Inge Leonora-den Ouden

I agree with many here that the herbs you already use in the kitchen are a 'gateway' to the medicinal use of herbs. You already know them, you grow/forage them (possibly. If you don't you can start doing it), you are used to the taste of them.

So you can start to get to know more on these herbs. Read about their medicinal use. Change the way you view the specific herbs. F.e. you know basil gives a nice taste to your salad. When you know about the medicinal properties of basil you understand when to use more of it and when not to use it. And you can start to use it in different ways, like making a tea of it.

My favourite medicinal herb is Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). It can be used in many ways and it grows abundantly as a native plant in the region I live in. I keep some dried leaves of it in a handkerchief in my bag for 'first aid' in case of cuts. It stops the bleeding and works as antiseptic. But it can be used in a tea too.

Welcome back Ash!

Welcome back Seth!

It might be a little off-topic, but I want to say that much better than the ordinary store-bought lettuce is freshly picked lamb's lettuce (aka mâche or corn salad) from the garden!

Yes, the season has started! There's Ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria), Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), Crow garlic (Allium vineale), Wild garlic/ ramsons (Allium ursinum) ...
and so much more coming soon

In my post 'a year ago' I wrote that balsamico is hard to find here. But now I found a really good one, even organic! The taste is great, combined with good quality olive oil, a little 'Greek style yoghurt' (soft cream-cheese is possible too) and lots of freshly picked herbs. It's the start of the season for the wild (foraged) herbs now here!

I did make 'fish emulsion' a few times. That's very smelly, made of dead fish in water in a bucket. It's a good fertilizer in the garden.

When I put fish or other bones in my compost, I first mix them in with the other kitchen scraps. Then put on the compost heap and cover more, like leaves, small branches, a.a.

My compost heap is in the back yard, at a distance of about 8 meter (almost the same as 8 yards) from my back door. It's often said that fish and meat scraps in the compost attract rats, but I never saw a rat in my garden.
I did have some mice in my apartment, but I think they came from under te floor. After I stuffed the holes (from heating pipes) with steel-wool I never saw the mice again.
There might be mice (a different species, not the house-mouse) in the garden, but I didn't see them. Maybe they are hiding because there are many cats in the neighbourhood, some of which frequently visit my garden.

Anne Miller wrote:The theme is more about using sustainable products rather than having a sustainable built house.

Most folks have to deal with what they have though living a clean life is achievable ...

Yes, I live happily in my rented ground-floor apartment, built mostly of concrete, not sustainable at all. But still there are many things I can do to follow the permaculture principles in my daily life. It has to do with what I buy, what I don't buy and what I make myself; what products I use to clean (the interior, the laundry and myself); where I get my food and how I prepare it, etc.

After reading some post here I understand the thread is about having tinnitus. But in some of the post I read about frustration too, frustration about the way other people (without a hearing problem) can react.

Myself I don't have a hearing problem, in fact my hearing is very good. But I'm always afraid I will get a hearing problem, because my ears are very sensitive (to low, high and loud sounds, and to cold). As a child I had an ear infection with high fever, and it damaged my right ear. It didn't affect my hearing, only sometimes for some minutes the ear gets 'deaf', or I can hear hissing sounds in that ear.

I feel compassion for people with hearing problems. I knew someone who was totally deaf and I still know some people who can only hear with a hearing aid, or a device called CI. I know these people can't understand/hear me if I just say something. I have to get their attention first. And then, when they look at me, I talk in their direction and do my best to articulate as good as I can. That was what the lady who was totally deaf told me to do.

Please, don't be ashamed of your hearing problem. If someone wants to have a conversation with you, explain it to them. If they don't want to take it into account ... that isn't your problem, but theirs!