Spanish to Engish Herbs / Yerbas Remedios Names

 We have been in the herb and spice business for over 13 years and have over 150 different Culinary (cooking), dried botanicals and Mexican healing herbs and spices in our inventory. This is just a list of translations and not a complete list of our entire inventory with some of the Herbs and Spices used by New Mexicans and other Hispanics.

As always please consult a doctor before using any alternative healing

 Alucema - Lavender =  Infections; sleep aid. Boil some in water ½ hour before kids bedtime. Will quiet them right down.

Albahacar - Basil = Digestion; good luck.

Anis - Anise Seed = Gas; digestion; cramps; stomach weakness.

Anis Estrella - Anise / Star =  For new born babies when they can't stop crying.
Axocopaque - Wintergreen

Azafran (Mexican Saffron) - Safflower =  Used in cooking to add reddish color, very little taste - Spanish rice

Barbas de Elote - Corn Silk = Lungs; circulation

Boldo Boldo Leaves =  - Liver; scars (face); cramps.

Canela - Cinnamon = Digestion; can be used as a tea after strong emotions

Cola de Caballo - Shave Grass / Horsetail = Lungs; menopause; diarrhea

Confrey - Comfrey –  Bones; muscular pain; arthritis.

Endeldo - Dill =  Internal pain

Epazote – Removes gas from gaseous foods. Add to pot of beans ½ hour before they are finished cooking. Good in gaseous veggies too. It is the same enzyme used in Bean-o!
Epazote de Comer - Mexican Tea =  Removes gas when cooked in food (lst 30 minutes); worms; parasites.

Estiafate - Mugwort = Stomach ache

Eucalipto - Eucalyptus =  asthma; cough

Gobernadora -  Chaparral = Clean the system; helps with urination.
Gordolobo - Mullein Flowers =Cough

Hinojo -  Fennel = Gas; indigestion; cramps

Hojasen - Senna = Liver; parasites

Jamaica - Hibiscus =  Lungs; stomach; fever. Great added to lemonade to make it pink and give it a kick. Especially yummy with lavender added in too.

Manrubio - Horehound = Cough; cold

Manzanilla - Chamomile =  Stomach; to start menstruation

Mejorana -  Marjoram = Circulation; gas.

Menta -  Peppermint = Aids digestion; stomach ache

Mostaza Amarilla - Mustard/Yellow

Nuez Moscada - Nutmeg =  Appetites

Pasiflora - Passion Flowers =  Best herb for sleep

Poleo -  PennyRoyal = Colds; stomach ache

Romero - Rosemary = Menopause; head ache; asthma; chronic colds
Rosa de Castilla -  Rose Buds = Skin; baby cramps; help to relax. Luxurious as a pampering cup of tea.

Ruda - Rue = Head ache; ear

Salvia - Sage =  Menopause; digestion

Sauco - Elder Flowers = Skin conditions; lung infections

Siete Azahares - Seven Blossoms = Siete Azahares - Nerves; sleep aid

Tila - Linden Flowers = Nerves; cough; asthma

Yerba Buena - Spearmint = Stomach ache

Zarzaparrilla - Sarsaparilla = Veneral disease

Day 7 In Japan : Nakamise Dori

After visiting the Senso-Ji Temple at night the day before, viewing the temple's lovely illumination, we went back to the temple complex the next day. However, this time we hit the Nakamise-Dori; said to be one of the oldest shopping centers in Japan.

Nakamise is a shopping lane that extends for about 250 meters from Kaminarimon Gate to Hozomon Gate, with stalls selling ningyoyaki (a baked confection with a thin skin filled with a rich bean jam), handmade rice crackers, crafts of Shitamachi old town and other (touristy) souvenirs,

Approaching the Kaminarimon Gate, which is one of the entrance leading to Sensoji Temple (and Nakamise-dori); one can see these rickshaw pullers looking out for potential customers. They are cheerful and energetic bunch. :-)

A shichimi (seven flavour chilli pepper) seller, selling his ware near the Kaminarimon Gate.

Nakamise-Dori on a Sunday. If you hate crowds, avoid this shopping street on weekends and public holidays at all cost. The street will be jam packed with tourists!

Plenty of souvenirs can be found here, even an Obama mask! Truthfully, for me I didn't buy much souvenirs here but we always find time to walk around the area whenever we are holidaying in Tokyo.

A rickshaw puller with his customers. These rickshaw will take you around the area and stopping at choice spots and the pullers will give a detailed explanation about the area. Not too sure whether any of the rickshaw pullers are conversant in English though. 

