Roses & gardening, as promised :)

I have to start by saying I'm one of the most fortunate women on the face of the earth, in part, because of my friends! Turns out I have $277.50 I wasn't counting, because a dear friend has no intention of cashing the check I sent her. She lent me $140 so I'd be able to give change to people at that fair, got it in ones, fives, & tens for me. I sent her a check to pay her back & my share of the table fee, & she won't cash the check because she has income & I don't! She says when I get on my feet financially, we'll talk about whether she lets me pay back the $140. I'm humbled & grateful, awed by the giving nature of my friends. I'm used to being the biggest giver around, not used to being surrounded by big givers. I've had to relearn that sometimes you have to graciously receive - for every giver, there has to be a receiver. I can then give to others in non-monetary ways for now, until I'm back on my feet. Pay it forward :)

Before I get into roses I have to tell you of my love of lilacs. When I was in elementary school, there was a huge lilac bush in the corner of our playground. Every time it bloomed, I'd play IN it every recess, pretend it was my house. I'd spend all recess inhaling that heavenly scent. Some day I'm going to have enough bushes or bush to do that again, just sit in it. By the way, can you imagine how great a draw that smell was? I'm allergic to bee stings!

I was born in the City of Roses, Portland, Oregon. Both my grandmothers (in Portland, & in Dayton, Ohio) raised beautiful roses back when that was a real challenge. In Dayton, my grandmother had a trellis with roses growing up one end of her brick & cement front porch, so that's something I admire whenever I see it, & long for. She also had a wooden arch, the side of which was up against the side door to the separate garage, with roses climbing it. So I have a wooden arch, only mine has a wooden swing hanging from it.

Portland has magnificent rose gardens, test gardens for new varieties of roses. They work on getting the scent back into the most beautiful roses possible, on disease resistance, etc. Some day I'm going to get to go there. It should probably be at the end of my life though, since I doubt I'll ever want to leave once I enter :)

My favorite roses are the ones with the old rose smell, the damask rose scent. Some of my favorites for scent are Mister Lincoln (red) & Scentimental (red & white striped). For sheer beauty, The Fairy is one of my true favorites, although it has little fragrance. For beauty & scent, Royal Bonica is my all-time favorite thus far. It's a classic long stem beauty, a gorgeous, unusual pink, & a few in a vase scent an entire room! I also love many of the David Austin (English) roses for their scent & beauty. I'm also, of course, very partial to Portland (damask) roses (yes, a category). Sheila's Perfume is another favorite - yellow & pink petals, beautiful scent - same with Chicago Peace, & Peace (all pink). I even had a funky little bush called Lil Gigi. The blossoms weren't well formed (to my tastes) & didn't last long enough cut, but the bush produced blooms in a whole variety of fun colors. I'd add it to bouquets of miniatures for the fun value, & I'd grow it again if I found one for sale.

I grew every type of rose except trees & carpet roses, & so many varieties within each category. A few I never knew the name of, because of how I obtained them. A few I'd never grow again. It was a true learning experience - what I liked best once the bushes matured & produced. The same is true of annuals & perennials. Fortunately, I kept a gardening log. I noted the locations of the things I was planting, & at the end of the season noted how they did through the summer & fall. Since I often mixed annuals & perennials, it was very helpful when my pots & gardens would start to green in the spring. I knew what to look for in foliage, didn't mistake new flower growth for weeds. I also learned what I must have each year to be happy, when money or space was limited. I have an adorable spiral notebook with - go figure - an elegant cat on the front. It contains all my garden notes through the years so I can reference it at any time. I also kept a manila clasp envelope with tags from the bushes & things I'd planted, when I needed further reference. I recommend this practice to all of you if you're going to really get into gardening. It's well worth the effort. And I always wrote in pencil, so that if something didn't do well & I replaced it during a season, I could make a note of that & fill in the replacement's information. I guess you could do all this on your computer, but digging in the earth is so elemental that I like my notes to be equally elemental :)

I'm by no means an expert, but if any of you have questions about growing roses or gardening, I'm pretty experienced & would be glad to share what I've learned :) You can send me an email from this site.

Watch this space - again!

Read my blog 5 days a week because I'm full of it! Well, full of creative ideas, actually :) Today is about my favorite subject - ME! Just kidding - it's about some of my favorite subjects: gardening, herbs, flowers.

