Adventures with Kombucha Brewing

After years of talking about it, I finally got into the kombucha brewing game in the Fall of 2022. To make my initial foray as simple as possible, I picked up a complete kombucha brewing starter kit from Heyday Fermentables when I saw their booth at the Millarville Farmers’ Market.

My first few batches turned out all right. The fruit flies were really attracted to the smells of fermentation, so I quickly invested in fly traps. Thankfully, the cloth cover didn’t let anything through that shouldn’t be in the jar.

Early days: Trying to keep the fruit flies away.

About a month later, I ordered another starter kit from Heyday Fermentables.

By Christmas, I was starting to get the feel of how my SCOBY operates differently depending upon the season.

By spring, I ordered a third kombucha jar from Craft a Brew, thanks to my happy, multplying SCOBY, as well as family and friends drinking more:

There haven’t been too many missteps, thankfully. Here are some of my biggest lessons (so far):

• Even though the instructions say 5 - 10 days each for the fermentation cycle and carbonation cycle, that varies depending upon the time of the year. Best to start checking at Day 3 for each cycle.

• Having a dedicated cabinet for brewing keeps all the pesky bugs away.

• Thoroughly wash the cloth cover regularly to keep the pesky bugs away.

• Berry sugar is just as delicious as cane sugar.

• If your batch isn’t fizzy enough, you can make adjustments during the carbonation round.

• Value Village is a great place to find bottles for home brewing.

The Kombucha Cupboard

As far as kombucha flavours go, these have become family favourites:

• Blueberry-Ginger

• Zingy Raspberry

• Cranberry-Ginger

• Ginger

• Apple-Ginger

• Strawberry-Mint

• Strawberry-Basil

• Blueberry-Vanilla

• Lemon-Ginger

On the other side of the spectrum, these kombucha flavours are in the “Let’s Not Do That Again” List:

• Carrot-Ginger (was meh)

• Beetroot-Ginger

• Kombucha made with sencha tea with matcha

Here are some of the sites I visit to get new recipes and learn more about brewing:

• The Wild Gut

• Top 30 Kombucha Flavours (the Zingy Raspberry is the bomb)

• Fit Happy Free (best Blueberry-Ginger recipe)

• Crave the Good (best Cranberry kombucha recipes)

• Beets & Bones (try the Strawberry Mint recipe)

• The Roasted Root (try the Strawberry Basil recipe)

• Everything Kombucha (general tips)

• Kombucha Kamp (general tips)

Do you brew your own kombucha? If so, share some of your favourite recipes below.

Adventures in Indoor Gardening

Last summer, I used some gift cards I received from students and family to purchase two Aerogarden units. I figured that was my best chance of success for a herb garden, seeing as my previous attempts failed miserably.

The nice thing about the Aerogarden is that it’s a complete unit. Grow lights, water reservoir, and a screen that tells you when to feed and water your plants. I ordered the herb garden starter kits. I have to say, hydroponic gardens are the way to go!

After enjoying fresh herbs all summer, I splurged and added another unit in the fall, dedicated to lettuce:

Mere weeks after, I purchased two Lyko Hydroponic garden units with 12 grow pod slots each:

Fast forward to today. I haven’t had to buy lettuce since September. The fresh herbs have been put to great use in salads, salad dressing and homemade Shake n Bake.

Last month, I ordered some grow bags. I plan to level up my gardening by growing some root vegetables. I am definitely open to receiving tips and suggestions.

You can follow my indoor gardening adventures on The Musical Muse Channel on YouTube. I have something a little different for today’s update:

Adventures with Migraine Glasses

This summer has been unusually hot and bright, which hasn’t been good for my light sensitive Migraine Brain. Although I have managed to keep the migraine count down low, it has come at the cost of living like a mole for most of the summer.

I broke down in July and bought two pairs of migraine glasses to try. They block out most of the blue light frequencies that trigger migraines or make them worse. Unfortunately, they both took their sweet time getting here and it was well beyond my martial arts grading prep and grading to be of use during all of our extra practices. I would have been willing to pay extra to get them sooner. Alas, USPS was my only option (and I like them less than Canada Post).

That’s neither here nor there. They have arrived and I am testing them out. So far, so good. Do check out my vlogs below and check my channel for updates:

Axon Optics Cover RX Migraine Glasses

I am so relieved that the Axons arrived first. Am I ever glad I sprung for the transition lenses, so I don’t have to worry about switching back and forth from inside to outside. I rarely go out without them.

The Cover RX glasses set me back $220 USD.

Somnilight Light Therapy Migraine Clip-On Lenses

As much as I’d like put the Axons aside for a week to test these exclusively, Migraine Brain is reluctant to do so. The Axons have the peripheral lenses on the arms, which I find an absolute must outside.

So far, I’ve been using the Somnilight clip-ons when I feel eye strain at the computer. The case and lenses are so slim that I have taken to carrying these in a pocket, ready to slip on whenever needed.

The Somnilight lenses are $79.99 USD regularly but they are currently on sale for $39.99 USD.

Do check out my YouTube channel regularly as I’ll be posting weekly updates for month, and then switching to monthly updates.

My 2022 Migraine Update

Last year, I shared some of my early steps towards understanding my migraines and working towards mitigating the triggers and symptoms in my June 9, 2021 post, Adventures in Migraine Prophylaxis. I have learned quite a bit in this past year.

