Making an Herbal Salve

 If  you read this post, then you'll know that my hubby is dealing with an injured knee.

While visiting the friends mentioned in last week's post, the lady of the house offered the use of an herbal healing salve she had had good results with to apply to his knee.  After a couple of days of use, hubby could tell a difference in his pain level and it was at that point that we became very interested in purchasing some for him.  It could be applied in a roller bottle form or in a salve.  Thanks to the generosity of our friends, hubby was sent home with some of both and a recipe to make both.

I made a batch of the salve once we were home and what follows is how I did it ...

(Here's where I have to say that I'm not a doctor, nor do I have any herbal or medical training other than my own personal studies and usage.  As always consult your doctor or someone trained in the usage of herbal treatment.)

I used 3 ingredients ...

 coconut oil  (the brand I used, pictured, is Member's Mark.  I prefer coconut oil to be organic, virgin, cold pressed and unrefined.)  The link, coconut oil, is to what I've used in the past and would use again if I could not find locally what I was looking for.

 beeswax (I used what I had and grated the amount needed.)  I highly recommend that if you have any health issues with your hands, such as arthritis, etc that you use beeswax pellets.  I've included a link to ones I've used in the past and will go back to using for anything that calls for beeswax pellets.

an essential oil herbal blend called Restore 

a container to put your salve in ... I used a wide mouth half-pint jar, but a roll-up tube such as this one or this one, would be better in my opinion.

step 1:  grate beeswax and measure out 2 teaspoons; set aside ... or measure out 2 teaspoons of beeswax pellets and set aside.

 step 2:  set up a double boiler.  You can use a glass heatproof measuring cup that has a handle that will hook over the side of the pan if you don't have an official double boiler.

step 3:  measure and add to double boiler the following:

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 teaspoons beeswax

stir occasionally as it melts being careful not to slosh any out into the water which could cause water to pop up into mixture.  You don't want water in the mixture you are melting.  The coconut oil will melt quicker than the beeswax.  The stirring is needed in order to mix the oil and beeswax together.

Step 4: When the beeswax and coconut oil are completely melted, set the top part of the double boiler off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes, stirring off and on to further blend the beeswax and coconut oil.  Note:  allowing the mixture to cool for this short period of time is necessary in order not to destroy the therapeutic properties of the essential oil  you will add.

When the 5 minutes are over, add the essential oil blend (10-20 drops) and stir in really well to blend essential oil with coconut and beeswax mixture.  Note: if essential oil is not blended well with coconut and beeswax mixture it will separate when cooling.  So ... stir, stir, stir until well blended (for me, it was approximately 2 - 3 minutes of stirring)!

All three ingredients are blended, in the container of choice and cooling.  I put an air tight lid on the container and let it sit for 24 hours.

The final product!  All that's left is labeling and using!  I'll make another batch as hubby continues to use this salve on his knee.  Next time though, I will use beeswax pellets and roll-up tubes!  

One more note:  the method used here is your basic salve making method.  The only thing that would change is the essential oils you added if you wanted to make a different salve.

Tell me what you think, would you like to see more 'how-to' posts in addition to the weekly 'From My Home To Yours' posts?

Until the next time ...  

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 5/8/26

 From My Home to Yours

5/8/26

~ Happy Mother's Day ... ~

to all women who have the heart of a mother whether you have biological children or not ...

to all the women whose heart hurts over estranged children ...

to all the women who fill the role of mother to another woman's children ...

to all the grandmothers, or whatever the grands call you ...

to all the mothers who can't be with their children ...

to all the mothers who will be surrounded by their children ...

you all matter ...

Happy Mother's Day!

(roses from my rose bushes)

This week didn't go quite as planned, but we made hay with the 'hay' we had ...

(Hubby had a knee injury and I battled allergies and respiratory issues all week.)

We had a big pile of brush that needed burning, but couldn't be burned because of a burning ban.  After the rain we had last week, the burning ban was lifted and hubby seized the opportunity to 'get it done!'  He soon realized that his knee wouldn't allow him to stand on it for the duration, so he enlisted my help and we got it done.  We are a team through the thick and thin of life and very much enjoy our life together ... even when we're doing something like burning a brush pile!

We had occasion to be at the grocery store this week and the food prices were shocking!  We don't purchase a lot of groceries, mostly loss leader items or specific items we need for a certain meal and as a result don't keep up with food prices that much.  I came away with the conclusion one again, that this is certainly the time for frugal shopping, stretching what you have and working hard to build and or maintain a well-stocked pantry!

Let's move on, what about my goals for this week, let's take a look ...

