We just wrapped up our final major craft fair of the 2024 Fall and Christmas craft fair season! We were at Rustic Reel’s Reel Christmas Market which ran for two days on Saturday and Sunday, and being as it was fully outdoors under tents for both days, we dressed for cold temperatures and brought a bag of additional “keep warm” methods that we didn’t end up using. The weather ended up hovering between 0 and 4 Celcius both days. Unforeseen winds came up a few times on Saturday, and a gentle breeze was colder on Sunday, but other than that, we weren’t as chilled as expected when standing around in winter temperatures.
Even more surprising was a visit by a honey bee to our table! It landed on one of our $10 signs and began grooming itself. I carefully picked up my phone near by, zoomed in on the little one from above, as I was standing very close to it, and snapped this photo. There is extremely little out there now for food for them, so I was surprised to see it out and about. By now, most hives have begun to hibernate for the winter. This was either a loner, or out exploring in the sun.
Pondo and Rosa got to explore the table a bit more, showing up in two locations over the two-day event. They got very brave on Sunday and went to visit with the octopus guarding the mini-trunk’s vials of wild herbs and business cards. Previously, they got as close as the cards themselves, merrily chatting away to each other about something. But this time, they got up close with the octopus and appeared to be quite cheerful about their encounter.
We made an amazing number of sales this weekend! 5 Prickly Lettuce ACV Infusions left the table, with 2 going to a lady who told us about a friend of hers who bought a bottle. This friend apparently gave it to a nephew who’d just had an appendectomy, and instead of using the T4’s the doctor prescribed, he chose to use the Prickly Lettuce instead, and his convalescence went very well! I’m not certain who the friend was that I was being told about, as we’ve sold several bottles of Prickly Lettuce this fall to various people both in Kelowna and in Vernon, but the story was amazing to hear just the same. It’s one thing to know academically that a herb can do a task, it’s one thing to be using it yourself in a high-pain-tolerant household, but it’s awesome when testimonials come back about how it’s helping others as well.
I should note that as a Natural Health Practitioner offering Biblical Natural Health Coaching, you won’t hear me telling you to go off doctor-ordered medication. What you will hear, is me telling you that if you choose that route, to do it slowly and carefully, because some meds are addictive and going cold turkey can throw the body into shock, withdrawal symptoms, or worsen the situation they were treating. It is best to be monitored while engaging in such a choice so that any transition you’ve decided to make is handled safely with minimal to no adverse effects. While I understand that doctors mean well in their choice of prescribed medications, most are not versed in herbal medicine or nutritional/wholefood medicine. The choice then, is yours to make. It isn’t something I will require of you. My focus is wholefood as medicine that might be growing outside your front door, such as Prickly Lettuce which makes both a great caesar salad as well as a pain killer.
We also sold the large bottle of the Flower of Arrowleaf Balsamroot Gycerine Tincture (or glycerite). This is a Vanilla Flavourant without the vanilla bean, nor the artificial polypropylene glycol version. It is instead made with the flower of the Arrowleaf Balsamroot plant. The flavour is a dead ringer full on One to One to Vanilla Extract! I’d gotten my hands wrapped for not having these out on the table for sale earlier this fall, so I made up two sizes, a dropper bottle, and a 4oz. We’ve now sold one of each! I guess I need to be making up both sizes. I don’t yet have them up in my online shop, but will work on that over the winter break.
We have one more tiny appearance at the Schubert Centre’s Christmas Luncheon this Thursday, offering a bit of market ambience for those who attend. We’ll be there from 11am to 2:30pm if you want to catch us in person one last time before the New Year.
Offline, I am starting to pencil in fair dates for 2025. Pencilled in dates so far appear to be near the end of March, two in April, one of which is on the website calendar already as a deposit went down for it last month, one pencilled in for May so far, and potentially two in June. This doesn’t count hoping to be back at some of the Priest Creek Winery mini-markets as well as any wellness fairs I may be able to find to attend. So keep an eye on the calendar as events move from paper to display.
