Barefoot Handmaiden

Barberry Root after outer bark is removed. A few days ago, both hubby and I woke up with stomach bloating, pain, and burning, along with severe flank (kidney) pain. Both of us were in quite a bit of pain. Nobody else in the family seems to be affected. I am torn between two possible causes of the illness.  We either caught a bug while we were out looking at land last week, or we possibly let a bottle of spring water go bad. I am leaning toward the latter, being as it seems to have affected both our GI tracts and our urinary tracts, where contaminated water would have to pass to be eliminated from the body. We collected spring water a couple of weeks ago and since then it has sat outside on the porch, quite possibly incubating any bacteria that might be present in the water. Yes, spring water can contain bacteria, and the spring where we collected this water is known to contain small amounts of bacteria. Most of the time this isn't a problem. In fact, I believe it helps...

I am not Jewish, nor do I know a whole lot about their traditions, but before, during, and after the "Great American Eclipse" of 2017, I couldn't help but wonder about the timing of the eclipse and what it meant. (If you've not read up on this, please click here ) What really got me to thinking about it was the fact that the Eclipse of August 21st landed on the very same day that the Jewish season of Teshuvah began.  From what I gather, Teshuvah literally means "Returning to God" and in the Jewish tradition is a season of repentance. So I decided I would "celebrate" Teshuvah this year and "do a season of repentance" of my own. Repentance can never hurt, can it? Hahahahaha!  Oh the ignorance. I seriously had no idea what I was getting into... ....because when you tell Almighty God that you want Him to tell you what is wrong with your life so you can repent of it, He takes it LITERALLY. Again... I had no idea. My Heavenl...

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Kathy and I am a Christian Herbalist living in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. Why Barefoot Handmaiden? Well, being raised on the edge of an Appalachian hillside, I come by "Barefoot" honestly. I think we Scots-Irish are born with something in our genes that cause us to strive for freedom, and our toes are no exception!  Contrary to stereotypes, we hillbillies do wear shoes when we have to, but that doesn't mean we like it.  Growing up in the mountains, my cousins and I could hardly wait until May 1st when our moms would allow us to go barefoot! So you would think there would be zero problem taking off my shoes when commanded by God Himself, wouldn't you? Sigh... We were having a wonderfully powerful church service that evening, one of the best I can remember, and I distinctly heard the voice of the Father say to me, "Take off your shoes... you're standing on Holy Ground..." Immediately m...