May 5, 1913

– Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (great book, if you can find it; one of those instances where you just wish the author was your friend in real life)

Best for Bites

Mosquitoes are here. They’re probably there, too ~ is there anywhere where
there aren’t mosquitoes? Or spiders or biting ants? I kind of doubt it. And so, I feel compelled to share what I have determined to be the best for bites. I’ve been using this for years and it’s pretty magical: you get a bite, it itches, you put some Apinol on it and the itching vanishes. Immediately and permanently. And then it doesn’t drive you crazy and you don’t scratch it till it bleeds and you don’t end up covered in scabs. I hardly mind getting bitten anymore because I know I have this to neutralize.

In my experience it works on spider bites as well as mosquitoes. And according to their website it works on everything from bee stings to herpes and prevents infection on cuts and burns. Magical, I’m telling you. It’s made from pine oil. And it lasts ages ~ I’ve had this bottle for five years, use it daily in the summer and fall, and it’s still half full (maybe it’s so magical it regenerates).

PS: This is not an ad. I’ve never done a sponsored post but just in case anyone is wondering if my enthusiasm is pure… it is. I was not paid to write about this stuff.

To Bee Or Not To Be

My best friend emailed me this video trailer with the note,
“Dude, we need to become beekeepers.”
We all need to!!

more at www.queenofthesun.com

Black & White & Read All Over

The past week was so busy and I have not written a thing in what feels like ages!
While I remedy that, here’s what I’ve been reading ~
{clicking on the titles below will jump you to the full text}

Food Sovereignty in Maine by Natural News
“Local residents recently voted unanimously at a town hall meeting to pass an ordinance that reinforces its citizens’ God-given rights to “produce, process, sell, purchase, and consume local foods of their choosing,” which includes even state- and federally-restricted foods like raw milk.”

On Social Media by Mizz Information
“We truly have become a nation of free laborers… providing data that Facebook in turn sells in one way or another, boosting Facebook’s worth to an estimated $100 BILLION. We tweet away, thinking nothing of it; meanwhile, Twitter is making up to $120,000 PER DAY per promoted trend. …What you’re actually doing is taking time out of YOUR life and putting money into someone else’s pocket.”

The Next Billion Seconds by the human network
“Mimesis = imitation. We see something, and we want to do it… We have learned to use mimesis to our advantage, but equally it makes us its slaves… We can imitate nearly anything, but what we choose to imitate is determined by our network of peers, that set of relationships which we now know as our ‘social graph’… Your social graph is the most important thing you have that can be represented in bits. With it, I can manipulate you. I can change your tastes, your attitudes, even your politics….”

Just Kids by Patti Smith
“Robert and I were irrevocably entwined… and often puzzled friends and acquaintances by our indefinable devotion. We needed time to figure out what all of this meant, how we were going to come to terms and redefine what our love was called. I learned from him that often contradiction is the clearest way to truth.”