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My son got a text from his manager a couple hours ago, two coworkers tested positive for Covid. These are both people in the insurance dept of the bank and he never interacts with them, but still...

We're back to our in home protocol that likely saved my butt last time this happened.
 
There is a lot of infection here in Southern AZ. You can tell the locals they are masked up & using the hand sanitizer, standing way back.
-crofter
 
The hospital in my smallish city just got a refrigerated truck parked outside the hospital. :/

Last month about this time I started a good strong batch of fire cider (onion, garlic, horseradish, ginger and hot peppers steeped in Braggs apple cider vinegar for a month) and last week I made a good strong batch of chicken broth with lots of onion and garlic in it and froze it. Six containers of chicken broth.

We've been taking immune boosters since March of last year and have been taking elderberry syrup and someone else's fire cider for the last month. Did the same thing last time he got exposed and we both had mild cases.

It feels better to be doing something instead of nothing and just sitting around waiting to see if you're going to be sick. Even if it is just psychological.

We both had Covid in January and are both fully vaxxed.

We have a good protocol for exposures but I'm almost positive in January our weak spot was the bathroom, this apartment only has the one. THIS TIME, he gets the bathroom all to himself. I just set up the Luggable Loo in my bedroom (like practice! lol) and will wash my hair in the kitchen sink and use up some of these shower wipes I got.
 
I am doing another garlic cleanse, 4 fresh cloves per day. I bought a garlic press works great.

We have unsafe water due to frequent breaks in the water system are under a "boil order" frequently, but by the time you find out about the boil order you already used some of the contaminated water.

I hate boiling the water, am always burning myself.
-crofter
 
I hope you will all stay healthy! All of us. It is kind of unsettling to be out in the world rather than in my little travel trailer in the forest.

This evening I'm editing a video of my brother-in-law's military internment. My sister is helping.
 
I had a nomad on a bicycle come through last week and stay a couple of days. She’s 60 years old and rides all over. Amazing!

Yesterday another gal arrived in a van. I’ve known this one for several years after meeting in YARC Camp in Quartzsite. She has been leaf peeking in the north and is on her way down to Florida. I’m getting itchy feet to head out but looking around with dismay at all the things I need to do first.

We will be headed out in November.

I got my tax bills yesterday. This property (12-15 acres) with home, barn, acre pond, etc is now only about $50 a year. I feel like I hit the lottery every time that huge tax bill comes in [emoji16]
 
Making cardstock snowflakes while the sun shines today, lol.

I was going to head to Nevada todaynbut a big rain event isvforecast for tomorrow. No point in driving in the rain when I don't have to leave here for a while longer. Or arrive at the caravan site, they will be there for a couple of weeks. Hydroplaaning while towing a small trailer might be exciting but I am not much that into carnival riides.

Travelaaround, getting on thevroad for this yrip to your sisters is a good mental breakin for nomadic life. But of courrse not proof of what it will be like after your van turns into what feels like a cozy little cabin on wheels.

After more than a year on the road I still wake up every morning glad I am living this way. Of course I would also likely enjoy having a cabin in a clearing in the woods as well as being able to travel to a sunny warm place in winter. One of these years maybe even spend some months at a beach in Mexico! Not in my budget this year but I can still dream about it.
 
I just finished straining, adding raw honey to and bottling 3/4 gallon of fire cider. It's got a bite too, maybe next time I'll take some of the seeds out of the serranos.

My living space reeks of fire cider ingredients. lol

edit: I took son to the clinic to be tested for Covid and then dropped him off at work. I haven't heard from him so the rapid test must have been negative. If I remember
right when we got sick in January, he started showing symptoms 3 or 4 days after he was near his infected co-worker. I'll keep taking precautions until Friday, it
should be ok then. Actually, I'm not minding having a potty right at the end of my bed. lol
 
I'm on my way back to AZ, currently in Amarillo. My rig.keepa breaking. Still going down the road but getting more and more 'personality'. I'll be glad to get home tomorrow, Mom and I have been back East over 2 weeks.
 
Cammalu, I used to enjoy a smaller tax bill. Then they decided I benefited from the lake even though I’m 50 yards from the corner of my property to the lake. Then rebuilt the cabin... yeah, the kids can have it now. Haha. The road is calling.
Shadow moss... what kinda “personality” are ya talking? Take Er slow!
Wondering soul, boondocking in your bedroom? I hope you all stay well.
And Traveling Around... I hope your traveling around goes well too. And your van build builder is there waiting when you get back.
 
