mermaidcamp

mermaidcamp

Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water

You can scroll the shelf using ← and → keys

Grapefruit Magic

July 3, 2014 — 3 Comments

Citrus pardisii

Citrus pardisii

My grapefruit tree is healthy and bears very well for months each winter. We enjoy fresh juice daily from January until about the end of March.  The intoxicating aroma of the blossoms fills the air for about a month in March.  The plant is ruled by the sun, like all citrus fruits. It has zingy, cooling and cleansing properties that are prized by health lovers.  The fruit and the juice are delightful, but the essential oil of grapefruit has very useful qualities.  Buy pure unadulterated oil and store it in the dark because it oxidizes quickly, therefore has  short shelf life.  Using it with a carrier oil, like jojoba, it can be very helpful to warm up and boost circulation.  The benefits of using grapefruit in a massage oil include:

  • ease join pain by stimulating muscles and joints
  • treat congested skin disorders like clogged pores and oily skin
  • diminish water retention and cellulite in specific areas

To use the oil for aromatherapy delivered by inhalation you can use a diffuser or use a few drops straight up on a handkerchief.  The subtle and immediate effects of the inhalation include:

  • headache relief
  • calm nervous tension and stress
  • uplifts the mood in depressing situations

I never get tired of the smell and the flavor of grapefruit.  It makes me happy and nourishes me.  Cocktails made with grapefruit juice are very high on my favorites list as well.  What is your favorite way to experience grapefruit?

Self Sustenance, Investment in Living

March 16, 2014 — 12 Comments

Our society is experimenting with self sustaining living.  In recent decades focus has changed from local   production of food and goods to a transportation heavy supply chain.  We now pay little to produce our goods in countries with lax labor laws and spend fortunes shipping those goods around the globe.  The skills of preserving food, and even growing food have been lost to a great extent, but there is new interest in reviving local farming and local cuisines.  Popular classes and books are teaching:

These alternative practices offer students ways to save money and become more creative. Learning new skills can reap big benefits for society as well as individuals.  The future will be shaped by the habits we develop now.  Communities focused on improving local, self-sustaining economies are becoming more common.   The trend is strong and, in my opinion, will grow in the future.  Have you made any changes in your own life to create a more self sustenance?

I Endorse Michael Ray

October 1, 2013 — 2 Comments

Michael Ray is a friend and colleague I met in  a business development forum offered by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Tucson.  A small group of us continue to meet once a month to focus on the model we learned and the progress being made by individuals.  Michael’s project is interesting to me because I garden in the desert with more and more difficulty myself.  I also like to watch the way he solves his design problems because I too am an inventor.  Some serendipity and some  failure accompany all inventors.

Initially one may not even plan to invent a product, but an issue or problem starts to fascinate the inventor.  Failing fast has a lot of merit when you don’t know where you are going anyhow.  Eventually the prototype will show/teach the creator new ways to  remedy design problems.  I endorse Michael because his core concept is strong, and his creative spirit is guiding him to keep experimenting until he finds solutions.  I know the long and winding road through “one size does not fit all”  from my own work.  I believe when the Nursetree Arch comes on the market it will benefit many gardeners, both new and experienced.  I know I want one.

shade

shade

Benefits of the Garden Arch

August 1, 2013 — 4 Comments

My visit with Michael Ray yesterday was fun and informative. Here he tells us about the benefits of the Nursetree Garden Arch:

I am impressed with his continual learning and improvement of his invention.  I have been through the prototype process with Floatli and know it is both fun and frustrating.  You can only learn through experiment.  I believe Michael has created a wonderful tool desert gardeners will be needing more and more.  A dozen years ago I bought 5 acres in Oracle, AZ with a gushing well, thinking I would grow food. When I sold the property last year the well was almost depleted for household use.  In a way I was lucky I did not plant a big orchard and then loose the water for it.  Today I garden in the city with an eye toward conservation of every kind.  The garden arch is an innovative way to save water and grow food.

Garden Ideas from Grow Down

March 26, 2013

The final installations for the Grow Down design contest are all very impressive.  My favorite did not win the official competition, but I still love the water harvesting site built by Realm.  Here are the ideas from the other installations not centered around water harvesting and growing food, which is my personal bias.

The three other designs were also innovative and showed new ways to use small spaces to create privacy and shade.  The use of metal was popular with all four, but the winner constructed a full on room with a roof, couch and fireplace.  The full size tree and the water feature at the entrance clinched the deal with the judges I am sure.  The view from the comfy couch is really lovely, and would be great in cool weather with the modern gas fireplace.  If you live in Tucson I recommend that you see the grow down installations to pick up some excellent ideas to use at home in your garden.  I plan to try a few things I saw today.  There are lots of ideas that can be executed on an even smaller scale.