150325 Odor Remover

Homemade Febreze-like smell remover:

A clean, empty spray bottle
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 cups distilled water
5-10 drops essential oil (Example: lemon, orange, Thieves, Christmas Spirit, Purification* etc.)

Measure the baking soda into a bowl and add the essential oil on top.

Using a fork, mix the oil into the baking soda to help keep the oil suspended in the water.

Put the baking soda/oil mixture into the spray bottle and top off with the distilled water. Shake before use.

*If you have pets, then Purification has the added benefit of killing fleas and ticks. :)

140725 What Makes You Scream?

Diary: 140725

It just comes out: that ear-splitting, horror movie scream races through my throat to mobilize everyone in the house, sleeping or not. Three seconds of high pitched volume does more than any call to reveille. It gets the blood pumping.

It was a cockroach.

In South Texas, (thanks to Lackland AFB), our little house bugs are two to three inches long, as much as eight or nine centimeters! These Southeast Asian imports are quite at home here in our subtropical climate. Usually, bugs and mice enter a house looking for water, because food is plentiful outside, while water is scarce. No other bug affects me this way. I actually like spiders for their fly-killing ways.

Did you know that we have a snake? I love snakes. Three of North America’s poisonous snakes live in this area, and I know how to deal with them all. Most snakes avoid people, and disappear when they can. I simply allow them to do so. Many snakes are quite useful, because they eat things we don't want! Our ball python eats mice, which is the only other creature that causes me to scream. I need a pet that eats giant, fear-inducing cockroaches. What do iguanas eat?



**I sprayed the house with oils that are supposed to repel the giant beetles. When day comes, I plan to find what KILLS them.

1/2 Cup water
1/2 Teaspoon salt
5 Drops Cypress
10 Drops Peppermint

 

140505 Tea and Nutritive Substances

I should not have had that glass of iced tea before bed. I slept for four hours, then *boing* I'm wide awake! Did you know that stevia goes bad when left out? Yep. Dissolve stevia in a drink, leave it to get warm and yuck. It tastes like spoiled, overly ripe citrus. Who knew?

Stevia is a naturally occurring sweetener, so can 'go bad' as all natural products do. The sure sign of nutrition is how fast it goes bad. Meat and vegetables rot quickly. Twinkies last forever.

Two weeks ago, I bought a tiny mouse for George, the ball python. He ignores it. If he doesn't swallow one instantly, he tends to ignore his food until it dies. I've been feeding the little rodent. It plowed through my supply of stale sunflower seeds. I gave it a single slice of pepperoni, a bit of kale, and a chunk of carrot. It loved the kale. Then, it ate the carrot as if it were corn on the cob. It ate all around the outside and saved the core for last. It completely ignored the pepperoni in favor of the sunflower husks and the vegetables. This surprises me. I thought it would love the high calorie meat. Maybe, the spices deter it. Strong spices do upset pests. We can't use Thieves to clean George's cage because it has cloves in it. Cloves repel snakes. Peppermint repels mice. I love both.

Now, I'm hungry.

130129 Rabbits and Essential Oils

Today, I posted this to the Oil Testimonial site:


Pet Health With Essential Oils
My children wanted bunny rabbits as pets. They did research, bought some bunnies from a reputable pet store, and set up a cage and play area. After a few weeks, one of the bunnies developed a red eye with puss. The Pet MD site said to take the animal to the vet immediately. We wanted to do this naturally, so I pulled out my oils. I had already put a drop of Purification on each to repel/kill fleas, ticks, and mites. Purification still seemed the best option, so I brushed additional drops into the rabbit’s fur and sprinkled some into her bedding. She let me use a wet cloth to remove the puss. It did not reappear, and in two days her eyes returned to normal. A week later, she is active and eating well. The other two rabbits never showed any symptoms at all.

130124 Bunnies

We have bunnies. I love bunnies. Moon loves bunnies. Agent loves bunnies, but doesn't like how they suck all our attention away from her.

Teenagers.

They are only about 9 weeks old. The lion's head on the left is "Dynamite". (Yes, that's a movie reference,) The Lop in the middle is "Sylph", (from a computer game).. The Lop on the lower right is referred to as "boy bunny", because the other two are female. I don't know if Agent has given it a permanent name it yet. We're going to make a big play area for them, because we love to watch them run around and do silly things. I used to be so cynical about pets, but these little bunnies make me smile.

An oil blend called Purification kills fleas and ticks, so I'm using it on them.

Dog hated the smell, but the bunnies don't act like they mind at all.