Absolutely Ann

Homemade Lavender Oil

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:01:46 GMT

Lavender oil is something I use all the time. I’ve used it to make furniture polish, in the laundry, also on my skin. It has relaxing properties, so adding a few drops to your bath, or on your pillow at night will help you to unwind. It’s also antibacterial and can be mixed with a carrier oil, and used over burns and cuts to help heal the skin. It can even be inhaled deeply to reduce congestion. So, when I found this information I knew I wanted to share it with you. How to Make Homemade Lavender Oil Things you’ll need: Enough carrier oil to fill small glass jar … (olive oil or almond oil are good choices) Lavender flowers Small glass jar Rubber band Plastic cling wrap Strainer Run your fingers along the lavender stems and collect the flowers. Put collected flowers in glass jar. Warm carrier oil in ...

Recycling

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:38:17 GMT

When was the last time you threw an empty glass pickle jar into the trash? How many empty glass olive jars have you tossed into the trash? Have you ever stuck an old window or door out by the curb hoping the trash collector would haul it away? We’re probably all guilty of doing these things at least a few times. We know it’s best to recycle … yet … we get busy or lazy and take the easy way out. Though, recycling actually comes natural. Kids do it all the time. I remember one time when I was about nine years old spending a few hours in the garage tearing apart old broken toys in order to build a car of sorts. My friend and I pushed each other around in it for a little while ...

Homemade Cheese

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:55:04 GMT

The other day when I stopped by, Great Fermentations, to pick-up some winemaking supplies, Anita gave me a taste of a Ricotta Cheese marinated in red wine that they had just made. OMG … it was incredible. So … of course … I asked for the recipe… so that I could share it with you. Supplies such as, mesophilic starter, cheese salt, etc. can be found at Great Fermentations, 5127 E. 65th Street. Other fun things you’ll find there are wine kits that make winemaking easy, beer making kits, cheese kits, fermenters, and people with a passion for and a great knowledge of fermenting. For me, it’s like walking into my favorite “toy” store. And, if Anita’s busy when you get there, no problem, all the folks at Great Fermentations are incredibly knowledgeable and ready to help. It’s a great store run by great people. If you make the ...

Cleaning Without Chemicals

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:38:06 GMT

One way to "B" Well is to remove chemicals from our environment. Over the past few years, I have been working pretty hard to get chemicals out of my life. I started making my own furniture polish out of olive oil, vinegar, and lavender oil. I even started pouring salt on weeds that came up thru the bricks on our patio. Of course, I grow veggies organically. My problem has been with vinegar. It’s a great cleaner/disinfectant. Only, I really don’t like its aroma. That’s one reason for the lavender oil in my furniture polish. Then, recently I came across a great idea for making a lemon and or orange vinegar cleaner. It’s great. Hope you’ll try it … and … along with me … help to keep the chemicals out of our lives. All-Purpose Lemon or Orange Vinegar Cleaner Fill a mason jar of your choice with cut ...

Less Clutter - Less Stress

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:46:37 GMT

The holidays are long gone, Super Bowl Sunday has come and gone and now it’s time to cleanse our environment of all the excess that we acquired through these periods. Why? Because clutter equals stress and stress creates illness. Clutter slows me down. When I walk into a room that is overfilled I feel weighted down by all the things that I really don’t want … things that are simply there because someone put them there and never moved them. And, I’m not necessarily talking about a pair of shoes under the coffee table, I’m talking about too much of anything … like … even a stack of too many books, or too many of anything. So, how do we keep the stress of clutter away? Maybe we can help ourselves by buying fewer things and by getting rid of the things that no longer beautify our surroundings. Walking around ...

It's Not Just A Seasoning

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:56:15 GMT

Guess what seasoning can be used to keep clothes looking new? It can also be used to clean away stains. You ever buy a pair of dark colored pants just to have them fade to a color you don’t want to wear? That recently happened to my favorite pair of jeans. So, from now on, I’m going to salt my dark clothes before I wash them for the first time. Here’s how to set the color in new clothes and towels: Mix together ½ gallon water, ½ cup vinegar, and ½ cup salt … Soak the garment or towel oin the mixture for one hour then rinse … If the rinse water has any color in it … repeat the process … You can also use salt as a pre-treatment for stains on clothing. If you drop sauce or dressing on your clothes, quickly sprinkle a little salt on the ...

Avoiding The Flu

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:46:48 GMT

I missed a day at work. That is rare. However, I had no choice because I had the flu and didn’t want to give it to anyone else. Also, I felt awful. How did I get it? I probably got it from touching a doorknob or grocery cart that some person with the flu had touched. So, while lying in bed afraid to even sip water, I started thinking about what I could do to never get the flu again. Here’s what I found … Eat a wide variety of fresh, wholesome foods packed with powerful vitamins and minerals. Vitamins A, B6, C and E and the minerals zinc, iron, copper and selenium are critical for maintaining immunity. Make sure that your diet consists of a rainbow of fruits and veggies. Garlic please. Garlic is known for its antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties and can prevent infections from taking hold ...

What Are We Playing?

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 20:43:48 GMT

Have you ever played a video game for so long that once you stopped playing you could still see images of the game with your eyes closed? I’m embarrassed to say that I have. One night, I couldn’t get to sleep, was too tired to read, and so chose to play the game, bookworm, on my laptop while sitting up in bed. The game went on for a long time. When I finally put my computer aside and closed my eyes I could actually still see the image of the game. Well, at least it was a word game. But what happens when someone plays one of the violent video games for hours at a time like some of our kids do? What do they see when they close their eyes? Sleep experts say that we most often dream about whatever we are thinking about right before we go to ...

Family Holiday Traditions

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:12:09 GMT

Christmas is so easy to enjoy when there are little ones around. Colored lights, Christmas trees, sparkling decorations, festive music, cookies and Santa enjoyed for the first time then the following twelve or so times make the kids all giggly and happy. Watching them experience the magic brings it all back to the front of our brains too. I remember when, Mackenna was little, and I would be busy putting decorations away for the year, she would start counting the days until next Christmas. But, how do you bring the magic to adult children? The wonderful magic that used to envelope the whole family must still be alive … somewhere? I think one way is to make sure that you save most of the decorations they make through the early years. Then, display them proudly until they fall apart. Sit with the kids when they’re little, read them tales of ...

Hey, Buddy, Can You Spare A ...

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:51:53 GMT

Every work day I take Pennsylvania to Washington Street … and … each time I see the same homeless man seated with his back up against the same building, his head tucked down as he sleeps. As I leave work, I see another homeless man. He too is in the same spot each day … on Illinois Street outside of T.J. Max. And, any day that I walk around downtown, I know that if I walk off Monument Circle onto Market Street, I’ll see another homeless man I’ve come to know as, Bobby. As I pass by these folks, my first thought is, “God, please bless this person.” I don’t know if that’s making a difference in their lives but, I do know something that will help … warm clothes. I’m wondering how many of us have spare gloves in the car that have been in there for a year ...