Wit and Wisdom from the Hermit in the Holler

"They ain't from here."

Dried Jewelweed

A while back I wrote a post on jewelweed, a wild remedy for poison ivy.
Wild Medicine for Poison Ivy

This year I decided to dry some and see if it still worked after being dried. I just hung it up in the rafters, it dried in about a week.

Well, I got my chance to try it out!

Earlier in the week I was digging plants and got into poison ivy, ending up with a 3 inch spot on my left hand. Oooooh, it was itchy!

I took about a heaping tablespoon of the dried jewelweed, mixed it with enough water to make a poultice, and put it on the spot of poison. What a relief! The itching stopped and the spot is just about gone!

So, you can dry jewelweed! This will be great for this winter as my husband gets into it occasionally when he cuts trees. I just wish I had dried more.


Jewelweed grows all over here in East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains. It's found in shady, woodland areas, usually growing alongside poison ivy. We have it all along the creek and it seems to do better in moist, mostly shady areas.

Don't have wild jewelweed?

You can order jewelweed seeds from Horizon Herbs or Prairie Moon Nursery. If you're going to order some, I would do it now and plant them immediately. In the wild, the seeds are scattered when the seedpods explode and they don't come up until the following spring. A lot of wildflowers need the chilling requirement of winter before their seeds will germinate.
Maybe next year I'll have some seeds to share. :)

To My Readers

Do you see the little button at the bottom of my sidebar with the numbers on it? That is from Blog Patrol, a free blog counter service, and it tells me how many people have visited my blog.
When I sign on to my account with Blog Patrol, I can also see; how people got to my blog, what time of day they visited and even what country they are from! I think that's the neat part, seeing how many people from different places have stopped by. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and welcome to everyone, I'm glad you stopped by and I hope I've helped you in some way. :)

More Thanksgiving Freebies

More Thanksgiving resources!

First, from Homeschool Freebie of the Day, The Path of Praise. This is a wonderful audio "history” of the celebration of Thanksgiving, first broadcast on the old radio show, “Cavalcade of America”, in 1951. This is available today only.
Thank you Erskines. :)

From Amy, at Living Locurto, a planner and food labels.
Thank you Amy. :)

Free worksheets from LearningPage.com

And, from Scienceclassroom.com, a whole page of Thanksgiving Links.

Also see my previous posts:

Free Educational Resources For Thanksgiving

Free Educational Resources-Pilgrim Stories Part 3/Pilgrim Audio/Thanksgiving

Free Educational Resources-Pilgrim Stories Part 2/E-books/Great Sites

Free Educational Resources-Pilgrims

Working on New Website/Moving Blog

I started this blog for a couple of reasons.
1. I wanted to help other people.
2. We are starting a home business.

From what I have read, if you have a business on the Internet, it's best to have your own domain, not a site on someone else's domain. Like a free blog.

http://pennyraine.com/blog/2008/11/starting-a-blog-step-1-domain-names/
http://www.quickonlinetips.com/archives/2008/11/blog-domain-name/
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/46/Why-Your-Business-Blog-Shouldn-t-Be-On-BlogSpot-com.aspx



So, I took the plunge and bought my own domain! www.pawpawhollerhome.com
(This was something I had intended to do from the beginning, I just kept putting it off. Thanks go out to Penny Raine for reminding me.)
It wasn't expensive, I bought mine through GoDaddy for $7.49 a domain (code ZINE3 at checkout).

Anyways, when I get my site up and running, I'm going to transfer my blog to there, so watch for updates!

Free Educational Resources For Thanksgiving

Homeschool Freebie of the Day has an e-book version of "An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving" by Louisa May Alcott, author of "Little Women".

Get this freebie today only.

Google Book Search has an e-book version of "Thanksgiving: Its Origin, Celebration and Significance as Related in Prose and Verse" by Robert Haven Schauffler, originally published in 1907. Robert Haven Schauffler was an Austrian-American musician, author and poet, he edited numerous collections of prose and verse dedicated to American holidays.

Southern Belle over at Homeschooling 4 Free has an excellent list of Thanksgiving resources, including lapbooks, mini-books, printables and many more. Check it out!

Free Educational Resources-Pilgrim Stories Part 3/Pilgrim Audio/Thanksgiving

Pilgrim Stories III: Little Pilgrims & The Red Men is the conclusion of Homeschool Freebie of the Day's three part series of the story of the Pilgrims. In part three, learn how Pilgrim children got along with their Native American neighbors through tales of danger, adventure and friendship!

