The Year of Pandemic

2020 has been a year like no other. At the end of 2019, there were news from China about an outbreak of a new deadly virus.  Most of us didn't think too much of it. It was all the way on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. As the months went by, it had reached Europe.  Italy was hit particularly hard with the highest death toll then it came to the States.  At the end of March, while I was working in the office, the Shelter in Place order came from the County Official and the State Governor. We were told that we needed to "flatten the curve" of the virus infection rate. Within a few hours, we were all making arrangements to work from home. 

The following week, all the retail stores and restaurants were closed.  Only essential businesses were open such as grocery stories and hospitals. Suddenly, it felt like we were in a war as the city streets, mass transit and freeways were empty.  Everyone's weekend outing plans were cancelled. Schools were closed. All non-essential air travel was cancelled.  My home became the safest and only place I could be. 

With all the time staying at home, I started working on the garden and other home projects every weekend and sometimes after work. My old garage door was in need of a fresh coat of paint. I thought instead of just painting it with one color, why not paint something interesting on it.  Although I have done much drawing in recent years, I made a pencil sketch on paper.  Within a week, I repainted my garage door with lilac color hibiscus flowers on a bright golden yellow background. Many people in the neighborhood stopped to compliment the painting.  Most of my neighbors were surprised that I can draw and paint a mural.  I often see people stopping on the sidewalk taking photos of the painting.

There were tentative plans to lift the shelter in place order on June 1st.  Unfortunately, people couldn't stay home during Memorial weekend.  The infection rate shoot up again after the holiday weekend. 

During July 4th weekend, I picked as many plums as I could to give away to people in the neighborhood.  For some reason, every plum tree in El Cerrito were covered with super juicy sweet plums.  Many people were giving away plums on NextDoor.

After all the plums were gone, I decided it was time to get rid of the grass and plant some bee flowers. I started with the small patch on the sidewalk.  It took me about a week, one hour a day, to dig up all that tough grass.

By now, some businesses were allowed to open as long as certain guidelines are followed. I made a trip to Annie's Annuals and Perennials and got a bunch of bee and butterfly friendly and drought tolerant plants. I am particularly excited about the hollyhock.  After all the plants were planted, someone in the neighborhood was giving away extra mulch since they ordered too much for their yard.  I was able to get enough to cover the area. 

It's been exciting to see many people taking advantage of this time to redo their gardens.  Last weekend, I have finally removed all the grass in the front yard.  Now I am just waiting for the HomeDepot gift card to arrive in the mail so I can go get the soil and compost for the new front garden.

End of the Year Road Trip

After working furiously for the last days of December, we took off for the long waited road trip. We made our first major stop at Joshua Tree National Park.  We were a little surprised to find that dogs were not allowed on any trail other than the parking lots and campgrounds.  We took a few photos near the entrance then spent a night at the Chiriaco Summit Dry Camp, which is a free campground just one freeway exit away from the south entrance of Joshua Tree National Park. 

As we drove across the border to Arizona. I noticed the landscape on both sides of the highway were a lot like Joshua Tree. Many of the plants were the same.  We arrived Holbrook, which is the nearest town to Petrified Forest National Park. Unlike Joshua Tree, dogs are allowed everywhere in Petrified Forest except inside of buildings. However, the park is closed one day a year on Christmas Day. We arrived in the afternoon of December 24, so we decided to spend two nights in Holbrook.  Luckily, it only costed $35 per night at the Motel 6.  On December 26, we arrived at Petrified Forest early in the morning, so we could spend an entire day there.  We really enjoyed checking out the sights, taking pictures, and hiking through the trails. I will have to thank the friend who highly recommended this national park. 

By the time we went through all the points of the interest in Petrified Forest, it was in the evening. We didn't want to spend a third night in Holbrook, so we looked for another nearby city and ended up in Winslow because it was only $30 plus $10 pet fee to stay at Econo Lodge.  It was a big room with 2 queen sized beds, microwave, mini fridge, hair dryer, and a full bathtub.  Breakfast was also included. What a deal!  This is another reason I prefer to travel through small towns.  We didn't encounter much traffic once we left California, and accommodation costed a lot less. 

