Ponder this:

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Things I have learned this summer (and previously)

Unfiltered, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is good for what ails me. One tablespoon in a cup of warmish water two or three times over the course of a day. My mother's mother kept a cruet of vinegar on her kitchen table, with a piece of stuff that looked like brushed suede floating in it: the mother. Apparently, the mother is the key ingredient. 

My cousin and I at Nana's table, circa 1963
Gloria: What is that?
Me: Vinegar.
Gloria: What's floating in it?
Me: Mother.
Gloria: When did she die?



Cantaloupes are ripe for about fifteen minutes before they turn rotten. Imagine our disappointment. We've grown cantaloupes other summers, but never had so many that we had to worry about not getting them all eaten in time. The ones we did get were so good they nearly blew off our heads.


If you have a dog, it is Good to have Family Howls from time to time, as greetings after separations, or for random bonding purposes. All of our dogs have enjoyed Family Howl sessions, and each has had a different singing style. Molly has the most beautiful contralto voice I have ever heard. Low and long and resonant, it makes me think of whale song.


Husband is the strongest man I know. He recently installed an eight-hundred pound soapstone wood stove with virtually no help, other than to get the thing through the doors of the house. I tried to be as small as possible so as not to be in the way of his progress, but stayed within earshot in case a call to 911 would be needed. In the end, my sole physical contribution ("physical" as opposed to near-constant encouraging and admiring comments, as learned in The Wife Rule Book) was to drop to my knees and pull out the wooden pallet while he lifted the thing when he got it into position on the hearth. It's been a week since the events and his back, legs, neck and arms all seem to be functioning normally, so I'm feeling a little relieved. We haven't fired it up yet. It will never be this clean again once we start having fires in it.

13 comments:

Barb said...

My mother believed in the healing benefits of unfiltered apple cider vinegar - so do I. I use it both topically and as a drink. I also use it in homemade cleaning solutions. Ever since I discovered my allergy to formaldehyde (in many cleaning products) I've relied on it. I'd like to hear your Family Howl! Take a photo when you start a fire in the new wood stove.

threecollie said...

Can't wait to hear how the stove works for you...and I loved the mother joke and read it aloud to our daughter.

Hilary said...

You cracked me up with the Mother remark. I'm also a big believer in the benefits of ACV. It has proven itself twice to me for UTIs and it helped greatly for a very bad case of heartburn the other day. I was always hesitant to drink vinegar for heartburn but it truly worked. I love it in warm water with a teaspoon of honey.

DJan said...

Bragg's ACV is one of the key ingredients in my favorite salad dressing, and I have at times bought a bottle of nothing else and used it. It has plenty of Mother in it. :-)

Glad your guy is okay after all that exertion and that a 911 call was not needed. :-)

Rose ~ from Oz said...

ACV is brilliant stuff - I used to keep a separate bottle for the dogs in case of bee or wasp stings - just soak the area in it and relieves the pain instantly.
Lucky girl over the stove! Your 'hero' did a great job and I'm sure you were a fabulous help June......
The Team had/have group howls and I thought it was music. :)

Friko said...

Family howling sessions?
You mean you actually all howl together? How about taping it and publishing it here?

Prior to winning the European Song Contest.

And what is a ‘Mother’?

Carolynn Anctil said...

You make me laugh. I put apple cider vinegar in the chicken's water every day, but I'm not sure I'd enjoy it myself.

My husband routinely howls with our dog, although I encourage them to do it outside please...my poor pup really can't seem to manage much more than a warble. I fear her self esteem will suffer when she listens to the coyotes at night.

Bless our husbands and their strong backs. I wonder - seriously - how I'd get on without mine around to do the heavy lifting.

Blessings,
Carolynn

Terra said...

Thanks for the info about ACV. I like your Wife's Rule Book teehee and mother in the vinegar cruet.

Olga said...

Apple Cider Vinegar is a staple around here. We used to have a coon hound that loved to sing for his supper. He was quite a character and entertainment for all our visitors.

Tom said...

I am certainly impressed with Husband ... I could never do something like that. Never heard of the vinegar cure. Not sure I want to try it.

June said...

Friko, the mother is the bacteria that turns cider (or wine) to vinegar. It's pretty disgusting to look at when it's whole (you can Google pictures), but it helps provide a nice atmosphere for the good bacteria in one's digestive system.

I'll give some thought to recording our Family Howls, not sure I have equipment to do it. Or if I do, HOW to do it.

And Tom, it doesn't surprise me that you aren't eager to try vinegar as the wonder cure that it is. Men seem to be a tad squeamish about it. But if you put it in the water with honey, as Hilary does, it's more palatable. Next time you have indigestion, try it. I bet it will amaze you.

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

I've just Googled Mother of Vingar pictures ... some of it looks oddly like slabs of raw liver ... better though than those that look like pickled lambs' tongues !
But whatever's floating in it , it's still great in a salad dressing .

Vicki Lane said...

ACV is fine stuff indeed! and what you say about cantaloupes is even more so for avocadoes -- NOTYETNOTYETNOT YETnowTOO LATE.