wanderingsoul said:
I just finished straining, adding raw honey to and bottling 3/4 gallon of fire cider.  It's got a bite too, maybe next time I'll take some of the seeds out of the serranos....
It would be fun to create a medicine chest list for the van that covers basic medic plus some cool home remedies like the fire cider. I used to make a joint liniment made with cayenne & cured my bad knee: turned your joint red, & now they sell cayenne pain liniment at the grocery store for $$$.
-crofter
 
crofter said:
It would be fun to create a medicine chest list for the van that covers basic medic plus some cool home remedies like the fire cider. I used to make a joint liniment made with cayenne & cured my bad knee: turned your joint red, & now they sell cayenne pain liniment at the grocery store for $$$.
-crofter

Around 2007 the top joint of the middle finger of my right hand started hurting.  I used Tiger Balm for a while and then it quit working.  Got a little tube of arnica gel at the health food store (for 15 freaking dollars) and it worked great.  One day I was thinking, you know, if there was arnica in Tiger Balm it would be perfect.  Bingo.  13 years later and I have a nice side gig selling a very good pain balm with all those things in it and more.  I taught myself how to make herbal infused oils and tinctures so I wouldn't have to buy them to make my stuff.  The recipe came to me almost whole (by which I mean it just kind of popped into my head, all the ingredients and all the amounts. It was the coolest thing.), the only changes I made were in the amounts of essential oils and fiddling with the beeswax and emulsifying wax for about a year until I got the consistency just right. Oh, and cottonwood buds were a later addition. And cannabis infused coconut oil even later. About 5 years ago I was tensing up the muscles in my lower back just anticipating pain in my spine and I couldn't stop and nothing was helping. I went to the weed store up the street and got a small jar of cannabis balm to try and those muscle spasms and pain stopped literally immediately. So now I made my pain balm both with and without cannabis.

Weird thing.  As soon as I had a good working recipe, that joint in my finger quit hurting and hasn't since.  But I've since developed facet joint arthritis in my lower spine and arthritis in both hips and I use a LOT of pain rub.  I'd never be able to afford as much as I used when I was still working until the pandemic.  I had a very physical job for an old lady.
 
Preventing muscle spasms in the back is better than treating the pain. But when it comes to lower back pain working on improving core muscle is essential to keeping the spine in alignment.
 
^^ Yes, of course. What I was experiencing was this

"MUSCLE GUARDING: The same nerves that signal to you pain, are the same ones that indicate an injury has happened. Your body’s normal response to this pain is to cause the muscles around the injured area to tighten up to guard the injured area. In short, muscle guarding is your body’s protective mechanism to splint the injured area."

https://drmartinschmaltz.com/muscle-guarding-the-pain-cycle
 
Try taking the mineral manganese everyday. It specifically strengthens the fibrous tissues that keep the disc from bulging and pressing on the nerves. Then you maybe won't have any muscle guarding trauma to treat. All muscles are fibrous tissues.
 
^^ I take magnesium citrate every day. I haven't had one episode of 'guarding' since I started using the pain rub with cannabis in it. Cannabis really is wonderful for muscle issues. I'm talking about full-spectrum, not just CBD.

But stronger core muscles would definitely help. But my pain levels have gone down enormously since I haven't been doing that very physical job. Now my worst days are when there's a weather change, no matter good to bad or bad to good. Some of my worst pain days this year have been hot, summer days which I think is weird for arthritis.
 
A mild temperature day in Pennsylvania, with the cloud cover. But it’s still a beautiful day in Pennsylvania. I’m looking forward to the leaves changing soon the last of the gardens are pretty much in been enjoying lots of tomatoes now and here at my friends they have later planted string beans and a few other goodies. I read I read on one of the other threads that this is called driveway docking as opposed to Boondocking. I sure enjoy the five boys who live here and I take about one meal a day with them in the house. Social Security came on the third and it’s all spent already. But well spent because I’m preparing the van for the trip south.

God bless the nomads each and everyone of us. He knows I need it.
 
It’s getting that time for lots of us to go south so we can make plans for going north again. Haha!
Nature Lover I hope you can get down south before the weather changes to cold cold... But it sounds like your soaking in some good times with good people.
Lots of nomads moving around it seems... I’m hosting one last time on the Boondockers Welcome thing in a week. Then I’ll be on the move. New front tires, ball joints and alignment happening also about that time. Then the camper goes on the truck.
I was thinking Maki2, what happens if when making your snowflakes you open a window or door and a gust of wind blows your work all over your car... that would be like a blizzard. That’s how real I imagine your work!
Yesterday I put a dog bed on the back rack of my four wheeler. My dog now thinks we should ride and ride... might have to drag that thing down to putt around the desert. Which reminds me of a dog I saw down in California earlier in the year. Picture a bulldog sitting just outside a convenience store with cool dude shades on. I think the funniest thing was when his master came out he just followed him like he was the coolest dog in the world! In Minnesota all we can get our dogs to do is drag our funny looking sleds around in the snow. Haha!
 
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