Our own little Kiwi Thread ! page 106

[NZ primal Gwamma]

You know the score !!!!!! Come on up here and I will show you a good time........and JJ from NJ just might join us !!!!!!! JJ are you reading this ?????? He's probably married with three kids !!!!!

Seriously we are coming down to Haast at easter. Always a spare seat, and I would gladly give up my seat for any of my Primal friends. I think I go to Oxnard the week following Easter, so quite a busy start to 2013.

I always have a katmandu headband with my gear. If my ears are warm, it seems to keep the rest warm. You need to pack a sleeping bag for the trip home !!!!! LOL only for warmth mind you !!!!

[seaweed]

lol i was married with 3 kids once too!! if i have sorted the dratted car situation by easter, we're there. the kids have been hassling me to go back to the coast for a while now. my hair usually covers my ears so it is the least of my coldness worries. i always try to take a decent pair of mtb gloves. warm fingers help i reckon. and a flask of something hot or the dread hip flask full of bourbon. we have one sleeping bag between us here. i have taken my duvet all over the place and we all sleep under it which keeps us warm. it's been up rivers. hitched rides home on boats. been hunting in bizarre places. been all around the west coast in a tent lol the world's most travelled duvet.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

LOFL that sounds so like the old duvae that we have here !!!!!!!!!
I hope that you have heaps of merino wear. I used to love polyprop, and yes it does keep you warm, but I am a sheep farmer - and I should so be supporting the use of natural products....especially wool. So I have been filtering out the un-natural fibers and scrimping and saving for the natural.
Speaking of natural fibers...... I have a queensize possum rug....28 skins, all very similar in colour. Possum would have to be THE warmest fiber on this earth .... and they are a pest in our country....killing the native birds etc.... so I do not condone the killing of them..... and I could ramble on about all sorts of things now.... but I had best shut up before I say something that I shouldn't !!!!!LOLOL

[Danielfire]

Hey Gwamma,

Possum rug huh? I didn't know they were pests over there. They are protected over here. Trade you cane toads for possums? Throw in some roos as well?

Good to see the kiwi crowd is going well.

[zoebird]

Lizzie,

In regards to the kiddo's skin, i would consider moving to oil cleansing the child's whole body in lieu of traditional washing/bathing.

You can do your research on which oils to use, and try different kinds. Most people use a carrier oil plus one other oil that has the attributes that you want, but I find that usually one oil is enough. I use coconut, though I also like olive oil and avocado oil.

Coconut is a good all-around choice, and we got a massive bucket at moore wilsons for $34 just for our bathroom use. I use it for oil pulling and tooth brushing (technically, oil pull first, then spit, then brush teeth with dry brush, then rinse with salt in water), oil cleansing for face, body, and hair, and deodorant. It works a treat, and honestly, who needs products? This is really the only personal care product I use. You can even use it for basic home-made make up.

So, the process is simple. Step one: oil up. Step two: let oil soak in for a bit -- anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Step three: fill a bowl with very hot water, and soak a wash cloth (soft!) in it (i like to use old t-shirts and also my old flannel jammies -- they are softest!). Let it get comfortable to the touch (especially since you are using it on a little one), and then wipe off all of the oil. It usually takes three goes (i like to use 3 rags rather than one cloth three times, but it's up to you).

And that's it. The skin is clean, moisturized, and it's seriously non-traumatic.

I personally put it all over myself (scalp and hair included), let it soak in, and then take a shower and bring in my three clothes to wipe down. I rinse my hair first, then wipe down my body. Then I pat myself dry afterwards (instead of rubbing), and put on my jammies and go and snuggle up in bed (and write posts about it, apparently! LOL).

A lot of my clients and friends have done really well with their eczema doing this.

I also recommend that you make sure you aren't using *any* detergents on clothing, towels or bedding. just use vinegar instead of your normal detergent. For the average sized load of wash (in our machine anyway), I use 1/2 a cup. It does everything that you need it to do, and doesn't leave chemicals in the fabric that can irritate skin. And seriously, you can use that vinegar to wash your countertops, bathroom, etc -- it's just as effective as bleach, without the environmental issues!

