Sahara > Recent Status Updates

“Don’t let a fear of imperfect stitches stop you from getting your hands on some sewing.”

“Understandably, dressing as unapologetically Korean as I do is not the comfort level for most people, but I cannot fully express the strength and grounding that comes from embracing one’s own heritage, whether visually viewed outward as I do or internally as a stronger sense of self. By layering myself in history, tradition and culture, I have found a new path that I could not be prouder to be on.”

“A nutritive is a kind of tonic — that is, an herb that supports your overall health by improving the function of one or more systems in your body.”

“A multifaceted approach that includes lifestyle and herbal remedies often work best, but don’t feel you need to incorporate anything and everything into your daily routine.”

“Research suggests that daily gratitude alone can improve your overall happiness by as much as 25 percent.”

“Gratitude and optimism are key traits that improve your mental and physical health, and they’re surprisingly easy to develop.”

This reminds me of Ayah 7 in Surah Ibrahim: “If you express gratitude, I shall certainly give you more, and if you are ungrateful, then My punishment is severe.”

“How you think and feel has a direct effect on your overall health and vice versa. While taking care of your body via diet, exercise, and reduced toxin exposure will also benefit your kind and spirit, consider giving mind-body wellness some direct TLC.”

“You are how you think and feel: mind-body balance”

“The natural world calms, intrigues, and challenges us. Temperature fluctuations in your environment give your thyroid (which regulates your body temp) a mini workout.”

Oh so that’s what regulates body temp! So I guess going running in all degrees is a good thing after all for the body!

“Forget taking herbs — sometimes all you need to do to feel better is sit under a tree for 15 minutes, walk by the river, or dig your hands in the garden.”

“We deteriorate with chronic sleep deprivation: heart health, blood sugar metabolism, libido and diabetes are productive health all go to pieces. Just one or two nights of sleep deprivation diminish your cognition, mood, and immune function.”

“ Unfortunately, our bodies weren’t meant to sit in front of a screen and push papers around a desk all day. Enter exercise. Setting aside specific times to move and working activity into your daily routine to help compensate for a more sedentary lifestyle.”

“Human beings were meant to move, yet modern culture has made tricky. Most of us don’t have to physically harvest our food, wash clothes by hand, walk around the village to do our daily errands, or make our living from manual labor anymore.” +

“Fitness, sleep, work, relationships, activities, point of view, your connection with nature, and the environment you live in all play a role in determining your overall lifestyle. Even your spiritual practices play a role because they affect how you spend your time, think, feel, connect to others, and find spiritual solace.”

“Lifestyle is more than an important piece of the health puzzle; it is the table you piece the puzzle together on, the foundation upon which all aspects of well-being are built.”

“Diet, lifestyle, and mind-body balance are the pillars of health, and no amount of tinctures or capsules can take their place.”

“Most Latin names have two parts: the genus (capitalized) followed by the species (lowercase). The genus refers to a group of closely related plants, and the species describes exactly which plant in the genus we’re talking about.”

“No matter how much science or folk use is out there for a particular plant, ultimately only your body can tell you whether or not the herb is working for you.”

“Treat the whole person, not just the disease or symptoms.”

“For this reason, this book is not an A-to-Z list of helpful herbs. I want you to understand your body, what it needs to be healthy, and common themes of disease. You’ll learn how to listen to your body and what it’s telling you.”

“Herbs act like training wheels to help your body relearn patterns of health, breaking away from patterns of disease and improving day-to-day functioning.”

I love this line!

“Modest doses of eleuthero raise low blood pressure or reduce blood pressure, depending on what’s needed.”

fascinating seeing how an herb can assess the bodily situation and act accordingly!

“In fact, just one herb can contain hundreds of compounds that work together in synergy to address a range of health conditions.”

The wording & photos are okay to understand the stitching a bit but looking up a video to try to understand the wording and pictures better seems to solidify my understanding. That said I’m just happy to see a list of different types of hand stitches to guide my YouTube searching to be more specific for the needs it specifies in the books each is most useful for!

Fascinating learning about there being different sizes of straight pins! Here I was thinking they were all the same size / there was only one type!

“Waxing any type of thread can be useful for additional strength or to prevent the thread from twisting as you sew.”

items to purchase: a block of beeswax

“Linen thread will need to be coated with beeswax before use to smooth the rough fibers, which will otherwise catch in the fabric and weaken the thread. It is usual to then wrap the coated thread in paper and press with an iron to allow the wax to be absorbed by the thread.”

Interesting to learn that Linen thread is now no longer so easy to come by as it was back then!

“I truly believe that every time we get dressed, we make an artistic statement about the person we are, or rather the person we want others to see.”

I firmly believe when it comes to dressing nicely, you really do dress nicely for your own self first and foremost.

“My goal is not to make things quickly, but to make them in a way that is right for me. And that is true of the finished garment as well as the process.”

“To avoid accidentally stitching bubbles into your seam or letting the fabric shift out of place, it is best to pin first, then baste your seam, then sew it finally into place.”