various circumstances, starting in 1993.

    Another long list of organizations representing doctors and scientists are also among them, including an appeal for protection from nonionizing EMF exposure by more than 230 international EMF scientists to the United Nations in 2015, which notes that:”

    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/5g-emf-radiofrequency-radiation-health-risks-exposure-humans-cola/

    Liked by 1 person

  10. I just got off the phone with my granddaughter…lol…she’s a hoot.
    she starts school tomorrow and wanted to let me know what she wanted to be for Halloween. She has cowboy boots, a favorite plaid shirt and cowboy hat…but she wanted me to make her a “bucket purse” with cow skin like fabric and suede. So i asked where she saw such a thing. (I thought I could buy one easier…Boot Barn…$149!!!!!)
    she’s really trying to play Grandma

    Liked by 1 person

  12. copied from tcth…hmmmmmm…hiding conversations?

    Bubby
    August 28, 2022 4:39 pm

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/08/kash-patel-responds-deep-state-not-redacting-name-fbi-affidavit-drops-bomb/

    FTA” Then Patel shared this … This cartel of corruption inside our government is so devoid of concern about national security, they could not be bothered to see the judge in person. Instead, they literally called in the raid on the home of a former President via the FBI’s best friend, Zuckerberg’s WhatsApp.

    What we didn’t know is that the FBI uses WhatsApp as their “best friend”. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook. What does Patel know about WhatsApp’s use by the FBI? It appears the FBI uses WhatsApp to hold conversations that they can hide. Are there any other reasons for using WhatsApp?”

    The FBI and Facebook just more of the Democrat’s criminal enterprise is being uncovered! Disgusting!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

  16. Good for you, OK!!!

    EXCERPT: “Oklahoma officials are calling for teachers pushing Critical Race Theory (CRT) to leave the classroom after an Oklahoma teacher spoke out against the states’ education law following her resignation.

    Summer Boismier quit her high school teaching position at Norman Public Schools in Norman, Oklahoma, after she shared a QR code in her classroom linking students to “Books Unbanned,” a program through Brooklyn Public Library, that allowed students to access books prohibited from being taught by a state law. The law, HB 1775, prohibits teaching that one race or sex is superior to another, with the intent to prevent the teaching of CRT and certain elements of gender ideology.

    Norman Public Schools, where Boismier taught, found the list of books accessible through the link Boismier shared to be in violation of the law, and suspended Boismier. Oklahoma Education Secretary Ryan Walters argued in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation that Boismier’s actions violated House Bill 1775, and that Boismier and other like-minded teachers should seek different careers.

    “Great teachers don’t try to indoctrinate kids,” Walters told the DCNF. “We passed the bill to ensure that if that’s your goal, if your goal is to indoctrinate kids, you need to find another job. Our goal as a state is to empower parents and their kids’ education and to equip and attract the best and brightest into the teaching profession.”

    Boismier posted a QR code with a sign that said “definitely don’t scan this” in her classroom on the first day of class, KOKH reported. When scanned, the QR code took students to Brooklyn Public Library’s program for “Books Unbanned”; once at the site, students could sign up for an e-library card where they could access books banned from classrooms under state laws.

    Books on the website include, “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” which discusses a child’s experience with sexual orientation, “Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism and You,” a book that focuses on anti-racism and the origin of racist thoughts, and “All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir Manifesto,” a story about a black, queer boy that covers sexual orientation and gender identity.

    A parent complaint regarding the QR code caused the school to put Boismier on leave, but she was invited back to the classroom for the first day of classes, KOKH reported. However, Boismier decided to quit her job Thursday.

    “I will say that the district did offer me back my job, allowing me back in the classroom as of tomorrow morning,” Boismier said in a statement to KOKH. “However, there were some fundamental ideological differences between myself and district representatives that I just couldn’t get past. HB 1775 has created an impossible working environment for teachers and a devastating learning environment for students. For the second year in a row, students at Norman High will be without a certified English teacher for a substantial amount of time. The fault for that lies with Governor Stitt and Republican state leadership.”

