Bliss

Mandius, mighty maid of the mountain, 
Skraeling, stained of skin, shocks sweeping
Sailed the scholar's seas
destroying archfiends of academia and besting bachelors. 
Seasons passed, and skinned sheep
filled her war-chest, bright rings of treasure
no king could ever bestow.
Nor could red-gold rings rouse a warrior more
than the mind-lust of study and symposium.
Driven with desire for diploma, she set upon
meriting her master's.
( What?? I have to do *something* to get the ick of scientific writing off of me. )

A crowd gathers, there is a low murmur. 

Me:  I've called you all together today to discuss something important and distressing.  For years, you've been a valuable asset to Mandy, Inc., but I am concerned about your recent performance.

More murmuring

Me:  Specifically, I would like to know why some of you are turning white, why some of you are turning loose, and why some of you are turning up in the goddamnedest of places.

Hair spokeshair:  It wasn't our fault.  Have you looked at your stress levels lately?

Me:  But how does someone sprout three new silver hairs within the course of two weeks?  Explain your actions

Silence.
---


Have any of my two three readers any experience with rapid greying??  'Cause srsly, I've got a mess of grey hairs in my bangs that weren't there three weeks ago.  Does anyone want to lay odds that I'll have a white forelock by the time I get a PhD?  Also, someone please tell me the glories of getting grey vs white hair, 'cause I'm going to be seriously bummed if it doesn't turn white.

When we have little problems in life, it's easy to take them to a friend.  They're like tiny fires you can stomp out together.  But when you're facing a firestorm that has jumped your break and is standing as a wall in front of you, thundering down with all the heat and pressure it can muster, I've found that you usually face it alone.  It's hard to muster help when you have to swallow pride, accept shame, scandalize, and fight the problem at the same time.  I usually can't bear all of it and won't show anyone the really big ones unless I'm pressed, but I promised I wouldn't do that anymore.  I'm going to try to keep that promise.

I have a family problem, about which the less said, the better.  The circumstances and details don't matter all that much when you're talking to friends anyway.  So, yeah, problem.  It's big and scary and it hurts.  I don't have to shoulder it alone.  My brother will be there fixing it too, and my husband will be my rock through it all.  Not all of the problem is fixable, and We're trying to look at what can be done to make good changes.  My major professor has given me leave of most of my responsibilities to take care of it, and I'll be out of town for a few days next week.

Gods grant me the strength.  This will change our lives.  I can only hope it will be for the better overall, because it's thankless and will hurt me and my brother to do this.

I'm not doing this for attention.  I'm so grateful for all the love and support people have been heaping on us these past few weeks with the wedding, but if you pray, please do.   If you have some sort of encouragement, please pass it on.  If you find I'm a little out of sorts, please tolerate me.  And if I bring home a few strays, please be kind to them.  They've not gotten much love, care, or kindness from this fucked up world.

I love my job. These past few weeks, I've been taking pictures or video of my work from seeds to medicinal compounds, and I am kind of happy with the story it all tells.

How to pick and make your own botanical brews

1. Find a pretty plant that won't make you crazy after years of staring at it

Monarda punctata:  a likely suspect.  Note the pretty.  If this were scratch and sniff, it would also be pretty.


11. Break out the still to get that mess concentrated.





12. Test against germs!
My thrilling saga of plant research will continue in another installment.














...this, of course, has all been an excuse to show you my still.