Cracus and the statue of Glenn Frey, which was added after he passed away

After we settled into our room, I Googled Winslow and was surprised to read about its number one attraction - Standin on the Corner Park.  Two of the Rock 'n Roll legends passed away in January 2016.  First it was David Bowie and then 8 days later, Glenn Frey. I never forget that month and where I was when I found out Glenn Frey passed away. The song Take It Easy, placed Winslow on the Rock 'n Roll map. It made sense now the hotel room key card has "Take It Easy" printed on it. After leaving the hotel next morning, we drove down the street to the Corner. Many people were there taking photos already.  We took several photos of our own.

We headed back to California after departing Winslow, but we were not ready to go home yet.  For more than 2 years, I have wanted to visit Porto's Bakery. It didn't matter which Porto's location.  It would take about 8 hours to get to Porto's West Covina location from Winslow.  As we drove through Flagstaff, the snow came down hard even though it was sunny, so we had to take a break.  We took another extended break in Needles for a nap.  We left Needles around 2 am so that we could arrive at Porto's West Covina around the time they open the shop at 6:30.   We arrived around 7 am, and people were already picking up their cakes and pastries. The bakery did not disappoint me. The architecture of the building is beautiful. The staff was efficient, and the pastries were amazing.   We could take a trip down Southern California just for a Porto's tour since they have 5 locations and possibly 1 more in the near future. 

We also visited a friend and some relatives before returning home on December 30. I did want to be on the road on New Years Eve.  We were all happy to be home.  Now we can plan our next road trip. Happy 2020, everyone!

Snowy Thanksgiving Road Trip

Gold Run Rest Area

We have been planning on taking a road trip during Thanksgiving holiday. All of a sudden we got the first rain of the season with more rain to come. After monitoring the weather forecast closely for several days, we decided to head up north instead of south.  The forecast indicated a dry Thanksgiving and Black Friday before the rain resumes.  There is also snow up in Tahoe area.  Since the pups have never seen snow, we decided to drive north and see how far we could go before snow chains are required.

We made a few bathroom stops at Davis, Sacramento, and Auburn.  Shortly after we passed Auburn, snow appeared on both sides of the freeway.  We pulled into Gold Run Rest Area so the pups could experience snow for the first time.  I made sure they didn't stay in the snow too long so they wouldn't freeze their little paws. Cracus seemed to enjoy it more than Sace.  

Historical Downtown Truckee

We spent the night in Truckee because it got dark fast and the snow started coming down rapidly. It was hard to see.  The next morning, the Subaru was covered in snow. I had never driven in so much snow before, so I felt a little unsure. However, it turned out to be quite smooth with the Subaru Forester. We made a stop in Downtown Truckee for some photos before heading over to Donner Memorial State Park.  The snow started coming down again as we were heading to the park.  The park was deserted and the visitor center and camp ground were all closed and covered in snow.  I got out of the car and took a 360 degree video. I have been here before many years ago during the summer.  Now seeing this weather, it gave me some perspective of the weather condition the Donner Party was experiencing.  As I drove further up Donner Pass, I came to an intersection where only cars with snow chains or 4WD/AWD cars with snow tires were allowed to pass.  Initially I thought everyone needed to have snow chains. The Caltran worker looked at my Forester and said it was fine for me to take the scenic route.  I reached the Donner Summit without any problem although I had to go slow due to poor visibility. There were very few cars and everyone was going slow. I saw a Corvette got stuck in the snow and a Jeep driver was trying to help it unstuck. I got a set of all terrain tires for the Subaru in September.  I was able to drive over the snow and icy roads as normal. I was quite amazed.