I'll start out by sharing an idea I came up with years ago. I plant some of my herbs in the glass carafes from automatic coffee makers - the ones I'm going to try to keep alive over the winter in the house. Currently I have 2 so I keep a peppermint & a spearmint plant alive in them over the winter. I learned the hard way not to leave them in a vulnerable place outside. The rest of the ones I'd collected had delicate lavenders in them & the lawn guy broke them all with the weed wacker! Anyway, these carafes look really neat in your kitchen or dining room with your kitchen herbs in them! They'd even make a nice gift with any plant in them, for the e

In addition to lavender, rosemary, & chamomile, I always grow sweet basil, peppermint, spearmint, & flowers. Depending on space, time, & money, I also grow other basil varieties, lemon thyme, lemon verbena (which I absolutely adore), lemon grass, & other herbs. I don't cook much anymore so I usually dry my herbs & use lemon verbena, lemon greass, lemon balm, & mints in teas. I do manage to use all my basil & rosemary in summer recipes - usually pair all my basil with fresh tomatoes, use rosemary when I grill. I used the last of my rosemary to make flavored vinegars & olive oils last year! I haven't used my vinegar yet but loved using my olive oil so much that I'll make more this year.

In addition to essential oils & their properties, I'm very interested in the medicinal benefits of herbs & have some books, have taken a course. When I formulate, I bring that knowledge with me also. As time goes on I'll probably work with herbs more. My fixation is I like to self-grow the herbs I use & I haven't had the garden or physical capacity to do that. I know where to buy quality essential oils but not where to buy quality herbs for product use in bulk.

Benefits of bath salts

I've been making bath salts for 15 years now, for my own various skin problems & for relaxation. When it's cold, I've been known to shut the shower curtain to keep the bath water hot as long as possible. Sometimes I read a great novel, sometimes I just lie back & shut my eyes. I have an extra long bath mat - I think I got it at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, & I always carefully hang it afterwards so it doesn't mold. My mat covers the entire bottom of the tub so I don't slide down when I lounge. I also always have a premium bath pillow to put at the end of the tub so I don't touch the cold porcelain & so that I can lean way back & soak up to my shoulders, lean my head back. I bought one of those things you put over the overflow drain so I can fill the tub. By the time I lean back, the water is about an inch or so from the top. I have bathing down to an art. It's a true luxury experience when I do it, including my own homemade bath salts. I always use lavender & rosemary in mine, then add some other sweet smelling oils until I'm satisfied. I love the combination of the 2, love them both separately, in cooking as well as in aromatic blends. But in the essential oil form, rosemary tends to smell kind of medicinal. I always grow several forms of rosemary, & pots of lavender. I've grown just about every type there is (of both).

Did you know that rosemary makes almost everything taste better? Did you know you can cook with lavender? My next favorite is chamomile, which I also grow. Mostly I use that for chamomile tea. Ok, more on this tomorrow - today was supposed to be about bath salts.

I don't use rosemary when I blend commercially & it breaks my heart. I hate leaving out one of my true loves, denying one of my true passions! But rosemary carries warnings - may be best avoided if you have high blood pressure (I do, under control with medication, but I eat & bathe in it regularly without problems), avoid if you have epilepsy, it's a real stimulant so best avoided while pregnant, & it might antidote homeopathic remedies. I always try to use the safest oils rather than issue a bunch of warnings! When it comes to your safety, what I use & my personal preferences just don't count!

What I do use in every formula is Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate), dead sea salt, & baking soda. Epsom salt draws out toxins, reduces swelling, relaxes muscles, & relieves inflammation & pain. The magnesium portion is an electrolyte that helps your energy, muscles, cells, nerves, & enzymes. Dead sea salt is about 10% sodium & about 90% minerals such as magnesium, potassium, bromine, calcium, iodine, & sulfur. It's an energizer that helps prevent water retention, draws out toxins, reduces inflammation & relaxes muscles. It's great for those "Charlie Horses" because of how it relaxes muscles & because of the potassium content (lack of is the most frequent cause). Then there's good old baking soda, just like you have in your kitchen. Did you know that it neutralizes acids on the skin? It's great for soothing skin rashes, softening skin, & it helps drain the lymphatic system of toxins & disease!

You can find all kinds of good information on the Internet about each of these ingredients. I've only listed some of the greatest properties, skipped quite a few of the lesser known properties. Even with things that are "better than sliced bread," I'm not going to make long, extravagant claims. But as I've said before, I've carefully researched each of my ingredients. Every ingredient I use has been carefully chosen to work together for your highest good.

Properties of flaxseed in face pillows & of lotion bars

As promised, I want to tell you about the benefits of flaxseed in face pillows - briefly. Many people use other fillers that are heavier, poke you through the fabric, are water-based like buckwheat & rice. Flaxseeds are lighter, smoother, & full of beneficial oil. They can be reheated many more times than water based fillers & retain their heat hours longer. If you've ever used face or neck pillows filled with other materials, you'll just love the difference. I've been using a neck pillow for a face pillow daily for years now. I just loved that combination of herbs the woman uses & her fabrics, would buy a new one every chance I got because the scent just didn't last. That's why I used essential oils in mine. Now that I've created my own with flaxseed, I've completely retired hers. I've bought from many different people, different blends & fillers, sizes, styles. When I created my face pillows, I changed everything I didn't like about the ones I have to come up with something I love. Hopefully you will too!