 Here's what my goals list for the week looked like ... 

harvest and preserve nettles ... Done!

plant green beans ... Didn't get Done!

get 3 remaining raised beds ready for planting ... Didn't get Done!

start more seedlings ... Didn't get Done!

tie up rose bush 'arms' (from the rose bushes I planted earlier this year) ...  I started this but didn't get far, but hey, I did get started!

snip roses from older rose bushes and bring them inside to enjoy ...  Done!  

add 1 freezer meal to the freezer part of our pantry ... Didn't get Done!  In fact, we ate a couple of those freezer meals we were sent home with from a friends house.  Having freezer meals ready to cook and or thaw, heat and heat sure do come in handy when the cook and the cook's assistant are both a bit under the weather!

Speaking of freezer meals, I pulled an apple pie out of the freezer that I put together last fall.  I let it thaw and cooked it for 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  Both hubby and I thought it was delicious!  Note to self, make more of these for the freezer when apples are ready to harvest this fall!

make a batch of pickled eggs ... Didn't get Done!

make yogurt ... Didn't get Done!

do a garlic check, indications are that it won't be much longer before it will be ready to harvest ... Done!  It's not quite ready, I'll keep checking.  I did however harvest some garlic scapes, chopped them up and added them to a pint jar of ACV.  This will be used as a basis for a homemade dressing.

my dear hubby always gets me something for mother's day and he has asked me what I would like to have this year ... I need to decide and let him know!  Yes, I am blessed.  My hubby is so good to me!  Done!  I told him I wanted a wind chime to go on a shepherd's hook I was given last week.  We had planned an outing to go purchase said wind chime, but towards the end of the week I told him I needed to talk to him about said outing.  I told him that I appreciated that he was willing to push through his knee pain for our planned outing.  But considering his knee injury, and taking into consideration that I was miserable with allergies and respiratory issues, that I would really just rather wait until I felt better and his knee had more time to recover.  I told him that I wanted to enjoy our outing not push through and treat it as something that needed to be checked off  of a to-do list.  He agreed and so we postponed my mother's day outing until we're both feeling better.

try my hand at making rhubarb tea (we have rhubarb ready in the garden) ... Didn't get Done!

do a price check on ground beef ... Done!  The price was $5.99/lb for 70/30. We didn't buy any, we'll keep looking!  We checked at a different store later in the week and its price was $5.86/lb.  We didn't buy any again, we'll keep looking!

make a herbal pain relief salve ... Done!  I will be posting the process in a separate blog post asap.  Update 5/10/26 ... I finished the how-to post, you can find it HERE.

In addition, I did some weeding of blackberry bushes, raspberry bushes, rhubarb and Echinacea while keeping an eye on the burning burn pile.  

We also purchased a few more strawberries (at a reduced price) to flash freeze and add to the freezer part of our pantry.

Here's my goals list for the upcoming week ...

We have several appointments next week so I'm not sure how much I can get done, but here's my list anyway ...

try my hand at making rhubarb tea

plant green beans

make a batch of pickled eggs 

make yogurt 

get 3 remaining raised beds ready for planting

start more seedlings 

tie up rose bush 'arms' (from the rose bushes I planted earlier this year) 

keep checking prices on ground beef

shop loss leaders, marked down or clearance price grocery items if opportunity arises

... and anything else I can work into my schedule!

I'll report in next week with a progress report!

and finally ...

I nearly finished reading book 6, Carried Forward by Hope, in the Bregdan Chronicles, by Ginny Dye and put my hands on book 7, Glimmers of Change for the purpose of starting it as soon as book 6 is finished.  I listening to Somerset by Leila Meacham on an audio book from Libby the library app.  I really enjoyed it as well!   I had more listening time this week than 'sit down reading time.'

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...  

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 5/1/26

  From My Home to Yours

5/1/26

~ Let's work on our pantry! ~

But first, we got some much needed rain this week!  One day it rained all day long ... a slow, steady continuous rain that we very much needed.  We are praising God for the blessing of rain!

In the garden (that's where pantry building for us starts) ...

The green peas are growing and starting to bloom ... we'll have peas to harvest before much longer ... they will be flash frozen and added to our pantry.

We continue to harvest radishes.  This week I hope to pickle some to add to my pantry for use in salads and in wraps.

Our tomatoes loved the all day rain we got ... they have a ways to go before bearing, but when they do I'll be ready to preserve them ... tomato powder, regular flavored canned tomatoes; hot flavored canned tomatoes and sauces.  These too, will become a part of our pantry.  While we're in the waiting and growing stage though, I'll make sure that I have everything on hand I need to preserve them in the selected way when they are ready.

Separate and apart from the garden we did some bargain shopping ... for our pantry.

We found #10 size cans of tomato sauce for a really good price ... I'll re-can them and turn them into quart size jars of chili base sauce.  This winter when we have chili, preparing it will be quick and easy as all I'll have to do is add the browned ground beef and onion (which I plan to already have in the freezer, several packages, in fact) and canned kidney beans.

At the same place, we also found #10 size cans of pizza sauce and purchased a few of those as well.  I'll re-can those and use them as spaghetti sauce as we seldom make pizza at home any more.  The flavor is perfect for spaghetti sauce!