This should help, assuming the eczema isn't a gut issue. If this doesn't help, along with diet (have you done an elimination diet to see if the bubs has any sensitivities?), then I would go to a naturopath. I can give the name of a good one, she does skype consultations. DH goes to her, and she's been great for him.

Now, onto coconut-oil make up.

Tinted lip balm

1. take beetroot and juice them. boil the juice down a bit for intensity of color;
2. turn off heat and remove the simmered-down juice from heat and add coconut oil. it will melt so mix it through.
3. pour into little pots and then let it cool to room temperature, and don't you have a nice, tinted lip balm for yourself. I used a small, squat old spice jar. You can buy pots for them if you want.

you can also use all kinds of berries, too. anything that makes reds/pinks, blue-purples really.

more simmer = more intense color; less simmer = less intense color. And I eyeball everything, so I can't tell you the amounts. if you want to add shimmer, you'd be surprised what fine zinc oxide (which also protects from the sun) will add.

Mascara/Eye-liner

Black (Khol)

1. buy some almond halves and the burn them in a heavy pan on the stove. I use my iron skillet, so that no weird things get in. Iron salts might get in, but I'm not terribly worried about that. Burn the suckers to black. As in, BLACK.

2. transfer them from the pan, once black, to either a spice/coffee grinder or, my favorite, the old mortar and pestle. crush into fine, black powder.

3. put into a jar. if you are keen, sift it before putting it into a jar.

4. melt your coconut oil. Now, I put the coconut oil in a small jar, and place that in a bowl of hot water so that it melts to liquid. I then add the melted coconut oil to the khol. Most folks use an oil that will stay liquid -- which is great, honestly, because then you don't have to re-melt it day after day. Still, I have a lot of coconut oil, and it's cheap, so I use that.

5. use a small make up brush for the liner and a eyelash/brow comb/brush for the mascara.

Brown

Mix melted coconut oil and cocoa powder in a jar. raw, nothing-in-it cocoa powder. red heads might want to add something that will make it a bit red, such as cardamom powder. same application processes.

Eye shadow

get rice bran powder (as fine as you can) as this is your white base.

I tend to neutrals, but the great thing is that you can use extra khol powder and make a range of greys adding different amounts of black khol and white rice bran powder. Similarly, cocoa powder and rice bran powder will make a range of light browns.

Before putting on the powders, put some oil on the lid (guess which kind?). then, using fingers or a soft brush, dab your paint on as you like. I typically mascara first, then paint, then line.

Again, it's a great use for old spice jars. Just blend your range of neutrals.

For colors: dry flower petals and then grind them into powders, make the spectrum using the rice bran as you would the neutrals. Flower petals can also be used to make rouge/blush.

So, there you go.

Bathe in oil. "Shampoo/condition" in oil. Make make-up with food, flowers, and oil. Wash your clothes in vinegar. Life is fine.

[zoebird]

we are replacing to natural fibers too. I have cotton (with lycra/spandex blends to hold shape, but no more than 5% in a given garment), a tiny smidge of merino, some pashmina wool (that's from a goat, right?), fibers made from wood (bamboo, mostly), and a few things that are unnatural still. In such good condition, it'll be a while before they die.

When they do, i'm going with possum/wool blend sweaters. DH has one. I have a light poncho of one, and OMG so awesomely warm. It's the best. DS has a nice wool sweater (usually a tip-shop find when he grows out of them), and DH wears his possom/wool one, and I wear my poncho over whatever I'm wearing, and we hardly have to turn on the heat in the house in winter! It's excellent.

