Smoke on the Water

I probably could have com up with a more relevant title for this post, but I couldn't think of a better smoke-related title. So, Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" it is! Why smoke? Well, read on...

Today was an interesting Black Friday 'shopping' trip! We had every intention to do no shopping except for some groceries and our weekly pick-up of our raw milk at Deerfield Farm. Well, we ended up having one brief detour from the plan...

Yesterday, I read an article that described the benefits of 5 plants - benefits to improve your sleep. Who can resist the ability to experience better sleep? Soooo, I checked things out.

First, the article explained the benefits to have aloe vera, English ivy, snake plant, jasmine, and lavender plants. For me, two of those plants really struck a chord for me - English ivy and snake plant. According to the article, English ivy "is easy to grow and is the best air-purifier of all. It may be beneficial for those who have breathing problems and asthma. Studies show that English ivy can reduce air molds to 94% in 12 hours. You can hang it in a pot inside your house, or place it on a ledge where the leaves can trail down." Rather than it being a 'sleeping plant,' the "best air-purifier" is what really stood out for me. As for the snake plant - "They improve the quality of air and overall atmosphere at home ... They also filter nasty household toxins from the air." That last line is what really attracted me to snake plant. We live next door to a smoker - well, two smokers, technically - and we get way too much second-hand smoke infiltrating our home. I don't know if the snake plant will do too much for us as far as second-hand smoke is considered, but I can't rule out its potential benefits.

As the snake plant came in a decent-looking pot and I didn't want to spend anything for a better pot, all that I did need for pots for the ivy plants. So, for a grand total of $30, we ended up with 1 potted snake plant and 1 plant each of two different varieties of English ivy, the necessary potting soil, and 2 pots for the ivy plants. As soon as I got home, I re-potted the ivy plants...

The current plan is to put one ivy plant in the bathroom for its air-purifier/air mold-reducer aspect. Given that there is NO sun in the bathroom, I plan on rotating the ivy plants- one will stay where they are sitting in the picture while the other will be in the bathroom. I want them to establish their roots in the new pots before I start the rotation. As for the snake plant, my plan is to set it downstairs in the basement where the second-hand smoke seems to infiltrate our home.

When I re-potted the ivy, I took two of the vines from each pot and put them into a decorative 'vase' that has been empty for several years...

 

Hopefully, the ivy will take hold and provide both of its air-purifying benefits along with the decorative look!

I'll be sure to update you with the progress...

A-Z Challenge - 'Z'

As you might imagine, coming up with a topic that begins with Z is not the easiest thing to do. Compounded with the fact that my personal challenge is to somehow incorporate my a-z challenge topics with my journey to wellness and it becomes even harder. In fact, I actually had a couple of options in mind for the letter Z but I decided on the use of Z in the popular phrase 'catch some ZZZZ's' for my topic today.

To catch some ZZZZ's means to get some sleep. According to The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, this phrase traces its origins to the common use of the 'ZZZZ' or 'zzzz' in cartoons to indicate a sleeping character.

An example of 'Z' indicating sleep - note the final panel.

 Sleep is an absolute necessity on my journey to wellness. When I first started treatments in the hospital, my wake/sleep schedule became completely messed up. Fatigue had a major role in that - I would sleep anytime that I needed to - but having to take a dose of medication every six hours meant that I would be awake at times that I would not normally be. The combination of sleeping due to fatigue and waking at odd times (and being unable to fall back to sleep right away) was not a good one.
Though I am no longer dosing with medication at odd hours, I still have bouts of fatigue that just demand that I am frequently dozing at odd hours. I absolutely refuse to take any sleep aids. One doctor recommended (and was rather upset when I refused) that I do so in order to restore a more normal sleep schedule. I just didn't think that I needed any sort of pharmaceutical assistance with it. The last thing that I want to do it to become dependent on a drug for something as natural as sleep. The further recommendation to take a stimulant in the morning so that I could stay awake through the day and 'would be tired at an appropriate time' cemented my decision to avoid drug-assisted sleep.