Monday, July 18, 2011

Rosemary


The name Rosemary comes from the latin ros marinus and it means "dew of the sea". Rosemary is a very common herb in places near sea water, especially in Mediterranean. It's been used since ages for its therapeutic and cosmetic properties. It is said that Rosemary is one of the ingredients of the elixir of eternal youth, like the one that an alchemist prepared for Elisabeth, queen of Hungary, known as Hungary Water.

MEDICAL PROPERTIES
  • Excellent tonic for those who suffer from burnout or chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Encourages the production of bile thus aiding digestion
  • Helps relieving the symptoms of Bronchitis, Asthma, Flu causing cough and clearing the lungs
  • Vision tonic
  • Nervous system tonic
  • Emmenagogue (induces menstruation)
  • Antidiarrheal
  • Relieves migraines and headaches caused by stress
  • Encourages hair growth
  • Relieves vertigo caused by inner ear  problems
  • Enchances memory
  • Mouthwash for bad breath
  • Stimulates brain
HOW TO USE IT:

  • Tea: In 300 ml  water add 1-2 spoonfuls of dried rosemary, let it come to boil for a couple of minutes, drink.
  • Infusion: in a cup of warm water put a spoonful of dried leaves or flowers and let it steep for 10 minutes
  • External use: For stronger and darker hair: put a handful of rosemary dried leaves in 3-5 lt of water, steep for a few hours and use it at the final rinse after washing your hair. Some believe that rosemary stops hair loss. Washing your hair with rosemary water  aids memory.
  • Antiseptic: Wash your hands with a rosemary infusion. Burn rosemary to eliminate harmful airborne microorganisms. Burning rosemary and cedar in hospitals  for disinfection purposes was very common.
Be careful when using rosemary if you suffer from hypertension, as it raises blood pressure a bit.



MAGICAL PROPERTIES OF ROSEMARY

One of the strongest protective and banishing herbs, repells negative energies.
If placed under a pillow, it protects from bad dreams and hostile astral entities.
Used in ritual baths for cleansing (make a sachet with rosemary and let it steep in your bathtub for a few minutes).
Used for protection and healing.
Rosemary is a solar herb and as such it has masculine energy.
It is said that rosemary can substitute any herb in a mixture.
Symbol of remembrance. For that reason sometimes it's used in funerals.
A rosemary sprig burned in candle flame was believed to warm a cold heart.

In cooking, rosemary goes nicely with fish and pork dishes

Saturday, July 9, 2011

A Natural, Super Easy, Delicious Body Scrub For The Weekend!

Since it's getting really hot here in Greece we thought about making a natural, light and refreshing body scrub that rejuvenates the skin, leaving it soft and shiny. For this simple recipe, you will need very few ingredients that can be found in any home.

       
  INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 spoonful olive oil
  • 1 1/2 spoonful lemon juice
  • 1 spoonful honey


Put the sugar in a small bowl and then add the lemon, the oil and the honey. Mix well until the sugar becomes moist.


The final product should look like this:


Your scrub is ready! Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Game of Thrones - Winter is coming

 
Game of Thrones is a new, amazing tv series that started a few months ago and has already completed its first season. It's based on the fantasy novels of George R. R. Martin, it takes place in an imaginary, medieval spacetime and it has it all: noble ladies, proud kings, valiant knights, luxurious palaces but also, intrigue, crime, adultery, even incest. An overwhelming atmoshpere in a perfectly set background, which brings in mind movies rather than tv series. Game of Thrones displays crude realism combined with metaphysical aspects and beauty combined with terror and atrocity.
If you are into medieval fantasy, I highly recommend it.

Game of Thrones on IMDb

Game of Thrones on Wikipedia

The Book on Amazon

One of the official trailers: