Ruby’s House

01/19/2026

🌲Let's make some conifer pop! 🍾

👉What you need:
🌲Spruce or Pine needles -
I used blue spruce (Picea pungens)-short, sharp square needles, 2-2.5" blond cones with ripped edges on the scales.
And White pine (Pinus strobus) - 5 long soft needles per bunch.

**PLEASE be extra sure of your ID because some pine are toxic. AVOID Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) ​Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)
​Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata) and Yew species

🌲Raw honey
🌲Swing top bottle or sealable jar
🌲Filtered water

👉How I did it:
🌲Ethically gather some pine and/or spruce needles. This means literally a handful from a side branch. You don't need much, 1 cup max will do. Don't be greedy! 😉 I clipped small spruce branchlets from the side of a larger branch.
🌲Don't wash them! All the natural yeast is helpful and we want it for this project!
🌲Add about 2tbsp of honey to your jar or bottle.
🌲Clip the needles in half or break them up a bit. This helps get all be good stuff out.
🌲Jam them into your bottle! Don't be shy.
🌲Top up with water leaving about 1" of head space. Close the lid and shake shake shake!
🌲Set the bottle in a nice sunny windowsill for 5 days. Check on it, give it a shake and see the bubbles going on - it means it's working! Don't open it. 😉
🌲Day 5, pop the lid, it should be nice and fizzy now. Strain out the needles. I recommend using cheese cloth.
🌲Pour into a glass, add ice, lemon & lime to enhance the citrus-y goodness of the needles.

Enjoy!

Pine needles are known to be crazy high in vitamin C (even more than an orange!) It's a great winter forage and a fun experience to try some naturally made pop right at home.

Let me know if you'd try it!

**This information is for educational purposes only. Always be sure of your plant ID and use ethical foraging practices.



https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTtLMK6Euhy/?igsh=d2M1Z2czdDBpdW92

01/14/2026

How does an herbalist brighten their own day in the middle of January?

Buying flowers and beeswax, of course. 😅

Thank you for the gorgeous beeswax, Greidanus Honey Bee Farm here in Stettler. 🥰 I love working with this stuff. (You should also try their honey! 🐝)

01/12/2026

A simple way to enjoy herbs in the winter, small batch blends of tea coming together.

The best part is, I get to drink some afterward. 🥰

Positivi-Tea:

🌹 Rose
🌱 Spearmint
🌺 Hibiscus
🍋 Lemon Balm

This blend provides a wonderful combination of antioxidant rich herbs known for soothing, relaxing and supporting. It tastes like stress relief. 😅 Gentle sent of rose and hibiscus with a nice soft citrus - mint flavour.

It's definitely my go-to combination when I have visitors because it just tastes too good not to share!

01/09/2026

I'm sure I've shared it a few times now - but I just LOVE reishi. Such a wonderful gift and it's very easy to use. I typically make decoctions in combination with chaga, cinnamon and ginger (excellent in this cold AB weather). I'd love to try my hand at a tincture.

Of all the medicinal mushrooms out there, perhaps none are as famous as reishi. 🌿

Otherwise known as Ganoderma lucidum, the reishi mushroom has been used for at least 2,400 years in China and Japan. In ancient China, herbalists called the reishi mushroom ‘灵芝’ or Lingzhi, which means ‘herb of spiritual potency’. It was thought to help lighten the body, lengthen life, and deliver so many other benefits that it could perhaps make you immortal.

While this mushroom isn’t really the key to eternal life, it has some incredible benefits that humans have relied on for millennia.

Depending on which part of the mushroom is used (e.g. the mycelium or fruiting body), reishi has been used to treat allergies, liver issues, certain cancers, anxiety, insomnia, and hypertension. Reishi also helps to prime and activate the immune system, warding off repeat acute infections and reducing the severity of chronic infections.

If you’re interested in trying reishi as a supplemental part of your wellness regimen, you have a few options. Reishi can be taken as a decoction, tincture, powder or concentrated extract.

The reishi mushroom remains one of our most invaluable herbal allies. If you’re feeling drawn to learn more about the amazing magic of plants and fungi, Wild Rose College is the perfect place to start. Learn more about reishi and other herbs through our plant monograph in the herbal village (link below)! 🌸

🌸 www.wildrosecollege.com

01/08/2026

Feedback request...

