A mortar and pestle is a good instrument for this purpose. Add the crushed seeds. Simmer gently for 5 to minutes. It is now ready to serve as it is. However, you may wish to add milk, as with ordinary tea.seeds:

Summary: Boil the kettle. Crush or grind 1 tablespoon of anise seeds. Add 2 cups of boiling water to a saucepan. Serve.


After you have finished playing the dizi, use a soft cloth to wipe it dry. You may use a long rod to push a cloth inside the dizi to catch excess moisture. Cloth bags, plastic airtight bags, or hard-covered soft-lined cases are ideal containers in which to store a dizi. Bamboo flutes are susceptible to expanding or contracting depending on temperature and humidity. Do not place in direct sunlight such as on a windowsill, as this will likely lead to cracked bamboo. If you are taking the dizi outside on a cold day, allow the flute to acclimatize before playing it. Since moisture may gather in the dizi, even if you’ve dried it, fungus spores may start to grow. Use food grade hydrogen peroxide to spot clean the flute to eliminate fungus growth. Some flute owners choose to oil their dizis with almond oil 3-4 times per year. It is best to wait until the flute is completely free of moisture (i.e., waiting a day after playing and drying it) before applying oil. Use just a bit of oil and rub it into the dizi with a soft cloth. You may also choose to oil the inside of the flute as well. Allow to dry completely before playing.

Summary: Wipe the dizi dry after playing. Store the dizi in a dedicated case. Avoid swift temperature changes. Eliminate any growth of fungus. Periodically oil the dizi.


Bleach, and especially vinegar, do well to break up the tars and resins in cigarette smoke. The smell of bleach and vinegar may be off putting at first, but unlike smoke, these odors will dissipate in time.  Mix equal parts of white distilled vinegar and warm water to create a cleaning solution. Mix 1/2 cup (115 mL) of chlorine bleach to 1 gallon (4 L) of water to clean surfaces like sinks, showers, bathtubs, countertops, glazed tile, vinyl, and floors. Always rinse surfaces with water thoroughly after cleaning, before use. Do not use bleach on the same surface that you applied the vinegar mixture to. You may need a ladder to reach all the washable surfaces in your house. Don't forget to wash down interiors of closets and cabinets as well as the walls of the basements, hallways, cupboards, and drawers. Put the vinegar in a spray bottle and wipe it clean with a rag. Follow up by rinsing with water and drying with a clean rag, if the furniture is delicate. Place several drops of lavender, citrus, or rosemary essential oil to offset the smell of the vinegar. If you do not choose to do this, the vinegar smell will dissipate as it deodorizes furniture. Simply wipe them or wash them in mild soap. You may want to remove them from the home until all surfaces are clean and deodorized.

Summary: Use vinegar or diluted bleach to clean non-fabric surfaces. Wash the floors, ceilings, window screens, walls, and other fixtures. Wipe all the wood, plastic, and metal furniture and appliances with distilled white vinegar. Dust or rinse all your knick knacks.


An average sleep cycle lasts from 90 to 110 minutes, in a flux from light sleep to deep sleep. Consider the stages:  Stage 1 is the first and shallowest stage of sleep – it lasts anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Your eyes are closed, but it's easy to wake you up. You probably won't feel terribly refreshed if you nap for five minutes, but you shouldn't feel too groggy, either. Stage 2 is a slightly deeper stage of shallow sleep. Your heart rate slows, your body temperature drops, and you begin to sleep into deep sleep. This may last 5-10 minutes. Stage 3 is the "deep sleep" stage. If you're awoken during deep sleep, you will feel groggy and disoriented for a few minutes. Set an alarm for about 25 minutes from now: 20 minutes to sleep, and 5 minutes to fall asleep. A short "power nap" ends before your brain sleeps into deep or slow-wave sleep; you will wake feeling rejuvenated, and you shouldn't feel groggy. If you nap for longer than 20 minutes, you may slip into a deeper sleep phase – and if so, you may find yourself groggier if you wake before the end of the full sleep cycle. The 20-minute power nap, sometimes called the stage 2 nap, is good for alertness and motor learning skills – things like typing and playing the piano. Research shows that longer naps help boost memory and enhance creativity. When you nap for 30-60 minutes, you slip into slow-wave sleep, which is the deep phase that comes between REM "dream" sleep. A 30-60 minute nap is good for decision-making skills – e.g. memorizing vocabulary or recalling directions. Be aware that you may wake up groggier, at first, if you are awoken during the deepest part of the sleep cycle. REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is the final phase of the sleep cycle; it is when dreams happen, and it is when your brain restores itself. REM sleep plays a key role in making new connections in the brain and solving creative problems. The purpose of a nap is to rejuvenate your body, so it's important that you give yourself plenty of time. Set an alarm to make sure that you stick to your desired naptime. If you want to get very precise, add several minutes to your "nap time" to allow yourself plenty of time to fall asleep.
Summary: Plan your nap to minimize grogginess. Nap for 20 minutes at a time for a quick "power nap". Nap for 30-60 minutes to slip into slow-wave sleep. Nap for 60-90 minutes to reap the benefits of REM sleep. Try not to oversleep.