Included in part three is a Teacher’s Guide to learning more about the Pilgrims through play-acting and other activities.

This and parts one and two of "Pilgrim Stories" will be available through the end of this week.


Also from the Erskines, at Living Books for the Ears, "You Are There: The Sailing Of The Pilgrims". This is a classic radio show that originally aired on December 21, 1947.
Excellent history resource for your Pilgrim studies!



Some Thanksgiving freebies:

Thanksgiving Prayers
Thanksgiving Poems
Thanksgiving Paper Dolls
Pilgrim Paper Doll
Pilgrim "Friends"
Thanksgiving Activities-Pilgrim Themed


Last but not least, here are a couple of funny old-time radio shows about Thanksgiving.

Best of Old Time Radio presents Burns and Allen in Landing of the Indians at Plymouth- George Burns and Gracie Allen
Father Knows Best Thanksgiving- Family show that aired in the 1940's, then became a television show.

Free Sewing Tutorials

I ran across a couple of free sewing projects today.

How to Sew a Casserole Carrier designed to carry a 2 qt. casserole

Reversible Shoulder Bag Tutorial

Both of these look pretty simple.

Starting a Blog Series from Penny Raine

Would you like to start a blog but don't know where to start? Why should you even start a blog?
Do you need a domain name?
Penny Raine is posting a series for beginners starting a blog, you can find part one here.
Very good information.

Thanks Penny!

Thank You Veterans

Gratitude and hugs go out to all of our nation's veterans today! Thank you!

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.- Elmer Davis

Free Educational Resources-Pilgrim Stories Part 2/E-books/Great Sites

Don't forget to get part two of "Pilgrim Stories" from Homeschool Freebie of the Day. This second part tells about the Pilgrims' arrival in the New World and the dangers they faced, the making of new friends and the first Thanksgiving.
This freebie will be available through the end of the week.

I found a couple more e-books about the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony.

From the Internet Archive, "Little Pilgrims at Plymouth", a classic children's book by Frances A Humphrey, published in the late 1800's.

From Google Book Search, "The Pilgrims in Their Three Homes; England, Holland and America", by William Elliot Griffis, a classic book on the history of the Pilgrims, published in 1898.


And here are some more good websites:

Mayflower Steps-photos and history of Plymouth, past and present
The Avalon Project-Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents
The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony: A in-depth study guide, some lesson plans are included.

Free Educational Resources-Pilgrims

First, from Homeschool Freebie of the Day, the first of a three part serialization of the classic children's book "Pilgrim Stories", by Margaret Pumphrey. Part is entitled "Pilgrim Stories, Book I: From Old Homes to New", and introduces us to the pilgrims and the beginnings of their great journey.
This freebie will be available throught the end of the week.

Next, from Google Book Search, "Mary of Plymouth: A Story of the Pilgrim Settlement" by James Otis, published in 1910. Written from a child's point of view, this classic children's book tells about the joys and hardships the Pilgrims faced the first ten years in the New World.

Who were the first settlers in America?
Here is a database of Pilgrim ship lists from the early 1600's, over 7100 families and 250 ships.

And finally a couple of educational websites about the Mayflower and Plymouth, Mass.
Plymouth: Its History and People
Sail1620

Sulphured Apples

I found another old-timey recipe in our family cookbook, an old way of preserving apples.
Before there was electricity and before canning jars became more widely available, apples were preserved by drying or sulphuring. Sulphuring the apples prevents them from turning brown.
This recipe is also from my husband's Aunt Minnie.

Sulphured Apples

Peel, core and slice apples.

Put 1 thick layer of apples in a big stone jar or a wooden barrel.

Make a little hole in middle of layer of apples and set a little pan or saucer in it.

Put some hot wood coals in the pan; then put in 1 Tbsp. of sulphur on the hot coals.

Put a heavy blanket or old quilt over the jar or barrel to hold in smoke.

Keep repeating layers until you have as many as you want.

Make a new hole for each layer.

Take the amount of apples you want to cook out and soak in water for just a few minutes.

Then fry or bake or just plain cook them.

What is left in the jar or barrel can be left there until all is used up; or you can put in fruit jars and seal and set in a cool place.

Seek the Old Paths

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

Jeremiah 6:16