I'm going to keep making these gems for myself anyways, so I thought maybe I should keep them for you too!

What do you think?
Should I change something up?
What kinds of things would you like to see this year? Let me know below! 👇

(Also yes, I have not given up on the "Cooling Mist" project yet 😅 Hoping to get that sorted for spring!)

01/07/2026

I am a sucker for homemade anything - it tastes better, it's fresher AND you can customize!

Over Christmas, I was added hibiscus to the cranberries.

Yup. Hibiscus.

It gave things a nice, citrus undertone, and honestly, I think it made me love cranberries even more! I can't remember the last time I had them from a can. 👀

They are a lovely pair!

Have you tried using hibiscus, beyond tea, in your culinary creations? (Plus it looks mighty nice next to the rosemary on the spice shelf)

01/06/2026

Mark your calendar - January 25th is my first official outting of 2026 with the Alix and Area Community Resource Centre for the Health & Wellness Fair 🌿💚

01/06/2026

Using herbs doesn't have to be hard. 💚 Have you ever used them directly in your bath water?

How it works:
🌿 Simply add your desired combo to a reusable muslin bag, tie, toss in, and "steep" away! If you're feeling particularly brave and don't mind cleaning up herbs stuck to the side of your tub after, you can also just toss them straight in. 😅

These are great, easy ways to use herbs externally and provide a plethora of benefits.

Use one herb or a few - the choice is yours, follow your intuition!

Here are some easy, simple combinations:

🪻Chamomile & Lavender: helps relax after a stressful day and aid in sleep.

🌿Rosmary & Ginger: help reduce inflammation and ease sore muscles.

🍋Peppermint & Lemon Balm: bright, relaxing but also helps open up airways.

Extras:
✨️Epsom Salt - Help relax muscles
✨️Baking Soda - Softens skin
✨️Carrier Oils - Sweet almond or jojoba oil for extra moisturizing.
✨️Few drops of essential oil of choice - avoiding direct contact with skin - add to the aromatherapy

Have you made a "tea" bath before? What combinations do you love?

01/05/2026

01/03/2026

🌿📚Ruby's Recommendations📚🌿

What better way to start off our January reference recommendation than with my all-time favorite:
The Boreal Herbal by Beverly Gray.

What I love about this book:
💚 So user-friendly - a great spot to start if you're brand new and a fantastic addition if you're seasoned. Pictures and descriptions are well laid out to help identify.
💚 The plants are actually ones you can discover in your own backyard! Beverly hails from the Yukon, so you can bet pretty much everything in this book is around here.
💚 Every herb has a nice plant monograph style write-up - from ID, habitat, parts used and harvest time to medicinal actions and ways to use them in the everyday.
💚 Sections at the back to guide you through specific ways to use the plants - recipes and techniques. Everything from how to make a simple salve to hydrosols and culinary creations.

Absolutely the first book I pick when people ask me where they should start! I have gifted many. 🥰

The Boreal Herbal can be found in lots of places for purchase, I have found the best deal at $44.95 +GST from Wholistix in Red Deer but I have seen it floating around locally (not sure the pricing though!)

If you absolutely would LOVE a copy, let me know, and I can aquire one for you from Red Deer on one of my regular trips.

If you have this book already - what do you like about it?

01/02/2026

Did you miss out on the first batch?
I have more Breathe Easy tea blend - drop me a note if you'd like some!

Also - in the effort to have some options, Liver Support is also now available. There will be a few more options coming soon!

Breathe Easy:
Mullein, marshmallow root, orange peel, licorice root, elderflower, ginger, fennel seed, lemon balm, echinacea root and thyme.
30g

Liver Support:
Ginger root, dandelion root, burdock root, turmeric root, yellow dock root, milk thistle seed, ginko leaf and wild yam root.
45g

12/31/2025

Did you know, the last day of the year in Scotland is celebrated even more than Christmas? They call it Hogmanay and take celebrating very seriously! It's my dream to get to partake some day.

For now - I am grateful for what this year has brought me, excited to see what is next and extend a very heartfelt Happy New Year to you and yours!

Bliadhna Mhath Ùr!
[Blee-ah-nuh vah oor]

Another weird fact about me... I love Scottish Gaelic and dabble a little in learning, in case you needed to know. 😅