At a different place, we found jars of pickled asparagus and pickled okra, actually it was from a very small warehouse distributor.  We restocked those items in our pantry at a good price, essentially eliminating and bypassing the increased grocery store price.

We visited with some dear friends this week who blessed us by sending us home with freezer meals for the freezer part of our pantry.  Off and on throughout our visit, we discussed our mutual desire and intention of building up freezer meals in our pantry.  When we got ready to leave, they handed me 3 different freezer meals to bring home with us.  Yes, we are blessed!  Those freezer meals are in our freezer right now waiting for one of those days when a freezer meal is just what the doctor ordered!!!  Thank you B and J!

We are in a very busy season right now with spring planting behind us, summer planting needing to be done and the beginning of harvest season ... and that's just the gardening portion of our lives!  To keep from getting overwhelmed and stressed out, I'm bringing back my weekly goals and use that list as a place to work from each week.  Here's what my goals list looks like for the upcoming week ...

harvest and preserve nettles

plant green beans

get 3 remaining raised beds ready for planting

start more seedlings

tie up rose bush 'arms' (from the rose bushes I planted earlier this year)

snip roses from older rose bushes and bring them inside to enjoy

add 1 freezer meal to the freezer part of our pantry

make a batch of pickled eggs

make yogurt

do a garlic check, indications are that it won't be much longer before it will be ready to harvest

my dear hubby always gets me something for mother's day and he has asked me what I would like to have this year ... I need to decide and let him know!  Yes, I am blessed.  My hubby is so good to me!

try my hand at making rhubarb tea (we have rhubarb ready in the garden)

do a price check on ground beef

make a herbal pain relief salve

I'll report in next week with a progress report!

I almost finished reading book 6, Carried Forward by Hope, in the Bregdan Chronicles, by Ginny Dye.   I am very much enjoying this series and I fluctuate between hurrying through each book to see what happens next and reading at a snail's pace because I don't want the series to end!

I didn't get any sewing done, but I do need to pull together two busy bags for a couple of little girls at church.  The draw string bags that I'll use to house the 'busy' part of the bags are already stitched up and in my gift trunk.  These type things are the reason I am always stitching up some type of draw string bag.  The are perfect for so many things ... and are a great way to use up smaller cuts of fabric!

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...  

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 4/24/26

 From My Home to Yours

4/24/26

~ What can We Learn from our Farming Friends? ~

Our farmers have a couple of strikes against them this growing season (drought and diesel prices), yet they are still working to do what they do best ... produce food for their families and our country. 

This week I've decided to focus on sharing some of the things I'm learning from farmers by observing their methods and when possible, gleaning from their wisdom.

Here are a few of those things ...

First, there are many ways to grow produce.  This is one method we've used in the past.  It helps with weed control and with moisture in the area under plastic.  A small hole will be made in the plastic where the grower wants to plant a plant or sow a seed.  This farmer has his field ready to plant.  Obviously, he grows produce on a large scale, but this method works on family size and smaller gardens as well.

This picture speaks to me of preparedness and frugality! 

This farmer clearly is thinking ahead about his needs and taking steps to meet them as frugally as possible.

We can do the same ... determine our needs and then take steps to meet those needs as frugally as possible.

Look at how this farmer is utilizing his land!  Look at his first planting and then notice that he has everything ready to  do a second planting ensuring continued crops.

We can do that too ... are we preparing for the next 'crop?'  For the next 'season' ... are our pantries prepared?  Do we have a plan ... the farmer in this picture does?

This gravel road made me smile ... at the end of it was another farm and another farmer doing what he can with what he has.

Isn't that what we're all doing, whether we're trying to garden or are depending on the grocery store for our food needs, we're all in this together doing the best we can. 

Our strength to weather the current crisis lies within each of us, let's utilize the wisdom around us, make a plan and then work that plan.  That's what the farmer does!

I hope you've found something in this little pep talk this week that will encourage you. 

Until the next time ...  

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 4/17/26

 From My Home to Yours

4/17/26

~ Gardening! ~

Can you spot the cabbage in and amongst the radish plants?

I harvested the first 2 radishes this week ... they were delicious!

We're not finished with installing the arches, but here's an update on our 3 newest raised beds (The 2 smaller ones and the longer one next to the trees are the new ones)!

Planted in the first smaller one on the left is a climbing rose bush, parsley and lemon balm.  Planted in the longer one it is connected to by the arch is another climbing rose, same variety, storage onions and squash.  The other two raised beds haven't been planted as of yet.

I continued reading book 6, Carried Forward by Hope, in the Bregdan Chronicles, by Ginny Dye.   I finished listening to Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson and started listening to After the War is Over by Jennifer Robson.

No sewing this week but not because the 'want-to' wasn't there.  The need to get the garden planted is a top priority right now. I'll get back to sewing after the garden is planted.

My roses are starting to bloom ... such beauty!

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...  

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!