This blog is a companion blog for our business Aromatics and Herbs. Our blog will give you tips, recipes, photos, and just a glimpse into what we do in our business and our life. Please check out the tabs below to visit our Etsy shop and Placenta Encapsulation Services. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Meditation Monday 8-15-11


Each Monday I will post an inspirational quote, a mantra or short guided meditation for you to start your week out positive.
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 "Experience is not what happens to a man, it is what a man does with what happens to him." ~ Aldous Huxley

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Thursday, August 11, 2011

Peppermint Essential Oil

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita) essential oil is really a great oil to have on hand for it's many uses.  

We use it a lot in the summer for ants.   We use it in two ways.    First, we take a spray bottle fill it with water and add about 10 drops of the EO.   We use this to spray around the perimeter of all the rooms, in the doorways and window sills.   On the rare occasion that we get ants in the house we spray them and the area and wipe up.   They flee fast when it's sprayed around them.      Second, we put a drop of the Peppermint EO in our steam mop.  Our house smells fresh and it helps keep the ants away.

Other uses for peppermint eo:
Use for flavoring in baking
Use for flavoring in coffee or hot chocolate.
Use a drop in water to settle an upset belly.
Smell directly from bottle or make a steam bath for nasal congestion.
Dilute in olive oil and rub into your temples for headaches.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Garden 2011

 I really love having a garden.  It's been such a learning experience and once I figure one thing out there seems to be a new mystery to solve.   I think my next post will be about what I learned about tomatoes.

Here's my spaghetti squash plant.  I thought I would try that in a pot.   So far only one fruit on it.  I'm thinking it's getting to much shade.   I did hand pollinate and still just this one squash.
 Here is a mix of goodies.  Marigolds, Lemon Balm, Parsley and a Cantaloupe.
 Watermelons are doing fantastic.  This is my first year that they have done this well.   So far I have 3 bowling ball size fruits and about 10 golf ball sized fruits.  I also have one eggplant in the same box.
 My only surviving pumpkin plant.  I had a white pumpkin, sugar pumpkins and Cinderella pumpkins.  They were doing fantastic, until the vine borers DESTROYED them.   I seemed to be able to save this one though.  I just noticed another baby growing so maybe I'll get two jack o lantern pumpkins for the kids!
 My favorite fruit ever is cantaloupe, which is a good thing because I thought this was a honeydew plant. As you can see it's not so I have 4 cantaloupe plants that are producing LOTS of fruit.   If you have any ideas of what I can do with cantaloupe let me know!
 Butternut squash are doing great also.  I planted to many of those too, however that I will freeze to use in mac and cheese through the winter and in other dishes.
Isn't she pretty.   I'm hoping to get some Echinacea tattoos soon.
 Tomato plants.....I can't even look at them.  So depressing.   That will be another post.
So besides the pumpkin thing and my tomato saga (which will hopefully end on a good note) I would call my garden another success.   I can't wait to start again next year.  In the meantime I'm going to try some cold weather crops this month and talk DH into a hydroponic tower for lettuce.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The tale of two oils....

I make my own infused oils to use in my formulations.  The oils must solar infuse for at least 3 months to satisfy my wants in an oil.  Anything over 3 months is a bonus.     The more it infuses the more healing properties in the oil.   Here is a photo of the oil I use for our diaper rash salve.
 It's a beautiful golden color.  It works beautifully, is rich and healing.   I love it.
Although, that is wonderful, with a little patience you get something that is breathtaking.    It has a rich, green hue.  The smell is stronger, but not offensive.  It's my already awesome oil pumped up a few notches.  Here it is.  One year in the making. 

Monday, August 1, 2011

Meditation Monday 8-01-11

Each Monday I will post an inspirational quote, a mantra or short guided meditation for you to start your week out positive.
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 And may we ever have joy and gratitude in our hearts that the great Creator of all things, in His Love for us, has placed the herbs in the fields for His healing.- Edward Bach