End of Winter Happenings & Projects

One last display of Winter?  I kind of hope so, I'm solar-powered!

Getting to some of those projects that couldn't be done in cold, damp weather.
The one on the right is the "new look" in Espresso... like it?  I'm also going to reupholster it with
outdoor, weather resistant material.  My neighbor bought this for cheap at a thrift store and
didn't want it anymore.  She gave it to us and with a new coat of paint it looks better than the
one we bought a couple of years ago for $150!!!

To celebrate today's glorious sunshine we made a sunny salad, I know some of
that is not in season, but being I sent my hubby to get me all the fruit he could find
we might as well put it to good use.  Isabella is practicing her culinary skills!

This was my window garden to keep me sane this Winter.  I have green onions with the bottoms
in water so they keep sprouting, I just cut off the tops when I need them and a couple of days later
I have new ones!  I also have rosemary and mint rooting in the mason jar, as well as some Vick's
Vapor Rub plant that my neighbor shared with me last Fall.  Oh, and the mint in the hanging basket,
time to move it on outside...soon.

Caterina LOVES to bask in the sun.  She's working on her tan! Haha

Okay, I know, not the most attractive picture I could have slapped up here, but
I wanted to show you about how much compost we get in a day or two!  If you don't compost,
you should!  You would be amazed how much less trash you'll have, and the amazing dirt that comes
from this after we put it in our tumbler for a while makes it all worth the (minimal) trouble.

NadiLu couldn't stand it, she had to help, she got to be the tosser and the tester.

Of course we're chipping away at school everyday.  I'll soon do a post just on that to answer some
of the questions I get about what curriculum we use and why, resources, ideas, etc.  Here the
girls are playing "Sound-O", like Bing-O, but to strengthen reading skills, school can be FUN!

We are finally getting our greenhouse up!  We have moved 4 times in 3 years and have been dragging
this thing around with us.  I'm glad we never put it up anywhere else, it would have been a pain to take apart
and move!  We probably would have left it.  But it has found it's rightful place and will be put to great use,
mostly for starting medicinal herbs to sell at the Folk Medicine Festival!

Playing in the mud! Nadia and Isabella both have a pair of these boots, our neighbor had
two pairs that she wasn't using and gave them to us!  Thank you Holly!  It made this Winter so
much better, you really can't live on a farm without a pair of these suckers!

The beginnings of our compost pile.  We put it at one end of our garden, near the chicken coop
and also near where the sheep will be.  That way we can quickly and easily transport the manure to the pile.
We also add what has been tumbled in our compost tumbler to this pile to further break down.  The leaves are from some
leaf-removal jobs my hubby did in the Fall and the big pile of squash are from a local garden center, these were tossed out
at the end of Fall.  We made some great soup from some of them, collected seeds from others and now they'll make us some fine dirt!  There is also layers of cardboard boxes mixed in this pile, all the boxes from when we moved!

Our bees are also excited for Spring, they are working hard today.  I was surprised they survived this Winter seeing as how it got down to -2 degrees here this year, which is abnormally cold for this zone.  Not only did they survive but they are thriving.  A quick note:  this hive is not painted white because we chose to go with all organic options.  This have is treated with a 100% natural wood preservative, made out of all-organic ingredients.  You never have to repaint it and I like the look of it better anyway!

Herbs, Natural Living, Homeschooling, Country Living, Multi-Cultural Family and Pregnancy

As stated in the title of this post, this blog will be cover many things.  The goal is to stay connected with like-minded folk and to inspire those looking for a simpler, more practical lifestyle.  I can truly say that we have been blessed to be able to live our dream at an early age.  That has come with many sacrifices but I always have at the forefront of my mind that we have one life to live, make it count and make sure what it important stays at the top of the priority list.  Easier said than done right?

