It has been really cold lately in northern California. A few weeks ago I went outside after the sun went down, and it was freezing cold. The kind of weather that required gloves, hat and scarf. I then came inside ready to drink some hot ginger root tea. But my head and chest was still feeling achy and stuffy.

Then I remember, I have a sample of Gaia Herb “Quick Defense: Quick Response at ONSET” amongst my other shelf of supplements. The Quick Defense is made mainly of echinacea roots, which are common herbs used to fight colds.

Here is a photo of blooming Echinacea (part of the daisy family) grown in North Carolina. These flowers are sometimes referred to as Purple Coneflower. The root is harvested as medicinal herbs. Image source.

Gaia Herb Farm is one of the largest and most productive commercial medicinal herb farms in the U.S. They are located in the pristine mountain valley in the southwestern Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina.

Gaia Herb cultivates over 50 crops of organic herbs on 250 acres. They also cultivate organic passionflower, holy basil, and echinacea in the tropics of Costa Rica.

Quick Defense consist mostly of Echinacea Angustifolia Root and Echinacea Purpurea Root. Also has Black Elderberry, Andrographics, and Ginger Root. All great herbs in treating the cold and flu.

I only took 1 capsule and felt better the next day. I can’t say it’s all you need, since I’ve been trying to keep my immunity strong by taking the usual Vitamin D3 and Elderberry extracts. And of course Vitamin C too.

I was thinking of saving these supplements for whenever I feel under the weather. But I think it’s safe to take once in a while just to stay healthy.

When I first made my Ginger Citrus soap, the tracing was beautiful like custard.  But the next day it was still in the “gel” phase.  A week later it was still not looking so good.

Now that it’s been curing for 4 weeks, I am happy to report that it looks better.  Well, it’s not completely as nice as my other opaque bars as the middle looks like it’s still in gel phase.  But I’m sure it’s safe to use.

This is the after picture of my Ginger Citrus Handmade Soaps.  It has lemon essential oils and ginger root extract.  And a bit of grapefruit fragrance, but it didn’t hold up too well.

The bar feels hard, but after the first use, it soften up and feels creamy too.  But there is little to no bubbles unless you use an exfoliating body scrub (helps increase the lather).

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