What’s the proper way to recognize Juneteenth: does one say happy Juneteenth? That sounds about right, so happy Juneteenth! I was a pleasantly surprised that Congress deemed it a national holiday, and so quickly, but it was a long time coming.

The weather was a little gloomy, but it was perfect for getting things done inside. I painted several small areas in the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom, which needed patch painting as a result of the recent construction. Amazingly, the leftover paint, which is now nearly six years old, was still good. I also took the opportunity to deep clean the bathroom after the construction, climbing on a step stool to wipe down the walls from the dust as well as the tops of door and window frames and the light fixtures. No, it probably wasn’t a good idea to be climbing on step stools and balancing on the bathroom counter with THE BOOT on one foot and a foot level on the others. But Mom wasn’t here to call me a “big dummy,” which was a term she used whenever I deserved it. One time comes to mind when I was in high school and we moved house. Our new one had an electric stove, with the rings. I had never cooked on electric before, so one day, to test how long the elements remained hot after turning them off, I put the palm of my hand on the burner. The ring scars from the burn on my hands lasted several weeks. Mom was right, I was a big dummy. 

This afternoon I made a salve from a concoction of various essential oils, mixing them into beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, and neem oil over a double boiler. I got the recipe from a friend who swears by the healing powers of the stuff. She’s rubbed it on warts, cuts, bug bites, and various sundry skin ailments. I’m going to try it on Hubby’s aggressive plantar warts. He had another foot doc appointment this morning to have the dead skin shaved away and more acid dabbed on. He’s in agony now. The ingredients for the concoction cost a small fortune (around $150), but when you add up all the doctor visit copays and the tiny bottles of gunk Hubby has to spread on his foot warts, $150 is a screamin’ deal. I’m going to keep a photo diary of the results. I’m also going to try it on various skin thingies of my own.