[Northkeep] Medic!

[Jennifer Carlson]

Another thing you can try to help you sleep at night is to put on what my 
momma called a "mammy rag."

Smear your chest with Vic's Vapo Rub and pin a washcloth to the inside of 
your nightgown/jammies to protect your clothes.  Your cats may give you 
weird looks because you smell funny, but it helps relax the chest muscles 
when you've been coughing, and the vapors help unlock some of the 
congestion.

There are house brands of Mucinex that will save you up to about half the 
name brand price, and work just as well.  The active ingredient is 
gaufinesine (sp?), which you can also find in some of the 
Alka-Seltzer/Nyquil type cold remedies.

Dairmaid's old family recipe does indeed work well.  I, however, prefer my 
blackberry ratafia - it tastes better than whiskey.

Using that as a shameless lead-in:

Blackberry Ratafia:

Fill a mason jar with blackberries - frozen or fresh, it doesn't matter, but 
if using fresh berries, crush them a bit.
Cover the fruit with (cheap) brandy or (cheap) vodka, screw on the cap, and 
set in the fridge.
Once or twice a week, take the jar out and shake it a few time.
After a few weeks, the fruit will start to look anemic, as all the good 
stuff is getting pulled into the alcohol.
After about 4-6 week, drain the fruit.  Mix 1:1 with a simple sugar syrup (1 
cup sugar dissolved in one cup hot water.)  Bottle.  Use.

For a serious dessert rush, put the drained fruit over ice cream or pound 
cake.

The ratafia is great either as an aperatif, or at the other end of the meal 
with dessert.  A couple of spoonfuls just before bed will calm your 
cold-irritated throat enough to help you get to sleep.  Of course, a small 
glass of the stuff will help you get to sleep, too :)

In servicio,

Talana

>From: Montega <montega at gmail.com>
>Reply-To: The Barony of Northkeep <northkeep at lists.ansteorra.org>
>To: "The Barony of Northkeep" <northkeep at lists.ansteorra.org>
>Subject: [Northkeep] Medic!
>Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:12:55 -0600
>
>Ok, does anyone know a good home remedy for coughing? I have
>bronchitis and am taking antibiotics, but the coughing is SO bad. Does
>anyone know of a good cough medicine? (real or home made)
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>Northkeep mailing list
>Northkeep at lists.ansteorra.org
>http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/northkeep-ansteorra.org

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