So Mum sent me off to school with a care package because I mentioned feeling a cold coming on before we left the house to catch the Hogwart's Express. After the welcome feast and sorting ceremony, I came back upstairs expecting to take a spoonful of her Cherry Bark Syrup (with honey) and slip off to La-La Land.

But she didn't send me along with the Syrup; she gave me Metheglin instead. It did help me sleep, but I woke up with a headache this morning. Anyway, the mix up got me curious to do a little bit of research on the origins of it and also....the uses. Here are my notes:

Metheglin
Spiced or medicated mead. Begins as traditional mead and then herbs and/or spices added. "Its name indicates that many metheglins were originally employed as folk medicines."

Common metheglins:

• Ginger
• Tea
• Nutmeg
• Coriander
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Vanilla

(Mom's is made with honey.)

Etymology
The Welsh word for mead is medd, and the word "metheglin" derives from meddyglyn, a compound of meddyg, "healing" + llyn, "liquor."

FASCINATING.

Is it wrong that now I want to dabble in varying recipes?

Mead Recipes to Try:

• Pyment - is a Mead with either Grape Juice or wine added
• Melomel - is a Mead with fruit
• Cyser - is a Mead with apple juice

Cautionary note from source: "Mead making is sometimes violent! Expect much frothing and bubbling and beware bottling too early and getting exploding wine bottles!!!"

Reference Link: http://www.harvington.org.uk/hic/meadrecipes.html

she is vibrant and full of breath
it fills her lungs and roses her cheeks
and in that perfect moment,
she is invincible. with the force of her
powers, she soars through the skies
and nothing touches her. no one can crush
her indomitable spirit or zap the wind
from her billowy cape. she is the hero
they have been waiting for, the one they have
pinned hopes and dreams upon with veiled
glasses that mask her vulnerabilities.

these vulnerabilities cause her to wither
in the chilly snow. her shoulders slump from defeat
and she hasn't the strength
to be the champion of old, the vision of perfection
and security. the fight has left her
and the fading has begun.

---

OOC: In case you were wondering, this is an original poem written by yours truly through Grace's lens.

Medic Training Bucket List

• Focus on field healing: "Preservation of life, crush, curse, severed limbs, blood loss, plenty on unconscious patients."
• "A heavy focus on defensive magic, particularly on protecting an incapacitated casualty."
• "Wards you can place and release your wand to cast within. Possibly even cover casting at distance if you cannot get close for whatever reason."
• Be physically harmed to ensure you can "heal yourself and not fall apart"

Advice from It Seems Like Only Yesterday