Learning the Mighty Ukulele

 

 A little over a month ago, I heard the local Arts & Culture Committee was looking for people to sign up as a members of the community orchestra.  I was intrigued and almost wanted to join but then I thought to myself, what instrument would I play?  A better question was, what instrument would I want to learn?  The only instrument I have learned to play as a kid was koto, a traditional Asian stringed instrument, which I have not touched for more than 30 years.  Nevertheless, I thought a stringed instrument would be a little easier for me to learn.  I have attempted to learn guitar in high school, but it was difficult to stretch my fingers to play the chords. Suddenly I remembered - ukulele! I always thought it would be fun to play an ukulele!  It's small, cute, portable, and cheerful. It has only 4 strings.  In compare to the 13-string koto I used to play, it should be manageable.

I started looking through Youtube tutorials on ukulele including its history and what to look for when buying a uke, etc. I started looking at ukuleles on Amazon and local stores trying to decide which one to get.  About a month ago, I happened to stop by the Goodwill store in Downtown Berkeley. I spotted one used soprano size ukulele in dark purple - my favorite color! I looked at it carefully to make sure it was in decent condition other than superficial scratches and dings. I bought it for $8.00 and started playing it by watching online tutorials.  I found Cynthia Lin and Bernadette to be my favorite teachers after watching countless tutorials by people around the world.  Little did I know that both of them are from California, my home state.

A clip board is all you need to turn an extra tripod into a music stand

After playing the $8 uke for a month, I visited the iconic Subway Guitars in Berkeley, which I have known for most of my life but never had the opportunity to go in.  I left the shop with an Amahi slim body concert ukulele.   Last week I also converted one of my tripods into a music stand.  I just glued the part that would attach to a camera onto a clip board.  I removed the screw that was meant to screw onto the bottom of a camera from the removable plastic unit. I also scraped off any loose component on it before applying Crazy glue to it.  I also used duct tape for additional reinforcement.  The tripod of course is fully adjustable in height, direction, and angle.  It's much more sturdy than a cheap music stand. It also didn't cost me any extra money. 

After leaning the ukulele for more than a month, I learned a few things that I never realized before. One, my fingers are short compare to my two favorite ukulele teachers.  Two, singing and playing an instrument at the same time is much more difficult than I thought.  It's been very hard for me to do both simultaneously so I focus mostly on playing the uke.

Last weekend I attended my first Youtube livestream to celebrate Cynthia's 300K subscribers.  I am not good enough to play along all the songs, but it was fun and inspirational. I also got my ticket for Holiday Uke Jam in Berkeley. I can't believe I will get to see Cynthia Lin in person, and I can't wait to meet other local ukulele enthusiasts!

Life with Dogs

Cracus and Sace running around at Pacifica Esplanade Beach

2018 was a year of Goodbyes, and one more goodbye came in April this year. In June 2018, my boss at work had to take a medical leave due to cancer. She was in and out of ICU for months.  In January, I heard that she only had a few months to live regardless of any more medical treatments. In early April, just a month before her 60th birthday, she passed away. I think about her often just like I think about Kelsey.

Cracus has a new sister now. Her name is Sace, and she is about the same size as Cracus.  We want to enjoy the life we have before it's too late. A couple weekends ago, we took a day trip to Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Guerneville. It was one of my boss' favorite places to go.  It was our first time there. We took a nice walk and had a picnic in the redwoods in memory of her.

Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve

Armstrong Redwoods State natural Reserve is also the entrance to Bullfrog Pond Campground, which allows dogs.  We plan on going back and camp on the top of the mountain when the weather is cooler. In the meantime, we will continue to explore beaches and other dog friendly destinations whenever we can get away.

Life is too short to just sit around and watch tv.

Point Isabel Regional Shoreline

Goodbyes in 2018

 

2018 has been a year of goodbyes. In February, after my 2003 PT Cruiser stalled several times, it was traded in for a 2014 Subaru Forester. Even though most people would be excited to get a new car, I feel sad of letting go my transportation of 15 years. There were many memories associated with the PT Cruiser, and I miss the car. I never thought I would miss a car this much.

