Ahhhhh…….
Scents can be very powerful, which is why aromatherapy has been popular for many, many years. I’ve always gravitated to certain scents, particularly spicy ones like, eucalyptus and thyme (which I frequently diffuse in the house). I also love the scent of rosemary and any kind of citrus. A couple months ago I was reading about the beneficial properties of essential oil of rosemary for reducing cortisol, boosting concentration, and stimulating mental activity. Since my job can be stressful at times, ie. tax time and during end of the month procedures, I decided to buy a terra-cotta diffuser from Mountain Rose Herbs** for diffusing essential oils in my office while I work. I love this little thing, there are no fans, no electric, just a calming scent filling the air of my office.
Each morning, I put two drops each of rosemary and sweet orange essential oil on it and hang it in the window. The sun warms it slightly and the wonderful scent fills the air. Sweet orange oil is said to create a happy, relaxed feeling while lifting the mood. Research suggests that it helps to reduce pulse rate and salivary cortisol levels, just like rosemary essential oil. Even if it didn’t have these properties it would be worth diffusing just for the scent. Do I notice less stress when my office smells great? Certainly! My mood is instantly lifted when I walk into the office.
Do you use aromatherapy in your home? What’s your favorite scent or combo of scents?
**I have an affiliate account through Mountain Rose Herbs, it helps me pay the bills associated with this blog. If you purchase spices, tea, or essential oils through them, consider clicking through the link in my sidebar and help support my work here.
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To Fix or Not To Fix
I love my stove, absolutely love it! It’s not a spring chicken, it’s been cooking our food for many years, probably 13 or more. Unfortunately the control panel is starting to go. First the number 5 quick working, no problem, I can bake things at 249, close enough, right?
Then the timer started to work intermittently – ACK. I use the timer on the stove constantly, no really, it use it 10-20 times a day and not just for cooking. Whenever I’m doing something that needs timed, or whenever I want to remind myself to do something, I set the timer. If I put wood in the wood stove, I set the timer to remind myself to check the fire and close the damper. Life without the stove timer will be interesting. Luckily, I can use the timer on my iPad, though not as convenient as the stove timer.
Now I have to decide if it’s worth getting a new control panel for the stove to the tune of $400 and maybe $150 more if the touchpad needs replacing too – YIKES. We love using RepairClinic.com to buy parts to repair our own appliances. Over the years we’ve saved loads of money fixing them ourselves. Sometimes however, it’s not necessarily worth what it will cost to fix an old appliance. I’ve been saving money for a new stove for quite a while, I sure hate to lose this beauty though. She’s been a wonderful kitchen companion for many years. It’s only a matter of time before the oven won’t turn on, so I have to decide soon.
Do you ever repair your appliances yourself?
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Bbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………
AH – you always know that spring is right around the corner here when the wasps and flies come out of the woodwork, literally! There’s a constant buzz in the house of flies and wasps in the windows.
It’s really rather annoying, the constant buzz, the insects flying around, the wasps hiding in your shoes and stinging you if you don’t notice them there. There’s no walking around in socks because the wasps are everywhere.
Every time the flies come out I have to laugh and think about The Bucolic Plague. They deal with an infestation of flies in their new home as well. The good thing is that our new little cat LOVES to chase and catch them all, so it keeps her occupied and out of my seedlings. I guess there is a silver lining in almost everything.
Are there any negative side effects of spring in your home/garden?
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Welcome Visitors
My guest room has been turned into my seed starting room. Last year I put my big grow light in the basement, which turned out to be way too cold for my seedlings. Our basement is unheated, uninsulated and not very tight. As a result it’s pretty cold down there. Even though the grow light puts off some heat, it wasn’t enough to warm up the space.
So I took over my guest room and turned it into a seed starting room. These guests are more than welcome to stay as long as they’d like!
Where do your seedlings live while they’re indoors? Have you found the perfect spot for them?
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Officially Mainers
My apologies for not blogging the lasts few days, I’ve been a bit under the weather. But I’m back and feeling much better now! A few weeks ago our basement wood supply ran out, since there are 3-5 feet of snow piled up against the basement doors and at least that much on the road we use to get to the basement, we decided to put the wood in our little porch by the front door. It’s very Maine, really, most folks seem to have a stack of wood on their front porch by the door.
It does make it rather convenient to load up the wood burner. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer that we’ll be needing to carry wood to the porch, we shall see. It was -5 last night, but it did warm up into the high 20’s during the day.
What’s the average temperature in your garden during the day and at night?
