Monday, September 20, 2010

Market Madness: lavender.

There's a reason that lavender used to be the scent of choice for sweet li'l ol' grandmas. It's good stuff.

Lavender oil treats bug bites, soothes jangled nerves, brings on sleep, and heals burns. I'm well-versed in that last use. If you were to look at my right forearm, you might see a faint stripe of shadow that started out as a 400-degree sheet metal burn.

Yeah. Ouch.

With my co-workers clucking and fussing around me, I stuck my burned arm in the sink under a steady flow of cold water and called my mom.

"I'm burned. Bring a kit."

Said kit consisted of sterile Telfa pads, a leaf of aloe and a bottle of lavender essential oil. Scoop out the leaf innards, stir in the lavender oil, and smear it (Augh!) on the burn. Tape the Telfa pad in place and there you go.

Thanks to a combination of fast action and the right ingredients, that burn never even blistered. It was on my mind this weekend, though, when we went to the Walnut Valley Festival. There are three barns crammed with craft vendors, and one of them was selling lavender products.

Woo-hoo!

I had a great time gabbing with the vendors about the merits of French versus English lavender, making a better bug spray, and the less-than-glamorous life of a farmer. I came away with a business card, two bars of soap, some shea butter hand cream, and a lavender lip balm. I also came away with a renewed sense of gratitude that we still have venues for smaller-scale farmers and gardeners to share their wares.

When's the last time you went to a festival? What did you find there? What would you like to see?

2 comments:

  1. I bought an aleo plant hoping to use some of its medicinal properties. Three years later, I still have the aleo plant, but have never used it for anything more than pretty. Maybe I should get lavender oil, and keep your post in mind for an emergency.

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  2. I didn't know this about lavender. Thanks for sharing.
    Everyone is invited to a Viking Blog BBQ...directions are in a post on my site.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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