In March, after waking up with a sore neck and painful shoulders for weeks, and after consulting with my doctor, I purchased a new mattress. I had the same mattress since 1996, I think. I think it was purchased the year I got my own apartment. I watched the mattress delivery people taking away the old mattress with sadness. It was with me for so long; however, since we don't normally look at the mattress, it was not as painful as letting go of the car. 

 

 

At the end of June, we said goodbye to Kelsey.  I cannot remember when she stopped going for walks. She had spent the past year in bed most of time.  Her hair had become matted and dirty since I was not able to give her a proper bath anymore in her condition. She cried frequently from her aching bones. We miss her so much, and I hope her spirit will always be with us. 

On July 10th,  one of my uncles passed away unexpectedly. Although I had not seen him in many years, I have many fond memories of him as a child.  It's hard to believe he is no longer around. I can't imagine what my cousins are feeling now that their father is gone.

Revisiting Rodeo Beach

On December 25, 2015, we all went to Rodeo Beach. It was probably the last time Kelsey went on a hike, and we didn't go far with her bad hips. This morning, Cracus revisited Rodeo Beach in memory of Kelsey, who passed away yesterday. He roamed around on the beach next to the waves.  We also hiked a bit further up the hill. It was getting pretty hot around noon. As we stopped to admire the view, I noticed a tick crawling in Cracus' hair! I frantically brushed it off after several tries. That was my queue to turn around.  We went back to the beach again before heading back.

 

On the way back home, we stopped by one of the Golden Gate Bridge Vista Points.  It was a nice day for photographs of the bridge.  After we got home, Cracus had a bath to get rid of all the sand and make sure he had no other ticks on him.

Healthy Frozen Dessert Maker

Gourmia GSI180

A couple months ago I got an "ice cream" maker from a neighbor. I was intrigued because it looked like I could just plug it in, put in frozen pieces of fruit, and ice cream would come out from it. The maker claims the result would have texture similar to ice cream. I have another ice cream maker that has an inside bowl that needs to be frozen prior to use, and I would need to prepare a list of ingredients in order to make ice cream. How could this new machine be so easy? I read some of the reviews, someone mentioned it takes a lot of force to push the frozen fruit down the machine. 

I looked at the parts and read the manual carefully. I thought before I get carried away, I would just use a bag of pre-packaged frozen pineapple chunks to test it out. According to the manual, the frozen fruit should be removed from the freezer for about 5 minutes before making the dessert in order to ensure a softer consistency. I let the bag of pineapple chunks sat for at least 5 minutes before pouring them into the opening on top of the machine.

After I push the chunks all the way down with the plunger, a yellow ribbon of pineapple unfurls from underneath. It was like magic!  I actually didn't need to use that much force. Since the machine is pretty light weight, I had to make sure that I did not push too hard. I think letting the frozen fruit sit out for a few minutes really helped.  The consistency is however far from ice cream since there is no cream involved.  I might be able to trick little kids into thinking this was ice cream but it's definitely not ice "cream". It's refreshing and fun to make. For lactose intolerant people,  this is a good alternative to ice cream or frozen yogurt. For people who can't chew, this would be a good way to enjoy fresh fruits on hot days. The machine is easy to take apart for cleaning. Since there is no cream, the parts just need to be rinsed off. No detergent needed.

First Taste of Mulberries

Today I checked on the mulberry tree and noticed the mulberries are turning red. Some of them have already turned dark purple.  Since the branches are skinny, I was able to just pull them down and pick the berries. They are smaller than I expected but tasted good. I am sure Cracus would eat them off the ground when they fall off on their own. I will need to check on them on a daily basis from here on.

The passion vine is blooming and little passion fruits are forming.

Mulberries Are Here

We had quite a bit of rain in March, and the garden is now overgrown with greenery.  As I went out there to cut the grass back and checking on all the plants, I noticed the "dwarf" mulberry tree is now over 9 feet tall. I was hoping it would stay within my arm's reach. I then noticed little green mulberries all over the branches! Wow, this will be the first year it bears fruit.  I will be observing the growth of the mulberries closely.  I hope the birds and squirrels don't get them all.