Love the stuff. my mom asked me if I needed more sweaters for christmas, and I said that I only wanted this one (gave her the link; can't find it now), but she didn't want to spend $250 on it. LOL

[seaweed]

I hope that you have heaps of merino wear. I used to love polyprop, and yes it does keep you warm, but I am a sheep farmer - and I should so be supporting the use of natural products....especially wool. So I have been filtering out the un-natural fibers and scrimping and saving for the natural.
Speaking of natural fibers...... I have a queensize possum rug....28 skins, all very similar in colour. Possum would have to be THE warmest fiber on this earth .... and they are a pest in our country....killing the native birds etc.... so I do not condone the killing of them..... and I could ramble on about all sorts of things now.... but I had best shut up before I say something that I shouldn't !!!!!LOLOL

i have merino and one very old rainbow striped long sleeve polyprop that used to be my oldest dds so it is small. i wear it under tshirt sometimes if it is cold. i was co-incidentally just looking at the swazi catalogue. i want to persuade them to do a uniform for where i ecoguide. my only issue with their gear is there is nowhere here to try it on so i have no idea of the cut or the sizing. which of course makes a huge diff if you are female. cant go bush in something that makes you look fat or doesnt fit properly lmfao

i would love a possum fur bedspread! i dont mind people killing them as they do untold damage in the bush. i do mind people not killing them in a nice way. if there is such a thing but we wont get into ferrotox or 1080 or i will say something i shouldnt! i did read, and i dont know if it is true, that apparently the wallabies on kawau island were very rare in OZ, so we sent some back. 2 funny possums are protected over there. i do say to the kids how some of our native birds end up being pests as the environment has changed so much that they are unfairly advantaged. 2 good examples are pukeko ( altho they self introduced from Oz apparently a long time ago ) and kotare around here.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

Hey Gwamma,

Possum rug huh? I didn't know they were pests over there. They are protected over here. Trade you cane toads for possums? Throw in some roos as well?

Good to see the kiwi crowd is going well.

Hmmmmmmm Daniel I do not think that I want a cane toad over here. In fact I don't really care for toads, however I would love a pet croc !!!!!! the little ones are so cute !!!!
I wouldn't mind a roo skin. I have a wildebeast, but I didn't buy the zebra. I would rather have a live one !!!!!
I also bought an antique silver fox fur earlier this year - off trademe, and I only bought it because it was already dead !!!! I don't actually agree with the killing of animals for skins, unless they are pests, and killed humanely !!!! Phew that was a mouthful.
So sounds like the swap is on !!!

but she didn't want to spend $250 on it. LOL

Zoebird, just get your mum to send you money, so you can put it towards a sweater !!!!
Love your make up recipes. I will certainly be trying some homemade makeup. I second the coconut oil. I use it on everything !

i would love a possum fur bedspread! i dont mind people killing them as they do untold damage in the bush. i do mind people not killing them in a nice way. if there is such a thing but we wont get into ferrotox or 1080 or i will say something i shouldnt! i did read, and i dont know if it is true, that apparently the wallabies on kawau island were very rare in OZ, so we sent some back. 2 funny possums are protected over there. i do say to the kids how some of our native birds end up being pests as the environment has changed so much that they are unfairly advantaged. 2 good examples are pukeko ( altho they self introduced from Oz apparently a long time ago ) and kotare around here.

I hate the poison thing, even rats - however as you say, best not start that discussion !
I absolutely love pukekos. We call them tuktoes in our house. When eldest DD was little she couldn't pronounce them, so tuktoes has stuck !!!!!
Ducks and Canadian geese are the biggies around here. They foul up the pasture something wicked !!!!!!
anyway we will also leave that for another time.

LL my DH finds that eating sugar, even natural fruits etc.... exacerbate his eczema. Good luck with that

[seaweed]

canada geese are really yummy roast and they are a noxious foreign bird so there's no bag on them here during duck shooting season. you cant buy them in the shops either.

i put some ylang ylang and a smidgen of sandalwood in some coconut oil and it smells divine.

further proof the brain is the weakest muscle. my lovely personal trainer was sick. so guess who didnt go to the gym on her own but came home lol my excuse is i need to catch up on work so i can bunk off tomorrow. i will also do some weights and run at home today later on.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

so what actually is ylang ylang ???