Gradma's Homemade Cough Syrup

Grandma Isaacs had a recipe for homemade cough syrup. I have made it several times but this time I had to substitute one ingredient...... the alcohol. I used what I had plus I cant afford to go to the liquor store right now.  Also her recipe was measured by "glass". So I assume that if a regular glass is 16oz then a half would be 8oz.

1. Half a glass of Honey
2. 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
3. 1 Tablespoon Vinegar 
4. 3 Sticks of Hard Candy
5. Half a glass of Brandy 

The first step is to get your hard candy melted. You can put it in with everything else and just let it melt but it could take awhile. I used horehound candy because I like it and its old fashion....lol. I crushed the candy in a Ziploc bag and put it in a makeshift double boiler. 

In a saucepan put all your honey and brown sugar then stir until all is dissolved.

When this is dissolved add the vinegar. 

I had to add this vinegar container because it is just awesome. Plus I prefer white vinegar. 

After everything is dissolved add the hard candy. You will need to stir, stir and stir some more.

The above picture is after the horehound was added and everything was liquefied. Next comes the alcohol. 

I did not have Brandy but I did have some vodka. I substituted and I think it will be fine. Alcohol is alcohol isn't it? 

This is the finished product. When it cools it will thicken up into a nice syrup like you buy in the store. Much better for you I would think. Alcohol is in store bought cough syrup also, so might as well make your own. Plus it may help you sleep. 

Holy Communion

Today is Christmas! Yes it is December 25th and this year it lands on Sunday. What more of a fitting day for Christmas to be. Celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in church with family and friends and with the presence of the Lord. 


As Ricky Bobby would say ~ Look, I like the Christmas Jesus best, and I'm sayin' grace. When you say grace, you can say it to Grownup Jesus or Teenage Jesus or Bearded Jesus or whoever you want.~ lol .....


 So at Christmas I am thankful that God sent baby Jesus into the world to save us of our sins so that we may one day be united with him in Heaven. Jesus is our "real" present and the only one that matters to me. Sure, the other material things are nice but not the reason we celebrate. All the giving is good and we do it out of love (or we should). This year I only bought for my mom and sister. I have not been in the Christmas Spirit because of things from the past year but it growing on me the closer to Christmas it has gotten. 

Today was a first for me .... well maybe a second but I'm not real sure. I know that dont make since but I will explain. I am in the middle of a conversion of sorts. From Baptist to Methodist. I am still learning of how things are done in the United Methodist Church. I knew that when taking communion that it was different than the Baptist. I had been to another Methodist Church several years ago and they were having communion. I was kind of set back at how the ceremony went. If you wanted to partake you went up and knelt at the alter and the preacher came by and broke some bread off and then a cup was passed and you drank. I cant say that I was comfortable drinking after others. I dont care if we were in church or not but I had no idea where those peoples mouths had been!!! lol. 


In the Baptist Church where I grew up communion was totally different. You stay seated and the deacons go to the front with the preacher. The preacher says some scripture and then little crackers that symbolize unleavened bread is passed around to the congregation. You hold on to you bread until everyone has theirs and then you eat it. Next wine (grape juice) is passed around in little individual cups. When everyone has theirs then you all drink at the same time. This is my experience over the past 39 years until today.


Today being Christmas was not only meaningful but also gave me new hope. A new beginning with the hope and Love of Jesus. Yes I am still a sinner but I am also saved by the Grace of God. I have the confidence in that and was glad that I could participate in the tradition of the last supper of Jesus Christ. The preacher broke the bread and blessed it and the wine. We read scripture and text together in remembrance of Jesus. I went up to the alter and bread was broken for me and dipped in the wine and eaten. That was the most meaningful communion I have ever partaken in and I am thankful that the Lord has lead me where I am today. 


For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." (1 Corinthians 11:23–24)


I pray that the church that I grew up in and served the Lord in will grow in the Love of Jesus. I have been blessed my whole life with a good, Christian church family. Today I have been lead to another church and another congregation. I believe that God is working on me and trust me, I need worked on!!! I feel blessed this Christmas and it is because of the Love of Jesus and the people I am blessed to worship with. I wish I could be there each Sunday but my work does not allow that. Maybe one day. 


After church I spent as few minuets at Dads grave. His birthday was last week and he died on December 28th of last year. I was not sad when I was there. After church I had a renewed hope and was happy that Daddy celebrated his birthday and now the birthday of his savior in Heaven. 

Romans 8:28

New International Version (NIV)

 ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose.


Thank you for reading and I hope that everyone has a blessed Christmas!!

Fermented Grape Leaf Pickles

This is my recipe for fermented grape leaf pickles. They are a must during the summer for some salty deliciousness!! 

First step is to pick your cucumbers. You will need small to medium size. Don't put extra large cucumbers because they may end up hollow in the middle and take up too much space that can be used for better cucumbers. Make sure to wash them thoroughly and get all the little stickers off them.

I just added this one because it was neat and a Siamese cucumber...lol

You will need a crock. The one I use is a small 2 gallon crock but you can go bigger if you have more cucumbers to do at a time. I did several different batches over the summer in a small crock.

Put some water in the crock and then enough salt to float an egg. Yes that is correct, you need to have enough salt to float an egg to make them brine correctly. They will be very salty when finished but if your like me then you will love them. You may hear them called salt pickles or grape leaf pickles.

Supposedly the gape leaves help with the crispness of the pickles. I go by what my parents and grandparents did and that's good enough for me!!

In this batch I added some dill just to put a spin on it. I also started off with my pickles to see how many I had and put water in to cover. I took them out and then added the water back and salt before putting the pickles and grape leaves in so the measurement of water and salt would be correct.

Put a good size saucer to cover the cucumbers and a gallon jug with water to weight it down. The cucumbers will float but they need to stay completely covered in the brine.

 When all steps are complete cover and put in a cool dark place. I put mine in the basement and wrapped it with a large towel. Every few days you need to check them. Scoop off the scum from the surface and I always test them to make sure they are coming along okay. They should ferment for around 14 days or longer. After they are pickled you can wash the salt off and put them in the refrigerator or even can them. I canned some but I would not recommend it. They are better fresh. This is something I look forward to every summer!!