In June, of 2016, I was in search of a home. I wanted something out in the country, kind of away from everyone, but what I found was a newly built house on a very old property. The owner said that he bought the house planning on fixing it up but unfortunately, the bones were gone. So, he and his best friend, who just happened to be a carpenter, decided to build a new house in the same style as the old one, which was built in 1900. On this small property there is still the garage, or carriage house, I’m not sure which, that is in the back on an alley. There was also a raw looking, ancient foundation behind the house. It was the WashHouse! A few months before I bought this property, the owner had been doing something in the WashHouse and had left a space heater going. The WashHouse burned to the ground!
I bought the new house with the old garage and the rough foundation and started making it my home. I was busy making Comfort Cozys for my Saturday Market table and had started beekeeping a couple of years before. I quickly discovered that I needed something to treat bee stings!!! I did some research and learned about Plantain, a common weed that grows in many yards and just about anywhere else. The Southwest Indians would chew the leaves of the Plantain and put them on their snake bites to pull the venom. Well, I thought if it is good enough for snake bites, it should work on bee stings, so I made my first tincture. Then I meant a man who told me about his wife taking Bentonite Clay capsules to absorb toxins in her system and naturally, I thought, hmmmm. what would happen if I mixed that with my tincture and applied it to the bee stings. Well, the rest is history and my Sting Kits were added to my table at market as well as my Plantain Tincture.
One thing led to another and the research began and the tincturing shelf blossomed! The rest is history in the form of WashHouse Apothecary. God and Mother Nature have been so generous. Our ancestors knew so much as I learned in my own experiences and talking to others and reading. Old time remedies became a passion. I wondered how these things worked and then I did research. Lots of this wondering happened as I thought and daydreamed about the WashHouse that used to be in my back yard. I thought about what a cool place it would have been to prepare and store my potions & notions.
And with my thoughts, research and loving what I do, WashHouse Inspirations was born which lead to my storefront Shop WashHouse! I love answering questions and sharing my knowledge to help others. Please email me with anything related to washhouseinspirations@gmail.com. Take Care!!