Now to lotion bars - one of the coolest things you've probably never heard of. It's a solid that turns to a lotion in your hands & then is fully absorbed & leaves your skin greaseless & moisturized. It turns back into a solid once you return it to the plastic jar. I made mine with beeswax, solid coconut oil & jojoba oil as the base. Some people are allergic to nuts so I decided not to use the more common sweet almond oil. As with all my formulas, I try to avoid ingredients some people need to avoid. Beeswax carries a warning for those allergic to bees. I'm mildly allergic to bee stings but have no problem with beeswax or honey. If you're allergic to honey, you should probably avoid products with beeswax. I am able to formulate the same blend of essential oils into another format for those allergic to beeswax, coconut oil or jojoba oil. There are many different base ingredients to choose from & different formats - creams, lotions, etc. I'm basically serving as an apothecary. I come up with the essential oil formulas but there are always alternate oils & bases I can use. Just like a compounding pharmacy, I'm willing to make special batches for special needs.

And that brings me to what's coming. For one thing, I've been asked to formulate something for fibromyalgia relief (that will be a bath salt because of the nature of the disease), something for menopause symptoms (probably also a bath salt - I've got to give it some thought & research), & a product for chronic chapped lips.
Tomorrow I'll cover bath salts because to me that's a category all it's own. I primarily use epsom & dead sea salts (2 to 1) in my bath salt blends.

Products made with essential oils

First, I have to say I'm thrilled with the response from the woman who won the drawing for a free product from the Journeys Expo this past weekend. She's never won anything before & she & her husband are delighted that she won! That makes me so glad to have drawn her name! She's chosen Purr in a Bottle, & I'm waiting to find out whether she wants a face pillow, bath salts, or linen spray. So, onto what those are.

I make flaxseed face pillows with a ribbon tie for those who sleep on their sides like I do. I've been using large buckwheat rectangular pillows daily for 6-8 years now. I also have 2 face pillows. These were bought at various times from various vendors & when I designed mine I solved the things I don't like about the ones I bought. For one thing, flaxseed is by far the superior filler! In Monday's post I'll tell why. I'll also tell you what's so great about bath salts & lotion bars.

I've made all 3 - bath salts, linen sprays & face pillows simply because some people won't take baths, some won't use a face pillow. My linen sprays are safe to use on your body so if you spray your pillow, clothing, or the top of your top sheet (or your teddy bear), it doesn't matter if it touches your skin.

Now, remember I can't make health claims. I really don't want the FDA coming down on me. But you need to know that I've blended essential oils & ingredients designed to provide certain benefits based on their properties & the way they work together. I also managed to make them smell very good despite the fact that the oils were chosen for properties rather than scent-appeal. I've named them carefully, to give an indication of what they were designed for without using the words. So here they are:

In bath salts we have: Energy Workers (to clear negative energy taken on), Purr in a Bottle (for stress relief), D.C. (for deep cleansing & detox), Muscle Soak (for muscle aches), Mmmmmm (what you'll say when your migraine is relieved), Zzzzzzzz (designed to help with insomnia). I also have Purr, Mmmmmm, & Zzzzzzzzz in flaxseed face pillows. In linen sprays I currently have one for sinus sufferers (& a face pillow), Mmmmmm, Zzzzzzzzz, & one called Dreamers (to help induce vivid dreams). Dreamers is also available in a face pillow. The next time I order supplies, I plan to also make Purr as a linen spray. I should have ordered more bottles!

I also have a lotion bar to help people with chronic skin rashes. I know lots of people who struggle with eczema & psoriasis, & I have too. I've tried everything available over the counter & had no relief plus hate the smell of their tar bases! Most people I know with psoriasis also have secondary infections - baterial, fungal, combination. So I blended oils that are commonly used to treat eczema & psoriasis & included oils with anti-microbial, anti-fungal, antiseptic & antibacterial properties. My first try, for a young male, got rid of eczema problem but was a bit greasy & hard to absorb, plus was heavy on the patchouli, which he didn't love. I then searched until I found the base formula a friend uses & I love how greaseless hers is when rubbed in & absorbed. She doesn't blend for eczema & psoriasis so all I've copied is her lotion bar base. This new incarnation has patchouli but not nearly as much. It simply blends in with the rest of the scent.

Finally, I have oil blends for: chakra balancing, meditation, creative thinking, grounding, forgiveness (of self & others), & empowerment. These are in a base of jojoba oil so that you can apply them directly to the skin.

So, check this space on Monday for further information on the benefits of bath salts, flaxseed in face pillows, & exactly what the heck a lotion bar is. Then on Tuesday I'll tell you what I'm working on next! :)

Thank you for your interest! Ladies, have a wonderful Mother's Day!

