In this newsletter we will try to help you further your knowledge and use of essential oils.

REPORTING from the Construction zone!

Physical ailment

Building, Building, and OWW!

by Penny Keay

With all the physical activities going on these past few weeks, Al and I are experiencing a lot more aches, pains and soreness than we have for quite a few years. How about you? Have you started your summer projects yet? Read on to see if you can relate and see if some of our suggestions won’t make your summer projects a little less painful, stressful and tiring!

We have used more of our massage blends and other essential oils lately than we have ever used.

Muscle Rub, Back rub and Muscle Relaxing massage blends have almost become a nightly ritual. Dar's blend mixed with carrier oil has been used too when we have an extra sore area!

At the end of a long hard day of hammering, using the screw gun, bending, lifting, holding, swatting at mosquitoes & flies we are more than happy to take a nice long soak in a hot tub with some rejuvenating essential oils.

The number one oil we have used is probably Lavender – just a drop or two on all those little cuts, scrapes and little boo boo’s we get each day. Preferably applied within an hour or so has kept skin infections under control and practically heals those little mishaps within a day or two.

Then, at night, when we are done, we take a bath, where we add one or two of our favorite oils – Eucalyptus globulus, Lavender, Peppermint and Rosemary or one of our favorite blends like Calming blend or Relaxing blend or if we are going out after a bath we might use Mint Energizing blend!!

Essential oils that are good and that help to penetrate the sore, tired and overworked muscles are: Eucalyptus globulus, Peppermint, Coriander , Cypress, Marjoram, Lavender, Vetiver Ginger, Nutmeg, Pine needle , Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Juniper berry and Black Pepper.

Any of these oils mixed with a little carrier oil like Sweet almond will also make a wonderful massage oil to rub into the extra sore areas.

Oh and soaking in a tub with Epsom salts also helps those tired sore muscles too.

Don’t have time for a full bath? I have taken a small basin of warm water and added the Epsom salts to it and a few essential oils and soaked my very sore hands. Holding on to a hammer handle for a couple hours makes the muscles in our hands very sore and tired – a little hand bath with our favorite essential oils makes my hands feel – oh – so much better!!

Remember you can experience muscle soreness from just about any physical activity including any outdoor sports – canoeing, camping, hiking – you name it you can get sore.

Try a few of the above massage oils or soak in a hot bath with your favorites. Soon you’ll feel better and rejuvenated too! We know we do!

Please note, although Al and I are busy with our project, we do not necessarily use essential oils every day as there are days when we don’t work as hard. We use them just on some of the days. As with anything, you do not want to overdo it. So use common sense and don’t misuse or over use essential oils. Use when necessary and discontinue when not needed.

Emotional Concern

Sleep, Sleep, Elusive Sleep

by Penny Keay

Since our project began, we have been so excited that we have – needless to say – been having trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

We fall asleep thinking about all the things we need to do and all the thinking that goes along with a project of this size for the average home owner!

We have discovered that the best things we can do to help us fall asleep and sleep all night is to keep with our regular bedtime routine. We try not to have any caffeine for several hours before bed and of course take a warm relaxing bath too.

Most nights we are tired enough there is no problem, but sometimes when we are anxious about the next days building or business activity we have a hard time ‘shutting off’ our brain.

You may experience these same reactions prior to taking a vacation or other types of travel. Especially when it is out of your normal routine, sleeplessness can easily become an unpleasant event.

We have found that if Lavender doesn’t do the trick by placing a few drops on our pillows then we need to add a couple drops of Roman Chamomile . Others have found they may have better sleep if they use or Ylang Ylang .

Usually you can find the right combination that will work for you. You may have to try a few different oils but the above mentioned essential oils appear to work for many folks. Nighty, night!!

Health and Beauty

Oh my Aching Hands

by Penny Keay

Al and I have some of the sorest hands that can be found in Blackhoof Township!!

You can tell we have been typing and doing ‘soft’ jobs for way too long. Now our hands are getting a real workout.

When we are out handling wood, concrete, nailing or using any number of hand tools we are apt to get slivers, scrapes and all kinds of injuries. We have been fairly lucky that we have only had a few slivers.

Mainly, our hands are sore from gripping the hammer handles or in some cases the drill for use with screws.

Of course, resting them would be a great way to have the soreness disappear but we have way too much to do to be able to rest them for more than a day or two.

We have found soaking them in Epsom Salts with a little Eucalyptus globulus or Lavender seems to give them the relief they need.

Naturally, we apply a good moisturizing lotion at the end of each day to keep them nice and soft.

Our hands are also benefiting from the massage oil blends we use to rub out all those sore muscles. (See the above section on building for some suggestion on massage blends).