New Drink of 2018

Maltex at Miliki Restaurant

Nearly every year I "discover" a new drink either unexpectedly stumbled upon it or having someone introduced it to me.  Earlier this month I was invited to a group dinner at a Nigerian restaurant named Miliki in Oakland. I had never ever had Nigerian food, and most people in the group were the same.  Our host, a Nigerian native, patiently described everything and even order a variety of appetizers for us to try.  I was very impressed with the flavors of everything. Nigerian food is not much on presentation but more of comfort food.  They don't look all that fancy and pretty in photographs, but they taste great and very satisfying.

I always check out the beverage section in ethnic restaurants to see if they have interesting drinks. As everyone else in the group enjoyed wine, I asked the host what "Maltex" is. As soon as he said it is a popular drink in Nigerian and confirmed it's alcohol free, I wanted to try it.  A dark beer looking bottle was brought to me. I took a sip with a straw and was immediately intrigued. It tasted great and reminded me of molasses. It's carbonated and sweet but tasted natural unlike regular soda. I looked up Wikipedia for more information as I sipped more of my new drink. The first sentence in the article is "Malta is a lightly carbonated malt beverage, brewed from barley, hops, and water much like beer;...". Wow, so this is what beer would taste like before it turns into an alcoholic drink? I can't stand the way beer tastes, but malt is delicious. I also noticed on the bottle that Maltex is actually imported from Denmark not Nigeria. Another surprise.

I felt a little sad as I finished my first bottle of Malta. After I got home, I searched the net to see where I can get more. I could not find anyone carrying the exact brand in nearby stores, but discovered a different brand called Vita Malt on Jet.com, where I order my dog food sometime. Vita Malt is another company in Denmark that makes malt drinks. Vita Malt Plus has aloe vera, ginseng, and royal jelly. It's marketed as a type of energy drink. It's packed with vitamin B complex. It sounds fantastic! As I dug more information on Vita Malt Plus, I came upon an extremely negative review on the drink on The Soda Jerks website. The reviewer thought it tasted so disgusting that he had to throw away the rest of it after a couple sips. Hummm.... would I feel that way? I scroll to the bottom of the review, and many people commented in defense of malta. Secondly, the reviewer had no clue what royal jelly was. He obviously had not been exposed to as many nature's wonders as I have. I decided that I was not going to take his opinion seriously. I received my 6-pack of Vita Malt a few days later. I feel that I have much more energy after drinking it, and I love the way it tastes. I don't normally like soft drink and only drink soda occasionally, but this malt drink is good stuff. I can't believe nobody introduced it to me before.

Day 1 in Autlán, Mexico

After driving for more than 3 hours, I was very excited to see Carlos Santana on the welcoming "Autlan" sign at the entrance of the town. This town of 60,000 people happens to be the birthplace of legendary musician, Carlos Santana.  Comparing to the many tiny villages we passed by on the way here, Autlán has everything - a beautiful mural leads to the church on top of the hill, a historical city hall, a rodeo ring, a museum, a university, Santana Plaza, night markets, and countless shops all over the town.

The first we did was hiking up the hill in the morning. Along the way, we saw a donkey, chickens, roosters, and several dogs. One dog followed us for a while.  There were many Giant Cactus trees. When we reached the top of the hill, we were able to see the entire town. There is a church on top of the hill.  I was told it will be all decorated and looking festive in the next few weeks for Christmas although it looked a bit run down at the moment.

City Hall

The City Hall is quite impressive. It says 1810 on the building, so I assume it's over 200 years old. I went inside and looked around. It has a lot of offices and people applying for passports, paying bills, applying for marriage licenses, etc. It's a lot bigger than El Cerrito for sure.

Plaza De Toros Alberto Balderas is the rodeo ring. Although my friend told me that they no longer practice traditional bullfight, inside of the plaza has many paintings and photographs past bullfights and matadors. I think some traditions are better left in the past. I was told that rodeo is the main sport at the Plaza these days.