About the Company, Me

I spoke yesterday about the company launch. Today I want to tell you that I consider the company to be a great success even before the launch. The company logo should ultimately include a phoenix, because it literally rose from the ashes of my former life.

September 2010 a woman I've never met in person befriended me on Facebook & I did the same. We were both about to go through a divorce & reached out to each other, have been supporting each other. She helped me see that the time is now for me to use my God-given talents & interests, to make a life based on them. In exploring that, I reached out to a long-time friend & another person in my emotional support system for creative ideas on how to make money when you don't have a full-time job. That led me to a phone call to a total stranger, who brainstormed with me for an hour. I was asking whether there's enough work to become a mobile notary & he became my angel. He listened, talked to me about the possibilities available with my talents, then told me I'm a healer at heart. He told me about Reiki energy work & how to look into doing that, said it would enhance my efforts & be a natural course for me & who I am. Now he's one of my best friends!

I went to my first Reiki Exchange at the beginning of October, became attuned to Reiki I a week later, began the friendships that have sustained me. A week after that I had to leave my home with my cats & my handicapped elderly mother & run to safety because my husband threatened to kill her. We didn't get to return home until November 2, a day after I sent him to jail. I had been building my new life in secret, while he was trying to control me, my mother, listening into every conversation, looking over my shoulder at my emails. But I had given my life & my future over to God, & was protected.

He went to jail on November 1 because he'd stolen my mother's life-savings, over $500,000. Boy do I wish I had some of that now! On November 2 we arrived back home in PA with $6,000 of her money he hadn't gotten to (a complicated dance on my part that kept that out of his hands at the end), & I had no job or money of my own, plus full responsibility for my mother & myself & no assets worth much. Just furniture & an extra, very old car. I also had a house full of unpacked boxes from several moves, rent way too expensive for the area, & a whole lot of mess on my hands. Through all this, I put together Creative Wellbeing Fulfillment, "in my spare time" :)

My Reiki friends, my daughter, my sister, & some of my other supportive friends helped choose the name. I've worked with essential oils for therapeutics for myself & family for 15 years. Yet I put about 12 hours of research into the oils to use for each formula - so times 7 products, that's about 84 hours. Looking back, sounds about right. I researched, referenced, cross-referenced each oil for safety & efficacy, each ingredient. Keep in mind, I already knew my oils. But I wanted to make sure that I did the highest good & no harm. I know what's out there on the market - in stores, what you can buy online. I wanted to produce better solutions, & cover problems that aren't adequately being covered. Tomorrow I'll tell you about my products :)

A final word. I didn't tell you my story to make you sad. I'm one of the most joyful people on the face of the earth! I told you so you'd know who's doing the formulating, & know who's behind a lot of what Creative Wellbeing Fulfillment is about. It's not just about essential oil products. It's about helping people & healing needs (& pets). I'm just one of the people involved in this who's "been there, done that, learned the lessons" & am willing to share of myself. I haven't told the half of what my previous life was. Let me just say that I alone (& I'm certainly not alone) can relate to just about any painful experience (physical or emotional) that you've had or are going through, & I'm an excellent listener. I don't judge! I'm in the "business" of using my experience to empathize & help you find your way through, create your own phoenix! And often there's no charge for that :)

Watch this space - we're growing!

It was a very hectic week but I have to say, as a business person, that I'm delighted with my company's launch weekend!!! I didn't sell a lot, but that doesn't determine the success of a launch & it wasn't the right setting for big sales. It was the perfect setting for PR & contacts though.

I met a woman who designs websites for small businesses, for example. My products were very well received, & I met someone who wants to discuss carrying some of my products in her yoga studio! I also got requests & ideas for products/formulas I hadn't considered.

One goal was to make sure I was correct about what people want & need. I don't want to make what everyone else is doing - I want to fill a niche. I believe I'm doing that, had that confirmed.

Right now I'm talking "I." It's my company, my ideas. But, "I get by with a little help from my friends." (Those as old as I am will immediately hear The Beatles tune in their heads as they read that :) I have a network of friends who also have a variety of talents. Some are teaming up with me, offering their talents under the umbrella of Creative Wellbeing Fulfillment so that we can be a wholistic source for people & their pets. That was the idea behind the name. (And it's so long so that I could buy the website matching the name. That required 3 words rather than 2. CWF doesn't flow as a name, spelled out or initials. But think about it - 3 very strong, powerful words. I like that # - 3. Like the Holy Trinity, where my heart is!)

And that's just it. That's the heart of what Creative Wellbeing Fulfillment is all about. Serving God through serving His creatures. And so it was a terrific launch - at the first annual Pittsburgh Journeys Mind, Body & Soul Expo. And I'm sure with our mission as the heart of our business, it's the beginning of a great success. Certainly all the contact seeds were powerful, positive, & very, very exciting.