Around the House and Garden

Springtime Flying Bugs!!

by Penny Keay

Mosquitoes are abundant this time of year here in Minnesota. Warm and/or hot humid days bring them out along with all their other pesty biting fly friends.

We have found that the Bug Off repellent works great and as a test to the New Lemon Vanilla Bug Away spray, it works great too and smells wonderful.

If you are spending a lot of time outdoors, especially in the evenings you can try to make your own blend of essential oils to make an insect repellent by using any of the essential oils that are known to help repel.

Essential oils that help to repel insects include: Geranium, Citronella, Lemongrass, Eucalyptus citriodora (also known as Eucalyptus lemon), Catnip, Lavender, Sandalwood, Cedarwood , Pennyroyal, and Peppermint .

There may be others essential oils that work great in your particular area of the country. You may want to experiment with others.

Recipes to try

by Penny Keay

BIRCH HILL HAPPENINGS NEWS

Hello Everyone,

And Greetings from the Keay Construction Zone!!

Yep, Construction has begun on the new addition to our home and business. Since the last newsletter we have had a lot of activity going on around here.

The basement was dug and the basement walls and floor were poured by some of our local contractors.

But after they were finished it was time for Al and Penny to take over.

So far, we have the joists and floor covering in place and the walls are up. Next is putting the trusses and roofing in place. This we are getting help with from one of our sons. Otherwise, it’s Al and Penny doing the work.

We do appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while we get this main construction done.

For those curious, we are adding on a new master bedroom on the main floor, and in the basement areas will be a large storage room for the business and a workout/hobby room. I hope to have some photos posted when I get a few minutes to get them edited for the internet.

After this main construction is done, our house will get a facelift outside – new paint and trim, new deck railing and basic upkeep. Our son that did the major retaining walls and setting of pavers will finish the landscaping this summer also with more retaining walls and pavers.

Then we will continue over the next year or so to remodel the bathroom and laundry rooms, change our old bedroom into the new media room and lastly to put new flooring throughout the entire house.

So, if you get our voice message when you call please leave a message and we’ll call you back as soon as we can or better yet, send us an e-mail. Again, we will get back to you as soon as possible. But right now and being we only have a few short months when we can do outdoor work, we may not get back to you the same business day, but we will call you or e-mail you as quickly as we can.

Orders are still being shipped out as usual within 24-48 business hours of us receiving them.

Now, before I forget, we do have a few new essential oils – Celeryseed - Apium Graveolens and Catnip - Nepeta Cataria and Lemon Tea Tree - Leptospermum petersonii and a couple new carrier oils – Hempseed oil - Cannabis sativa and Flaxseed oil - Linum usitatissimum .

Also, we have three new blends. Two are our versions of two blends by a ‘certain’ MLM company. The new blends are Peaceful (their Peace and calming) and My Angels (their White Angelica ^TM ). These are blended using our high quality essential oils. There are no carrier oils mixed with them. We blend them ourselves and therefore the costs are considerably less than the other company. We have had great feed back from several of you that have already purchased them.

The last blend is called Smooth & Soft Blend. It is an anti-aging skin blend. You need to mix this blend with a lotion, cream or other oil before applying to your skin. The essential oils in this blend are those that have been used by many in the past to help with wrinkles and dry skin especially on your face. Another way to use it is to add a few drops (3-4) to some distilled water (4 ounces) shake well, then use a cotton pad to wipe on your skin after cleansing. (You are using it as a toning solution.)

The beakers and stirring rods have been a big hit and we have already had to reorder a new (larger) supply of them to keep up with the demand. We are happy you find these useful.

If you have other suggestions of helpful items or other products you would like us to carry, please let us know and we will see what we can do.

Have you signed up to get the Special Deals Coupon Code?

We receive e-mails weekly asking us if we have any coupons or sales. Well, we do and the best way to find out about them is to sign up for the Special Deal E-mail notice. The Special Deal coupon code is only sent by an e-mail and must be entered and used during the sales dates that are sent in the same notice.

We have added one new bit of information in the notice and that is the next date the sale will be announced. So, if you don’t need something this time around, you will know when the next sale coupon code will be sent and can take advantage of it then. If you like to get a Special Deal or like to use a coupon to receive a 5 to 10% discounts you’ll want to be sure you are signed up to get the Special Deal notices. Click Here for the Special Deal information and to sign up.

Well, that’s it for this time. As always, if we can help you with aromatherapy just ask. If you have suggestions, questions or comments please feel free to send us an e-mail to bhhinfo@birchhillhappenings.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

‘til next month,

Yours in Aromatherapy,
Alan and Penny

E-mail us at bhhinfo@birchhillhappenings.com

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