In my latest vlog, I show my migraine trackers for 2021 up to May 2022, sharing what changes I have made to help me better manage what I call, “Migraine Brain.” From vitamins to migraine hats, find out how they have changed my life since Winter 2021:

As every migraine is different, I’m still learning and tweaking my migraine management routine.

Fellow migraineurs, what migraine treatments has or hasn’t worked for you? Share them in the Comments below.

Adventures in Migraine Prophylaxis

I think it was around 2018* that I started to suffer from migraines, or at least, they started to become an issue. Although at the time, I complained to my doctor about “really bad weather-related sinus headaches.”

Since the headaches start when the barometric pressure rises, my doctor didn’t jump right away to call it a migraine. Since hypertension runs in my family, I was diagnosed with that and started taking blood pressure medication.

Fast forward to 2019. My GP wasn’t available so I wound up with another doctor at the clinic. I complained that the weather-related headaches were getting worse and he recommended that I start keeping a headache log. He was my attending doctor for the next few visits, so I gave him updates while he gave me suggestions. He urged me to continue logging my triggers and remedies.

It was really just this year that we started looking at my headaches as migraines. One glance at the Timeline of a Migraine Attack (Source: American Migraine Foundation) confirmed that I have been suffering from something beyond a mere sinus headache:

Source: American Migraine Foundation

I do have my own nicknames for my most common symptoms, such as “Thinking is Hard,” “Words Hard", “Icepick Head,” “Super Senses,” “Sinus Head,” “Foggy Brain,” “Super Slow Mode,” etc.

Here is a good talk about migraines featuring Dr. Michael Teixido, a neurotologist from Delaware and Vice President of the Association of Migraine Disorders. He describes how the brain and body react to a migraine trigger, understanding your pattern, and learning to manage your triggers:

March was my breakthrough month. I started to chart my symptoms in relation to the barometric pressure changes:

Barometric Pressure Tracker

March 2021 was a barometrically exciting month. My fellow migraineurs and I went from one migraine straight into the next.

I Cracked My Migraine Code

Thanks to this, I can predict when I am likely to be pro-dromal, need a Migraine Nap, need my migraine hat and when I should just stop being productive.

I learned that I’m in Group 1 - those who suffer before the weather changes (e.g. chinook, thunderstorm). Most people I know belong to Group 2 - those who suffer when the change hits (Source: CBC: Migraines and asthma flare-ups may be due to weather changes, says doctor).

But knowing the pattern wasn’t enough. I wanted to be able to predict when I might have a migraine so that I could schedule my heavy thinking tasks when I wasn’t in the middle of “Completely Useless Mode.” I vlogged about working with the barometric pressure forecast:

Around this time, I stumbled upon migraine hats. I wound up buying three different kinds: the Icekap, Tolaccea Migraine & Headache Hat and FOMI Gel Ice Hat. Check out my unboxing and review videos below:

They all provide cold therapy and compression therapy - two things migraineurs crave during the neurological roller coaster of pain and weirdness known as a migraine.

Thanks to understanding my pattern and the weather forecast, with planning I can usually get through migraine attacks armed with my migraine hats, and mitigating my symptoms and triggers within my control. I can generally predict when I might need a Migraine Nap and/or Tylenol.

But still, that wasn’t enough. I wanted to learn how to decrease the severity and frequency of my migraine attacks. However, I wanted to do this without taking prescription medication, botox, e-TNS or surgery.

Enter my “gauntlet of migraine management” - vitamins and supplements. Migraineurs tend to be low on Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Magnesium, CoQ10, Vitamin D, and Melatonin. Click here for the recommended dosages.

I added the vitamins one at a time, so I can share how each improved my situation:

• Vitamin D: Increasing my dosage through vitamins and sunshine just meant that my immune system got a huge boost.

• Magnesium: Decreased the severity of the headache symptoms within one to two weeks of adding it.

• Melatonin: Better sleep.

• CoQ10: Decreased the severity of the “brain fog” symptoms.

• Vitamin B2: Decreased the frequency and severity to the point I am barely affected by the weather changes when my fellow Group 1 friends are riding the roller coaster of pain.

Although there are migraine multivitamins out on the market, I prefer to take the vitamins individually. That way, if I eat more foods rich in Magnesium and Melatonin, I don’t need to take as much in pill form that day. Don’t bother trying to eat the required CoQ10 intake for migraineurs It’s just not feasible to eat 51 pounds of salmon a day.

It’s a work in progress. I have since discovered I have additional migraine triggers, which are manageable if I am vigilant. Although I’m doing much better these days, I still need to make sure I don’t overwhelm my sensitive little brain by letting the triggers pile up. Been there, done that. Don’t care to repeat.

If you would like to learn more about how barometric pressure affects your health or about managing your migraines, check out these links:

• Feel It? 4 Ways Barometric Pressure Affects Your Health

• Migraine Canada (check out the “Resources” page)

• American Migraine Foundation: Understanding Migraine Progression Can Help You Anticipate & Manage Your Symptoms

• Vitamins and Supplements for Migraine

• The Best Time to Take Vitamins

Do you suffer from migraines or other weather-related chronic conditions? Share any tips, tricks or comments below.

*December 8, 2021 note: It must have been longer than 2018 as I recall that Maestro would guard me whenever I was lying down on the floor with a severe bout, and he passed away in 2016.