So things that will be discussed here at Good News Herbs Blog:




A batch of Good News Herbs PEACE FLOWERS tea

• HERBS & NATURAL HEALTH:  I am the owner of Good News Herbs and have been studying herbs for thirteen years.  I am now enrolled to become a certified Family Herbalist and will then go on to my Master Herbalist certification.  My family and I have incorporated herbs into our diets and daily living for years now, and I think in ten years we've been to the doctor for just a handful of visits, and only for acute infections, and usually just for diagnosis and then we take it from there with herbs!  So what is Good News Herbs you ask?  Great question, so glad you asked!  I am a hands-on learner, as are most people.  Over the past thirteen years I have studied dozens of books, websites, journals, magazines, etc. One thing was missing: the experiential learning experience!  So, I conduct workshops and classes that are hands-on or out in the field.  I have a few local Herb Hikes a year where you could come out and walk through the fields, marshes, mountains and streams with me as I go over dozens of medicinal and edible plants.  Much more fun than reading a field guide!  You can take notes, take pictures, ask questions and touch and feel each plant, sometimes even take a bite out of one!  I also attend many local festivals with the Good News Herbs booth where I sell all of the products that I have formulated and handcrafted myself.  This is lots of fun because I love selling stuff that I have put lots of care and love into and then meeting the person who will be enjoying that product.  It's not the same as when I sell online.  I will soon be opening an Etsy store, so I'll post that when it happens and you can all go check it out.  I make specialty teas, salves, scrubs, infused oils, creams, and household products.  I will be posting lost of pictures and videos through this blog so you can learn a little something everyday to get natural medicine incorporated into your daily life.

Our school wall at home that we work from each day.

HOMESCHOOLING:  I have been homeschooling my two children for the past four years or so, they are seven and five as of now.  There are has been so much that I have learned from veteran homeschooler mamas, many with 10+ children that have allowed me to succeed.  I would love to share some of the stuff they have invested into me and my family.  I will share what curriculums I have used and why I did or didn't like them.  I will share the outings and projects that we do, just stuff to keep you (and me) encouraged and inspired!

The first harvest of the garden in 2013

• COUNTRY LIVING:  Okay, I live in the stinkin' middle of NOWHERE, a little spot on the map called Pumpkintown Tennessee, it is nestled in between Lafayette and Red Boiling Springs.  I am from Northern California where I also lived in the country and my husband is from Young, Uruguay (that's in South America y'all, NOT Africa!) He also grew up in a very rural setting and between the two of us we have learned to live off the land quite comfortably.  We can harvest a chicken, we're beekeepers, hunt and dress our critters, milk a goat or cow, make our own butter, cheese, kefir, yogurt, we do a big organic garden every year, grow and harvest a lot of our own food and medicine, can, dry, freeze, cook outdoors over a fire, build and use traditional clay ovens, cook everything from scratch everyday, bake our own bread, make our own wine and beer, and lots more!  I will be posting videos or pics of these things as we do them, again for instruction or just inspiration!

Isabella & Nadia at a pioneer School of Organic Agriculture in Brazil

My husband, Daniel and I in Brazil cooking traditional foods.

MULTI-CULTURAL FAMILY:  As I mentioned earlier, my husband is from Uruguay, so we speak both Spanish and English, we also know a lot of Portuguese because we lived in Brazil for a time and we are now learning Hebrew as a family.  I have learned so much from my husband and have learned to stream-line and simplify life and even my whole thinking process, it has been great!  We teach our children many things of the Uruguayan culture and even got to take them on a two month trip to Uruguay and Brazil so they could really soak it all in.

•  We also are Christians, we believe that Yeshua (Jesus in English) is the Messiah, the Son of God and we have made it a point to learn our true roots as believer, and those roots are JEWISH.  We as Christians are grafted in to the Jewish stock, as a wild grapevine is grafted into the root stock of another vine.  Here Romans 11:17-18 says it best:  "If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches.  If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you."  Okay, pretty important I would say!  So we as a family celebrate ever Friday evening with Shabbat or the beginning of Sabbath, the seven day of the week.  We also celebrate God's Appointed Times which the English Bible translates as the "Lord's Feasts" such as Passover, Feast of Trumpets, Pentecost, etc.  More on all of this later.

My first daughter Isabella at a couple months old (she's 7 now!)

• PREGNANCY: Well as of a few days ago I join the ranks of pregnant mama again.  This will be my third, so I have couple of natural births under my belt to encourage you with, as well as being able to walk through it again, while tweaking a couple of things because I have learned a lot more in the past six years.  My youngest now is almost six, so I've got a bit of a gap, which just translates to "great helpers!". 

So, that is this blog's future in a nutshell.  I hope you find it useful, inspiring, encouraging and through the comments that you leave I hope to learn a lot from you too!  Thanks for reading!

Until Soon,
Alicia Wornicov