For me, the rickshaws and the people pulling them are good for the tourism market of the area so I find it disheartening when I heard a disparaging remark from a fellow tourist (who come from similar region as mine) made to his daughter. He was saying stuff like "If you don't study hard, you'll end up like those people and pull  rickshaw" and how those people didn't do much studying at school and nonsense like that. Hello! What's wrong with people earning an honest living and what makes you think you are so good anyway? There's nothing wrong about wanting the best for your child and pushing them so, but does one have to look down on people who chose not to sit in office 9 to 5?

Day 6 In Japan : Senso-Ji's Illumination

From Kawasaki on Day 5, we made our way back to Tokyo on Day 6 of our vacation and spent the evening  at Senso-Ji Temple  in Asakusa, viewing the temple's amazing illumination.

Excerpt taken from Senso-Ji's website about the illumination:

"Based on the theme of “A Shining Asakusa for the 21st Century,” this spectacular festival of lights commemorates the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the Edo Shogunate. Since October 1, 2003, Senso-ji's main structures (Main Hall, Five-storied Pagoda, Hozomon Gate and Kaminarimon Gate) have been lit up every night. The concept was spearheaded by shop owners located in the Senso-ji vicinity, who wanted to boost Asakusa's image as an international district.

The lighting design was created by Motoko Ishii, one of Japan's top lighting designers who has also been involved in similar projects for some of Tokyo's other popular sightseeing spots, including Tokyo Tower, Rainbow Bridge and Roppongi Hills. The lighting showcases the beauty of the vermillion tone of the temple buildings, which stand out brilliantly against the nighttime temple grounds. The design is also carefully planned to conserve energy."

Some photos of the temple that we took that night. I'll put up more photos  (better ones too, I think) later after this trip report of mine is finished.

 

Scarves and Scarf Clips / Holders

Scarves are becoming popular again as a fashion accessory.  One outfit can be changed dramatically with the addition of different scarves. Going from the office to dinner?  Try a solid during the day and a more playful one in the evening!

Or even make a statement with your scarf like the red one for Heart awareness day or month; pink ribbon ones for Breast Cancer Awareness and support; all the different holidays, singers / musicians love the musical ones, and on and on.

The scarf clips just slides up and snaps closed, so there is no bulky knot.  I think it depends on the outfit on whether it is tied or has a holder.

Our polyester satin striped scarves are soft like silk, machine washable and come out of the dryer looking better than new.

What is satin striped? The design is printed on cloth that is strips of smooth satin and a strip of see thru fabric.

I love to wear a scarf under the collar of a jacket or blouse or doubled up under a coat.  Wool makes me itch but these are just as toasty and not as bulky. 

See all 90+ scarf designs and 15+ clips / holders 

Proud member of Virtual Online Learning 

Day 5 In Japan: A Great Time At Ultraman Club

Raimie sure had a blast at Ultraman Club, spending time meeting up his heroes and did some shopping too! If your kids love Ultraman and you are in Tokyo or Yokohama, this is the nearest place you can meet Ultraman everyday.

I bet any Ultraman loving fans would love to be here, regardless of age. :)

Raimie receiving briefing before meeting his current hero : Ultraman Zero

After the meeting (that include some nice personal moments with his hero), off he went and played in the play area. You can play shoot, bounce and kick at the bouncy gym (or whatever they call it), play the latest Ultraman video games and so much more there.

After the play session, it's time for some retail therapy at the M78 shop (official Ultraman Shop):

Snacks, Ultraman can drinks or  Ultra Heroes SD figures. Or do you fancy an Ultraman Kids' beer?

Raimie was happy playing the arcade games too!

Driving Down the West Coast: The Cascade Volcanic Arc

*Part of the trip from Canada to Mexico last year, driving down from the Northwest through the West Coast.

I am from the Philippines, part of the Pacific’s Ring of Fire.  Mt. Baker, Rainier, and St. Helens in Washington, Mt. Hood, Bachelor, Three Sisters, and Adams in Oregon, and Mt. Lassen in northern California are all part of the Cascade Range and its Volcanic Arc, also a segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire that includes over 160 active volcanoes. We all remember the Mt. St. Helens eruption on May 18, 1980 which chopped off 400 meters from its peak, replacing it with a mile-wide horseshoe crater. It was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States.