If you are wanting to book foraging workshops several months out and not sure how my pencilled-in calendar is looking offline, please email me at bnhc@naturalhealthgodsway.ca to find out if the dates you’re hoping for are free or not. Booking 2 to 3 weeks out will allow me to ensure your foraging notebook is ordered and ready to give to you the day of the workshop. I don’t always have those on hand and sold out of the few I had left at the Holiday Shoparama two weeks ago with none for sale this weekend at Rustic Reel.
It’s safe to say that the fall season that began with a bang, ended with an even bigger bang! While the earnings were the best we’ve seen all year, which is very helpful while two household members find work again, the bigger news was just how well our Prickly Lettuce ACV Infusion helped with post-surgery convalescence! That’s huge!!!
So here’s to celebrating the close of an amazing 2024! We’ve made some new friends this year, we have a small posse growing around the foraging workshops, which is great! We’re getting both my coaching and my daughter’s tea business better known around the Central Okanagan, and looking forward to seeing you all again in 2025!
If you have friends interested in Biblical Natural Health Coaching, interested in the subject matter often found in my blog posts, interested in foraging workshops around the Central Okanagan, or who might want to stay on top of where we’ll be in 2025, get them to sign up for my newsletter so they get automatic notices when I publish a new article, and get the newsletter blasts when a foraging date or major update to the calendar has been created.
Homeschooling parents are considering tapping us for foraging workshops for their students this coming year as well. If you know a homeschooling group, suggest one or more of those in that group join my newsletter as well. This past year I added colouring pages to my wellness fair display, and they are also available to download from the free item link on my website’s top menu bar. The colouring pages range from very simple to very complex and were made from photos of herbs we have taken out on the trail.
Have a wonderful Merry Christmas, and may the central figure of Christmas, Jesus Christ Himself, be present in all your gatherings. See you in 2025!
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We just wrapped up our final major craft fair of the 2024 Fall and Christmas craft fair season! We were at Rustic Reel’s Reel Christmas Market which ran for two days on Saturday and Sunday, and being as it was fully outdoors under tents for both days, we dressed for cold temperatures and brought a bag of additional “keep warm” methods that we didn’t end up using. The weather ended up hovering between 0 and 4 Celcius both days. Unforeseen winds came up a few times on Saturday, and a gentle breeze was colder on Sunday, but other than that, we weren’t as chilled as expected when standing around in winter temperatures.
Even more surprising was a visit by a honey bee to our table! It landed on one of our $10 signs and began grooming itself. I carefully picked up my phone near by, zoomed in on the little one from above, as I was standing very close to it, and snapped this photo. There is extremely little out there now for food for them, so I was surprised to see it out and about. By now, most hives have begun to hibernate for the winter. This was either a loner, or out exploring in the sun.
Pondo and Rosa got to explore the table a bit more, showing up in two locations over the two-day event. 
They got very brave on Sunday and went to visit with the octopus guarding the mini-trunk’s vials of wild herbs and business cards. Previously, they got as close as the cards themselves, merrily chatting away to each other about something. But this time, they got up close with the octopus and appeared to be quite cheerful about their encounter.
We also sold the large bottle of the Flower of Arrowleaf Balsamroot Gycerine Tincture (or glycerite). This is a Vanilla Flavourant without the vanilla bean, nor the artificial polypropylene glycol version. It is instead made with the flower of the Arrowleaf Balsamroot plant. The flavour is a dead ringer full on One to One to Vanilla Extract! I’d gotten my hands wrapped for not having these out on the table for sale earlier this fall, so I made up two sizes, a dropper bottle, and a 4oz. We’ve now sold one of each! I guess I need to be making up both sizes. I don’t yet have them up in my online shop, but will work on that over the winter break.
Have a wonderful Merry Christmas, and may the central figure of Christmas, Jesus Christ Himself, be present in all your gatherings. See you in 2025!