I was quite surprised to see many point of interests in this town since there was very little information I could find on the internet. This town is definitely worth a visit.

Chapala, Mexico

Back in May this year, I used over 15,000 miles on my Capital One Visa card plus $95 to purchase a roundtrip ticket to Guadalajara, Mexico. A former co-worker of mine turned to her hometown Autlán, after the company we worked for was sold.  She had frequently invited me to go visit her. After six years, I finally arrived at Guadalajara Airport at 6 a.m.  I was a little worried about getting in touch with my friend even though my cellphone carrier, Cricket, indicates that SMS and calls are included while traveling in Mexico and Canada.

The phone certainly worked. Before we headed to Autlán, we stopped by Chapala, which is just 30 minutes away from the airport, for lunch and some sightseeing. Chapala is a little resort town next to a lake. It's a popular destination for American retirees as the weather is in mid-80's all year round. There are plenty of souvenir shops and street food vendors at the outdoor market.  I had my first elote (corn) ice cream cone. It was very refreshing and not overly sweet. I enjoyed every bit of the ice cream cone.

Prior to my trip, I was concerned about consuming water. Everything on the internet still indicates that tap water is not safe to drink, and travellers need to avoid ice as well. Although I wanted to be careful, by now I already had a tamarind drink with my lunch. I couldn't possibly turn down some homemade ice cream. I wanted to try everything!

Cutting Down Those Bamboos

Remember the bamboos that I used to make a trellis? Some of us know that bamboos are extremely invasive and fast growers. I wonder if the people who planted them knew these facts about bamboos. They have grown into my surrounding neighbors' yards. They have grown so much that I started to see big spiders and their webs on them.  After doing some research, I believe these big spiders are Orb-weaving spiders, which are non-aggressive to humans and not toxic; however, they are big and scary and walking into their big webs would be terrifying. After doing more research on  how to get rid of them, I decided to go the natural route - cutting down and thinning out the bamboos. Once their preferred habitats are removed, they will move on.

I spent the weekend sawing off the bamboos from as close to the ground as possible. I kept some of them fence height, and also cut off some super tall ones. I will be keeping some straight thick ones for more trellis.  After hours of chopping, cutting, and trimming, I noticed some stinging and itchy sensations on my arms. I couldn't help not to scratch them.  I was wearing garden gloves but only wearing a t-shirt and overall shorts. My ankles also experience a little itchiness. After scratching my arms a few times, I noticed little red blistery bumps all over my forearms. Upon doing more research online, I found that others have experienced the same symptoms after dealing with bamboos while some people have never experienced any problem. It's believed to be some kind of allergic reaction, which I am not surprised. My skin tends to get allergic reaction from brushing against certain plants. This is another reason to get rid of these bamboos. The dogs were running around the bamboos and stepping on the leaves. I tried to shoo them away since I don't want their little paws to get some bad reactions from the bamboos, but they don't seem to be bothered at all.

Glass Beach Road Trip

Glass Beach (this side has fewer glass) 

I have wanted to visit Glass Beach in Fort Bragg for a few years now. I first saw a photo of Glass Beach on Instagram and was surprised that it's within driving distance from where we are. It's a little over 3 hours of drive from El Cerrito. This past weekend we took a drive up north to check it out. The weather has been unusually warm for this time of the year. However, it was also very windy at the beach. A lot of people were picking the shiny glass pebbles on the beach. I read that Glass Beach is gradually disappearing. Even though the law prohibits anything to be disturbed or removed from California State Parks, you can imagine people do take the pebbles as souvenirs.  The area that's closer to the water has more glass but Cracus isn't water kind of dog, so we stayed on the dryer side.

We took a walk along Ka Kahleh trail. It was beautiful and a easy walk except it was super windy to the point that your ears would hurt. We had to turn back because of the strong wind. In the afternoon, we also visited MacKerricher State Park and took a walk on the boardwalk.  It was a lot of walking for little Cracus on one day. In the evening he just rested quietly on the bed. Shortly after he started snoring. We had great time.

