Seed Saving, Thrive Market, Mango Oil, a Bouquet of Late Cosmos, and Soymilk Chai All Day Long

 Mango oil for skin and hair: I decided to try this – since I love anything with the word ‘mango’ in front of it – and I love it. Last night, before bed, I slicked some in my hair. This morning, I washed it out and my hair is soft and shiny. But it’s best to only use the raw, unfiltered, organic mango oil. Anything processed has been ruined.

We offered the last of our garden flowers to the Three Jewels – Buddha, Dharma, Sangha – at our home shrine.

 I think these are the last of our garden cosmos, but I said that a couple of weeks ago, and more blooms came in. These were picked last night.

 Morning Glory seeds harvested from our heirloom vines last night.

So our ancient coffee percolator makes excellent soymilk chai. You don’t know until you try.

New arrival: another mango pit has germinated.

It was a fun, busy weekend. Torrential rain yesterday didn’t keep us from doing some seed saving. We pretty much only scratched the surface, but came away with a bowl of morning glory seeds from our heirloom vines. I plan to collect the rest of the seeds this week. We’ll have plenty to give away next spring. It’s cool to know that someone’s morning glory vines are the offspring of the parent vines from our garden. Connection.

Indoor gardening report: another mango pit has germinated. The banana trees are getting too big for the light bank, and I have to figure out a new plan. This is a good problem to have. The Meyer lemon and Mexican lime trees are not dropping leaves as fast now. (There was an almighty and pretty shocking drop of leaves the first two weeks after they came indoors.)

Even the lemons on the lemon tree are getting bigger. As long as spider mites stay away, they may survive indoors until summer. The Thailand Black Stem banana seeds have not germinated yet. I planted some papaya seeds from a yummy papaya we had a week ago. Papaya trees = very cool.

The basil I started from seed is holding its own under the light bank, and getting bigger. Our sole surviving mango tree is also keeping it together. The last pineapple top I tried to germinate rotted under the soil and was composted. Our other pineapple plant is doing great, and the baby pineapple is gaining size. I potted up the lemongrass (roots were begging for space).

It was interesting to learn that our old coffee percolator makes amazing chai that stays hot all day. Add tea leaves as you would coffee. Yesterday, I went back for three cups of hot chai throughout the day. A little whipped soymilk and a dash of extra chai spice on top. I enjoy having access to hot chai all day without having to brew tea over and over.

I discovered mango oil this weekend. Also called mango butter or mango manna, it is the oily extract of the mango kernel. It’s super dense and richly moisturizing. Last night, before bed, I slicked some through my hair and tied my hair into a bun. I also applied it to my face and body. I shampooed out the oil in the shower this morning, and my hair feels soft and looks shiny. If you’re thinking of trying it, be sure to use only the raw, unprocessed, cold pressed, organic mango oil. A pound of it is about $16.

Another huge discovery this weekend – Thrive Market. TM is an online, organic health food store that stocks most of what you’d find at Whole Foods, but at wildly reduced prices, and free shipping over orders of $49. And you’ll always exceed $49 if you’re clever and realize that there’s a lot of money to be saved with TM.

I heard someone talking about TM last week, and decided to take a look, not expecting much. I was totally wrong. For example, the Thai red curry paste that I pay $4.99 for at my favorite health food store is $2.65 on TM. I found Dr. Bronner’s peppermint hair cream on TM for $5.65: that would be an easy $9.99 or more at my local store.

There is massive grocery, health, vegan, paleo, vitamins, hygiene, beauty, bath, therapeutic, Ayurveda, stuff for babies and kids, housewares (including salt lamps) and kitchenware, cleaning supplies, coffee, tea, yoga clothes, other clothes (including gorgeous kimonos), organic & GMO-free garden seeds, protein powders, other supplements, intimate items, humane mouse and insect traps, and many other nice things that don’t fit into these categories.

I found the sublingual B12 I was looking for on TM, at a price much better than Amazon’s for the same brand. I’m hooked. My first delivery is coming Wednesday.

I’m not getting any kickback from TM for this praise. I just like to share good things when I find them. I appreciate it when folks do the same for me.

Nights are getting cold now. Down into the 40s mostly, and in a few days, it looks like it’s going to descend into the 30s for one night. Last night, after dark, my husband and I took a long walk outdoors. After about 20 minutes, I said to him, “I don’t think we’re going to see anymore summery nights this year.” He nodded. Yes, I think we’re definitely moving away from the sun, and bound to a long winter ahead. I’ll gather as many seeds as I can.

Live in peace.