diver

Perhaps it's not proper tea etiquette, but it may be a good idea if, like me, your sinuses are turning to cinder blocks. I waited all day to submerge the aching outcrop I call my face in hot tea - in this case Echincea and Elderberry I bought at P.S. Coffee & Tea. Thump, thump, I. love. that. place. The soaking drove blood into my face, thinning the wretchedness in the caverns therein and relieving the headache that was starting to roll out in all directions.

From the illustrations on the package I learned that Elderberry was the very plant I had been curiously eyeing in August on walks through Prospect Park on account of its beautifully measured panicles of small black berries. Wild Man Steve Brill has a lot to say about it. I suspected the berries were edible but wasn't so sure. At one point when I was starving I crushed one between my fingers in lieu of eating it. Now here I am with my second cold of the season, submerging my face in it. Turns out, it may be very good for the skin as well as the cold.