    The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) voiced their support for Bosimier and her right to free speech in a statement to KOKH.”

    https://dailycaller.com/2022/08/28/oklahoma-officials-respond-teachers-quitting-crt-ban/

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Entire Article @ DC: “Despite claims from Biden administration officials that new funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will not increase the auditing burden on individuals and small businesses, a Friday letter from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reveals new auditing activity targeting taxpayers who report less than $400,000 per year will be expected to contribute to about $4 billion in revenue.

    Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Aug. 10 directed the IRS to not use the $79 billion funding increase granted to the organization in the Inflation Reduction Act to increase the “share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited relative to historical levels.” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters “No. Very Clear. No.” when asked if there would be new audits on “anyone” making less than $400,000 per year, and Yellen herself said that “small business[es] or households making less than $400,000 per year will not see an increase in the chances that they are audited,” in the directive’s announcement. (RELATED: Yellen Promises $79 Billion IRS Funding Package Will Only Target The Wealthy)

    However, the CBO now expects that new auditing efforts targeting individuals making less than $400,000 per year will partially account for $4 billion of $180 billion in revenue over the next 10 years, alongside reduced administrative costs, according to a letter containing updated revenue projections written by CBO Director Phillip Swagel. This expectation accounts for Yellen’s directive, with the CBO estimating that if the Inflation Reduction Act had included language prohibiting new audits on those reporting less than $400,000, the IRS would expect about $4 billion less in revenue than if it only followed Yellen’s directive.

    “Some taxpayers reporting income of less than $400,000 on their tax return, for whom the proposed amendment would have barred audits using the new funding, will be found to have more income than they reported—in some cases, income greater than $400,000—if they are audited,” said the CBO, clearly stating that the IRS is expected to use “new funding” for the purpose of auditing additional taxpayers.

    Heritage Foundation economist EJ Antoni stressed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that new funding could still be used for enforcement activity that isn’t auditing, such as document matching. The letter also noted that without Yellen’s directive, which Antoni noted is not a law and could be changed at any time by the director or a potential replacement, the amount of revenue generated from audits could jump as high as $20 billion.

    The CBO originally estimated that new funding for the IRS would lead to a revenue increase of $203.7 billion over the next 10 years, but cut that expectation by $23 billion to $180.4 billion in the letter.

    IRS spokesman Anthony Burke declined to comment over the phone on the CBO director’s letter, and did not immediately respond to a DCNF email containing follow-up questions. IRS spokesman Raphael Tulino referred the DCNF to an Aug. 16 statement by IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig that did not contain any comments about auditing.

    The White House did not immediately respond to a DCNF request for comment.

    UPDATE: This piece has been updated to clarify that new audits are contributing to the expected $4 billion in additional revenue, not that they are solely responsible for it, which was not made obvious in the original version of this article.”

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Entire Article @ DC: “Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington announced Wednesday that his state would be following California’s lead in banning the purchase of all gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

    Inslee touted California’s new rule, which was approved on Thursday, and stated that Washington was ready to adopt the rule to prohibit the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035 at the end of 2022, according to a tweet he posted. The governor also said that his state already set an unenforced goal for all new car sales to be zero emissions vehicles by 2030, a move that would attempt to phase out cars powered by an internal combustion engine.

    However, the California rule, which Inslee pledged to adopt, will actively enforce a ban on non-electric vehicles (EVs) by 2035. Washington’s legislature passed a bill in 2020 directing the state Department of Ecology to adopt California’s emission standards, giving Inslee the authority to make such a commitment.

    “This is a critical milestone in our climate fight,” Inslee stated. “We look forward to partnering with California and the Biden Administration to quickly eliminate our country’s #1 source of GHG emissions.”

    Despite its planned adoption of California’s strict mandates, Washington still intends to meet its 2030 goal for all car sales in the state to consist of zero-emissions vehicles, according to The Seattle Times.

    “We think of the California regulation as the floor and we’ve set a new ceiling of trying to get that done by 2030,” said Anna Lising, senior climate adviser to Inslee, on Thursday, according to the Times. Currently, only about 8% of the 4.7 million passenger vehicles registered in the state are fully electric, according to the Times.

    In addition to the new $7,500 federal tax credit for certain EVs that was instituted by the Democrats’ $369 billion climate spending bill, Washington residents may also enjoy up to $1,300 in tax exemptions if they purchase a new EV under the price of $45,000 or a used one under $30,000.

    Inslee’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.”

    Liked by 1 person

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