It's Almost Harvest Time

Japanese Cucumbers 

Back in May I planted some Japanese cucumbers, passionfruit, and Peruvian Gooseberries. They have been growing vigorously in the last 3 months. The cucumbers had a lot of flowers. I used a little brush to help with pollination between female and male flowers. Unfortunately, most of the baby cucumbers just dried up except the 2 in the photo above.  I am letting them grow a little bit before cutting them off.

I also propagated a small cutting that already rooted from our previous location in El Cerrito. In 3 months, it branched out to all directions and bloomed its first flower.  It's getting a bit late in the summer, so it might not have any fruit this year.  If the flower successfully grows into a fruit, it will not be ripe until late winter. Next year, it shall have a lot of passion fruit as the vines continue to grow through the winter.

Passion Fruit

I also propagated a bunch of Peruvian gooseberry cuttings. All of them died off except one. It went from the tiny plant to a good sized bush with a bunch of little berries hanging. The husks on a couple of the berries are starting to dry up. Soon they will be ready for picking or fall off on their own. I also found an accidental Peruvian gooseberry plant growing next to the passion fruit vine (see the photo above in red circled area).  I was worried that the Passion Fruit would takeover, but it has been growing slowly and steadily. It looks like it will continue to grow bigger. I guess there must had been a seed that got mixed in the soil when I propagated over the passion fruit vine.  I love this kind of surprise!

Peruvian Gooseberries

A Sore Throat Elixir that Works!

Earlier this month I had a cold. It started with coughing and then runny nose and then a severe sore throat.  I think in the past, it normally started with a sore throat when I was catching a cold. Lately it's always been the cough first.  Very often the cough would just go away after a couple days but not this time. My voice became hoarse after I started coughing for 3 days. When the sore throat kicked in, I had to take my first sick day at my new job.  By this time, I had already squeezed 4 fresh lemons for making hot turmeric lemon tea and drank it for several days. That was one of the home remedies someone gave me. It might have kept me hydrated but certainly didn't cure the cough.  As I laid in my bed, I figured there had to be other home remedies I could try. There had to be something that would actually work.

I stumbled upon a youtube video of a woman making a raw garlic, cayenne pepper, and honey elixir to cure her sore throat. I also watched a woman who swallowed a tablespoon of pure honey, and a few other video clips which all claimed they would work. I have tried the pure honey method in the past. It didn't cure my sore throat. After watching a few more videos, I wanted to see the raw garlic video again but could not find it.  I started to Google the internet for any reference of that remedy and found an article on Dr. Christopher's Herbal Legacy. I remembered that woman in the youtube video saying that Dr. Christopher was the person who she learned the remedy from.  At this time I had taken extra strength Tylenol for several days. I also took some cough syrup.  I figured that I had nothing lose to try this safe home remedy.  I quickly walked to the grocery across the street in my pajama to get the ingredients I needed and made the elixir.  Below is the formula:

* One tablespoon of pure honey
* ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
* Four cloves of garlic pressed through a garlic press

Those are the proportions, but you’ll need more than that, so take four tablespoons of honey, one teaspoon of cayenne pepper and sixteen pressed cloves of garlic, and mix that all together.  Take ½ teaspoon to one teaspoon of the formula every 30-60 minutes.
Don’t wash it down - let the honey coat the throat.

I do not have a garlic press, so I just minced all 16 cloves of garlic with a knife. I swallowed this elixir every 30 minutes until the whole thing was gone. I felt the heat in my face and inside of my ears after swallowing the garlic and cayenne pepper; however, it was not unbearable due to the sweetness of honey.  It felt like something was actually working with the burning sensation.  Before I finished it all, my throat no longer hurt. It actually worked like a miracle just like the article says. I was very excited. Now knowing this magic potion, I shall not suffer from sore throat anymore.