Purveyors of the Obvious

simple comforts for the infirmed

// December 7th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized

let me see… December… close to ZERO degrees in Colorado for a few days now… cooties are spreading among us… holiday partying is wearing us down… are you feeling 100%?  If you are sliding or just want to boost your immunity here are a few of the simple comforts us here at Ossumniss HQ rely on when we are not feeling our best.

#1 good old fashioned rest

#2 good nutrient-dense food, vitamins if you need to supplement

#3 probiotics, we have a cow share that supplies us with raw milk, consider yogurt or supplements

#4 honey, naturally antiseptic

#4.33 honey with lemon for a bad throat

#4.66 hot toddy if you are just feeling like sh*t (squeeze two lemons, add honey to taste, heat til really hot, pour in mug, add whiskey til it slightly burns your eyeballs when you go in for a sip… vary with spices and liquors… go wild!)

#5 saline wash (add sea salt and water to gargle for your throat, use this mix in a neti pot if you need it for your sinuses)

#6 elderberry… this is a new one for us and we have been doing elderberry and zinc herbalozenges because we have not hit the cool threshold to make elderberry syrup ourselves with dried elderberries

#7 tea – we darn near live down the street from Celestial Seasoning and they are going to do well this cold & flu season for a reason… tea is comforting and in the right blend it has healing properties.  just stay away from the caffeine because that will not help if you are trying to tell the mucus to go bye-bye.  you can also bath with some mint and/or eucalyptus blends or just put them in a bowl to breathe the vapors.

#8 emergen-c… why is this stuff da bomb?!? stay with a flavor you like though. we have too many friends that decided to be adventurous and buy a box of acai berry, that stuff tastes like a$$.

do you have any remedies to add? the more old-timey and accessible the better.

Boulder’s Mate Lattes

// August 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

In honor of Stephen Colbert decreeing that Boulder is the TEA BAGGING CAPITAL OF AMERICA, and all the giggling I did here is my latest post.  Hell, I giggle at the Celestial Seasonings Tasting Room where they have their certificate for the Guinness Book of World Records World’s Largest Tea Bag.  Anyway I am doing my round of up of mate lattes in this area.

Something all of you countless Ossumniss readers should know is that we here at Ossumniss headquarters are a frugal lot.  I don’t really go to coffee shops and tea shops.  I buy my quality tea in bulk from Pekoe and make an exquisite cup at home just the way I like it.  That is until one day this past January when I had to kill some time at a coffee shop and took a gander at the mate latte to make it worth my while.  The Cup in Boulder, January 26th, around 2 PM.  I remember this occasion because my husband was getting his one and only tattoo that day next door at Rising Tide.

I ordered.  The barista prepped.  I took that pint glass of frosty green to my lips.  The green was like an avocado mixed smoothie.  The scent was complex like dirt, with grass, topped with dirt, and a touch of cow juice.  It was earthy and delightful.  I sipped gently from the foam.  Ahhhh, I was hooked. (more…)