Our first stop was Crater Lake National Park. The lake is almost 600 m deep at its deepest point with an average depth (350 m) that is the deepest in the Western Hemisphere and the third in the world. This is due to the nearly symmetrical caldera formed 7,700 years ago during the violent climactic eruptions and subsequent collapse of Mt. Mazama and the relatively moist climate that is typical of the crest of the Cascade Mountains. No streams flow into or out of it. It is re-filled entirely from direct precipitation and water is lost from evaporation or subsurface seepage.

Unlike our first time there during the DUs reunion in Sunriver (please see my post on…), this time the lake was in its full splendor…with its deep blue crystalline waters, so clear you can see the deep down under.   At the crater center stands the pretty Wizard Island beckoning us to fly down. Before reaching the crater, however, we were treated to meadows upon meadows of the Pumice Desert, a very thick layer of pumice and ash, largely devoid of plants due to excessive porosity (meaning water drains through quickly. 

As you drive around the lake, you will reach the far end where the The Pinnacles are.  Pinnacles are formed when the very hot ash and pumice come to rest near the volcano, forming 60 to 90 m thick gas-charged deposits. For perhaps years afterward, hot gas moved to the surface and slowly cemented ash and pumice together in channels and escaped through fumaroles. Erosion later removed most of the surrounding loose ash and pumice, leaving tall pinnacles and spires. Bill and I took turns taking photos of each other among these strange-looking proudly standing outgrowths of the volcanically active land.

Just after the Oregon/California border is the Lava Beds National Monument. The Monument lies on the northeastern flank of the largest total area covered by a volcano in the Cascade Range. Its volcanic eruptions created an incredibly rugged landscape punctuated by these many landforms of volcanism. It has numerous Lava tube caves, with twenty five having marked entrances and developed trails for public access and exploration. It is  geologically outstanding because of its great variety of "textbook" volcanic formations including: lava tube caves; fumaroles; cinder cones; spatter cones; pit craters; hornitos; maars; lava flows and volcanic fields.

We got there close to nightfall and the sand hills around the place took on eerily beautiful hues of brown, red, orange, and gold.  This is where we got to use Vino a lot, going from one lava bed to another.  We struck good images, riding that scooter, against the wide spaces of desert land and scenery.  But we also ate a lot of dust. I felt like a new woman, a bike dude kind of woman (see headline photo). Don’t they call them ‘bitches’? At this NP was where I also saw my first native-American petro glyphs on what is left of the Medicine Lake Volcano.  Legend has it that the lake was wide and high enough for the natives to write on its walls.  Of course, now the land is almost dry and the volcano flat. 

Just a hundred miles from the Park was another volcanic wonder, the Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park.   The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak; the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southern-most volcano in the Cascade Range. The area is still active with boiling mud pots, stinking fumaroles, and churning hot springs. The National Park is one of the few areas in the world where all four types of volcano can be found (plug dome, shield, cinder cone, and strato).

We took a lot of pictures of the venerable mountain.  But we were hurrying through the mountain roads because a storm was forecasted to hit the area and we did not want to be trapped there.  At the end of the road, however, we were treated to a sight that I had never seen before.  Right by the roadside were fumes of smoke rising from the ground.  All around were hills of different hues of red, orange and brown.  It was as if we had reached Yellowstone!

It was already very dark when we found our campground.  There we rested and planned out our next stops:  Napa Valley, San Francisco, San Jose, Yosemite National Park, and Sequioa National Park.  

Ken Buck; Peggy Littleton and Larry Liston

L - R Larry Liston; Peggy Littleton; Gene; Me; Ken Buck

First thing you need to know is that for political signs, we have a prime corner on a fairly busy street.  Since we have lived here we have allowed political signs, after we give permission.

This year it has been alittle different.  During the primary we TV watchers were subjected to continuous negative campaigns.  We really believe that a candidate should and must tout what they intend to do, not what the oppositions shortcomings are.  

I have been in retail for may years and am curious when advertising turned around and started mentioning the competition.  Why anyone would mention the opponents names is beyond me!

So during the primary we pulled signs for anyone doing negative campaigning.  Now for the general election - his sign reappeared so we pulled it again.  

Then out of the clear blue sky another sign appeared for another candidate who we have never met, or gave permission too.

So what else does one do but gripe on Facebook.  LOL.  

There was all sorts of responses and lo and behold the door bell rang tonight and there stood all 3 of them - Ken Buck for US Senate, Peggy Littleton running for County Commission and Larry Liston our State Rep. 

They were on a tight schedule but just had to stop by and clear the air.  To say we are impressed is a huge understatement.  For them to take the time to visit us and chat for even just a few minutes is humbling.  

Not only we will put up their signs again, we will also be putting one up for John Suthers- our Attorney General running for reelection.