The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are more important to the soul than their simplicity might suggest -Thomas Moore
We’ve had a lot of rain. Truth be told, waking up to gloomy skies again had me feeling a bit glum. I began to imagine all the bulbs I recently planted rotting away outside under all the soggy leaves. That led to the thought of leaf removal, never a fun prospect. As I thought about this, my yard grew into gigantic proportions and the thought of raking it all made me want to stay in bed. Overwhelming thoughts…one led to another. Better to get up and moving instead of mentally wallowing around in moldy leaf piles.
A little Aromatherapy was called for. I added some lemon oil to the cleanser I’d made. Lemon, clean and bright was bound to help lighten up this dismal day. Motivating too….soon the kitchen was sparkling. A touch of lemon oil and tangerine on my dust cloth had things picking up a good shine and looking better. Thunder began rumbling outside, the temperature was dropping. I soaked a bit of cotton with cinnamon oil and sucked it up with the vacuum. The faintest scent of cinnamon trailed behind me as I made my way through the house. By now the rain was pouring, pounding on the roof and lashing against the windows. Definitely a day for soup and some home made bread. A big pot of soup went on the stove and as it was simmering, I mixed up the bread dough and set it to rise.
Upstairs, before putting fresh sheets on the bed, I sprinkled a few drops of lavender oil on the mattress underneath. A few drops more on the mop smelled heavenly and picked up the grain on my old wooden floors. It looked so good, I did the stairs on my way down as well. The wind was picking up and howling. Leaves were coming down in sodden masses. Soon the trees would be bare. Still some time for apple picking but not this day. This was a good day for baking them. Baked apples and whipped cream. I peeled the apples, sliced them up, added brown sugar, some spice and popped them into the oven with the bread. I made myself a cup of tea and pulled out my work bag. Spreading out my projects, deciding what to work on, I noticed the darkening sky which got me thinking how nice it would be to light the fireplace…..
Cynthia, everything sounded so good! If we lived closer, I would be right over! 🙂
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In that case, I would make blackberry crumble for you and a lemon meringue pie for me:)
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How funny!!!! You know someone just reblogged it!!!! (Pie o logy)
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I love the way you turned the day around! I’ve known about aromatherapy for years and even dabbled in it, but I’ve only recently started using it more seriously, though not to the extent you did. I never thought to use a drop in all the ways you did. I haven’t added lemon to my collection yet. It’s next on the list. Thanks for great ideas and brightening my day with the possibilities. 🙂
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Thanks Judy! Glad you liked it:).
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What a beautiful post. I can hear the sound of the rain on the roof and see leaves whipping by the window. I’ll save this writing of yours to my desktop to take out and read on a glum day. Taking a gloomy day for what it is and turning it in to cozy is such a statement of your character. I remember once when I was lamenting to my sister, Cindy, that winter was coming…early darkness and cold nights, when she said, “Well, if it wasn’t dark and cold, it wouldn’t be fun to light candles.”
-Ginene
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Thanks Ginene! You always have the nicest way of looking at things. We’ll see how positive I stay through the winter, lol. I think I may be lighting a lot of candles…
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Cindy, you always have such a lovely way of expressing yourself and of doing everyday household chores that others might find mundane, so naturally in such a fresh & charming way. Sweet Grandmother’s influence again, I’m sure, as you do everything with a genuine spirit of love………..
Gloria
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